Becoming Othello - Phoenix Art Museum
ABOUT THE PROJECT Classical actress and producer Debra Ann Byrd undertook a re- markable journey to take on the role of Othello — which she first performed in her native Harlem. The actress recently recorded her experiences on becoming ‘The Moor of Venice’ as writer-in- residence at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Inspired in 2000, by actor Charles Dutton when he performed at the Playing Shakespeare workshop with John Barton, Debra Ann dreamed that she too would one day play the role of Othello. --- Roll on 15 years and she finally got her wish.
Now Southwest Shakespeare Company, the Birthplace Trust and the University of Warwick together with Misfit, Inc., the Folger Institute, Columbia University and the Harlem Shakespeare Festival are working together to sponsor Debra Ann’s planned three- year writing project. The international project comprises a documentary feature film, a solo show and a small volume memoir which includes research from the Birthplace Trust, the Folger Shakespeare Library and Columbia University Archives.
BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girl’s Journey is a 90 minute, 5-Act, living memoir about a young wom- an’s trials and triumphs with race and the classics, her memorable experiences growing up in East Harlem and her gender flipped journey on the road to becoming Shakespeare's noble, flawed general. The solo show is complete with moving songs and lyrical language from Black women playwrights, William Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and the King James Bible.
Where:
Phoenix Art Museum
1625 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ
When:
Saturday, Feb 22 @2pm
Thursday, Feb 27 @7pm
Friday, March 27 @7pm
Sunday, March 29 @2pm
Tickets available here: https://tickets.phxart.org/shows/becoming%20othello-%20a%20black%20girl's%20journey/events/2
Flachmann Seminar - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Feb 29, 2020
The Flachmann Seminar
Seminars this season will be taught by Dr. Susan Willis, dramaturg of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Dr. Willis was an observer at the BBC while it produced “The BBC Shakespeare Plays: Making the Televised Canon”. Since 1985, she has been the resident dramaturg and a director at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and hosts the adult education series “Theatre in the Mind”. She has also worked with its play program, The Southern Writers Project and is a member of the faculty of Auburn University.
A Midsummer Night's Dream – Saturday Feb 29, 2020 @ 9:00 AM
To purchase your ticket click here: https://swshakespeare.secure.force.com/ticket/#sections_a0F1J00001N2hI8UAJ
Attending a Seminar
Delving deeper into the Bard’s works gives one a greater understanding of the play. The seminars also give you a sneak peek behind the scenes as you will meet the designers, mingle with the actors, possible tour of the set and stage and have a special talk back with the actors.
Seminars are from 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM (With breaks throughout)
The location for the 2019/2020 Season Seminars: The Mildred Finch Family Life Center located within The First United Methodist Church 15 E 1st Ave, Mesa, AZ 85210 (NE Corner of Center and 2nd Avenue, 2 block south of the Mesa Arts Center) enter through the red doors on the Southeast side of the building.
Reservations are required. The fee for the seminar is $60 for non-subscribers/Bard Card members and includes lunch and a ticket to the show.
You can pay for the seminar online by clicking the link above or call 480-435-6868 to reserve your spot.
Bard Club Members
Admission to the seminars is included in Bard Card memberships. While the cost of lunch is not included with Bard Cards, all attendees are welcome to purchase their lunch for the day through Southwest Shakespeare Company website for $15. Please click the button above to purchase your lunch.
Season Subscribers
Admission is not included in your season subscription, however you can purchase a seat to the seminar for a discounted rate by clicking the button above. You may also purchase your lunch at that time.
Educators and Students
Because SSC understands the value of bringing Shakespeare alive to students and has the desire to assist teachers with simplifying this task, we encourage all teachers to attend SSC Flachmann Seminars. The seminars offer learning techniques teachers can take directly back to their classrooms. Attendees will receive expert knowledge of the production and most districts accept this as 10 re-certification credits. Educators will receive a certificate upon completion of the day. Please check with your district to receive professional development credit.
Please call for a discounted code for the seminar. Lunch may be purchased separately.
MegJoBethAmy&Louisa - Jan 24 - Feb 2, 2020
Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, & Louisa
Jan 24 - Feb 2 @ Taliesin West
Assigned with the super boring task of writing a novel for young girls, Louisa May Alcott turns to figures and stories from her own life for inspiration. The lines between fact and fiction begin to blur, as her novel comes to life before her and things get a little weird. Part adaptation, part biography, but definitely NOT your Marmee’s Little Women.
The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged)
The Reduced Shakespeare Company brings us an irreverent yet heartwarming romp through tradition as these cheerfully ridiculous clowns celebrate all of our favorite holiday traditions—at once.
Playing at The Madison Center for the Arts
Dec 20, 21, 2019 – 7:30p
Dec 21, 22, 2019 – 2:00p
For tickets and more information click here:
https://themadison.shovation.com/?search=shakespeare
For information about The Reduced Shakespeare Company click here:
http://www.reducedshakespeare.com/
SWift Shakespeare at Taliesin West - Nov 25, 2019
SWift Shakespeare: Back by popular demand, SWift Shakespeare returns with a few updates to mirror our 2019-2020 Mainstage Season!
This 40-minute romp is jam packed with educational tidbits, audience participation, and Shakespearean text. The best part? It’s appropriate for audiences of all ages! Help our trio complete an English project about Shakespeare that’s due tomorrow…and hasn’t been started yet.
Monday Nov 25, 201 7:30p
Taliesin West
Fall Rep Now Playing! Macbeth and The Mystery of Irma Vep
FALL 2019 
Macbeth
Oct 25 - Nov 9 @ Mesa Arts Center
“Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy of blood and ambition, witchcraft and war.”
https://mesaartscenter.com/index.php/shows/resident-companies/macbeth
The Mystery of Irma Vep
Oct 25 - Nov 9 @ Mesa Arts Center
"A Gothic Mystery wrapped in comic absurdity that The New York Times called “Far and away the funniest two hours on a New York Stage…” Producing Artistic Directors Betsy Mugavero and Quinn Mattfeld play all the characters in this hilarious whirlwind spoof of Gothic Melodrama you will not want to miss! The Mystery of Irma Vep is the first production in our Blackfriars Series, inspired by the original principles of Shakespeare's indoor winter theater of the same name."
https://mesaartscenter.com/index.php/shows/resident-companies/the-mystery-irma-vep
To purchase your Mesa Arts Center Package, which includes our Fall and Spring rep shows:
Ticket Available NOW! Ladies in Waiting: The Judgement of Henry VIII
What's a Tudor monarch to do when he has to face all six of his wives in the afterlife?
Award-winning playwright James Cougar Canfield’s new play, LADIES IN WAITING: THE JUDGEMENT OF HENRY VIII is a sexy, heartbreaking, humorous, and dark exploration of Henry VIII and his relationships with the women in his life… with a feminist twist.
Originally workshopped, performed, and produced by graduates of England’s East 15 Acting School's MA Acting and MFA Acting International programs, LADIES IN WAITING finds King Henry VIII in a purgatory-like situation, where one by one he must face off with each of his wives. Through dark humour, devastating truths, sexy seductions, and powerful revelations, Henry comes face to face with what his legacy has become: one entirely defined by women.
During its successful London debut and its sell-out Edinburgh Fringe run, LADIES IN WAITING received immense critical praise, with multiple four stars reviews, a Top 10 Ranking on Broadway Baby’s Theatre List, and an Eddie Award nomination from London’s Drayton Arms Theatre.
LADIES IN WAITING received a stateside debut in Summer 2017. It experienced a sold-out run during it's time at Hollywood Fringe Festival, as well as being selected as Combined Artform & Fringe Management's Pick of the Fringe and winning the HFF17 International Fringe Award. Next, LADIES traveled to Capital Fringe in Washington D.C., where it had more sell-out success and rave reviews from the Washington Post, DCist, DC Theatre Scene, and more.
"Hudson" at Utah Shakespeare Festival
Can't wait until April to see this original musical when it comes to The Madison Center for the Arts?
Great news!
"Hudson" has been chosen to be part of Utah Shakespeare Festivals Words Cubed!
Hudson, or the series of lamentable and untrue events following the mutiny of 1611
By Quinn Mattfeld and Danny Tieger
Directed by Betsy Mugavero
August 23, 24, 29, and 31 • 9:30 a.m.
A musical tragicomedy about the famous and eponymous explorer, Hudson is the untold and untrue story of the mutiny of 1611 and the fate of Henry Hudson, his son, his crew, and his name.
Important Note: The plays in this series are written for contemporary adult audiences and may contain themes and language not appropriate for children and that some may find offensive.
Venue
Corner of 300 West Street and University Boulevard
Cedar City UT 84720-2169
WORDS CUBED MISSION
As part of an ongoing commitment to create a diverse body of work, Words Cubed, a new play initiative at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, nurtures and develops openly-submitted and commissioned-based new plays by providing a professionally supported (i.e. funded) platform for readings, workshops, and fully realized productions.
Shakespeare in the Law
You have to do it, why not do it with us?
Experience live theater while learning and discussing legal ethics. Southwest Shakespeare Company actors perform specific legal scenes from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.
A Panel of Experts to Guide the Discussion
A highly active presentation coupled with an interactive panel discussion lead by local legal professionals and Curt Tofteland, the renowned founder of the esteemed Shakespeare Behind Bars program.
The lively discussion is unique in its inclusion of actors, lawyers and students attending the program!
Cost of Class Per Person: $145
Cost of Class Per Firm: CONTACT FOR PRICING jmurphy@swshakespeare.org
Class includes three CLE legal ethics credits with certificate, materials from the class, and a live performance of scenes from The Merchant of Venice.
To register please email: Joshua Murphy jmurphy@swshakespeare.org or Breona at bconrad@swshakespeare.org
call: 480-435-6868
Harlem Shakespeare Festival's All Female Othello April 19-28
Playing at Taliesin West
April 19th, 20th, 26th, 27th – 7:30p 21st, 28th – 6:00p
Debra Ann Byrd, the founder and Artistic Director of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival leads an all-female cast as the title role in Othello, the Moor of Venice. This unique vision of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays about jealousy, intrigue, and betrayal is brought to the stages of Scottsdale as you’ve never seen it before. Do not miss this once-in-a-lifetime production, straight from New York City. This play will run 90 minutes with no intermission.