Hundreds of Students Take the Stage for 38th Fall Festival of Shakespeare
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| David Bertoldi, a Shakespeare & Company teaching artist and co-director of Pittsfield High School’s production |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — For 38 years, Shakespeare & Company's Fall Festival has brought students from across Berkshire County and surrounding communities together to bring the iconic playwright's works to life on stage.
This week, some participating schools will present their productions on their home stages before taking the main stage at Shakespeare & Company's Tina Packer Playhouse in Lenox during Fall Festival Weekend, Thursday, Nov. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 22. Full schedule, including school performances, here.
Among the schools taking the stage this weekend are Pittsfield High School's Proteus Theatre Group, presenting an adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," Berkshire Waldorf High School, performing "The Winter's Tale," Mount Everett Regional School's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and Chatham (N.Y.) High School, presenting "Twelfth Night"
This year, approximately 517 students from 10 schools are participating in the festival, marking a return to pre-pandemic participation levels, said Megan Marchione, Shakespeare & Company's education programs administrator.
The festival offers students the opportunity to work alongside professional theater artists, develop communication and leadership skills, and build friendships.
The heart of the festival is to bring students from different schools together in a noncompetitive, collaborative environment that celebrates each other's work rather than competing, said Kevin Coleman, director of education.
The festival began when students from Mount Greylock Regional School and Lenox Memorial High School wanted an opportunity to see each other's Shakespeare productions, Coleman said, who has been involved with the festival since its inception.
Over the decades, the program has expanded to include schools throughout the region, bringing hundreds of students together each fall, he said.
PHS senior Gloria Williams, who plays Nurse, said one of the aspects she appreciates most about Shakespeare & Company's approach is the creative freedom it gives students to interpret their characters and make their own artistic choices.
Unlike more traditional productions, where directors may determine much of a character's portrayal, Williams said students are encouraged to experiment with their performances and collaborate with directors to develop their interpretations.
This approach gives students a greater sense of ownership over their performances while allowing them to learn from professional theater artists, she said.
"Even outside of their educational programs, they're just doing so much for the community, and just worldwide. They're doing so much beautiful, incredible work, and they're bringing schools together, which I think is really important," Williams said.
"They're uniting students in a time of division and in a world where we are getting divided more and more. So, I love the way that Shakespeare and Company unifies all of us, and we get to collaborate and make friends, and just make these amazing memories that are going to last forever."
Through Shakespeare's works, students say they find their voices, build confidence and develop essential life skills, including empathy, communication, active listening and self-expression.
"Fall Fest as a whole, it's such a beautiful program," said PHS senior Rose Blake, who plays Lady Capulet, also highlighting that other programs try to replicate the model and how its livestreamed performances reach international audiences.
The program is about more than bringing centuries-old stories to life. As students explore Shakespeare's characters and their experiences, they begin to discover qualities, emotions and perspectives within themselves that they may not have previously recognized or appreciated, Coleman said.
"They start getting excited when they see things in themselves that they had not seen before, or they had not appreciated or experienced before, and Shakespeare opens that up for them," he said.
As Shakespeare & Company approaches its 50th anniversary in 2027, students participating in the festival have access to decades of professional theatrical resources, including costumes previously worn by actors on the company's main stage.
"So, we have 50 years of costume stock, 50 years of professionally made props and sets. We have one of the largest armories in the Northeast for theaters. We keep renting them out to other people," Education Programs Administrator Megan Marchione said.
"We are in a position where we have this incredible property and this incredible home base and are able to have this beautiful stock to work with."
Wearing a red Shakespearean gown from Shakespeare & Company's costume collection, Blake said the experience goes beyond portraying a character, offering an opportunity to carry forward the legacy of the performers who wore the costume before her.
"We've got professional production designers who come in to design our set, to help the students learn how to design the lights," said David Bertoldi, a Shakespeare & Company teaching artist and co-director of Pittsfield High School's production.
"So, it really elevates the work that they're doing because this big theater organization, this very significant regional theater, is collaborating with all these schools and these students."
Shakespeare & Company's commitment to community engagement dates back to its founding, Coleman.
Co-founder Tina Packer wanted to establish a theater company where its impact on the surrounding community could be seen and felt, rather than starting one in New York City, he said.
That vision helped bring Shakespeare & Company to the Berkshires, where it was initially based at Edith Wharton's The Mount in Lenox.
Nearly five decades later, Coleman said the Fall Festival of Shakespeare demonstrates how deeply the organization has become woven into the community.
Former participants often become emotional when returning as parents, recalling the festival as one of the most meaningful experiences of their high school years, Coleman said.
Some credit the program with helping them through difficult periods of adolescence, while others remember the friendships, collaboration and sense of community that extended far beyond the stage, he said.
"It is an expensive endeavor involving 20 directors, seven costumers, five production designers, and all the support around the theater and property, Coleman said.
"It's a really expensive project. It's 20 directors. It's seven costumers. It's five production designers. It's all the support around the theater and the property, and it's quite an expensive endeavor," he said, highlighting how schools can only cover about half the program's cost.
To make up the difference, Shakespeare & Company relies on grants, fundraising, and philanthropy, he said
Currently, Shakespeare & Company is seeking community support through its annual "Fill the Quill" Match Challenge.
"We have a few donors who are willing to match up to $50,000 to help us continue to run these programs for years to come," Marchione said.
Through Nov. 22, the group of donors has pledged to match contributions dollar for dollar, up to $50,000, potentially generating $100,000. So far, Shakespeare & Company has raised $21,000.
Donations can be made through the organization's website here.
Additionally, this year, the Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Family Foundation is supporting free festival admission for anyone under 22 through the promotional code BUDDINGBARDS at checkout or by calling the box office.
*School performances will take place at their respective schools unless otherwise specified. Is your school performance not listed? Email us the details at info@iberkshires.com.
Berkshire Waldorf School: 'The Winter's Tale'
- Thursday, Nov. 13, at 1 and 7 p.m., Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, Shakespeare & Company
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 6:15 p.m. at Shakespeare & Company
Chatham (N.Y.) High School: 'Twelfth Night'
- Friday, Nov. 13 & Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium.
- Sunday, Nov. 22, at 3:30 p.m. at Shakespeare & Company
Lee High School: 'Hamlet'
- Thursday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. in the school auditorium
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 8:30 p.m. at Shakespeare & Company
Lenox Memorial High School: 'Julius Caesar'
- Thursday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. at the school
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 1:15 p.m. at Shakespeare & Company
Monument Mountain Regional High School: 'The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'
- Friday, Nov. 13, 5 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m., at the school
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 8:30 p.m. at Shakespeare & Company
Mount Everett Regional School: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
- Thursday, Nov. 12, and Friday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m., at the school
- Friday, Nov. 20, 8:30 p.m., at Shakespeare & Company
Mount Greylock Regional School: 'Cymbeline'
- Thursday, Nov. 12, and Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. at the school
- Saturday, Nov. 21, at 6:15 p.m. at Shakespeare & Company
Pittsfield High School: 'Romeo & Juliet'
- Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2:30 and 7 p.m. in the PHS auditorium; enter through Appleton Avenue.
- Friday, Nov. 20, 6:15 p.m., at Shakespeare & Company
Springfield Central High School: 'Pericles, Prince of Tyre'
- Thursday, Nov. 12, and Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2
- Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3:30 p.m. at Shakespeare & Company
Taconic Hills Senior High School: 'Love's Labour's Lost'
- Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. in the Hamm Performing Arts Center
- Sunday, Nov. 22, at 1:15 p.m. at Shakespeare & Company
Closing reverence takes place on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 5 p.m.
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