The Fall Festival of Shakespeare is now over, thanks to the courageous acts of over 450 young artists and their parents, administrators from each of the ten participating high schools, teachers, custodians, bus drivers, and the Shakespeare & Company staff of over forty directors, designers and technicians. All in all, this year’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare drew larger audiences and raised more money than any previous Festival.
We’ve got a special treat for those who couldn’t make it, or those who want to relive the excitement of those four days. Check out the video below to see the entire four days of the Fall Festival of Shakespeare—performances, technical rehearsals, and changeovers—in under four minutes.
If you haven’t seen Othello yet, you have only three chances left before it closes Sunday afternoon. Ben Brantley of the New York Times said “A rare Olympian music — forceful, beautiful and inaudible to ordinary ears — seems to dictate the rhythms of John Douglas Thompson’s performance… From the moment he sets foot on the stage of the Founders’ Theater here, this truly commanding Venetian general is a figure of monumental poise but also of instinctive, exotic poetry.”
Othello is written by William Shakespeare and directed by Tony Simotes, featuring John Douglas Thompson and Michael Hammond, and with music by Scott Killian, costumes by Gail Brassard, sets by Yoshi Tanokura and lights by Les Dickert. Buy tickets now.
The Goatwoman of Corvis County, written by Christine Whitley, is now on stage at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, directed by Robert Walsh. Christine and Robert sat down for a chat about the play as they began rehearsals; check out the video, which also includes rehearsal footage and production photos. Buy tickets now.
Tina Packer directs All’s Well That Ends Well, with original music by Bill Barclay. The Boston Globe called it a “lively, spirited prodcution” and the Phoenix declared it “vigorous, ultimately magical…Packer does not do things by halves.” Buy tickets now.
Check out the video preview of the show, which features Kristin Villanueva as Helena and Kevin O’Donnell as Parolles (the Wall Street Journal declared: “Kristin Villanueva is fizzingly alive and responsive as Helena — she has the eye-catching energy of a star in the making — and Kevin O’Donnell is just as fine in a very different way as Parolles, the idiotic would-be fop who meets with a painfully shaming fate.”)
Founding Company member Tony Simotes returns to direct Shakespeare & Company’s first-ever mainstage production of Othello. He sat down for a video interview in which he discusses the soldier’s bond between Iago and Othello and the deeper motivations behind Iago’s actions, the love Desdemona has for Othello and the ease with which everything we know can suddenly change. (The video features rehearsal footage and production photos, and music from the show composed by Scott Killian).
Othello, now in previews, opens Friday and stars John Douglas Thompson as Othello and Michael Hammond as Iago, with Merrit Janson, LeRoy McClain, Ryan Winkles, Kristin Wold, Walton Wilson, Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Michael F. Toomey, Jon Croy and Tom Rindge. Buy tickets now.
Carrie Saldo interviewed marketing director Mike Clary about Shakespeare & Company’s Do But Greenly program, aimed at minimizing the Company’s energy usage but also providing ways for patrons to get in on the action. The talked about our Cheaper by the Carload Night promotion (which begins Wednesday) and our Slow Food benefit performances (the first of which will be this Thursday).
Listen to the story at WAMC’s website, or listen below.
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On Friday, Shakespeare & Company held its seventh annual public reading of the Declaration of Independence. Over 700 people assembled on our Rose Meadow, down the hill from Founders’ Theatre (in our biggest tent yet!) to hear our nation’s founding document read by over 70 Shakespeare & Company actors, directors, staff, members of state and local government, and friends in the community.
If you missed the event, or would like to relive the power of the reading, a recording of the event is posted below as an audio podcast. The reading of the Declaration itself begins about ten minutes in, right after an introduction by Tina Packer (participating for the second year as an American citizen) and a beautiful song sung by Company members Bill Barclay, Kaitlin Henderson, and Victoria Vining.
The reading of The Declaration of Independence has become incorporated into family traditions of local residents and Company friends over the last several years and attendance for the event has grown over 100% since its humble beginnings on an uncovered stage on a hot Independence Day in 2001. The annual event came out of a desire by the Company to celebrate our democracy and the power of language to change the world. It’s never to early to mark your calendars, and plan to join us for next year’s July 4th celebrations!
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Continue reading below for the full text of the Declaration of Independence.
Continue reading ‘Stand and Deliver: July 4th at Shakespeare & Company’
