Happy Birthday William Shakespeare!

We'll be honest with you, right off the bat: history doesn't know on what day William Shakespeare was born.

In the 16th century, one's saint's day was more likely to be a date of annual celebration. And the date one was baptized was what mattered for an infant (child mortality being what it was, it was considered urgent to have your offspring made right with the church and the Almighty pretty much right away).

So, what we actually know is that William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564 at Holy Trinity church in Stratford:

The entry reads: Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakespeare.

Historians have assumed that the third child (and oldest surviving son) of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden was baptized at roughly three days old. April 23rd is a convenient date to designate, being that it is also St. George's Day (patron saint of England) AND the date on which Shakespeare died in 1616. The symmetry is just too much to let go. 

But, of course, it is no longer the 16th century, and we love birthdays. So, we take advantage of the uncertainty surrounding wee Will's birth date to just celebrate for a week or more, calling it close enough, and then stuffing our faces with cake and iambic pentameter! Which is one of the ways that we'll be celebrating: Shakespeare in the Park Members will be gathering for some cake and fun at a party on Friday.

(Pssst...if you're not yet a member, but join now, you'll get an invitation to next year's party! And other great benefits!)

Learn About Membership/Join

Give Will Birthday Gifts!!!

We're also giving you the opportunity to give Will some birthday gifts, in the form of supporting this year's production of Much Ado About Nothing!

Specifically, we are auctioning off a couple of nice souvenirs of last summer's Julius Caesar.

Go to Auction

We offer a nice collection of SitP swag (mugs, t-shirts, etc.) at our Society6 store, including some new designs!

Go to SitP Shop

And we're giving you the chance to make a small donation by buying Will a pint of his favorite ale or a birthday balloon (symbolic, of course...click the down-arrow to choose balloon instead of pint)!

Thanks for playing along with us -- and for supporting free professional performance of Shakespeare in Milwaukee!