Changelings alternate roles to read

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After an initial meeting, members of a newly formed reading group devoted to Shakespeare were keen for more gatherings, leading group founders to offer a second meeting each month.

The Changeling Shakespeare Reading Group, which first met Dec. 13, plans to meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at the Port Townsend Public Library’s learning center, and new members are encouraged to join.

“I’m excited about its early success,” said Melody Sky Eisler, director of the library, which is sponsoring the group. “This is really a joyful start to a new group.”

The reading group was cofounded by retired teachers and friends Bob DeWeese and Libby Palmer, who share a belief in the therapeutic power of William Shakespeare’s language.

“My friend Libby and I got together and decided we needed to do something crazy together again,” said DeWeese.

They approached Eisler, who said she’s always happy when community members come to the city library with a proposal.

“We’re the people’s library,” Eisler said, “It’s really exciting when people come to us.”

The group’s name, Changeling, is a reference to Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; it refers to the child whom the king and queen of the fairies fight over. “I’m very attached to it,” DeWeese said of the name, which he’s used before. “I think that’s a good name for any kind of Shakespeare group,” he said, as no one is the same after encountering Shakespeare.

The Readings are organized so that members take turns playing characters in every scene, DeWeese said, making it fair for all.

“He wanted to make sure that everybody gets a chance to read the ‘juicy parts,’” Eisler said.

Group members also decide which plays to read.

At the first meeting, they chose the play that inspired their name, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which will be continued at the next meeting, DeWeese said. “It’s hard to say how long it takes to read a play.”

The choice of that comedy is also timely as it’s going to be performed by the Seattle Shakespeare Company in May, DeWeese said, and several people have already expressed interest in going.

People of all ages are welcome to attend, and DeWeese is hoping young people will show up, too. Members don’t have to show up every time, he noted. DeWeese hopes that if people have a favorite play they’ll stop by and suggest it be read at a future session.

“It’s a group focused on finding out more about Shakespeare, and talking about your ideas, about what things mean,” he said. Reading the plays out loud can also help people better understand and appreciate the language.

“It’s really exciting to have this group form in Port Townsend,” said Eisler.

“We already have a nice Shakespeare culture in Port Townsend,” she said, mentioning Key City Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park productions, “so we’re adding to that with Changeling.”

Meetings are from 5 to 7 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month. This month’s meetings are scheduled for Jan. 10 and Jan. 24. Meetings take place at the Library Learning Center, 1256 Lawrence St. For more information, contact DeWeese at bobbinsdream@gmail.com.