The year 2016 sees the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death in 1616. There's going to be a lot of activity in this area on the interwebz. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has already run a competition in Minecraft (http://www.shakescraft.com/) for historical "reconstructions" of New Place, Shakespeare's final home in Stratford-upon-Avon. Mid-January will see the launch of Shakespeare Documented (http://collation.folger.edu/2015/12/sha ... ocumented/). There are bound to be many more initiatives and, unsurprisingly, there are also some MOOCs (online course) that cover Shakespeare, e.g. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/sha ... -his-world (no specific date at present).
Having an amateur interest in 17th century history but very little serious knowledge concerning Shakespeare and his works (appalling, I know) I thought I would focus on Shakespeare's status at the time of his death and, indeed, how he may have died. The latter permits a useful (to me) digression on contemporary diseases. Builds may include parts of Stratford, including my own version of New Place, and vignette scenes in London covering the period up to publication of the First Folio in 1623 (which allows me to reuse a build of St Paul's Churchyard, the centre of the English book trade at the time), including one or more performance venues (most likely Blackfriars Theatre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfriars_Theatre).
None of this is set in stone (virtual or otherwise) but I'd be interested to know whether any individuals or groups are engaged in similar activities as I'm keen to avoid unnecessary duplication. If there's scope for positive interaction (cross-referencing, shared publicity, content, etc), so much the better.
And Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!
Shakespeare 400
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Graham Mills
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Ada Radius
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Re: Shakespeare 400
New Media Arts/Avatar Repertory Theater will do one or more of the plays - we're discussing options. And recruiting actors - anyone in Kitely is invited to send an audition recording - contact me for details.
Ada
Ada
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Serene Jewell
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Re: Shakespeare 400
I really like the idea of Shakespeare-themed builds and events. Like it a lot I do. 
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Graham Mills
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Re: Shakespeare 400
There is now an inworld group called Shakespeare400 which is open and free to join. As per the latest SOTK newsletter, there is a free Futurelearn MOOC starting on 11th Jan and an informal meetup scheduled for 13:00 PDT on Kitely Welcome Center the same day for those interested in forming a study group. I appreciate this isn't an optimal time for everyone and, indeed, figuring out how we can best support asynchronous study inworld is an interesting topic in itself.
Bear in mind that this is one of several MOOCs that will cover Shakespeare from one perspective or another over the course of the year. If you can't make this one (or drop out due to pressure of work or lack of enthusiasm for a particular MOOC), you can most likely catch another one later. The notion that one might create a meta MOOC derived from multiple MOOCs and additional resources is also of interest.
See the newsletter for MOOC details.
Bear in mind that this is one of several MOOCs that will cover Shakespeare from one perspective or another over the course of the year. If you can't make this one (or drop out due to pressure of work or lack of enthusiasm for a particular MOOC), you can most likely catch another one later. The notion that one might create a meta MOOC derived from multiple MOOCs and additional resources is also of interest.
See the newsletter for MOOC details.