Wyrd Sisters Shakespeare Society (WSSSS) is a digital performing arts troupe founded in April 2020 by six Shakespeare-loving friends trying to find creative outlets during the COVID-19 pandemic. What began as a small platform for staged readings has grown into an online theatrical experience focused on the following goals:
Providing strategic and thoughtful performances, conceptualizations, and adaptations of classical works to highlight their cyclical nature (history repeating itself), shift focus onto their issues, such as racism, misogyny, antisemitism, sexual assault, and violence, etc., and help audiences to form a new perspective on old concepts in a safe and transparent space.
Our Vision:
Wyrd Sisters Shakespeare Society – a digital theatrical troupe born amidst a global pandemic, tremendous social change, and political upheaval – chose as our creative foundation the texts of William Shakespeare, with a deliberate purpose and strategic structure. These texts, which are over 400 years in age and intrinsically problematic on a variety of levels, are a part of our linguistic heritage. While they are often difficult to stomach by modern standards with their blatant racism, misogyny, antisemitism, and catering to the white, cis male-centric narrative, these are precisely the types of stories that need to have their cycles broken – their motives questioned – and be given new voices and conceptualizations in order to revoke ownership of the words and disrupt the old order in the best possible ways. Wyrd Sisters, as a diverse group comprised exclusively of womxn and non-binary identifying artists, has a unique opportunity to approach these texts from a distinct point of view and to devise content that celebrates the beauty of Shakespeare’s language while shining a spotlight on issues that simply cannot, and should not, be ignored.
Our Commitment:
Wyrd Sisters Shakespeare Society is dedicated to providing a safe space for all artists who work with us and audience members who view our performances. Shakespeare’s work often includes instances of violence, sexual assault, racist language and behaviors, misogynistic language and practices, antisemitic language, and other actions that were acceptable social norms during the 16th and 17th centuries. We are sensitive to these challenges and understand the triggers they might cause by their presence in a text for performance. Wyrd Sisters staff have established the following measures in order to keep safety at the forefront of our operations:
Prior to expressing interest in a production, company members will be provided with a list of content warnings so they may make informed decisions about whether this is a play in which they would like to participate.
Directors will provide a general outline of the concept/devising plan and be available, along with the company manager, to answer questions about how problematic content will be handled.
A Director’s Note, outlining the concept of the play, will be available on the Wyrd Sisters page for public view ten days prior to production.
Audience content warnings will be provided with the Director’s Note so audiences may make an informed choice about whether they would like to watch.
Wyrd Sisters Shakespeare Society company members are not, under any circumstances, required to participate in productions. Feedback on play choices is highly encouraged and will be given due consideration as we value every voice in our company.
All plays are performed in controlled and safe conditions. For example, if a play has a title that includes “drunk” in the title, there will be an in-home drinking game for audience members facilitated by the performers and performers may appear intoxicated, but are not required to actually imbibe alcohol.
