According to the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, the theater in Partnership with UCF celebrates the Bard’s 450th birthday with a Free Movie Night in the Park on April 26, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. Presented in association with Enzian Theater, the free screening of Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing is open to the public. The outdoor event will take place along the lawn of Loch Haven Park at the corner of Mills Ave. and Princeton St. For more information call (407) 447-1700, visit us online at www.orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 East Rollins St.
Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a clever way with words. Winner of the National Board of Review’s Top Ten Independent Films award, the star-studded film features Amy Acker (as Beatrice), Alexis Denisof (as Benedick), and Nathan Fillion (as Dogberry). The Bard’s beloved comedy comes to life in this black and white masterpiece that the Chicago Sun-Times calls“swanky, sexy, and sophisticated, as bracing as a dry martini poured from a silver shaker on a summer night.”

Much Ado About Nothing runs 109 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some sexuality and brief drug use.

According to Garden Theatre, the one-of-a-kind StarLite Film Festival takes a closer look at untold stories, investigates fresh perspectives and magnifies unfamiliar faces by highlighting microbudget movies from around the world made for under $200,000. Celebrate the essence of microbudget filmmaking with memorable movie screenings, entertaining workshops, fun parties, filmmakers and much, much more. The StarLite Film Festival will take place from January 23- January 26. Visit StarLite Film Festival’s website to learn more about the event.

      According to UCF Today, Connie May Fowler, a lifelong Florida novelist, screenwriter and essayist whose works have touched on personal relationship, domestic violence and the disappearing landscape of the state, will be the next speaker at UCF’s Writers in the Sun series on Jan. 21.

Fowler, who lives in St. Augustine, has written several novels, including “Before Women had Wings,” which won the 1996 Southern Book Critics Circle Award and was adapted for an Emmy-winning film starring Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Barkin and Julia Stiles

Fowler writes from a background of hardship and overcoming, and has spent years as an activist against domestic violence.

Fowler will read from her work 4:30-5:45 p.m. Jan. 21 in the College of Health & Public Affairs, Room 119, and will sign books 6-7 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble in the John T. Washington Center.