Naked Shakespeare is back

The good folks with Acorn Productions are still trying to figure out how to put their Naked Shakespeare program back in the bars, but for now they're content taking their work outdoors.

Acorn will launch its fall season of stripped-down Shakespeare at 6 p.m. Sept. 21 at Monument Square in downtown Portland with the program "Sonnets and Soliloquies Greatest Hits," a compilation of 16 speeches and two short scenes delivered by Acorn's Shakespeare Ensemble actors.

You may recall, the city of Portland expelled the Shakespeare Ensemble actors from the Wine Bar on Wharf Street earlier this year, because the bar lacked proper licensing for live entertainment. Rather than dwell on their bad luck, the actors associated with Westbrook-based Acorn Productions will take their work to the streets.

The performance on Sept. 21 coincides with a meeting of the Portland City Council, at which they may consider a variance to the ordinance that prohibits the Wine Bar from hosting the performances. The actors will perform under a canopy in Monument Square. Admission is a suggested donation of $10.

Mike Levine, Acorn's director, pledged to continue the monthly Naked Shakespeare performances this fall, one place or another. Acorn has been presented the casual performances at non-traditional venues for several years. "Sonnets and Soliloquies" is an hour-long performance of Shakespeare poetry, presented without costumes or staging.