FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Stacy P. Sherman
Marketing Specialist
Ph: (262) 472-5705
Email: ShermanS@uww.edu
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Website: www.uww.edu/youngauditorium
Date: February 18, 2015
Integrating Art and Literature with The Great Gatsby Community Reading Project
WHITEWATER – February marks the start of the fifth consecutive year of Young Auditorium Outreach’s
community reading project. This year, the book selection is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” which
drives the campaign’s Readeasy theme. The 2015 Readeasy Project is sponsored by a generous donation
from American Family Insurance.
Fitzgerald’s “Gatsby” is the inspiration for a variety of arts and literature integration events ranging from book
club discussions, to 1920s dance workshops, author speaking engagements, and culminating with Montana
Repertory Theatre’s performance of The Great Gatsby at Young Auditorium on March 18, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in
Whitewater. The goal of the Readeasy is to provide an opportunity for the UW-Whitewater campus and
community at large to participate in activities and engage in discussion related to a common read, increasing
awareness about the joy and importance of reading. More information about the Readeasy project can be
found at www.youngauditorium.wordpress.com.
Why Gatsby? Fitzgerald’s novel is arguably the most popular classic in modern American fiction. Published in
1925, the masterpiece captures the grandeur and opulence of the Roaring 20’s and juxtaposes that with
challenges of the human condition. The story of Jay Gatsby touches on universal themes such as desire,
unrequited love, the importance of honesty, the temptation of wealth, and the struggle to escape the past. It is
perhaps because these themes speak to us on a very basic level of human understanding that this novel has
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become a hallmark for generations of readers and writers.
Why “Readeasy?” Assistant Director and the Director of Education and Outreach for Young Auditorium,
Shannon Dozoryst, responds, “Readeasy is a play on the term ‘speakeasy.’ The sale, manufacture and
transportation of alcoholic beverages was illegal in the United States during the Prohibition Era (1920-1933). A
speakeasy was an establishment that illegally sold alcoholic beverages. There are numerous references to
Prohibition, speakeasy establishments, and bootlegging in Fitzgerald’s Gatsby. This year, Young Auditorium is
taking the initiative to independently program a common read, so we thought this name fitting.”
Schedule of Events
Book Clubs – Many book clubs may have already begun reading the novel, but community members are
welcome to contact them to join in.

AAUW Geneva Lakes Chapter – Contact Roberta at rohr49@yahoo.com or (262) 472-9268.
www.genevalake-wi.aauw.net

Lake Geneva Public Library – Contact Andrea at andreap@lakegeneva.lib.wi.us or (262) 249-5299.
www.lakegeneva.lib.wi.us
1920s Immersion Through Dance-Youth After School Workshop
Scheduled for Thursday, February 26 and Friday, February 27th is the Dancing With Class® after school
workshop (ages 10-18) from 4-6 p.m. at the Kachel Center (Young Auditorium). The workshop is two days and
registration required. Contact Shannon Dozoryst at dozoryss@uww.edu or (262) 472-1432 for more
information or to register.
“Calling All Jitterbugs”-Dancing With Class® Family Dance Program
On Saturday, February 28th at 3 p.m., clap and dance along at this interactive family story time and movement
workshop! Learn the dance steps that go along with the new book, Jitterbugs! by Margot Toppen and
illustrated by Karen Light, two Chicago area teaching artists. Jitterbugs! is an exciting picture book that will
entertain children ages 2-10 with its scat rhythm under-tone and fast-moving
story about two very different bugs who triumph through their unlikely dance partnership.
The story Jitterbugs! is inspired by real-life 1930s Lindy Hop dancers George Snowden (“Shorty George”) and
Beatrice Gay (“Big Bea”) who used their height difference to their advantage to win contests at places like the
famed Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York. This dance-along story re-casts George and Bea as adorable and
engaging “Jitterbugs.” Young children and their families will love to dance along with the bugs in this fully
interactive family dance workshop, while discovering that moving together can be a fun and healthy family
activity. This program is sponsored by Fort HealthCare.
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R. Clifton Spargo Author Appearances
Friday, March 6th - R. Clifton Spargo is the author of “Beautiful Fools: The Last Affair of Zelda and Scott
Fitzgerald.” He will be speaking about the process of writing his book, and the parallels between the lives of
Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald in his story with Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby – the two main characters in F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby,” written in 1925.
 2:00-3:00 p.m. – Fairhaven Lecture Series (Whitewater); this event is FREE and open to the public.
No registration required. “Beautiful Fools” will be available for sale and signing. Fairhaven lectures
are held in the Fellowship Hall of Fairhaven Retirement Community, 435 West Starin Road in
Whitewater. Street parking is adjacent to the building.
 5:00-6:00 p.m. – Lake Geneva Public Library; this event is FREE and open to the public. No
registration required. “Beautiful Fools” will be available for sale and signing. Event will be held in the
library, located at 918 West Main Street in downtown Lake Geneva. Street or metered parking is
available.
“The Great Gatsby” Stage Performance at Young Auditorium
Montana Repertory Theatre reinvigorates this moving story with Simon Levy’s stage adaptation of the classic
novel. With themes from the Roaring Twenties that resonate with the current times, this show brings the beauty
and poetry of the original masterpiece to life. The performance will be on Wednesday, March 18th at 7:30 p.m.
Visit www.uww.edu/youngauditorium for more information or to purchase tickets online. Tickets can also be
purchased through the Box Office at (262) 472-2222.
The Young Auditorium serves as a presenting organization for the performing arts and as an educational and
cultural center enriching the lives of regional communities, offering a full season of world-class performing arts
presentations. To learn more, visit www.uww.edu/youngauditorium or follow at
www.Facebook.com/Young.Aud.
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