The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 24.0173  Monday, 15 April 2013

 

From:        John F Andrews <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Date:         April 13, 2013 3:58:20 PM EDT

Subject:     A Busy April for Shakespeare

 

A Busy April for Shakespeare

 

As we approach Shakespeare’s 449th birthday, those of us who have the good fortune to be in New York this month will enjoy several opportunities to mark another Bardic milestone.

 

One is a series of free programs at the Stephen A. Schwatzman Building (Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street) of the NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY. These events are scheduled for Monday, April 15, through Saturday, April 20, at 1:15 p.m. in the South Court Auditorium. J. K. Fowler will offer “Reflections and Refractions on the Schizophrenic Nomadism of Hamlet.” John Reed will discuss “La Pucelle, or Joan of Arc: A History by William Shakespeare. Several teenage finalists from the English-Speaking Union’s New York Shakespeare Competition will deliver monologues and sonnets. James P. Bednarz will argue that “The Phoenix and Turtle” is “Shakespeare ‘Lost’ Masterpiece.” Melinda Hall will make the case for “Direct Address in Shakespeare’s Plays.” And several poets – Heather Dubrow, Roger Sederat, Tom Sleigh, Lee Upton, and B. J. Ward – will bring contemporary perspectives to Shakespeare and his work. For details about these presentations, contact Jay Barksdale at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Another is a SHAKESPEARE SONNET SLAM to take place from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, at the NAUMBURG BANDSHELL IN CENTRAL PARK. Produced by Melinda Hall of Willful Pictures, and supported in part by a generous grant from Sharen Benenson and the Vesper Foundation, this gathering will feature 154 volunteers, each of whom will recite one of those poetic jewels. Among the performers this year will be Michael Urie of TV’s Ugly Betty and Tony Torn of Broadway’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Past participants have included such actors as Stacy Keach, Jay O. Sanders, and Gabriel Rush. Former New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe has joined in during past festivities, and so has Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who issued a proclamation last year declaring April 23 “Sonnet Slam Day” in all five of the city’s boroughs. For more information, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

In addition to these activities, the Shakespeare Guild is pleased to announce four upcoming events, among them two Shakespeare’s Birthday programs for April 21-22. For further information about these and other Guild offerings, please visit www.shakesguild.org and browse the Current Events page. To reserve for any gatherings other than the one scheduled for April 21, simply e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Tina Packer Presents ‘Women of Will’

 

Sunday, April 21, at 3:00 p.m.

The Gym at Hudson, 243 Thompson Street

Washington Square South

Discounted Tickets at $40

 

Part master-class, part performance, all magical: these are among the descriptions that audiences and reviewers alike have used to convey their enthusiasm for WOMEN OF WILL, a scintillating, thematically rich presentation devised by and starring TINA PACKER. A playwright, actor, and director who founded Shakespeare & Company, Ms. Packer has long presided over an institution that presents the world’s most enduring classics in a Berkshires setting that serves as one of today’s most influential incubators of theatrical talent. In partnership with NIGEL GORE, a performer who has earned plaudits in a wide range of stellar roles, Ms. Packer offers playgoers a special Shakespeare’s Birthday matinee that will be followed by a lively conversation with the Shakespeare Guild’s John Andrews. To obtain tickets at a steeply discounted rate, simply call 212-352-3101 or visit www.womenofwill.com and cite Women as the code you use to place your order.

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Susannah Carson on ‘Living with Shakespeare’

 

Monday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m.

National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South

Reservations Advised

 

“There is no God but God, and his name is William Shakespeare.” So asserts Harold Bloom in his foreword to LIVING WITH SHAKESPEARE, a new anthology by SUSANNAH CARSON. A Yale-educated writer who now lives in London, Ms. Carson has compiled observations and personal reminiscences by more than three dozen luminaries, among them authors Isabel Allende, Margaret Drabble, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jane Smiley, filmmakers Ralph Fiennes and Julie Taymor, and actors F. Murray Abraham, Brian Cox, James Earl Jones, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Sher, and Harriet Walter. What these and other contributors share is a conviction that “we live in Shakespeare’s world,” an environment that has been “fine-tuned for us” by a poet whose vision is so potent “that it’s difficult to conceive who we would be” if he’d never existed. Published in time to mark the 449th celebration of Shakespeare’s birth, Ms. Carson’s book will be on display, and she’ll be happy to inscribe copies for those who wish to purchase them.

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A Conversation with Director Jesse Berger

 

Wednesday, May 22, at 7:30 p.m.

National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South

Reservations Advised

 

As founding artistic director of Red Bull Theater, a company that performs at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village and draws its name from a London playhouse that was created around 1600, JESSE BERGER has adapted and produced such Jacobean mainstays as Edward IIPericlesThe Revenger’s TragedyVolponeThe Witch of Edmonton, and Women Beware Women. His scripts for two of these classics have been published by Dramatists Play Service. Mr. Berger has worked with such actors as F. Murray Abraham, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Learned, Kelly McGillis, and Patrick Stewart, and his efforts have taken him to such prestigious settings as the Denver Theatre Center, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, Shakespeare’s Globe in London, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington. He has taught at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, the Juilliard School of Drama, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting. During his time in the Nation’s Capital, he won a Helen Hayes Award for his direction of Marat/Sade.

 

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