Shakespeare turns 460 with bagel party

April 23 may seem like just another day, but for bookworms and writers, it’s a special occasion: William Shakespeare’s birthday. 

In honor of his 460th birthday, the Literature Club and Writer’s Guild collaborated on an event called, “Bagels, Boardgames, and the Bard,” where they spent time together eating bagels, playing games and watching “Gnomeo and Juliet.”

Literature Club Co-President Hanna Beshai, a senior English, secondary education, and religion triple-major, said they chose “Gnomeo and Juliet” because it is more accessible to some audiences than the original Shakespearean language. 

“[‘Gnomeo and Juliet’] maintains the plot as well as some of the classical references while integrating modern British culture and pop references,” Beshai said. 

Writer’s Guild Co-President Vanessa Vaudrey, a senior biology major, said this was the first event the two clubs collaborated on since she and senior Megan Brown, an English and journalism double major, took over the Writer’s Guild two years ago.  

“We wanted to do something fun and big because it’s me and Megan’s last year here,” Vaudrey said. 

Beshai said the Literature Club and Writer’s Guild were originally planning separate events for Shakespeare’s birthday until Brown asked Beshai if they wanted to plan their events together.   

“Naturally, ‘Bagels, Boardgames, and the Bard’ just sounded cool, so we went off that,” Vaudrey said. “Megan came up with [the name], and I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t change that. That’s so good.’”

The event began with playing “Bards Dispense Profanity,” which is Shakespeare’s version of Cards Against Humanity. Then, the group of Augustana students divided their attention between eating bagels from Bagel Boy, socializing, playing Sorry! and watching the movie. 

At some points, the conversations and laughter among the students were louder than the movie, with only the people closest to the TV quietly watching the tragic romance of Gnomeo and Juliet unfold. 

Freshman Amber House, an English and secondary education double major, said her favorite part of the event was playing “Bards Dispense Profanity.” 

“There was over 20 people playing, and it was just such a variety of cards being played,” House said. “It was really fun.”   

House said one of the cards said “Describe my love life,” and one of the responses was something along the lines of “unpolished jewels at the bottom of an ocean.” 

Literature Club Co-President Lizzy Theobald, a senior biology and English double major, said the planning for the event took about a month, and she hopes the two clubs will collaborate again in the future. 

Theobald said the Literature Club has previously hosted craft nights with poetry readings, movie nights and bookmark sales. Theobald said this group is not a book club but rather a place to socialize and bond with people over books. 

“It’s just like a comfortable place where people can have a nerdy time together,” Theobald said with a laugh. 

House said she is a member of the Literature Club and attends their meetings and events as often as she can. Her favorite part of this club is the people and connections she has created with them. 

“There’s a lot of freshmen in there, and I have classes with quite a few of them, so it’s just kind of getting to see those people in a different context, and everyone getting to talk about what we enjoy together,” House said. 

Similar to the Literature Club, Vaudrey said the Writer’s Guild is about more than just writing. It’s also about the friendships formed at its meetings. 

“A lot of times I don’t have a lot of written stuff just because I’m busy, so I just sit there and do homework, but it’s still a great time,” Vaudrey said. 

Vaudrey described the Writer’s Guild meetings as a fun, casual experience for creative writers to share their work with fellow students. 

“If you want to socialize and you like creative writing in any capacity, it’s a good time,” Vaudrey said. 

The party ended with everyone intently watching the conclusion of “Gnomeo and Juliet,” where the gnomes survive the near-death experience from their family feud.   

“Happy birthday, Shakespeare!” Theobald laughed.