Hyperlinked Environments & Issues: Library-Theatre Partnerships

When the weather permits, I ride my bicycle through the Oakland hills a few times a week. I listen to music on my rides and mull over school assignments and work projects at the same time. Last week some of the musical theater songs that popped up in my Spotify playlist got me thinking about the intersection between theater and libraries. (My playlist is a bit eclectic.) It made me wonder about what kinds of partnerships exist between theaters and libraries? Do these two environments hyperlink with each other? If so, in what ways?

There are many examples of libraries partnering with theaters or performing arts groups working together both in libraries and outside of libraries. I love this example of hyperlinking the library, a local children’s theater, and a local park setting in Berkeley, California. 

https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/events/party-park-w-cast-elephant-piggies-we-are-play

At the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Enchantment Theatre Company will present a live production of the Grimm’s fairy tale The Brave Little Tailor later this Spring. For more adult audiences, The Los Angeles Public Library has a partnership with the Interact Theatre Company to present a series of staged readings offered through their LA Made programming. 

Some partnerships go deeper than offering live performances at library or community locations. In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte collaborated together to create ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center. This center receives more than 300,000 visitors annually, has two theaters, separate library spaces for kids and teens, multiple classrooms, a production studio, and interactive exhibits. 

A quick search of the events offered shows a wide variety of choices. For the younger crowd, one wouldn’t want to miss PuppetPalooza 2024! And in keeping with the theme of kindness from Professor Stephens’ post earlier this week, check out The Kindness Project, a program of the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte that develops new and original works for youth centered in promoting kindness.

A slightly different library where theater and library intersect can be found in the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. As one can imagine from the name of the library, this library is dedicated to providing access to all things related to Shakespeare. Their mission statement connects to the Hyperlinked Library Model with its focus on Discovery, Curiosity, Participation, and Creativity. The physical building and grounds are extensive (and currently under renovation). When completed later this year, there will be a garden, exhibition galleries, multiple research rooms, a learning lab, social spaces including a café, and the award-winning Folger Theatre. The Folger Shakespeare Library also has a robust partnership program with other theaters around the country. 

When exploring the resources at the Folger, I was particularly intrigued by the landscaping and the outdoor spaces that have been created and renovated. Visitors can wander in the garden and be greeted by this beautiful Rita Dove poem that was commissioned for the library.

Images sourced from the Folger Shakespeare Library website. Used with permission.

These collaborations and partnerships between libraries and theaters do much to support Laerkes discussion of the four spaces of the public library as introduced in the model created by Skot-Hansen, Jochumsen, and Hansen (Laerkes, 2016). Each example provides a space for Inspiration, Learning, Meeting, and Performance. 

As Michael Stephens notes clearly in his video lecture The Hyperlinked Library Model, “the library is everywhere” and “we must reach all users, not just those who come through our doors” (Stephens, 2019). Imagine a family with young children going to San Pablo Park in Berkeley and stumbling unexpectedly upon the Party in the Park. Perhaps they are regular library people, but what if they aren’t? Imagine a Shakespeare buff looking to see a classic play in an Elizabethan theater only to find that the theater is inside a library? And that library has interactive exhibits where they can explore original texts? These examples are just a few of the wonderful ways one can be introduced to unique and hyperlinked library environments. 

(And in case you are wondering what song prompted me to start thinking about libraries and theater, it was You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen. If you want to know why I think it could relate to libraries, check out my previous blog post about Belonging and Identity. It may be a bit of a stretch but it worked for me!) 

References

Baron, M. (2016, March 24). Takeaways from a perfect library-theatre partnership. SLJ.com. https://www.slj.com/story/takeaways-from-a-perfect-library-theatre-partnership

Laerkes, J.G. (2016, March 29). The four spaces of the public library. IFLA.org. https://blogs.ifla.org/public-libraries/2016/03/29/the-four-spaces-of-the-public-library/

Stephens, M. (2019). Hyperlinked library model [Video lecture] https://sjsu-ischool.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=a0569381-4d66-4e0a-a7fa-aab3010a8f3e