It’s hard to make a living as an artist. Full stop.
No matter what stage of your career you’re at, it’s hard. And talking about that might be even harder.
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Welcome to Ruff Reads Autumn, a bonus book club session curated and facilitated by Ruff Reader Cass Marcus Davey! This fall we’re diving into one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest (and earliest) tragedies: Titus Andronicus! Here we go!
TITUS ANDRONICUS by William Shakespeare
Thursday September 25th at 8pm on Zoom
Cass has put together an incredible list of resources to help you find copies of the play in various formats. Find it here: Fall Ruff Reads resources
DM us or contact christine@shakespeareintheruff.com for the Zoom link. (Don’t have time to read the play but still interested in the conversation? Join us anyway!)
About the play, from the Folger Shakespeare Library:
**CW: Titus Andronicus contains scenes of violence, rape, mutilation, and cannibalism.
Titus Andronicus overflows with death and violence. Twenty-one sons of the Roman general Titus Andronicus have died in battle, leaving four alive. After defeating the Goths, Titus permits the sacrifice of the oldest son of their queen, Tamora.
Titus helps Saturninus become emperor. Saturninus plans to marry Titus’s daughter, Lavinia. Instead, she marries Bassianus, aided by Titus’s sons, one of whom Titus kills. Saturninus then marries Tamora. The stage is set for multiple revenge plots.
Tamora’s lover, Aaron the Moor, instructs her two sons to kill Bassianus, then falsely implicates two of Titus’s sons. Tamora’s sons also rape Lavinia, cutting off her tongue and hands. To save his sons from execution, Titus cuts off his own hand, but Aaron sends him their heads.
Lucius, Titus’s last son, leads an army of Goths against Rome. Titus kills Tamora’s sons and serves them to her in a pie. In the ensuing events, Lavinia, Tamora, Titus, and Saturninus all die. Lucius becomes emperor and sentences Aaron to death.
Announcing RUFF READS AUTUMN: TITUS ANDRONICUS!
Curated by Ruff Reader Cassandra Marcus Davey, this bonus session of #RuffReads explores Shakespeare’s early, bloody tragedy. Join us!
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When we turn Timon into Tiff’ny, a lot of things change. Want to talk about women, money, and power? Us too!
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Four fictional, century-spanning, interwoven texts exploring extreme wealth and capital? (And the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction?) Let’s go!
TRUST by Hernan Diaz
Thursday May 29th at 8pm on Zoom
DM us or contact christine@shakespeareintheruff.com for the Zoom link. (Don’t have time to read the book but still interested in the conversation? Join us anyway!)
Get ready for an evening filled with fun, entertainment, and the opportunity to support the arts in our community!
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Shakespeare co-wrote Timon of Athens with Thomas Middleton. Who was he? And how was his writing similar to (and different than) Shakespeare’s? Let’s find out.
A Trick to Catch the Old One by Thomas Middleton
Thursday April 24th at 8pm on Zoom
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They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and what could be more Shakespearean than imitating and adapting? (Here’s looking at you, Saxo Grammaticus.) In these drop-in classes led by Nathaniel Hanula-James, you’ll read a short scene or play, identify an interesting tool the writer’s using, and then give it a whirl yourself.
A toast to our artists and supporters
Wednesday March 19th, 2025, 7pm (doors at 6:30)
Ladybug Wine Bar, 514 King St. E, Toronto.
Tickets: $150
“With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls” — Coriolanus
Come in from the cold, grab a glass of wine, and join us in a toast to Ruff’s generous patrons and supporters: the folks who make our experiments in adapting Shakespeare possible. Our winter fundraiser will be an elegant evening at Ladybug Wine Bar in Toronto’s East End. Mingle with Ruff’s artists, taste exquisite wines hand-selected for our event, enjoy performances from past and current Ruff adaptations, and get a sneak peak at our upcoming summer reimagining of Timon of Athens.
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Let’s face it: it’s a tough time to be an artist.
To live in Toronto.
To buy groceries.
To have a family.
To pay the rent.
It’s tough.
We’re talking about it here at Ruff, and we want to talk about it with you, too.
Join us this season as we tear into capitalism, art-making, consumerism, debt, philanthropy, and community care through one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known works: Timon of Athens.
In the coming weeks we’ll be sharing details about our exciting season of 2025 programming, including financial literacy classes for artists, the Build-a-Bard playwriting drop-in, our Ruff Reads reading list, and our summer reimagining of Timon created by Ruff. We’ll also let you know how you can get involved, whether as a volunteer, a Young Ruffian, a sponsor, or an audience member.
As always, thank you for your support of everything we do at Ruff. We can’t wait to be back beneath the Withrow trees this summer.
See you soon!
Patricia, Jeff, PJ, Nathaniel, and Christine
The Shakespeare in the Ruff Leadership Collective