Seattle Shakespeare launches Midsummer scavenger hunt

There are a lot of anxiety-inducing headlines these days, but people are still finding ways to have fun. If you see someone out and about in costume, they might be part of the Seattle Shakespeare Company’s first-ever scavenger hunt.

The "O Wonder!" scavenger hunt, where participants complete challenges and share their results on a cell phone app, is all Shakespeare-themed but you don’t have to speak in verse.

Cora Winnie Fraser, 8, recorded a video snippet about “a summer’s day." She said, “What I love about summer is the warm weather and the beaches.”

In another video, Cora's mom Trista recounted one of her favorite theater experiences: the all-female Richard III co-produced by SSC and "upstart crow collective'."

"It was the only time I've called someone during intermission," she said.

Cora and Trista Winnie Fraser live in Lynnwood. They say the various missions have gotten them out in their neighborhood, and busy at home.

"There’s making donkey ears for "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," there’s one where you design a poster of a Shakespeare play, and then there’s instructions for making an origami skull for one of the 'Hamlet' missions," Trista said.

They miss live theater and kids' activities, but Trista said the tasks are a good fit with quarantine precautions.

"It's fun to have specific things to go do, and things that are reasonable to go do," she said.

Participation is free and people can join at any time. The hunt started July 9 and continues through August 9.

Jeff Fickes, the communications director for Seattle Shakespeare Company, said they have over 500 teams participating from around the country, far beyond their expectations.

"The biggest thing we've found is that people are creating teams with friends they don't necessarily see all the time," he said.

Fickes said the company hopes to extend the Shakespeare-related adventures to students once online school begins, to allow kids to form teams with classmates. They'll especially offer challenges and missions related to "Romeo and Juliet" and "MacBeth," staples of school curriculum.