Page 2 Newport This Week April 19, 2012
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Middletown Man Receives Music Award On Sunday, April 1, Roger Glenn Miller of Middletown was named a Rhode Island Country Music Living Legend for his dedication to the state’s independent country music scene. The award was presented in a ceremony at American Legion Post 15 in East Greenwich. Miller is a songwriter and music producer who has written more than 500 songs over the past six decades. He and his wife Roberta host and produce the “The Millers” on local TV (Cox channel 18 and Verizon channel 32) from their Middletown home. The program features interviews and performances by various country artists. Frank “Butch” Keenan, president of the RI Country Music Association, said Miller’s commitment to promoting the traditional country music scene is what put him ahead of the year’s other nominees. “Roger takes these talented musicians and bands and puts them on TV, giving them a spotlight they may not have reached otherwise,” said Keenan. To find out when “The Millers” will air on Newport County’s Access Channel, turn to page 18 or visit NCTV-18’s website www.nctv. blogspot.com.
Making Friends Hanna Dwyer of Newport strokes the muzzle of a miniature horse on a recent visit to Hammersmith Farm. A donkey nuzzles the hand of Hanna’s mother, Wendy, at left. (Photo by Jack Kelly)
Shakespeare at Redwood By Meg O’Neil It took William Shakespeare, the world’s most venerable playwright, 884,647 words to say everything he had to say. Having written 37 plays and 154 sonnets in his lifetime, Shakespeare would have turned 448 years old next week, as scholars believe he was born around April 23, 1564. Tackling his complete works is a small group of dedicated enthusiasts who meet every Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Middletown Public Library on West Main Road. Started in May 2011 by Middletown resident Ernest Gibbons and Newporter Betsy Rice, the group spends one hour a week immersing themselves into Shakespeare’s plays, taking turns reading them aloud in the round. Here, everyone plays a part. Coming from every town on
Aquidneck Island, Jamestown, and parts of southeastern Massachusetts, the group has finished reading several of Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies and is currently reading the bloodiest of the bard’s plays, Titus Andronicus. By no means experts, the group welcomes anyone who is interested in the plays to join them. Janice Martin attends the group regularly with her husband, David. From Jamestown, the couple started reading Shakespeare several years ago, after both admit they avoided studying the plays in high school. “I feel like you start to appreciate things when you get older,” Martin explains. “David and I got in to reading Shakespeare because we wanted to enrich ourselves …
See Shakespeare on page 8
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See BABY STEPS on page 7
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