Shakespeare & Company plans Spring Tour

12:00AM / Tuesday, January 25, 2005Print Story | Email Story

Lenox â€“ Shakespeare & Companyâ€™s annual Spring Tour of Shakespeare for 2005 presents Julius Caesar, which will join 22 other professional theatre companies, selected by the National Endowment for the Arts, to participate in Shakespeare for a New Generation â€“ a major arts-in-education initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Shakespeare & Companyâ€™s six-actor production of Julius Caesar, Shakespeareâ€™s tragedy of politics and ambition, is directed by Kevin Coleman, the Companyâ€™s Director of Education. The tour travels throughout New England and New York from February 7 through May 13. Shakespeare for a New Generation was created to give high school and middle school students throughout America the opportunity to experience professional productions of Shakespeareâ€™s plays at a greatly reduced cost. It is the second phase of the National Endowment for the Artsâ€™ Shakespeare in American Communities initiative, which began in 2003 with seven professional touring productions to public venues that ran through November 2004. These two initiatives now form the largest tour of the works of Shakespeare in American history, bringing Shakespeare productions and related educational activities to more than 150 small and mid-sized communities in 50 states. For more information about the program, please visit www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org Assisted by a $25,000 NEA grant, Shakespeare & Company is now able to offer its 2005 tour of Julius Caesar at a subsidized cost to 10-12 additional schools that have not been able to afford the tour in the past. Some need-based applications from individual schools are still being considered for the tour. For information contact Shakespeare & Companyâ€™s Education Program at (413) 637-1199 ext. 123 or education@shakespeare.org. This production of Julius Caesar is a fast-paced, 90-minute, Bare Bard production -- similar to Elizabethan touring productions that traveled the countryside each time the plague took London and city officials closed the theaters. Scholars believe that these Elizabethan touring companies contained small casts of players, each of whom played multiple roles, and performed scripts that were truncated accordingly. Shakespeare & Companyâ€™s six-member cast performs at schools and theatre venues all over the Northeast, stretching as far north as Portland, Maine, and as far south as New York City. The tour addresses the growing need for arts experiences for children-at-risk in rural areas where economic stresses, municipal budget cutbacks, and the elimination of school and state arts programming limit opportunities for young people to develop critically-needed educational and cultural perspectives. Each performance for students in grades 7-12 emphasizes language and the relationship between the actors and the audience. Two interactive workshops and a discussion period are available to the audience in conjunction with the performance. In Wild and Whirling Words, a compilation of Shakespeare scenes, students are introduced to Shakespeare, his language, and the history of his plays. Through Workshops in Performance, students not only learn about Shakespeareâ€™s works, but also have an opportunity to become the actors as they create their own Shakespeare performance. The cast includes Stephen Anderson, Candace Clift, Curt Klump, Tim McDermott, Julie Webster, and Mark Woollett. Each actor plays two or more roles and also performs stage manager duties. The costumes are designed by Govane Lohbauer; set construction by Jonathan Croy, with sound design by Croy, and Nathan Towne-Smith. First performed in 1599 and set in 44 B.C. Rome, Julius Caesar begins at the feast of Lupercalia. A soothsayer warns Julius Caesar to â€œBeware the ides of March...â€ (the 15th day of the month). Caesar ignores him and leads his entourage to the festival. Caesarâ€™s comrades, Brutus and Cassius, remain behind and speak of Caesarâ€™s ambition to rule alone -- a violation of Roman tradition where all aristocrats rule equally. Jealous and suspicious of Caesarâ€™s growing hold on the country, Brutus and his counterparts decide that Caesarâ€™s ambition makes it necessary to execute Caesar at the Senate the next day, March 15th. The assassins, led by Brutus, bathe their hands in Caesarâ€™s blood and celebrate their victory. However, with the arrival of Mark Antony, a dear friend and advocate of Caesarâ€™s, the assassinsâ€™ victory is short lived. Public performances of the Spring Tour include: Babson College, February 17 (Wellesley, MA); Cape Cod Community College, March 4 (West Barnstable, MA); S&Coâ€™s Foundersâ€™ Theatre, March 18, April 13, 14 (Lenox, MA); The Egg, April 1 (Albany, NY); Capitol Center for the Arts, April 5 (Concord, NH); and Symphony Hall, March 23 (Springfield, MA). For tickets and information, please contact Joanne Deutch at (413) 637-1199 ext. 132. One of the most extensive theatre-in-education programs in the Northeast, Shakespeare & Companyâ€™s programs have reached over half a million students since 1978 with innovative performances, workshops, and residencies. Guided by Coleman and Company education artists and teachers, educators continue to develop and fine-tune their programs to enhance and complement curricular activities in elementary, middle, and high schools across the country. The Education Program has been identified by the Arts Education Partnership and the Presidentâ€™s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities as a Champion of Change. The Program is focused on bringing Shakespeare alive and into the lives of as many students and teachers as possible through the active exploration and performance of Shakespeareâ€™s plays. Shakespeare & Company arts-in-education programs receive major support from The National Endowment for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The G.E. Foundation, Banknorth, Berkshire Bank, the Massachusetts Cultural Council and its local cultural councils, and many other local corporations, private foundations, and individuals. Shakespeare & Company joins the following 21 theatre companies as members of the NEAâ€™s Shakespeare for a New Generation: Alaska Theatre of Youth, Eccentric Theatre Company & Edgeware, American Players Theatre, Asolo Theatre, Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Hartford Stage Company, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Perseverance Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Tacoma Actors Guild, The Peopleâ€™s Light and Theatre Company, The Shakespeare Festival of Tulane, The Shakespeare Theatre of Washington D.C., The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, The Theater at Monmouth, Utah Shakespearean Festival, The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, and Yale Repertory Theatre. The National Endowment for the Artsâ€™ mission is to enrich our nation and its diverse cultural heritage by supporting works of artistic excellence, advancing learning in the arts, and strengthening the arts in communities throughout the country. Established by Congress in 1965, the Arts Endowment is an independent agency of the federal government and is the largest annual funder of the arts. Since then, it has awarded more than 120,000 grants in all 50 states and the six U.S. jurisdictions. Arts Midwest, based in Minneapolis, enables individuals and families throughout Americaâ€™s heartland to share in and to enjoy the arts and cultures of the Midwest and the world. Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwestâ€™s history spans more than 25 years.

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Dalton Announces New Supplier for Energy Program

10:46AM / Thursday, November 27, 2025

DALTON, Mass. – The Town of Dalton has signed a thirty-four month contract with a new supplier, First Point Power.

Beginning with the January 2026 meter reads, the Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program will have a new rate of $0.13042 per kWh. The Program will also continue to offer an optional 100 percent green product, which is derived from National Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), at a rate of $0.13142 per kWh.

For Dalton residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town's Program, the current rate of $0.13849 per kWh will expire with the January 2026 meter reads and the new rate of $0.13042 per kWh will take effect. This represents a decrease of $5 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. Additionally, this new rate is 3 percent lower than Eversource's Residential Basic Service rate of $0.13493 per kWh. Residents can expect to see an

average savings of $3 per month for the month of January 2026. Eversource's Basic Service rates

will change on Feb. 1, 2026.

Dalton launched its electricity program in January 2015 in an effort to develop an energy program that would be stable and affordable. From inception through June 2025, the Program has saved residents and small businesses over $1.7 million in electricity costs as compared to Eversource Basic Service.

It is important to note that no action is required by current participants. This change will be seen on the February 2026 bills. All accounts currently enrolled in the Program will remain with their current product offering and see the new rate and First Point Power printed under the "Supplier Services" section of their monthly bill.

The Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program has no fees or charges. However, anyone switching from a contract with a third-party supplier may be subject to penalties or early termination fees charged by that supplier. Ratepayers should verify terms before switching.

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