Shakespeare & Company is pleased to announce it will host the annual conference
LENOX, Mass. — Shakespeare & Company is pleased to announce it will host the annual conference of the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America (STAA) at its Lenox campus, January 29 through 31. This prestigious conference brings the leading Shakespeare producers, directors and actors from around the world to Lenox for a historic conclave; media inquiries should be directed to Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Company actor and Director of Publicity and Playbill Advertising, at (413) 637-1199 ext 110 or aspenlieder@shakespeare.org.Upwards of 200 participants will come to Lenox to participate, representing the more than 100 theatre organizations in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom that make up the STAA. This could make it the best-attended conference in the STAA’s history. Included among this year’s attendees are representatives from Shakespeare's Globe (Stratford-Upon-Avon, England) and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Ontario, Canada).
The avalanche of out-of-town visitors to the Berkshires in the dead of winter stands to be a boon to local business. Many have already stepped up to partner with S&Co. in meeting the needs of this group. Though looking forward to several days of world class programming, participants will also have the opportunity to explore local sites, getting a taste for the culture and cuisine that define the Berkshires. Many local places of lodging are offering special rates to STAA conferees, including The Cornell Inn, Cranwell Resort and Spa, Devonfield Inn Bed & Breakfast, Gateways Inn, Hampton Terrace Bed & Breakfast, Harbour House Inn, Inn at Stockbridge, Kemble Inn, Quality Inn, The Red Lion Inn, The Rookwood Inn, Stonover Farm, and The Village Inn. The Conference is also supported by many local businesses and organizations who have donated items for participants.
“This is a most exciting moment for us, to have a hundred Shakespeare Companies brainstorming, celebrating, creating national initiatives,” says Founder and Artistic Director Tina Packer. “The work that Shakespeare & Company does in training and education has relevance to all the Shakespeare work in this country and it is very thrilling to have the opportunity to invite them to participate in what we have spent 30 years developing and pioneering, and to learn what they are doing, to come together in a two day work-a-thon and a three day conference to understand the relevance Shakespeare has in our community and across the U.S. as a whole.”
The theme of this year’s event is “Shakespeare Revolutions.” This is the first time Shakespeare & Company will host this annual conference, which is the central focus of STAA, the professional alliance that provides a forum for the artistic and managerial leadership of theatres focused on producing the work of Shakespeare. Past conferences have been hosted by Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’s Globe (Stratford-upon-Avon & London, England); Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Ontario, Canada); Folger Shakespeare Theatre (Washington, D.C.), Bard on the Beach (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland, Oregon).
“Shakespeare & Company’s long and distinguished history as an innovator in our field makes it the perfect choice for a conference about Shakespearean revolutions,” says Phillip Sneed, President of the STAA and Producing Artistic Director of Colorado Shakespeare Festival. “Coinciding with the beginning of a new administration in Washington, it couldn’t be a better time to look at what Shakespeare has to say about leadership, and at how leaders since his time have used his words for inspiration, especially during times of transition. I am certain that it will be among the more memorable and productive conferences in the organization’s history.”
As a special bonus, the conference proper will be preceded by a three-day program tailor-made for STAA members, provided free of charge, exploring the methodology at the heart of Shakespeare & Company’s celebrated actor training and education programs. These programs invariably are the subject of discussion at annual STAA conferences, but this year for the first time participants will get a hands-on experience from the master teachers who have built up these programs for the past 31 years. The three days of pre-conference workshops will be taught by Shakespeare & Company Master Teachers, including Artistic Director Tina Packer, Director of Education Kevin G. Coleman, and Director of Training Dennis Krausnick. Packer is also an officer of the STAA, serving as a member-at-large.
For 31 years, Shakespeare & Company has been busy exploding the myth that the works of William Shakespeare are somehow too inaccessible, too lofty, too esoteric to inspire and change the lives of modern readers. So it is fitting that the 2009 STAA conference will explore “Revolutionary Shakespeare,” examining Shakespeare as an agent of change in his own time, the change that his work has produced on those who have encountered it over the centuries, and the changing ways in which we have come to perform and to view the plays. The conference will include a detailed look at the staging of Shakespeare’s depiction of revolutionary world events in his history plays, as well as a discussion of the cycle of American history plays Shakespeare & Company is working on in partnership with the STAA. Other topics include “Power to the People: Inclusive Shakespeare” and “Outsider Shakespeare.”
Much of the conference activity will take place in the Company’s recently opened Production and Performing Arts Center, including the new Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. A special performance of the Education Program’s touring production of Romeo and Juliet (more information and tour dates to be announced) will kick off the conference at Founders’ Theatre.
The Shakespeare Theatre Association of America was established in 1991 to provide a forum for the artistic and managerial leadership of theatres whose central activity is the production of Shakespeare’s plays; to discuss issues and share methods of work, resources, and information; and to act as an advocate for Shakespearean productions and training in North America.
Shakespeare & Company, nestled in the culturally rich Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts in Lenox, aspires to create a theatre of unprecedented excellence rooted in the classical ideals of inquiry, balance, and harmony. Founded in 1978 by Tina Packer, its current Artistic Director and with a core of over 150 artists, the Company performs Shakespeare, generating opportunities for collaboration between actors, directors, and designers of all races, nationalities, and backgrounds. Shakespeare & Company provides original, in-depth, classical training and performance methods. The Company also develops and produces new plays of social and political significance. Shakespeare & Company’s nationally-recognized education programs have received numerous awards including the prestigious 2006 Coming Up Taller Award presented by First Lady Laura Bush at the White House, and in 2005 it also received the Commonwealth Award, the highest award for excellence in the arts, sciences and humanities given by the state of Massachusetts. The Education Program reaches nearly 50,000 students annually and was also the subject of an in-depth, two-year study by Harvard University’s Project Zero which recommended national replication. Shakespeare & Company offers one of the most unique and extensive actor training programs by a regional theatre in the country. Theatre students and professionals from all over the world come to train with the Company, participating in Weekend and Month-Long Intensives, the Spring Intensive, Text and Clown Workshops, and other special offerings. Past training participants include Lauren Ambrose, Karen Allen, Gillian Barge, Jennifer Grant, Karen Grassle, Joe Morton, Andie MacDowell, Bronson Pinchot, Anna Deavere Smith, Keanu Reeves, Diana Quick, Courtney Vance, and Sigourney Weaver.
