Shakespeare & Company presents two special performances of The Life & Times of Queen Meg, the culminating performance of its first-ever Conservatory program. Shows are Friday, December 14 and Saturday, December 15 at Shakespeare & Company’s Founders’ Theatre at its 70 Kemble Street campus in Lenox. Both performances are at 7 p.m. and tickets are $8. Tickets are available in advance from the Box Office (413-637-3353) and online at www.shakespeare.org. This year’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare participants will be admitted free by showing their 2007 Festival Pass.
The 14-member cast will bring to the stage everything that they have learned during the past three months of their intense training in The Conservatory. The Life & Times of Queen Meg includes spectacular displays of armed combat, conjuration, clowning, triumph of the will, love and some of the most arresting language ever written. Each actor will perform multiple roles in the premiere of this original play based entirely on Shakespeare’s text and created by Shakespeare & Company’s Training and Education Departments.
Led by senior S&Co. artists and teachers under the direction of Associate Director of Training Dave Demke, The Conservatory has provided professional training over the last three months through daily classes in the Company’s acting techniques. The course progression includes Structure of the Verse, Shakespeare Scholarship, First Folio, Art of Rhetoric, Personal Connection, Linklater Voice Technique, Clown, Neutral Mask, Fight, Movement and Elizabethan Dance.
Shakespeare’s first plays of note were his series of history plays chronicling the War of the Roses between England and France, a centuries-long conflict that finally resulted in the establishment of the Tudor dynasty. The Life & Times of Queen Meg is an original embroidery of scenes from three of Shakespeare’s plays in this cycle: Henry VI parts 1, 2 and 3. Through this epic series of defining works, Shakespeare chronicles one of the most powerful, willful and fascinating female characters to take the stage in English-language drama. The Life & Times of Queen Meg focuses on Margaret of Anjou (1429-1482), who led some of the bloodiest battles of the Wars of the Roses. The history plays (including Richard III) chronicle her progression from the seductive warrior seen in Queen Meg to an embittered old woman whose curse is feared by anyone who has crossed her.
The talented cast features Heather Atkinson, Megan Bouchard, Sarah Corey, Ben Foronda, Catherine Glavicic, Britt Grass, Vanessa Graymason, Risher Reddick, Laurie Riffe, Doug Seldin, Erik Sherr, Noah Smith, Teresa Spencer and Grace Trull.
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
