“Shakespeare on Campus, 2013”
will culminate in ARTFARM’s Shakespeare in the Grove production of Much Ado About Nothing from July 18
through 28th. This will be the eighth summer that ARTFARM has
presented professional outdoor Shakespeare in the beautiful Grove overlooking
the Connecticut River Valley, but the first time that ARTFARM and the College
have collaborated to bring Shakespeare related activities into classes, events
and exhibits from February through July.
Highlights of this year’s
collaboration include:
*Shakespeare Acting Laboratory, an eight week acting class with
ARTFARM Artistic Director Marcella Trowbridge. The class meets Tuesday evenings
starting February 19 and is open to the public and members of the college
community over eighteen. It culminates in a Shakespeare Showcase on April 2.
*Shakespeare
in the Afternoon, a campus celebration of
Shakespeare’s birthday, which will be held on April 15 at 12:30 pm and will feature
performances by students, staff and faculty, costumed characters, music and food. Shakespeare in the Afternoon is a co-production of ARTFARM and
MxCC’s English Department.
*Unlocking
Shakespeare, a
series of Master Classes in Text Analysis, offered by Trowbridge in three
English Literature Classes during the Spring semester.
*Shakespeare
in Our World, an
exhibit created by the MxCC Library, will be up in the library throughout the
month of April.
*Shakespeare in Acting One – The College’s Introductory Acting
Class, taught by ARTFARM Executive Director Dic Wheeler, will have a special
focus on “Shakespeare in Performance” this semester.
*Shakespeare
Slam and Masked Ball,
a popular performance event and party featuring interesting and unusual
performances of short bits of Shakespeare, will be held at Kidcity Children’s
Museum on Saturday, May 11 at 7 pm.
*User's Guide to Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing will be focusing on a different aspects of Much Ado About Nothing. The class will
take place June 22 from 10 AM to Noon as part of the MxCC Continuing Education program,
and is open to the public.
*Summer
Acting Class will
be offered for credit for the first time as part of the College’s summer
session. Taught by Wheeler, with a special focus on Shakespeare, May 20 to June
14.
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In addition, ARTFARM will offer Community
Tech Days in which the public may work with the production’s designers and
technical director to help build props and set, and several Open Rehearsals
during the course of the 6 week rehearsal period on campus for Much Ado.
ARTFARM’s
Shakespeare in the Grove 2013 production of Much
Ado About Nothing will be held July 18 – 28 in the Grove at Middlesex
Community College. Performances are Thursday through Sunday at 7 pm, with live
music preceding each performance starting at 6 pm.
“This
Connecticut Office of the Arts grant is very exciting”, says Executive Director
Dic Wheeler, “it will allow us to bring full-scale professional Shakespeare
back to the Grove this summer, as well as deepen the already fabulous
relationship we have with the College. Having ARTFARM in Residence on Campus
for six months will benefit the Company, the College and the Greater community.
We are thrilled to be recognized for the work we have been doing in Middletown
since 2006.”
Shakespeare on Campus 2013 is made possible with support
from the Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office
of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the
Arts, a federal agency.
For more
information about Shakespeare on Campus or
Shakespeare in the Grove, please contact
info@art-farm.org or call (860) 346-4390.
