Fans of the Genesius Guild will not need to wait until next summer to enjoy new productions. The Guild resumed their audio production series with a doubleheader of Fog by Eugene O’Neill and Enemies by Hutchins Hapgood and Neith Boyce. You can listen to the audio production by visiting the Genesius Guild website (www.genesius.org) or by searching for “Genesius Guild Radio Productions” on your favorite podcast platform. This production includes the Genesius Guild’s first foray into the work of Eugene O’Neill. O’Neill was the single most famous and influential... Read More

The Genesius Guild will close the 2021 season by going back to their roots with a Greek tragedy. Euripides’ Hippolytus will be staged for the last time today at 7 p.m. at the Don Wooten Stage in Lincoln Park, Rock Island. Admission is free. This performance continues a longstanding tradition. The Genesius Guild’s first performance in Lincoln Park was Antigone by Sophocles, and the group has continued to perform a Greek tragedy, in mask, each season. Genesius Guild is the only theater in the United States to make Greek tragedy in mask an annual occurrence. Hippolytus tells the story... Read More

The Genesius Guild will close the 2021 season by going back to their roots with a Greek tragedy. Euripides’ Hippolytus will be staged July 17, 18, 24, and 25. All performances begin at 7:00 PM and will be held at the Don Wooten Stage in Lincoln Park, Rock Island. Admission is free. This performance continues a longstanding tradition. The Genesius Guild’s first performance in Lincoln Park was Antigone by Sophocles, and the group has continued to perform a Greek tragedy, in mask, each season. Genesius Guild is the only theater in the United States to make Greek tragedy in mask an annual occurrence. Hippolytus... Read More

The Genesius Guild’s 2021 season continues with a joint Don Wooten and William Shakespeare production, Shakespeare’s Life in His Works, with performances at 7 p.m. on July 3, 4, 10, and 11. All performances are held at the Don Wooten Stage in Lincoln Park, Rock Island, and admission is free. Originally developed by Don Wooten (who founded Genesius Guild in 1956) as a readers’ theater production many years ago, Shakespeare’s Life in His Works has been adapted to fit the stage. The show explores Shakespeare’s life and his tremendous impact on the English language... Read More

An adapted version of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure will open the Genesius Guild’s 2021 season with performances at 7 p.m. on June 19, 20, 26, and 27. All performances are held at the Don Wooten Stage in Lincoln Park, 1120 40th St., Rock Island, and admission is free. Opening weekend marks the Genesius Guild’s return to live theater after cancelling the 2020 season. Sometimes known as one of Shakespeare’s problem plays – shows that are not explicitly comedies or tragedies – Measure for Measure is a “fascinating exploration of how power can corrupt, with comedic overtones,”... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! If it wasn’t for a man who later became WQPT-TV general manager, National Public Radio (NPR) likely would never have started. This past week, NPR celebrated its 50th anniversary. Jerrold Sandler — who died in Moline Feb. 24, 1995 at age 64, from a heart attack after cancer surgery – got public radio added to the mission of the then-new Corporation for Public Broadcasting... Read More

Isabel Dawson, a 2020 Augustana College graduate, wears many hats – which each reflect her many skills in theater and business. The bright, enthusiastic 23-year-old, who did a lot of theater in high school in Normal, Ill., is the new assistant executive director for Genesius Guild and is helping assemble this summer’s abridged schedule of three productions outside in Rock Island’s Lincoln Park. Doug Tschopp has been executive director for about 15 years, involved in Genesius for 25 years, and worked closely with Dawson at Augie, where she majored in theater and business management. “I just... Read More

The Quad-Cities theater company Genesius Guild was wearing masks in performance for decades before it was fashionable or medically recommended. After it had to cancel its 2020 summer season at Rock Island’s Lincoln Park Classic Theatre due to Covid, Genesius will be back this summer, with three scaled-back productions in June and July, including an ancient Greek tragedy in mask to close the abbreviated season – ensuring it will all be safe for cast, crew and audiences. The 2021 season will consist of: June 19, 20, 26 and 27: William Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure,” adapted and abridged... Read More

Eleven cultural organizations and three artists in the Quad-Cities were among those to receive a share of $7 million in new grants announced Tuesday by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. A total of 267 cultural organizations and 152 artists serving 118 Iowa communities will get funding, made possible by the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, on Dec. 2. The department launched the Iowa Arts & Culture Recovery Program the same day and received more than 550 requests totaling more than $36 million by the Dec. 11 deadline. The list of recipients includes some of Iowa’s... Read More

Roald Tweet had a way with words, with listeners, with his comforting voice, and his patient, relentless curiosity and compassion will be felt in the Quad-Cities for years to come. The 87-year-old Augustana College professor emeritus of English died on Wednesday after a brief illness (congestive heart failure and Covid-19), and the tremendous loss reverberates throughout the community. “He was my teacher from the time I was seventeen till now,” said Ann Boaden (Augie Class of ’67), a longtime English professor who retired in 2016. “His brilliance, his puckish wit and playfulness, his persistence... Read More