The 27th annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare
Lenox — Hundreds of teenagers from 10 different schools will take to the Tina Packer Playhouse stage at Shakespeare & Company Thursday, November 19 through Sunday, November 22 for the Fall Festival of Shakespeare’s final performances. An annual tradition, the Fall Festival is the culmination of the nationally recognized program that places Shakespeare & Company Education Artists in ten local and regional schools, where they lead students in a nine-week exploration of Shakespeare’s plays.
“The final four days of the Festival shows are the culmination of weeks of work from hundreds of students in tech, costumes, lighting and sound design, sets and props, sword fights and dances, scene rehearsals, research and character development,” said Director of Education Kevin G. Coleman. “Performances are riveting—the audiences wild in their enthusiasm and support. The Festival is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”
Built on the transformative power of Shakespeare’s language and stories, the Fall Festival engages students in a personally meaningful, educationally rigorous, and dramatically compelling experience of classical theatre. The 10 schools participating in the 2015 Fall Festival of Shakespeare include Berkshire Waldorf High School, Chatham High School, Lee High School, Lenox Memorial High School, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Mount Everett Regional High School, Mount Greylock Regional High School, Springfield Central High School, Taconic High School, and Taconic Hills High School.
Caroline Sprague, an actor and student at Monument Mountain Regional High School, said, “I’ve found that Shakespeare affects teenagers deeply and immediately. It’s totally intoxicating and addictive; once you’ve started working on Shakespeare plays, you never want to stop. It’s as much an asset as learning a new language. When a professional actor does a Shakespeare play it might be just another job; when a teenager does a Shakespeare play, it gives them a new outlook on the world. It’s the best thing for a young actor to do.”
Led by Coleman and Associate Director of Education Jenna Ware, the Fall Festival is a celebration rather than a competition. Students are encouraged to delve into Shakespeare’s works, unpacking the language and savoring the humor, intensity, and transcendent beauty of Shakespeare’s plays. Daily rehearsals focus on students’ personal responses to the text and connection to language. Students also have the opportunity to develop skills in stage combat, performance aesthetics, dance, technical theatre, stage management, marketing, and publicity during the Fall Festival experience.
Sprague continued, “Fall Fest allows students to be courageous and earnest in a really safe, welcoming environment. It brings schools together through art; it encourages creativity in education. The best part about it, however, is the fact that it serves as solid proof that theatre can make a very real and very tangible difference in people’s lives. Fall Festival changes the lives of high-schoolers year after year – it’s definitely changed mine – and that’s really the purpose of Shakespeare and theatre in general. Fall Festival is all about something we share, and if you dig deep into Shakespeare’s texts, the unifying theme is that of our own humanity. It’s insanely beautiful, and honestly transcendent. There’s nothing else like it.”
Individual school performance schedule:
Berkshire Waldorf High School, “The Tempest:” Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday November 15 at 2 p.m.
Chatham High School, “The Winter’s Tale:” Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 at 7 p.m.
Lee High School, “The Winter’s Tale:” Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 at 7 p.m.
Lenox Memorial High School, “Twelfth Night:” Thursday, November 12 and Friday, November 13 at 7 p.m.
Monument Mountain Regional High School, “The History of Henry VI:” Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 at 7 p.m.
Mt. Everett Regional High School, “The Merry Wives of Windsor:” Friday, November 13 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 14 at 2 p.m.
Mount Greylock Regional High School, “Macbeth:” Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14 at 7 p.m.
Springfield Central High School, “Antony and Cleopatra:” Thursday, November 12 and Friday November 13 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, November 14 at 2 p.m.
Taconic High School, “Macbeth:” Thursday, November 12 and Friday, November 13 at 7 p.m.
Taconic Hills High School, “Richard III:” Friday, November 13 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 14 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Fall Festival of Shakespeare Performance Schedule:
Thursday, November 19
6:15 p.m.: Lee High School, “The Winter’s Tale”
8:30 p.m.: Lenox Memorial High School, “Twelfth Night”
Friday, November 20
6:30 p.m.: Berkshire Waldorf High School, “The Tempest”
8:30 p.m.: Mount Greylock Regional High School, “Macbeth”
Saturday, November 21
1:30 p.m.: Mt. Everett Regional High School, “The Merry Wives of Windsor”
3:30 p.m.: Taconic High School, “Macbeth”
6:15 p.m.: Monument Mountain Regional High School, “The History of Henry VI”
8:30 p.m.: Springfield Central High School, “Antony and Cleopatra”
Sunday, November 22
1:30 p.m. Taconic Hills High School, “Richard III”
3:30 p.m.: Chatham High School, “The Winter’s Tale”
Tickets for the Fall Festival $10 for students and $16 for adults with 10-play festival passes available. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call Shakespeare & Company at (413) 637-3353.
–E.E.
