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Dear Colleagues,

This weekend, the poem Beowulf will be performed by a troupe of 50 story-tellers from all over the U.S. and Canada on YouTube. I am the academic adviser for the performance. Details follow below. Please feel free to forward to anyone who might be interested.

I hope you'll join us, and that you'll find the performance useful and entertaining. And please accept my apologies for cross posting.

Yours, Wendy

BEOWULF THE ETHEREAL EVENT BRINGS BEOWULF TO ZOOM

On November 14 and 15, Beowulf the Ethereal Event will present all of the poem Beowulf, performed live on Zoom. The entire epic will be split into two performances, live-streamed to the SCA East Kingdom’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SCAEastKingdomEthereal

• Part 1: Saturday, November 14, starting at 7:30 pm Eastern time.

• Part 2: Sunday, November 15, at 2:00 pm Eastern time.

The performances will be posted to YouTube permanently at a later date.

Beowulf the Ethereal Event will feature the talents of 50 performers from all over the United States and Canada.

The performance is being produced by the artistic team who staged live story-telling performances of Beowulf in 2011 and 2012 and of Njal’s Saga in 2017.

The poem tells the story of the hero Beowulf, who rescues the Danes by killing the monstrous Grendel. He goes on to kill Grendel’s mother, become king, and then—in his old age—must face a dragon. Throughout, he learns lessons about kingship, feud, and the dangers inherent in fighting monsters.

The performance will be presented with the natural, organic backgrounds of our homes—bookshelves, workshops, home offices, kitchens, and living rooms. We will tell the story without stage magic, but instead will use the available medium to bring Beowulf into the homes of the audience.

The performance text includes translations by Howell Chickering, R.M. Liuzza, Craig Williamson, A.S. Kline, Francis Grummere, M. Wendy Hennequin, Michael Dixon, and Emily Holbert. We are grateful for the permission to use their works. The artistic team gratefully acknowledges the support of the East Kingdom Web Ministry, and the East Kingdom Ministry of Arts and Sciences.

From Director Michael Dixon:

“Beowulf is still relevant today. Leadership matters, well-earned loyalty is essential, and pride is a dangerous path," Toki said, adding that Nietzche's advice was true for Beowulf, and is true today, "Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster."

For more information, see the performance web site: https://sites.google.com/view/ethereal-beowulf/home

Director: Michael Dixon

Assistant Directors: Karoline Kramer and Erik Abernathy

Stage Manager/Company Manager: Christine Connors

Academic and Literary Advisor: Prof. M. Wendy Hennequin (Tennessee State University, Nashville)

Dr. M. Wendy Hennequin Department of Languages, Literature, and Philosophy Tennessee State University 3500 John A Merritt Blvd. Nashville, TN 37209 MWHennequin@gmail.commailto:MWHennequin@gmail.com