Shakespeare & Company Season 2025 Playbill

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ashley McCauley Moore, The Comedy of Errors, 2024.

Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

A MESSAGE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR.....................................3 A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD CHAIR...............................................5 THE VICTIM.............................................................................................7 COMMUNITY DAY..................................................................................8 SHAKE IT UP: A SHAKESPEARE CABARET..........................................9 ROMEO AND JULIET............................................................................11 AUGUST WILSON’S THE PIANO LESSON...........................................13 THE TAMING OF THE SHREW..............................................................15 CIRCUS & THE BARD...........................................................................17 PLAYS IN PROCESS.............................................................................19 MOTHER PLAY: a play in five evictions.................................................21 CELEBRATING JEWISH PLAYS............................................................23 SENSE AND SENSIBILITY....................................................................25 EDUCATION PROGRAMS.....................................................................27 KEVIN G. COLEMAN CELEBRATED.....................................................29 CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF RIOTOUS YOUTH.................................30 THE CENTER FOR ACTOR TRAINING.................................................33 DENNIS KRAUSNICK FELLOWSHIP FUND.........................................34 SUMMER SHAKESPEARE INTENSIVE.................................................36 FACULTY FEATURE: MICHAEL F. TOOMEY.........................................39 SUPPORT SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY.............................................40 PHILIP HELLER FUND & AWARD RECIPIENT......................................40 STAY, SHOP, DINE, EXPLORE...............................................................42 BUSINESS SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT.....................................................45 TALKS & TOURS...................................................................................47 THE STRATFORD CIRCLE....................................................................49 OUR SUPPORTERS..............................................................................51 A LEGACY OF WOMEN........................................................................55 FIVE QUESTIONS WITH LAWRENCE GOODMAN...............................57 REMBERING MARK G. AUERBACH.....................................................59 ANNETTE MILLER & JOHN DOUGLAS THOMPSON HONORED �������62 TALKING COVER: “ranney”...................................................................64 VOLUNTEER WITH US..........................................................................67 IN MEMORIAM: JANET CAREY............................................................68 LIVING AND BREATHING AUGUST WILSON.......................................70 WASTE REDUCTION IN THE ARTS......................................................77 RENZO’S READING LIBRARY..............................................................78 PLAYERS’ SOCIETY..............................................................................83 NEW BUSINESS SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT............................................84 LEADERSHIP & STAFF..........................................................................87 COLLABORATING WITH TRANS EXCHANGE......................................89 WHO’S WHO IN SEASON 2025............................................................94 CALENDAR.........................................................................................114 BUSINESS SPONSORS’ INDEX.........................................................118

We gratefully acknowledge the support of: Dr.Robert C.and Tina Sohn F O U N D A T I O N

F EIG ENBA UM FO U N D A T I O N

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40 YEARS! What a thrill it’s been!

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Thank you so much for being here, Friends.

These days it is no small feat to show up in person, no matter what the event might be. We seem to be in a collective crouch, bracing for whatever surprise might present itself with the morning news. And here you are nonetheless: choosing to be in community, choosing to inquire and partake in a creative offering, choosing to lean in and listen. We will never take your interest and effort for granted, ever.

Shakespeare discovered a way into language and embodied poetry that we continue to marvel at to this day. Modern writers continue to find new pathways into the secrets that language waits to unfold. And yet, as a species, true communication continues to evade us. Maybe I’m wrong, and I wish I were. And maybe I’m naive in believing that there’s still hope for humanity. If we ultimately discover a positive outcome of hope, it will manifest through language and communication. And so here we continue to relate stories of the human condition, and you continue to show up. And for that we are truly grateful.

In hopes the pen might just be mightier than the sword, we bring you an array of stories rich in language.

The Victim, a world premiere by Lawrence Goodman that came to our attention through our Plays in Process series last summer, is a searing portrait of three women that asks some very pointed and revealing questions in this hurly burly world.

We pivot into irreverence with Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret, where Shakespeare meets rock 'n' roll and creates a rollicking alchemy with an amazing band live on stage.

For our outdoor mainstage production at the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre, we bring you the soaring and oft-quoted classic Romeo and Juliet, a piercing commentary on how our youth must be sacrificed in order to overcome what divides us.

We’ll also bring you the rock ’em sock ’em comedy of misunderstanding The Taming of the Shrew this season, a sure bet to surprise and delight at the Tina Packer Playhouse.

Keeping our foot on the gas, we offer you the tremendous August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, in association with our good friends from Actors’ Shakespeare Project in Boston. At the end of the summer, things keep popping with Circus & the Bard a collaboration with our new friends from Spirit of Circus, an exploration of what happens when Shakespeare characters encounter stunning circus acts.

Don’t miss our Plays in Process series at the end of the summer with new works by Ken Ludwig, Jim Frangione, and Kaia Calhoun. And this fall we bring you a new work by Paula Vogel, Mother Play, fresh off a successful run in New York. We’re also delighted to offer a series called Celebrating Jewish Plays, a wonderful weekend of staged readings featuring plays by Arthur Miller, Wendy Wasserstein, Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, and Karen Hartman. And of course, the season will be capped with Jane Austen and Sense and Sensibility, by Kate Hamill.

There’s a lot on offer, because you’re here!

The Summer Season of 2025 at Shakespeare & Company is most generously sponsored by Scott and Roxanne Bok.

Allyn Burrows Artistic Director

On the Cover: Company Artist “ranney” celebrates his fifth season with Shakespeare & Company as Wining Boy in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Learn more about “ranney” on page 64! Photo by Gregory Cherin.

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Dear Friends,

I look at the scope of what we are presenting this season: 15 different productions of incredible variety, and it tells me that our Founders’ DNA continues to inspire our Company, which every year finds new ways to be ambitiously creative. It is breathtaking to be attached to an organization that’s nearly 50 years old and is getting a second wind; again.

Let me mention a few things that are brand new on the artistic side this season: • Circus & the Bard, a collision of Shakespeare characters and the visual spectacle of classic circus promises to be delightful for kids and adult kids alike!

• Adults At Play, a brand-new comedy by renowned playwright Ken Ludwig (Lend Me A Tenor; Crazy for You; Dear Jack, Dear Louise), comes to our Plays in Process series from an artistic friendship formed after him seeing our production of The Tempest in 2017.

• Celebrating Jewish Plays, an immersive weekend of staged readings, will feature Here There Are Blueberries, finalist for the Pulitzer and winner of two 2025 Lucille Lortel prizes. Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, the playwrights, are bringing it to us.

And there is Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, The Victim, The Piano Lesson, Mother Play and a return of Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret! The vision, energy, and passion of all who make up the Company is something to be truly proud of.

I am starting to understand now what a huge collaborative effort this Company is. On any day, every day, the many talented people who work here are in their spaces on the campus — building sets, sewing costumes, mowing lawns, fundraising, rehearsing, selling tickets, and attending to more details than you and I can ever imagine, and that I never imagined before. Their dedication is awe inspiring.

And the greatest thing is — this is for you.

Because of you we thrive.

Beverly Hyman Chair, Shakespeare & Company Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Beverly Hyman, Chair Jeffrey B. Konowitch, Vice Chair Jenifer Salzberg, Vice Chair Karen Kowgios, Treasurer Michael A. Miller, Clerk Allyn Burrows, Artistic Director Deborah Annex, Trustee Henry Baker, Trustee Ex-officio / Co-President Volunteer Company Sandra Bourgeois, Trustee Kevin G. Coleman, Founding Trustee Kelly Galvin, Artist Trustee Phoebe L. Giddon, Trustee Michael S. Helfer, Trustee Anita Heller, Trustee MaryAnn House, Trustee / Co-President Volunteeer Company Greg Lipper, Trustee Barri R. Marks, Trustee Ricardo Morales, Trustee Macaire Pace, Trustee Tina Packer, Founding Trustee Barry R. Shapiro, Trustee Irina Shifrin, Trustee Licia Sky, Trustee David Sorkin, Trustee Robert B. Strassler, Trustee John Douglas Thompson, Artist Trustee Andrew B. Weinberger, Trustee Ken Werner, Trustee Gerald Friedman, Trustee Emeritus

AMBASSADORS FOR SHAKESPEARE Kevin Bartini Helene Berger Roxanne Bok Scott Bok Judy Boomer George Camarda Robert Cohen Linda B. Colvin Janet Egelhofer Audrey Friedner Sonya Hamlin Barbara A. Mahony Bruce Miller Deborah Miller Marybeth Mitts Mindi Morin Claudia Perles Suzanne Priebatsch Myra Sallet Howard Shawn Natalie Shawn Steven Somkin Frank Speizer Jeanne Speizer Dottie Weber Rhea Werner Leone T. Young

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World Premiere

DIRECTOR’S TAKE Four years ago, when I first worked on the first monologue of The Victim, DEI and “Wokeness” were the norm. Now they have been “cancelled” by those who used to complain loudly about “cancel culture.” The pendulum has indeed swung, and the most powerful consider themselves victims and engage in retribution and revenge. This is one of the themes of this remarkable play: who is the victim and who is the perpetrator?

Three women of different generations and backgrounds are tied together by their relationships and stories. Mothers and daughters, antisemitism and racism, victim and victimizer, and life-anddeath choices are woven into this material.

I love Lawrence’s rich language, humor, passion, and recurring images. I relish the challenge of creating the counterpoint of three interconnected monologues. I can’t wait to plunge into the rehearsal process with this wonderful cast (Stephanie Clayman, Yvette King, and the incomparable Annette Miller), a great design team (John Musall, Govane Lobauer, Erika Johnson, Amy Altadonna), and this brilliant script.

And special thanks to Allyn Burrows and Shakespeare & Company for making this joyous journey possible.

— Daniel Gidron

PERFORMANCE

ELAYNE P. BERNSTEIN THEATRE

THE VICTIM

by Lawrence Goodman Directed by Daniel Gidron

with Stephanie Clayman, Yvette King, and Annette Miller

JUNE 19 – JULY 20 A successful New York doctor whose racial diversity training has gone horribly wrong. A health aide grappling with racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Holocaust survivor facing her own horror, and finding her way back to love and healing.

Three women, three interconnected monologues. Who gets to call herself a victim? Who is the perpetrator?

Presented originally at Shakespeare & Company as a reading in the 2024 Plays in Process series, The Victim is about identity, our blindness to others, and the human capacity for cruelty and compassion.

The Victim is underwritten by Suzanne Priebatsch, Harold Grinspoon & Diane Troderman, Bob & Debbie First, and Mary & Robert Cohen.

POST-SHOW TALKBACKS • Tuesday, June 24, 7 pm with playwright Lawrence Goodman • Wednesday, July 2, 2 pm with director Daniel Gidron • Wednesday, July 9, 7 pm with Shulamit Reinharz, Founding Director of the Women’s Studies Research Center and HadassahBrandeis Institute at Brandeis University • Thursday, July 10, 7 pm with director, critic, and HRC Showcase Theatre’s Artistic Director Barbara Waldinger • Wednesday, July 16, 2 pm with Annette Miller • Saturday, July 19, 7 pm with the cast of The Victim Check shakespeare.org for new talkbacks as they are added!

Annette Miller

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Thanks for Coming to Play at Community Day!

Shakespeare & Company held its secondannual Community Day – a free, family-friendly celebration – on Saturday, May 24, welcoming more than 400 attendees.

“We were thrilled to welcome the community back to our campus for this joyful celebration,” said Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. “Whether you’re a longtime supporter or new to Shakespeare & Company, there’s something here for everyone to enjoy.”

Community Day invites guests of all ages to enjoy performances, interactive activities, film screenings, food trucks, and the opportunity to learn about dozens of nonprofit and community organizations that serve the Berkshires and beyond. This year’s Community Day featured a full schedule of events, including a workshop led by faculty of the Center for Actor Training; an air broadsword demonstration by the Education Program; an excerpt screening of 2021’s production of King Lear starring Christopher Lloyd; live music; campus tours, and much more.

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This year, Community Day coincided with ArtWeek Berkshires, an annual, county-wide celebration of local creativity. A collaboration of Berkshire County’s five state-designated Cultural Districts: the Downtown Great Barrington Cultural District, Lenox Cultural District, North Adams Cultural District, Upstreet Cultural District in Pittsfield, and Williamstown Cultural District, ArtWeek calls attention to everything from gallery shows to live performances, and poetry readings to painting demos.

Jaclyn C. Stevenson, Shakespeare & Company’s director of Marketing and Communications and cochair of the Lenox Cultural District, said ArtWeek Berkshires has grown into an anticipated annual event for Berkshire residents, visitors, and cultural organizations alike.

“ArtWeek brings a fresh wave of excitement to the region,” she said. “Those of us who live here yearround are introduced to dozens of events, visitors are given a large sampling of all we have to offer, and arts-based organizations like ours benefit from ArtWeek’s added promotion.”

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DIRECTOR’S TAKE Shakespeare for all, because Shakespeare is everywhere and we’re all Shakespeare.

When we consider how much language he invented, and how much he influenced, we tend to be somewhat gobsmacked.

How could a glove-maker’s son have invented the very words that we may rely on to drive home a point some 400 years anon? Or more to the point here, how could he, in tights and pumpkin pants, be the inspiration for songs that represent the soundtrack of my life! It doesn’t track!

When Jacob Ming-Trent and I began formulating this inquiry into the alchemy that might be created from mashing together Shakespeare’s text and rock music, we suspected that the alchemy created might prove illuminating, and it has.

When the band and the singers and actors and designers brought their powerhouse talents to bear on the intersection of the genres, the result was thrilling. So we had to do it again.

What you’ll be seeing from Shake It Up this summer is a desire to rip into some of the songs that we just didn’t get to play enough last summer, as well as some new material, and fresh takes on the text.

All the songs are of the roll-down-thecar-window-and-crank-the-radio variety, and we hope that the energized weaving together of these two media might give you some new insight into both the songs and Will’s text, as it has us.

Back by Popular Demand

SHAKE IT UP:

A SHAKESPEARE CABARET Created by Allyn Burrows & Jacob Ming-Trent Directed by Allyn Burrows

with Jennifer Apple, Gregory Boover, Benny ‘Fingers’ Kohn, Johnny Irion, Jim ‘Chetz’ Keegan, Raya Malcolm, Merlin McCormick, Conor Meehan, Jacob Ming-Trent, Naire Poole, and Jaclyn C. Stevenson

JULY 1 – 6 Following its smash, premiere run last season, the Tina Packer Playhouse transforms once again into the Elephant Lounge to host Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret! This mash-up of modern music and Shakespeare’s verse is where Will meets rock 'n' roll, bringing a live band onstage to take the roof off.

With all tunes inspired by the Bard, this rockin’ evening will leave you vibrating and shouting for more!

If not, don’t sweat it, just have a ball and rock on. You’ve got the text and the music in you.

— Allyn Burrows

“...there's a whole lotta something going on at the Tina Packer Playhouse.”

– The Berkshire Eagle

“Brilliant…Play on!”

– 518 Theatre Artists

Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret is generously underwritten by Jim Cochran and Fran Pilato.

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PERFORMANCE

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DIRECTORS’ TAKE

It is my soul, that calls upon my name.

We are surrounded, inundated, often silenced by language. Language today is so often used to convince, to bully, to say “Here’s what your problem is…”. It is often used to conceal the mere existence of truth and so often to persuade us toward untruths.

But there is another kind of language. We can use it to uncover the truths of our own souls and to reveal those truths to others. We can use it to think with, to remember with, to understand our condition. We can use it to ask “What ails me?” and then to ask “What ails you and how can I help?” That is the language of Romeo and Juliet.

In the whole play, there is no word which does not have the capacity to reveal deep truths about the character or the situation. Sometimes – most of the time – they are truths having to do with the experience of romantic passion, but they also have to do with violence and what causes violence, with politics, with caretaking, with family and gender. There is no word which is designed to conceal that which is or persuade toward that which is not.

Romeo and Juliet spend barely twenty minutes onstage together and yet they have remained the archetype of romantic love for four hundred years. This may be because each age has discovered for itself the Romeo and Juliet which speaks to it most vividly. In 1830 it became an opera. In 1935 Prokofiev composed a ballet. In 1957 Bernstein, Robbins, Laurents and Sondheim took ethnic discord and the devil’s interval to the streets of New York. In 1968 Zeffirelli used film to explore the play’s whispered intimacies, and so forth.

We asked ourselves what Romeo and Juliet our own age requires, and we think it has to do with the capacity of language to discover deep truth. So we began by trying to assemble a company of actors who believe in that too, and whose desire is to be possessed, inhabited, aflame with language. We are performing the play outdoors where the matchless authenticity of Nature provides a benchmark for our own.

Can Juliet’s love, Tybalt’s fury, Mercutio’s inappropriateness be as real as the eighty-foot spruce which stands behind them? Can we experience this language as boldly and vividly as that setting requires, and “tear the cave where Echo lies?” If we can do that, and can offer you two hours of uninterrupted, embodied honesty, we will have done our job.

— Jonathan Epstein and Kevin G. Coleman

PERFORMANCE

ARTHUR S. WALDSTEIN AMPHITHEATRE (OUTDOORS)

ROMEO AND JULIET

by William Shakespeare Directed by Kevin G. Coleman & Jonathan Epstein

with Juan Luis Acevedo, Jonathan Epstein, Rory Hammond, Luke Haskell, John Leggett, Madeleine Rose Maggio, Ashley McCauley Moore, Erin O’Connor, Timothy Oh, Caitlin Rose, Rickey Watson, Jr., and J. Austyn Williamson

JULY 12 – AUGUST 10 Presented under the Berkshires’ summer skies, Romeo and Juliet proves that even the ultimate case of love at first sight can lead to – well, chaos.

Meddling families and murderous duels meld to offer an evening of sword fights, swinging soirees, and secret weddings — but the play is also full of exuberant vulgarity, harsh brutality, and above all the tingling, unbearable delight of young love.

Romeo and Juliet is generously underwritten in part by an anonymous donor.

COME EARLY FOR A PRE-SHOW PICNIC! Arrive early to enjoy our grounds with a picnic of your own, food and beverages from our concessions stand, and a full bar at Josie’s Place! Local food trucks will be onsite on select evenings, and picnic tables with umbrellas and ample lawn space are available.

Visit shakespeare.org for more information.

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DIRECTOR’S TAKE Let me tell you something about The Piano Lesson. This play isn’t just words on a page or actors on a stage — it’s history brought to life. It’s the story of Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1936, carved out of the lives and struggles of African Americans who fled the Jim Crow South. August Wilson had a gift — he could take the everyday lives of Black folks and transform them into poetry, music, and something majestic. This play is the fourth in his American Century Cycle, a series of 10 plays that chronicle African American life across each decade of the 20th century.

Now, let me tell you why this play sticks with me. I thought I knew my history — thought I had it all figured out. But The Piano Lesson opened my eyes to how much I don’t know, how much has been buried or erased about Black and Indigenous people in this country. And it’s still happening today — through legislation, through silence. Wilson didn’t write this as a history lesson, but every line is steeped in the struggles and triumphs of our past. This play is about family, legacy, and what we carry with us versus what we leave behind.

At its heart, The Piano Lesson asks: How do we move forward while carrying the weight of slavery and Jim Crow?

Boy Willie wants to sell the family piano — to turn it into land and opportunity.

Berniece? She clings to it like it’s her lifeline, a memorial to their ancestors who suffered so much. That piano isn’t just an object; it’s their entire history carved into its surface. And that’s where the tension lies — between honoring where we come from and finding a way to move ahead.

Can we do both?

But this play isn’t just about struggle — it’s about love. Love for family, for community, for those who came before us, and those still to come. Wilson captures it all: life under Jim Crow, the fight for land ownership, debt slavery, single motherhood, and even the exploitation of Black artists. Yet through all that pain shines resilience, laughter, and hope.

So welcome to The Piano Lesson. Sit back, listen close, and let Wilson’s words wash over you like a song you didn’t know you needed to hear.

— Christopher V. Edwards

PERFORMANCE

ELAYNE P. BERNSTEIN THEATRE

AUGUST WILSON’S

THE PIANO

LESSON

Directed by Christopher V. Edwards with Anthony T. Goss, Jade Guerra, Jonathan Kitt, Brittani J. McBride, Ariel Phillips, “ranney”, Daniel Rios Jr., and Omar Robinson

JULY 25 – AUGUST 24 Set against the backdrop of 1936 Pittsburgh during the Great Depression, August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awardwinning The Piano Lesson explores the lives of the Charles family, and vividly portrays an enduring conflict between siblings.

The family piano at the heart of the argument is an heirloom intricately carved by an enslaved ancestor. Determined sharecropper Boy Willie is eager to sell the piano to purchase land on which his ancestors endured hardship, while his sister Berniece fiercely maintains that the piano is where their heritage lies.

A testament to the complexities of family, history, and legacy, The Piano Lesson is an explosive and incisive inquiry into the struggle between what we owe to our past and how we build our future.

August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson is presented in collaboration with Actors’ Shakespeare Project.

“A highlight of the current theater season!” – The Boston Globe “The best of what’s now onstage!” – Joyce Kulhaiwik

Cast of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson at Actors’ Shakespeare Project, 2025. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

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DIRECTOR’S TAKE William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew gives us two plays in one: first, the story of Christopher Sly, who in our production is a drunken, down on his luck ne’er-do-well, and would rather be watching a Red Sox baseball game than a theatrical performance in the Berkshires. Second, the wooing and marriage of Katherine Minola, the “shrew” of the title, in the university town of Padua in Renaissance Italy.

The meta-theatricality of this “play-withina-play” weaves the two stories into a powerful examination of performance and identity, bringing several ideas into view.

At its center: that the “self” is perhaps not fixed, but vulnerable and receptive to change, transformation, and evolution. Do we each have an essential "self”? Or are we merely a collection of roles that either: 1) we create or 2) are societally thrust upon us?

How flexible, adaptive, and/or malleable are we? Can a disruptive jackass change into a passionate lover of the arts? Can a disparate assembly of actors transform into a cohort of powerful storytellers? And can a “curst” shrew be tamed into a dutiful Elizabethan housewife?

On the surface, The Taming of the Shrew may appear to be a traditional farce.

Instead, I would argue that this play is actually quite radical, undermining the very stereotypes and cultural norms it seems to reinforce. It is no simple comedy. But undoubtedly, it's one of the best.

PERFORMANCE

TINA PACKER PLAYHOUSE

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

by William Shakespeare Directed by Nicole Ricciardi

with Juan Luis Acevedo, Sheila Bandyopadhyay, MaConnia Chesser, Rory Hammond, Jamal James, Dennis Trainor, Jr., Ryan Winkles, and Austyn Williamson

AUGUST 14 – 24 Step into the world of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, with its timeless themes of identity, gender roles, and the clash of wills.

Meet the fiery and fiercely independent Katherine, whose spirited nature meets its match in the cunning Petruchio as they embark on a hilarious and clever exploration of love, power, and transformation.

The Taming of the Shrew offers a compelling — if not at times zany — look at relationships and social norms, making it a must-see for anyone who loves classic comedy with a bit of bite.

The Taming of the Shrew is underwritten in part

by Berkshire Money Management.

— Nicole Ricciardi

COME EARLY FOR PRE-SHOW PICNICS! Speaking of bite, arrive early to enjoy our grounds with a picnic of your own, food and beverages from our concessions stand and a full bar at Josie’s Place! Local food trucks will be onsite on select evenings, and picnic tables with umbrellas and ample lawn space are available. Visit shakespeare.org to learn more!

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DIRECTOR’S TAKE The three of us began discussing a possible intersection between circus and the Bard a few years ago, when the two disciplines felt worlds apart. The distance between them, one extremely physical and often performed without words, the other often embracing a sudden stillness, seemed a tacit challenge: What could be learned from weaving them together?

Would the language that they each exude produce a surprising alchemy that would prove thrilling? We thought so, ultimately, at least in our own minds; so we were compelled to embark on this journey together, and we hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Circus is filled with unseen layers of commitment, dedication, and in many ways straight-up sacrifice (yet never forgetting the ultimate importance of play). Shakespeare requires a similar rigor, although more often on a level of emotional and intellectual curiosity.

Both disciplines demand a courage that stretches the mind and the body, as accessible virtuosity is reached for.

Working on this project together has been equally thrilling and terrifying.

What if it proves destined not to be?

And yet we continue to trust that something magical will arise out of this mashup, this embrace.

PERFORMANCE

TINA PACKER PLAYHOUSE

CIRCUS & THE BARD Co-created by Allyn Burrows, Robin Eldridge & Pedro Reis with Chris Allison, Spencer Androli, Zoe Isadora, Shena Tschofen, Karoly & Anita Zeman, and Artem Zhaunenka

AUGUST 21 – 31 For the kids and the kids in all of us, Shakespeare & Company and Spirit of Circus present an intersection of brilliant, professional circus acts with Shakespeare’s characters. The alchemy of the stunning visual effects of circus and the Bard’s text is an apt and whimsical introduction to both, and when you see them together, something special takes place!

Circus & The Bard is presented in collaboration with Spirit of the Circus.

Circus & The Bard is underwritten by Virginia & Harvey Kimmel Family Fund, Evelyn Lemar, and Dottie Weber.

In our story, our Shakespeare characters and Circus characters encounter each other and the world with the same wonder. Naturally, as we all are, the Shakespeare characters are completely enamored of the Circus characters in this magic land, and they have the words to express that adoration. Shakespeare has language when words fail us, and Circus takes our breath away. Surely there must be illumination regarding the human spirit where those two phenomena collide.

We are determined to find the answer to this question, and we’re grateful to you for being curious too.

— Allyn Burrows, Robin Eldridge, and Pedro Reis

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COME VISIT GEORGE AND SUZY’S HOUSE. IT’S JUST AROUND THE CORNER.

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ROSE FOOTPRINT THEATRE (OUTDOORS) PERFORMANCE

PLAYS

s s e c o r P in

An Introduction to New Works AUGUST 26 – 28

Experience a play in its early stages when possibilities are endless!

Returning for its fourth year, Plays in Process offers a glimpse into the inner workings of play creation as new works are readied for the stage.

Many Plays in Process titles have gone on to become fully realized productions; this season, The Victim by Lawrence Goodman – presented as a reading last year – makes its World Premiere.

Plays in Process is partially underwritten by Gary & Jeanie Knisely and Ken & Rhea Werner.

SCHEDULE Tuesday, August 26, 7 pm, The Shallows by Jim Frangione, directed by Judy Braha Wednesday, August 27, 7 pm, Free and Equal by Kaia Calhoun, directed by Kaia Calhoun and Tina Packer Photos from Plays in Process 2024.

Thursday, August 28, 7 pm, Adults at Play by Ken Ludwig, directed by Ken Ludwig

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Escape to Wellness In the Heart of the Berkshires

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New England Premiere

DIRECTOR’S TAKE Family! Our memories of family are like playing with a snow globe…you shake it once and the magical shimmer shows you one thing, shake it again and you may see something entirely different. In Mother Play, we follow a larger-than-life mother and her two children through five different apartments that span a 40-year period starting in the 1960s through the disco era, the sexual revolution, the AIDS epidemic, the rise of feminism and more.

Times change, children grow up, mothers struggle and survive. Caretakers need care themselves. Children who take risks to be themselves live lives that lead to unexpected sadness. Things said casually or carelessly have a profound and lasting effect on family relationships. The family endures. Cruelty, pain, poverty, loneliness, love, sexual exploration, and anger all have their moments. And yet, there is laughter, playfulness, and magic in this world and these lives. There is an enchanted purse that can hold infinity, a stuffed rabbit mascot, a seemingly bottomless martini glass, exotic and outrageous fashions, all surrounded by ubiquitous cockroaches – simultaneously symbolic of decay and of survival against all odds. The play explores the shifts of time and memory that bring the living and the long-dead into the same world.

Paula Vogel is one of the best-known most performed and most influential of contemporary American playwrights. Her writing is in the great American tradition, with O’Neill, Williams, and Odets, which turns the family drama into a universal exploration of what it means to be alive.

She has won prizes for her earlier plays including How I Learned to Drive and Indecent, among others. She is a generous nurturer of many young award-winning playwrights – among them Lynn Nottage, Quiara Alegria Hudes, Sarah Ruhl, Nilo Cruz, and Hansol Jung. She is a feminist and a lesbian, a teacher and an artist.

MOTHER PLAY:

a play in five evictions

by Paula Vogel

Directed by Ariel Bock with Tamara Hickey, Zoya Martin, and Eddie Shields

AUGUST 29 – OCTOBER 5 With a martini in one hand and biting commentary in the other, matriarch Phyllis – headstrong, but resourceful – runs her household with a mix of tough love and theatrical flair, determined to prepare her kids Carl and Martha for the harsh realities of the world whether they like it or not.

As Carl and Martha navigate their own paths, Phyllis remains an ever-present force, doling out brutal honesty, unsolicited wisdom, and the occasional guilt trip with impeccable timing.

Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, Mother Play is a sharp-witted, darkly comedic exploration of family, identity, and survival spanning four decades, five apartments, and many hardships from cockroach infestations to painful conflicts. It premiered on Broadway just last year, earning four Tony nominations, two Drama Desk Awards, and an Outer Critics Circle Award.

Mother Play is a memory play written by Paula Vogel about her own family. It is hilarious and heartbreaking, painful and funny – written with daring theatricality and compassion.

— Ariel Bock

MOTHER PLAY: a play in five evictions is generously underwritten by Howard and Natalie Shawn.

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PERFORMANCE

ELAYNE P. BERNSTEIN THEATRE

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CELEBRATING JEWISH PLAYS

AN IMMERSIVE WEEKEND OF STAGED READINGS OCTOBER 10 – 12

THE PRICE

by Arthur Miller

Friday, October 10 at 7pm Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre Nominated for two Tony Awards, The Price is an engrossing story of two estranged brothers confronting their family history when they meet to dispose of the furniture in their deceased father's apartment. The play explores family dynamics, the cost of success, and the enduring power of memory, with many critics calling it Miller’s best work.

THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG

by Wendy Wasserstein

Saturday, October 11 at 2 pm Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre Winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award, The Sisters Rosensweig tells the story of three extraordinary, Brooklyn-born Jewish women.

Sara lives an ostensibly happy life in London with her intelligent daughter, Tess. Pfeni is a travel writer pursuing an unsatisfactory relationship with Geoffrey, a bisexual theater director. Gorgeous lives with her husband and kids in Newton, Mass., where she pursues a ‘funsy’ career as a radio agony aunt. When they meet up at Sara’s home, reawakened familial bonds cause each woman to confront her past and her future.

The Sisters Rosensweig is generously supported

by Beverly Hyman and Larry Birnbach.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 4:30 PM an invitation-only event and reception will be held with Rachel Kadish, author of the National Jewish Book Award-winning The Weight of Ink. Rachel will talk about her novel followed by excerpts of a theatrical adaptation in development by Kate Kohler Amory and Tamara Hickey. Both the event and reception are open to A+ ticket holders and those who make a donation of $100 or more to benefit the weekend. For more information, email development@shakespeare.org!

HERE THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES

by Moisés Kaufman & Amanda Gronich

Saturday, October 11 at 7 pm Tina Packer Playhouse A mysterious album of never-before-seen Nazi-era photographs from Auschwitz arrives at the desk of Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist Rebecca Erbelding. As Rebecca begins to unravel the shocking story behind the images, the album soon makes headlines around the world. An elegant and harrowing work of documentary theater that probes the unsolvable mystery of how individuals can insist on normalcy while atrocity lurks outside the frame, Here There Are Blueberries is a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama, winner of the Theater J Trish Vradenburg Jewish Play Prize, and the winner of two 2025 Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Play.

ROZ & RAY

by Karen Hartman Sunday, October 12 at 2 pm Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre Directed by Daniela Varon Featuring John Douglas Thompson (HBO’s The Gilded Age) A finalist for the international Susan Smith Blackburn prize, Roz & Ray is a gripping story of one doctor’s ethical struggle at the onset of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Dr. Roz thinks she’s found the cure to AIDS in a new miracle drug for Ray Leon’s twins with hemophilia. However, a turn of events leads Roz on a dangerous journey.

This powerful new work tells a tragic yet ultimately heartfelt story about a deep friendship during a devastating chapter of medical and queer history.

POST-SHOW TALKBACK Join us on Sunday, October 12 following the reading of Roz & Ray, and check shakespeare. org as new talkbacks are added!

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PERFORMANCE

TINA PACKER PLAYHOUSE & ELAYNE P. BERNSTEIN THEATRE

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PERFORMANCE

ELAYNE P. BERNSTEIN THEATRE

A Lively, Costumed Reading

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

by Kate Hamill

Based on the novel by Jane Austen

Directed by Ariel Bock DECEMBER 12 – 14 Our family-friendly Winter Show returns this year with Sense and Sensibility: a fastpaced, staged reading wherein the wit and romance of Jane Austen’s classic tale come to life.

Sense and Sensibility follows the fortunes, and misfortunes, of the Dashwood sisters — sensible Elinor and hypersensitive Marianne — after their father’s sudden death leaves them financially destitute and socially vulnerable.

Set in late 18th-century England, the play is full of humor, emotional depth, and joyous verve. Sense and Sensibility examines our reactions, both reasonable and ridiculous, to societal pressures. When reputation is everything, how do you follow your heart?

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RIOTOUS YOUTH FINAL PERFORMANCES Fridays, starting at 10 am Outdoors at the Rose Footprint Theatre These “greatest hits” performances of selected Shakespeare plays, performed by actors ages 7–15, are shared with family and friends at the close of each session.

July 11 – The Taming of the Shrew July 25 – Romeo and Juliet August 8 – Henry IV, Part 1 August 15 – Monsters, Magic & Mischief: The Tempest

The Education Program Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program has created one of the most extensive theater-ineducation initiatives in the Northeast. Starting as young as age seven, more than 30,000 students and educators are introduced to Shakespeare each year through the Northeast Regional Tour, Riotous Youth programs for young actors, the Fall Festival of Shakespeare, In-school Residencies, Professional Development workshops, and more.

Keep an eye on shakespeare.org and social media to learn more about Education Program performances this summer and fall, including the locally treasured and nationally acclaimed Fall Festival of Shakespeare this November.

Friday, August 15, 12 pm Outdoors at the Rose Footprint Theatre Actors ages 14–18 — veteran Riotous Youth participants taking the next step in their actor training — close their three-week experience by performing a compilation of scenes, monologues, and events chosen specifically for them from several of Shakespeare’s plays.

THE 37TH FALL FESTIVAL OF SHAKESPEARE

Photos by Four Wings Photography and Eran Zelixon.

RIOTOUS COMPANY FINAL PERFORMANCE

Visit shakespeare.org/education for more information, or scan the QR code.

Thursday, November 20 – Sunday, November 23 Tina Packer Playhouse Our annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare brings more than 500 high school students together each year for a nine-week exploration of multiple Shakespeare plays, culminating in full-scale productions on Fall Festival Weekend at our own Tina Packer Playhouse! When high-energy teenagers are turned loose through the power of Shakespeare’s language, the thrill is palpable and the houses are packed.

Are you an alum of the Education Program? Register with our alumni network or update your information at shakespeare.org/education, and join us for Education Alumni Night on Friday, August 8 at 3:30 pm!

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EDUCATION

SUMMER & FALL EDUCATION PROGRAMMING

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Kevin G. Coleman Celebrated as a Berkshire 25 Honoree The Berkshire 25 — an annual selection that recognizes individuals in the community who are the most dedicated, most creative, and most influential people in their fields — included Director of Education Kevin G. Coleman in its 2024 list of honorees.

Founder of Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program, Coleman has also been honored by the White House for Shakespeare & Company’s work with juvenile offenders, among other recognitions.

He proudly acknowledges the more than 40,000 th Now entering its 12 year, Berkshire 25 is stewarded students and teachers who take part each year in Shakespeare & Company performances,

by Berkshire Magazine and solicits nominations workshops, and residencies — nearly one million from the community that are then reviewed by its participants since 1978. editorial board and a panel of advisors.

“I am humbled every time I read through the list of this year’s talented and dedicated individuals,” Berkshire Magazine Editor-in-Chief Anastasia Stanmeyer wrote in her “Scribbled Note” column.

For more information on Berkshire 25, visit berkshiremag.com/berkshire-25. n

Photos by Eloy Garcia.

A total of 275 individuals have been honored since 2013. This year’s panel of advisors, all of whom are past Berkshire 25 honorees, include Multicultural BRIDGE CEO and Founding Director Gwendolyn Hampton VanSant; Berkshire Athenaeum Director Alex Reczkowski; Berkshire Innovation Center Director Ben Sosne, and Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) Founder and Director Kelley Vickery. Masters of Ceremonies were State Representative Smitty Pignatelli and Berkshire Magazine Publisher Dr. Joshua Sherman.

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Celebrating 25 Years of Riotous Youth

A Summer Tradition of Shakespeare, Storytelling, and Discovery Season 2025 marks a milestone — the 25th season of Riotous Youth, Shakespeare & Company’s beloved summer theater programs for young actors. Founded in 1999, with a brief hiatus during the summer of 2020, the Riotous Youth programs exist today due to the countless Education Artists who have taught and contributed to the ever-evolving of the program’s work.

“Each year, Riotous Youth participants have discovered that Shakespeare is himself riotous,” said Director of Education Kevin G. Coleman. “And 25 years later, those same participants are now the parents sending their own riotous youth here to discover that Shakespeare is — and always will be — their willing playfellow.”

These are the youths that thunder at a playhouse

“Adolescence is our Renaissance,” he continued. “We seldom repeat its intensity, extremity, and passion.

What better material, what better ‘script’ to put into the hands of an adolescent than Shakespeare?”

Why do Shakespeare with young people?

When young people encounter Shakespeare as actors, they experience it in the most engaging, compelling, and personally meaningful way.

They meet characters that inspire them. They tell stories that capture their imaginations. And they learn language that helps them make sense of and articulate their own thoughts and feelings, thereby improving their ability to communicate in constructive ways. Performing material as complex as Shakespeare challenges these young actors to keep their commitments, solve problems, and work in collaboration. Accomplishing such a difficult and meaningful task gives young people an experience of themselves as successful and important.

“The play’s the thing!”

Riotous Youth and Riotous Company sessions are designed to introduce young actors ages 7 to 17 to the language, stories, characters, and themes in Shakespeare through voice and movement exercises and rehearsals.

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The days are led by our Company’s Education Artists, who also incorporate stage combat, clown, theater games, and much more into each day’s activities.

One-, two-, and three-week sessions culminate in “Greatest Hits” performance pieces, joyfully presented to friends, family, and Company members at the outdoor, tented Rose Footprint Theatre.

Education Residency & Riotous Youth Programs Manager Caitlin Kraft added, “With unwavering celebration of each other’s artistry and playfulness, Riotous Youth – and the Education Program at large – reinforces a community of participants who find immense joy in the exploration and creation of theater together, especially as they enter the wild playground of Shakespeare’s works.”

This landmark summer, participants leap into the timeless tales of The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV, and The Tempest. Different plays are chosen each year, often including the same plays appearing in Shakespeare & Company’s Performance season (this season, Romeo and Juliet and Taming of the Shrew).

Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future Sunie Gorey, Shakespeare & Company’s Director of Development, added that the Education Program is also ramping up its alumni outreach, seeking past participants of Riotous Youth, the Fall Festival of Shakespeare, and Shakespeare & Young Company in an effort to reconnect with them and learn more about how our programs have informed and influenced their lives.

“This year marks not just a milestone for Riotous Youth, but the beginning of a deeper connection with our alumni,” she said. “We’re building something new — opportunities to reconnect, reflect, and celebrate the lasting impact of Shakespeare & Company in people’s lives.”

Alumni are invited to submit their information at shakespeare.org/education, and to attend our first-ever Education Alumni Event on Friday, August 8, at 3:30 pm.

For more information about our Education Program, visit shakespeare.org/education! n

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SUMMER SHAKESPEARE INTENSIVE FINAL SCENES Sunday, June 22, 11:30 am & 2 pm Tina Packer Playhouse See our 2025 Summer Shakespeare Intensive participants in action, performing excerpts from Shakespeare plays at the close of a transformative, four-week actortraining experience. This event is free and open to the public.

TRAINING

The Center for Actor Training

SUMMER & FALL PROGRAMMING

Theater artists from around the world seek out Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Actor Training not only to train their voices and bodies, but also to delve deeply into their own imaginations, intellects, and emotional lives. Join us in person for free performances by participants of our summer intensives, and learn more about our workshops for theater artists and curious learners of all experience levels at shakespeare.org.

9-DAY INTENSIVE OPEN SHOWCASE Friday, August 29, 3 pm Outdoors at the Rose Footprint Theatre Designed for mid-career professionals who want to reinvigorate their skills through integrated voice, movement, and text work, this intensive is an immersion into acting Shakespeare, held at the height of our summer season. At the close of the intensive, participants present a showcase performance of Shakespeare’s sonnets, monologues, and dances. This event is free and open to the public.

To learn more about the Center for Actor Training, visit shakespeare.org/actor-training, or scan the QR code.

Select Cities Held across the country, Weekend Intensives are open to anyone seeking to deepen their connection with Shakespeare in a digestible but rigorous format. Visit shakespeare.org/actor-training for the latest listing of locations.

Photos by Christina Lane.

PLUS: WEEKEND INTENSIVES

Are you an alum of the Center for Actor Training, having completed the Month-long Intensive, Summer Shakespeare Intensive, or Conservatory programs? Register with our alumni network or update your information at shakespeare.org/actor-training, and join us for The Center for Actor Training’s Alumni Night on Friday, July 25 at 4 pm!

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TRAINING

The Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund The Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund was established in 2018 by Company Founder and long-time Director of Training, the late Dennis Krausnick (1942 – 2018).

One of Dennis’ missions at the end of his life was to establish this fund in order to offer scholarships to artists of the global majority wishing to study with Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Actor Training.

Gifts to the Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund help bring Dennis’ mission to life. In an overwhelming outpouring of love and support, more than 1,000 individual donors have contributed to the DK Fund in his memory, enabling Shakespeare & Company to grant more than $146,000 in scholarships to 128 artists of the Global Majority in the last seven years.

These gifts play a vital role in increasing access to training for a greater number of theater-makers and teaching artists, helping to build a more encompassing and inclusive theater.

For more information, visit shakespeare.org/donate.

Shelia Bandyopadhyay Director of Actor Training

Scholarship Spotlight Alia Shakira is an actress and artist residing in New York City. She is a graduate of Howard University and has trained at the British American Drama Academy’s Midsummer in Oxford Conservatory and Full Sail University (MS). Most recently, Alia appeared at Utah Shakespeare Festival in The Mountaintop and Silent Sky. She returns to Utah this summer to perform in Antony and Cleopatra and Steel Magnolias. Her theater credits include Horizon Theater in Atlanta, as Makeda in The House that will not Stand, The Alliance Theatre-GA, New Federal Theatre-NY, Metropolitan Playhouse-NY, TheatreWorks-Tour, and The National Black Theatre Festival. TV/Film Credits include Chicago PD, The First Lady, The Color Purple, The Come Up, Woke, and Atlanta.

“For me, the January Intensive offered by Shakespeare & Company was very much a revelatory experience dedicated to becoming more fortified in my craft and apparently, my soul. I appreciate the opportunity to explore the highs and lows of humanity among generous artists who lean into their vulnerability. By working the Linklater Voice and speech approach to vocal engagement on stage, I was able to identify and remove blockages that were inhibiting my ability to communicate clearly and confidently.

“By working through these practices, I am developing a stronger instrument and learning to play it effectively, on and off stage. I definitely enjoyed the text work which included understanding the historical facts surrounding our stories and examining the cultural landscape while developing our intelligence of the Shakespearean rules of play. I love breaking down the material for understanding and context. It was a pleasure to have experienced instructors to guide me through that process. Not only learning different techniques, but having the stage to put all the processes together was a dynamic performance exploration. Incorporating the dance and movement based aspects of life, was thrilling! Though some mornings were challenging, hitting the mat made for a graceful day, nonetheless. Ultimately, the January Intensive 2025 left me with a more specific understanding of my artist self and introduced to me a new way of approaching the work and play. I am eternally grateful for the experience.” —Alia Shakira, Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund Recipient

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When Action is Eloquence

BY BELLA MERLIN AND TINA PACKER Shakespeare & Company: When Action Is Eloquence is the first comprehensive insight into this internationally acclaimed company founded in 1978 in Lenox, Massachusetts, by actor-director Tina Packer and voice pioneer Kristin Linklater, with the transformative power of Shakespeare’s language at its heart.

Actors, directors, students, educators, scholars and theatre-lovers alike will find practical acting strategies, inspirational approaches to theatre making and lively insights into the sustaining of a unique and robust theatre company that has been thriving for over forty years.

Tina Packer

Bella Merlin

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Finding Freedom in Shakespeare’s Text Forging Community and Connections at the Summer Shakespeare Intensive

By Jaclyn C. Stevenson Each summer in the Berkshires, something remarkable takes place: emerging actors from across the country gather at our 33-acre campus to train, connect, and transform through the power of Shakespeare.

Timothy Oh, a 2023 Summer Shakespeare Intensive alumnus, felt those relationships forming not long after arriving on campus. A former football player, he’d been shaped early on by the discipline that comes with playing sports on a competitive level, and as such he’s no stranger to teamwork, long training sessions, and intense focus on developing skills.

He felt his spark for acting while performing in The Center for Actor his first Shakespeare production (As You Like Timothy Oh, 2023 Summer Training’s Summer It) during his junior year of college. After adding Shakespeare Intensive. Photo by Oskar Ahlstrom.

Shakespeare Intensive — Julius Caesar and a touring production of Romeo a four-week actor and Juliet to his credits, Oh discovered that many training program designed for undergraduate of those early cues he’d taken on the field also theater students, recent graduates, and earlytranslated to actor training. career professionals — takes place in May and “But when I arrived at Shakespeare & Company, June, as Shakespeare & Company’s shows are I thought, ‘this is going to be something different. taking to the stage.

This is going to be personal,’” he said. “And within Director of The Center for Actor Training Sheila Bandyopadhyay said the goal of the program is to not just train actors in technique, but to equip them with the tools to connect more deeply — to their characters, to their audiences, and to each other.

“The Summer Intensive is unique in scope and personalized attention,” she said, noting that daily classes are held six days a week in Linklater Voice Work; Monologue and Scene Study; Stage Combat and Play; Movement and Dance; The Actor-Audience Relationship; Text analysis; Rhetoric, and more.

three or four days, I had people around me I felt like I’d known for months, if not years.”

Oh was also quickly struck by the rigorous and personalized approach the intensive’s faculty, all alumni of the Center for Actor Training themselves, takes with each participant.

“Actors train their voices, bodies, and imaginations together, and the faculty works closely with each participant to support their individual growth.”

Living together in the cultural hub of Lenox, Mass., helps to create a collaborative and supportive environment during rigorous classes. But for many alumni, the most lasting impact lies in the relationships formed during the program.

“There’s a strong sense of community that develops,” Bandyopadhyay said. “Many of these actors forge friendships and professional partnerships that carry forward into their careers.”

Kate Nourse, Kristofer Wilson, Mateo Bailey, Timothy Oh, and Natalie Kaplan at Shakespeare & Company’s 2023 Juneteenth celebration.

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Most notably, Oh made his Broadway debut in September 2024 with Romeo and Juliet, directed

by Sam Gold. He served in myriad roles, including Dance Captain, Fight Captain, and understudy for Benvolio/Apothecary; Abraham/Friar John; Balthazar, and Gregory/Servingman.

“It’s the most famous play in the world performed at the most notorious level, and it’s absurd,” he said of his most recent gig. “But I would not be here without the launching pad Shakespeare & Company provided.”

This season, Oh will add yet another Romeo and Juliet role to his credits, playing Tybalt in our own outdoor production at the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre. Bandyopadhyay said she’s thrilled to see him return as a Company Artist.

Left to Right: Andrew Borthwick-Leslie, Sheila Bandyopadhyay and Timothy Oh.

“It’s indescribable how much joy and passion this group of people brought, seeing the care and precision they took with every single person,” he said. “Their notes are precise, and there’s an emphasis on self and on opening what is so deeply inside you.”

Since completing the Summer Shakespeare Intensive, Oh’s connection to Shakespeare has only strengthened. He’s still part of a thriving community of like-minded actors, now in Brooklyn instead of Lenox.

“It was just delightful to see TT on Broadway in Romeo and Juliet, and I’m looking forward to seeing him perform at Shakespeare & Company this summer,” she said. “He’s a naturally gifted physical actor, and Tybalt is a great role for him.”

Oh shared Bandyopadhyay’s excitement, saying he’s “giddy to be in this space.”

“It changed my life,” he said. n

To learn more or apply, visit shakespeare.org/actor-training or email training@shakespeare.org.

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Summer Programs Riding Lessons Trail Rides & Donkey Treks Events & Fun!

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The Wise Fool

Finding it Funny with Company Artist Michael F. Toomey Michael F. Toomey is an actor, director, and master Clown teacher, as well as a longtime Company Artist and faculty member with The Center for Actor Training.

His recent Clown show, A Crucible: A Celebration of Turkeys and Witches, played to sold-out houses at New York City Fringe and in the Berkshires at The Foundry in West Stockbridge. We sat down with Michael and asked him a few questions about his work as a creator who rocks the red nose.

S&Co: When were you first introduced to Clown?

MT: My first introduction was through [Shakespeare & Company’s Director of Education] Kevin Coleman during the [former] Summer Performance Institute, where the participants were acting in their own Shakespeare play and also on the mainstage in smaller roles with professional actors. As part of that summer’s training, we did about a month of Clown with Kevin where we played in the studio two or three days a week.

S&Co: What were your early experiences with creating original work?

MT: I first wrote a play by myself in high school while I was a landscaper for a monastery. Mondays through Fridays, I would be on a really loud mower, and I started writing a play in my head. Then, after work I would go home and write it all down.

By the end of that summer I had a rough draft, and in college I was studying screenwriting and playwriting, so I came back to it.

During college I did a deep dive into performance artists and collective ensembles like the Manhattan Project and Richard Schechner. That’s when I started getting an inkling about what devised or self-generated work was. I took the play I had written and started working on it with an ensemble — taking it apart and putting it back together. It was a mess, but it sparked an nterest in work that wasn’t traditional.

S&Co: What is it that makes the study of Clown so impactful for actors?

MT: It’s different for everyone, and that’s part of what I love about it. It’s so based on the individual person that I find if you talk to 10 different people, you’ll get 10 different answers. For me, the clown nose allows for part of myself — the neurodivergent part of myself that very early on I got the impression I should not fully embrace — to come out. In Clown and through my personal clown Francis, I get to do, say, and think in community and express myself without a filter and without a mask that I might wear in my daily life. The clown nose gives me permission to let the social mask go.

S&Co: If you had one piece of advice you could offer to people interested in creating new work, what would it be?

MT: Don’t listen to anyone else! Don’t take anyone’s advice! The calvary is not coming. n Top to Bottom: Michael F. Toomey in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2014. Photo by Kevin Sprague; Photo courtesy of Michael F. Toomey; Michael F. Toomey’s original Clown show, A Crucible: A Celebration of Turkeys and Witches

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SUPPORT

TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION, VISIT SHAKESPEARE.ORG

Barbara Mahony Honored for Service to Community, Company, and Creativity Shakespeare & Company is proud to announce Barbara Mahony of Pittsfield, Mass., as the recipient of the 2024 Philip Heller Distinguished Service Award, an honor bestowed annually to an individual who has shown exceptional commitment and unwavering dedication to the Company.

The fund allows for annual recognition of a member of the community for extraordinary service to the Company, with surplus funds used to make improvements to Shakespeare & Philip Heller Company’s campus.

“Phil loved Shakespeare & Company, and he loved both the community and the arts of the Berkshires,” said Heller. “He volunteered a lot of his time, so it seemed logical to do something in his honor that also honors our very special volunteers.” (continued on next page.)

Left to Right: 2024 Philip Heller Distinguished Service Award Recipent Barbara Mahony and Anita Heller.

Established in 2019, the Philip Heller Distinguished Service Award and Fund was created by Anita Heller of Lenox in memory of her husband, who served as pro bono legal counsel to Shakespeare & Company from its inception in 1978 until his death in 2018.

PHILIP HELLER DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD PAST RECIPIENTS Sarah Lytle, Richmond, Mass.

Bob Lohbauer, Lee, Mass.^ Scott Rubinow, Durham, N.C.^ Mary Ann Turney, Otis, Mass.

Ken Werner, Lenox, Mass.

Sandy Bourgeois, Richmond, Mass. ^ Deceased

Support Shakespeare & Company

“Thy Friendship Makes us Fresh!” – Henry VI, Part I

Patrons, performers, parents, and friends: since 1978, you’ve supported Shakespeare & Company in its mission to offer world-class productions, life-changing education programs, and inspiring training opportunities.

In thanks, we are pleased to offer a variety of benefits designed to bring those who contribute to our future even closer to the work of today, including invitations to special events, early-access to season tickets, complimentary behind-the-scenes tours, and more.

To make a contribution, visit shakespeare.org/donate or mail a check to: Shakespeare & Company Attn. Development 70 Kemble Street Lenox, MA 01240 For more information on making a gift, including stock or estate planning, email development@shakespeare.org, or call (413) 637-1199 ext. 180.

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DONATE ONLINE

much-needed database manager or mentoring her own successor, she has a knack for finding — and nurturing — people who strengthen the fabric of the Company.

Her service extends far beyond her term as president. Today, she continues to serve as Cochair of the Hospitality Committee, coordinating events and personally delivering home-made bread to actors and crew. She has also worked on winter redecorating projects to refresh living spaces in our dormitories at Lawrence Hall and other areas for incoming artists and staff.

Mahony is also a passionate advocate for Mahony’s journey with the Company spans nearly inclusion, diversity, equity, and inclusion, serving a quarter-century. Twenty-four years ago, she coon Shakespeare & Company’s IDEA Committee founded the Shakespeare & Volunteer Company, and bringing perspectives informed by her work creating a vital link between volunteers and the in the broader Berkshire community — including artistic heart of the organization. Since then, she with the Lee Congregational Church, local NAACP has worn countless hats: leader, organizer, guide, chapters, the Literacy Program, and other justiceambassador, and most of all, tireless advocate for centered initiatives. connection and community.

A retired schoolteacher and longtime campus Mahony served as President of the Volunteer tour guide, Mahony helps visitors understand the Company from 2011 to 2013, during which time inner workings of a theater company, answering she championed efforts to more deeply connect questions about casting, costumes, season volunteers with staff and Company Artists. planning, and more. Her grace, knowledge, and Hank Baker, current co-president of the Volunteer warm humor are well known to all who’ve had the Company, said from organizing artist dinners to pleasure of joining one of her tours. rededicating the Shakespeare Garden Theatre to Artistic Director Allyn Burrows said Mahony reviving the age-old tradition of bread-baking as exemplifies the spirit of service, dedication, and a welcome gift for seasonal employees, she has community that the Philip Heller Distinguished Service continually sought to build bridges between people Award represents. and programs.

“I am so glad that we “As one of the founding members of Volunteer can honor Barbara with Company in 2000, Barbara has been a tireless this award this year,” volunteer and ambassador for Shakespeare & he said. “She has been Company,” Baker said. “She also played a critical such an indefatigable leadership role in guiding the Volunteer Company volunteer and supporter as it grew into the organization that it is today. We of the company, cannot thank her enough.” consistently through the One of the enduring symbols of her leadership is years. Everyone smiles the design and construction of the bluestone steps when she comes into Left to Right: Cloteal L. Horne and Barbara Mahony that now welcome visitors from the Tina Packer the room.”

Playhouse terrace into the Roman Garden — a For more information or to make a gift to the Philip lasting and well-loved contribution from the Volunteer Heller Fund, call Director of Development Sunie Company under her vision.

Gorey at 413.637.1199 ext. 180, or email Throughout her tenure, Mahony has recruited sgorey@shakespeare.org.  many of the company’s most dependable and passionate volunteers, often recognizing talents before others did. Whether it was identifying a

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Stay, Shop, Dine & Explore!

We urge visitors and residents alike to visit the fine establishments that have joined us as Business Sponsors in 2025. These charming hotels, top-rated restaurants, eclectic shops, one-of-a-kind attractions, and professional services not only support Shakespeare & Company, but also contribute to the thriving, cultural community that defines the Berkshires as one of the premiere cultural destinations in the world.

51 Park Restaurant & Tavern A.W. Confections Acrisure/Toole Insurance Actors’ Shakespeare Project Adams Community Bank Allison Crane Interiors Alta Restaurant & Wine Bar Antimony Craft Brewery + Kitchen Appetito Pizza & Gelato Arcadian Shop Barrington Brewery & Restaurant Bella Flora Berkshire Botanical Garden Berkshire Classic Leather & Silver Berkshire Cosmetic & Reconstructive Surgery Center Berkshire Food Co-op Market Berkshire Greenscapes Berkshire Health Systems Berkshire International Film Festival Berkshire Jewish Film Festival Berkshire Money Management Berkshire Mountain Distillers Berkshire Muse Berkshire Music School Berkshire Opera Festival Berkshire Pride Berkshire Pulse Berkshire South Regional Community Center Berkshire Theatre Group Berkshires Week Betty's Pizza Shack Blue Q Blue Spark Financial Bousquet Mountain Bousquet Sport Brava Wine Bar Brook Farm Inn

Café Triskele European Bistro Canyon Ranch Carrie Haddad Gallery Casablanca Casablanca South Cello Chatham Yoga Center Chester Theatre Company Chesterwood Chocolate Springs Café Clark + Green, and Bek, Inc. Architecture Design Classical Tents & Party Rentals Cohen + White Associates Considine Leary & Arnold LLP, Attorneys at Law Crissey Farm Berkshire Banquet House Dare Bottleshop & Provisions Decumanus Green Design Menagerie Devonfield Inn Doctor Sax House Douglas James Rose Attorney & Counsellor at Law Fluff Alpaca Frankie's Ristorante Italiano Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio Gateways Inn & Restaurant GB9 Glad Rags Great Barrington Bagel Company & Deli Great Barrington Public Theater Gregory Cherin Photography Guardian Life Insurance Company of America Guido's Fresh Marketplace H. Terry Designs Haddad Auto Group Hado-Mark Gallery Hampton Terrace Bed & Breakfast

Haven Café & Bakery Heller & Robbins, Attorneys at Law Henry's Electric, Inc. Hill-Engineers Architects, Planners, Inc. HomeFarm at Undermountain House of Polish Ilana Leah LLC Inspired Dental Wellness Kent's Vacuum Center Kimball Farms Life Care Retirement Community Kushi & Company, PC Laurie Donovan Designs Lee Bank Lenox Chamber of Commerce Lenox Coffee Lenox Family Chiropractic Lenox Fit LePrevost Plumbing, Heating & Cooling LifeTree Pilates Loeb's Foodtown Mac-Hayden Theatre MacKimmie Co. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Meadow Farm Equipment Miraval Berkshires Nejaime's Wine Cellars Norman Rockwell Museum October Mountain Financial Advisors Ombra One Mercantile Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) Park Row Gallery Pignatelli Electric Contractors Pizzeria Boema QualPrint Red Mannequin Renaissance Investment Group

Riverbrook Residence Roam: An Xtina Parks Gallery Rob Alberti Event Services Roberts & Associates Realty, Inc. Roots Holistic Wellness Scarafoni Financial Group Second Life Books, Inc. Sharon Playhouse Shear Design Shooz SoCo Creamery Stone House Properties Stonover Farm SWTRZ The Bidwell House Museum The Bookstore The Chatham Bookstore The Gifted Child The Inn at Stockbridge The Mount, Edith Wharton's Home The Pack Shack Dog Day Care The Red Lion Inn The Soules Team The Warm Ewe The Yankee Inn Villa Amonoka WAM Theatre Ward's Nursery & Garden Center Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center What A Gift WHDD Robin Hood Radio Williams & Sons Stockbridge Country Store Windy Hill Farm Wingate LTD. Zinc Bistro & Bar

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A BUSINESS SPONSOR? WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE? Complimentary show tickets, Annual VIP party, special invitations and more! Promote your business in our Season Playbill and digitally on our website! Rates starting at just $425 for the entire Season. Contact Director of Sponsorships Elizabeth Aspenlieder at aspenlieder@shakespeare.org, or by phone at 413.637.1199 ext. 110.

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Business Sponsor Spotlight

Berkshire Muse curates parties, picnics to celebrate life’s milestones

by Alyssa Seidman Over the past year, Lauren Fritscher has given her clients the present of being present. As the founder of the event-planning business Berkshire Muse, she takes on the task of curating special occasions that both guests — and hosts — can enjoy.

“When people are celebrating something in their life, they tend to think they can do it themselves, but then they just end up entertaining, which takes away from their whole experience,” Fritscher said. “I give people an opportunity to be present so they’re able to have those memories. Hiring an event planner is a gift to yourself.”

A Brief Background Fritscher launched Berkshire Muse last summer to facilitate high-end picnics in idyllic locations throughout the region. Since then it’s expanded to include a full suite of planning services for wedding, corporate, and nonprofit events, social soirées, and weekend getaways.

Lauren Fritscher

“We allow people to celebrate life’s milestones by being a resource and helping them plan those parties,” Fritscher said. “The community aspect also differentiates me from other event planners here.”

As Berkshire Muse has grown, Fritscher has been able to build community by supporting local businesses and cultural organizations through her services. One such collaboration, Social Circle, enables guests to network with fellow owners, creatives, and entrepreneurs in the Berkshires.

A New Muse Fritscher said this community involvement put her on Elizabeth Aspenlieder’s radar. Aspenlieder is the director of Sponsorships, Groups & Special Events at Shakespeare & Company. The two met earlier this year to discuss establishing a working relationship, and formalize Berkshire Muse as the company’s Business Sponsor for the current season.

Whether sprawled on the Lawn at Tanglewood or in the comfort of a client’s home, the business brings a higher level of planning to your average picnic. Fritscher maps out every detail to make for a memorable experience, including comfortable seating, elegant tableware, and thoughtfullycurated menus courtesy of Styled Bites, the business’ catering arm.

The same attention to detail is applied to largescale events, as Fritscher coordinates each of her clients’ occasions with care and creativity.

And for those looking to explore the beauty of the Berkshires, Fritscher curates personalized travel itineraries for visitors as well as residents.

“Setting up a picnic for patrons will bring them on to the campus earlier to explore the grounds and dine al fresco prior to a performance, which is a quintessential summer experience in the Berkshires,” Fritscher said.

“I can plan any type of event that you can dream of — or I can dream it up for you!”

For more information about Berkshire Muse or to add some magic to your next milestone celebration, visit berkshiremuse.com. n

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TALKS & TOURS

Talks & Tours

Shakespeare & Company is offering a full summer of walks and talks this year with the Behind the Curtain lecture series and Merry Wanderers’ Guided Tours! Each session is listed below; visit shakespeare.org to reserve your spot.

BEHIND THE n i a t r u C Our Behind the Curtain talks feature directors, cast, and other creative team members exploring various themes of Season 2025 productions throughout the summer.

All Behind the Curtain talks are hosted by Shakespeare scholar Ann Berman, and held on Saturdays at the tented Rose Footprint Theatre. These events are outdoors free to all, but tickets are required.

SCHEDULE June 21, 10:30 am – The Victim with Director Daniel Gidron July 5, 10:30 am – Romeo and Juliet with Directors Kevin G. Coleman and Jonathan Epstein July 19, 10:30 am – The Piano Lesson with Director Christopher V. Edwards August 2, 10:30 am – The Taming of the Shrew with Director Nicole Ricciardi August 16, 10:30 am – Mother Play with Director Ariel Bock

For more information, visit shakespeare.org/talks-tours or scan the QR code!

Left to Right Ann Berman and Tina Packer, 2024.

Photo by Eran Zelixon.

Merry Wanderers' Guided Tour. Photo by Eran Zelixon.

Merry Wanderers’ Guided Tours Shakespeare & Company’s General Manager Steve Ball and his canine companion Willie lead weekly walking tours on Thursday mornings at 10:30 am, July 3 through August 28. These two-hour experiences offer a peek at what it takes to make theater happen, from the costume and prop shops to the armory and beyond.

Tickets are $15, or $8 for students.

Willie the Dog

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Join over 1,500 of the most creative, engaged, and active adults in the Berkshires (and beyond!) for courses, events, and community.

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10TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT AUGUST 14

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The Stratford Circle – A Gift for the Ages Joining The Stratford Circle, our Planned Giving program, is a powerful way to support Shakespeare & Company’s mission of bringing integrated and sustainable performance, training, and education programs to our community. Not only does your gift provide essential financial support, but it can also offer valuable tax benefits during your lifetime and beyond.

The Stratford Circle honors those who have committed to the future of Shakespeare & Company through a will, trust, or beneficiary designation. In recognition of their deep commitment, members are given unique opportunities to engage with us: • Recognition in our annual Playbill and on our website (unless anonymity is requested) • Invitations to the annual Stratford Circle event with our Artistic Director and other special occasions • The reassurance that you’re helping Shakespeare & Company thrive for future generations To learn more or share your plans, contact our Development Department at 413. 637.1199 ext. 180, or email development@shakespeare.org.

You can find more information, as well as a Letter of Intent, at shakespeare.org/thestratford-circle, or scan this QR code:

We express our heartfelt gratitude to the following supporters who have included Shakespeare & Company in their estate plans: • Anonymous • Carol Anderson • Honie^ and Jerry Berko^ • Elayne P. Bernstein Schwartz^ • Sandy Bourgeois and Sarah Lytle • Shera Cohen • Carol Braun • Claire Cox^ • Gretchen DeKalb • Ruth Dinerman • Hans R. Fehlmann^ • Stuart M. Fischman, Esq. • Monique Gershon^ • Katharine Goodland • Robert D. Gorden^ • Paula Lee Gottschalk^ • Howard Kaufman^ • Jeff Konowitch & Wendy Laurin • Dennis Krausnick^ • Greg Lipper • Barri Marks • Lucille McCabe^ • Robert B. Neff^ • Tina Packer • Richard Russell • Linda Sambel^ • Marilyn Thompson^ • Nancy^ and Michael Vale^ • Dr. Raymond Vale ^ deceased

A legacy gift makes a lasting impact on the future of Shakespeare & Company.

We honor these members for choosing this meaningful way to give.

Shakespeare & Company is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN# 04-2666826).

All gifts are tax-deductible to the full extent provided by law. Please consult your legal or financial advisor to determine your personal tax and estate plans.

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SUPPORT

TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION, VISIT SHAKESPEARE.ORG

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Thank you for your support!

Shakespeare & Company gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the following individuals, foundations, businesses, and government agencies whose annual support is essential to our programs. Individual donors who contribute $1,500 and above are members of the Players’ Society, our leadership gift society.

Through their generous philanthropy, leadership, and service, these donors exhibit a deep commitment to the organization.

PLAYERS’ SOCIETY PRODUCERS 50,000+ Honie Berko^ The Bok Family Foundation The Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust Monique^ and N. Richard Gershon The Hearst Foundations Massachusetts Cultural Council Michael A. and Annette Miller Emily Rechnitz Keanu Reeves Stephen and Pilar Crespi Robert Amy and David Sorkin

PRODUCERS $25,000-49,999 Anonymous Arts Midwest The Elayne P. Bernstein Family Dr. Gerald Friedman Michael and Ricki Helfer Bev Hyman and Larry Birnbach+ The Janey Fund Charitable Trust Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Karen A. Kowgios and Robert Fried Robert B. Neff^ Suzanne Priebatsch Barry and Marjorie Shapiro/Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation Natalie and Howard Shawn The Shubert Foundation Toni and Robert Strassler Theatrical Fund of the Lotta Crabtree Trust

THE BARDS $10,000-24,999 Anonymous Deborah and Alan Annex Allyn Burrows and Tamara Hickey The Feigenbaum Foundation Dr. Donald and Phoebe L. Giddon GKV Foundation Susan and Richard Grausman Anita F. Heller* Amy Berko Iles Gary and Jeanie Knisely Jeffrey Konowitch and Wendy Laurin Peter and Candy LaPlante

Greg Lipper and Kate Kohler Amory Barri Marks and Woody Exley Macaire Pace and Charles Owen Jenifer and Mark Salzberg Irina and Alexander Shifrin Dr. Licia Sky and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk Stone Soup Fund Trauma Research Foundation Inc. Andrew B. Weinberger and Meredith Sue Willis Rhea and Ken Werner

DIRECTORS $5,000-9,999 Anonymous (2) Virginia S. Akabane Steve and Cathy Bader Michael and Mary Brabeck Paul Clark and Carol Parrish Joey Coleman and Berit Oskey Michael J. Considine & Shawn P. Leary, Attorneys The Helen Matchett Demario Foundation, Inc. Chip and Cindy Elitzer Jane Gilbert Marlo Hyman and Ken Goldman Harold Grinspoon and Diane Troderman Donald Hicken Leslie and Stephen Jerome David M. Kozak Barbara A. Mahony K. Ann McDonald Mill Town Foundation Ricardo Morales and Melissa Agosto Brooke Owen Thomas Claudia Perles and Gerry Fultz Ian Rasch Kathleen Rogers and Rick Teller Deborah and Bill Ryan Jamie Shenkman and Chris Magadini Jeanne and Frank Speizer Jodi and Paul Tartell John and Gina Toole Dottie Weber Jacqueline R. Werner and Richard L. Soffer Reid and Laird White

POETS $2,500-4,999

PLAYERS $1,500-2,499

Anonymous Acrisure New England Hillel and Liliana Bachrach Rosalie M. Bandyopadhyay Helene Berger Sandy Bourgeois and Sarah Lytle John Bousa Jo Brown Maggie and Don Buchwald Patrick J. Buckley Wolfe Coleman and Elliot LaPlante Linda Benedict Colvin Claudia Davidoff and Joseph Kahan Jody Dushay and Paul Gompers John and Janet Egelhofer Deborah and Robert First Ricki Gardner and William Cavanagh Nathan Gibson Gerald and Deborah Goodman Davis Stephen Graves and Caroline Marten-Ellis Martin and Judythe Isserlis Martin and Wendy Kaplan Dominic Kirchner II* Lenox School Alumni Association, Inc. Marybeth and Kevin Mitts Ann and Donald Morrison Susie Norris Michael Paskin and Danielle Demeo Pittsfield Cultural Council Peter B. F. and Helen G. Randolph Myra Sallet Robert and Susan Schechter Arlene and Donald Shapiro Dr. Adam and Deborah Miller Strickberger John Douglas Thompson Warrior Trading Christopher and Jane White Junior Winokur and Craig Vickers Janet Wynn and Roger Kubarych Leone T. Young Fareed Zakaria

Anonymous (2) Mary and Dan Abbruzzese Henry Baker and Jerry Arko Nancy and Mark Belsky John Bergman and Laura Ferber Hazen Sandra and Eric Berkowitz Judy and Tim Boomer Jody Bourgeois Jennifer Kotler Clarke Mary and Robert Cohen Meghan and John Cortner Joanne and Gerald Dreher Randall Frank Dr. Thomas M. Fynan and Mr. William F. Loutrel Deborah Grausman Trudi and Frank Gunsberg Ellen and Scott Hand William and Suzanne Harley Rita J. & Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Eugene Leibowitz Ellen and Peter Maggio Dan Mendelson Esther Messing Selina Morris-Grinspoon Mary Ellen O'Connor Carole Robinson Palermo and Mark Palermo Diane and Deval Patrick Noni Pratt Edith Pye and Ernest Nieratka+ Shulamit and Jehuda Reinharz Lawrence Rosenthal Jenn Schimmel Memorial Fund Chuck Schwager and Jan Durgin Barbara Serating and Ted Shiffman Steven Somkin and Naomi Spatz Jonathan Stone and Thomas Flanigan Kevin Truex and Frank Burnes WHH Foundation Susan and Geoffrey Woglom

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SUPPORT

INDIVIDUAL & INSTITUTIONAL DONORS SOVEREIGNS $1,000-1,499 Anonymous (2) Francine Achbar Louis Alexander Lauren Ambrose and Sam Handel Jennifer Anderson Margaret and James Andreassi Shari and Steve Ashman Steve and Judy August Jillen Axelrod and Sherman Pfeifer Martin Baron Berkshire Film + Media Collaborative Vicki Bonnington and David Schecker Judy Braha Christine and Larry Carsman Wende and David Carver Mike and Wendy Coakley Cohen Family Fund of Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, Inc. Paula Consolini and Jim Mahon Constance and Michael Cunningham The Jane and William Curran Foundation, Inc. Andrea Degenhardt Marianne Deignan and Gray Ellrodt Paul Deutsch and Kiu Ling Tom Beverly and Christopher Doyle+ Davis Dyer and Janice McCormick Donna Elmendorf Mattie Kelley and Robert Fuglestad Ann and John Galt Liz and Jesse Goodman Carol and Joseph Green Greylock Federal Credit Union Deann Simmons Halper Carrie and Jonathan Hammond Torrence Harder Rebecca M. Hedgecock Ruth H. Heespelink Gail Kitch, Ed Kitch, and Charles Leftwich Linda Kopec Lipton Energy The Wesley G. McCain, Noreene Storrie & Malcolm W.S. McCain Family Fund Charles and Debra McCambridge Darlene McCampbell Robert and Jeanne Meister Molly and Ben Merrihew Martin Messinger Jaan and Jacqueline Metsma Alan Miller Bruce Miller and Valeska O'Leary Dr. Peter B. Mudge New Marlborough Cultural Council Elaine and Fred Panitz Diane Pearlman

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Irving and Sharon Picard William Pignatelli Claudio and Penny Pincus Lia and Bill Poorvu Victoria Rhoades and Alvaro, Malena & Sophia Carraro Roberts & Associates Realty, Inc. Ro Family Foundation The Rock Family Laura Rosenthal The Jeffrey and Karen Ross Charitable Fund Michael Rubenstein Linda Saul-Sena and Mark Sena Lynne Sebastian and George Klemp The Sholley Foundation Rita and Harvey Simon Dr. Gerald Smetana Howard and Ruth Sovronsky Springfield Cultural Council Margery and Lewis Steinberg David H. Strassler Alison and Malcolm Thwaites Lance Vermeulen Real Estate James Warwick and David Mead Suzanne and Bob Werner Paul Wing Allan Winkler Mara and Randy Winn Jessie Wolfson Michael Zody

SPIRITS $500-999 Anonymous (8) Elise Abrams Bella Merlin and Miles Anderson Averbuch/Rivest Family Katherine L. Babson, Jr. The Bigger Than A Breadbox Fund Tracy Boehme The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar Jadwiga and Donald Brown Joan and Robert Buccino Deborah and Richard Burke Linda Cantoni Charles Schwab Philippa Claude and Tony Stretton Barbara L. Cohen Kevin G. Coleman and Lezlie Lee Mary and James Nicoll Cooper Joe Corso Freda Grim and Dan Courchaine Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire Todd and Jessica Curtis Bjoren Davis Jacqueline Del Rossi Tobey and Mark Dichter Danny Eaton Kimberly Eckhardt

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Dr. Bonnie Saks and Bradley Minnen Elizabeth Schiro and Stephen Bayer Charles Schulze and Carole Palermo Shakespeare & Volunteer Company Sheffield Cultural Council Gayle Merling and James Shields Roberta Silman Bernard Silverman Michael and Brad Simon Dorothy H. Sinclair Stanley and Nancy Singer Matthew and Nareeluck Stephenson Ron and Martha Stewart Jonathan A. Swartz Matthew Tannenbaum June Thomas Sheila and Randy Thunfors Carlos and Amy Torre Alice Truax and Betsy Tanner Mary Ann Turney Nela Wagman Andrea Waldstein Ward's Nursery & Garden Center Conna Weiner Jane Weingarten Tom and Suky Werman Walter Williamson

STARS $250-499 Anonymous (7) Marcie Aiuvalasit Alford-Egremont Cultural Council Robert C. Anderson Penny and Bob Apter George Bain Fred Baker and Lisa Powers Christine W. Baldridge Barnum Family Veronica Beaupre Dr. Elliott Bird Robin and Sheldon Birnhak Ariel Bock and Jonathan Epstein David S. Brink, MD Andrew Brodey Patricia Callahan Jill Cashman Elisabeth Chapman Vincent Cioffari^ Rhiannon Clements Jack Codd Seth Cohen and Deborah Spey Lewis G. Cole Nomi and Harold Colton-Max Leigh Curran Allan Dean and Julie Shapiro Alessandro DeGregori and Sarah Hitchcock-DeGregori Samuel Dinnar Marjorie and Skip Durning

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KEY * denotes that at least part of this donor’s generosity supported the Philip Heller Fund + denotes that at least part of this donor’s generosity supported the Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund ^ deceased

We are grateful to our many friends whose gifts of under $250 make a difference every year! Shakespeare & Company is also thankful for the donors who have generously contributed clothing, accessories, shoes, and fabric to our Costume Shop; props and paint to our Prop Shop; furniture for Company housing; and cars to our motor fleet. We also recognize those who have donated food, beverages, or specialized skills.

List reflects donations received April 1, 2024 – March 31, 2025.

If we inadvertently omitted your name or listed it incorrectly, please accept our sincere apologies and contact the Development Office at 413.637.1199 ext. 145 or development@shakespeare.org.

Shakespeare & Company also expresses its sincere gratitude for the invaluable pro bono assistance of the following firms: Boston Trust & Investment Management Company Goulston & Storrs, Boston Heller & Robbins PC Lori A. Robbins, Esq. Robins, Kaplan, Miller, & Ciresi LLP, Minneapolis and New York

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A Legacy of Women Director Bobbin Ramsey named 2025’s Women of Will Fellow

by Alyssa Seidman The crew of The Taming of the Shrew has some extra help behind the scenes in the form of Assistant Director Bobbin Ramsey, who was selected earlier this year as Shakespeare & Company’s 2025 Women of Will Directing Fellow.

The fellowship was established in 2024 in honor of Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer, with the goal of developing up-and-coming women directors by pairing them with experienced women directors to help steer a work of Shakespeare.

“We’re looking to offer something that a newer director will learn and grow from, and we felt that potential very strongly with Bobbin,” Producing Associate Ariel Bock said. “Given her prior work and her professional outlook, we thought she would bring the most to the vision of the fellowship.”

Photo by Ella Pennington.

Before shipping up to the Berkshires for summer rehearsals, Ramsey discussed her excitement for the fellowship, what she had hoped to gain, and its significance to women directors who work in the theater industry.

S&Co: Can you describe your reaction to being chosen for the fellowship?

Ramsey: I was extremely excited. I’ve been a director for the last decade and committed a lot of time, energy, and education to it, but one thing that is sort of new in my life is a love and interest in Shakespeare. I did not have a lot of experience prior to grad school, which is where I was introduced to how accessible, exciting, and meaningful the plays could be.

I’m also excited about being a part of a legacy of women. Tina has paved the way for a lot of women directors and artistic leaders, allowing them to feel that they could take up space in this industry.

S&Co: Which mentor director have you been paired with, and what are you hoping to learn from her?

Ramsey: I was paired with Nicole Ricciardi, who is directing Shakespeare through a feminist lens for a contemporary time. I’m excited to learn about this balance of uplifting the text and understanding what it was doing in a historical context, and how we can use it to author the story that is right for us for today.

The Taming of the Shrew is not known for being the most feminist of Shakespeare’s plays, yet it speaks to what it means to be a woman in our political climate, where traditional gender roles are being touted and encouraged and enforced. A lot in the play can be uplifted as this counter to the idea that that is right and true.

S&Co: Anything else you’d like to add?

Ramsey: Directing can be a lonely position, but in addition to being in the Berkshires assisting production, I’ve been put into contact with many of the women directors who have worked here throughout the years. I want to express my immense gratitude to Shakespeare & Company for creating this fellowship, and for that network and support system. n

Photo by Jason Roman.

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Five Questions with Playwright Lawrence Goodman Lawrence Goodman presents the World Premiere of his play The Victim this season at Shakespeare & Company, having first staged it as a reading in the 2024 Plays in Process series. Reflecting on the play, Goodman answered five questions from Shakespeare & Company to offer insight on its evolution from page to stage.

S&Co: How did the idea for The Victim first come about? Did real-life experiences or events inspire any of the interconnected storylines?

LG: I kept having conversations where people were saying, “DEI has gone too far.” I heard from a number of Jews that, while they supported diversity and equity, they thought the world was forgetting that Jews were victims, too. I began thinking about who has the right to call themselves victims and why, when one group does it, other groups feel threatened. Asserting victimhood endows you with a moral status. Others somehow feel like you are encroaching on their moral high ground.

Lawrence Goodman

S&Co: How did presenting the play through Shakespeare & Company’s Plays in Process S&Co: How did you navigate portraying series affect further development of the script? complex issues like racism, historical trauma, and moral complexity?

LG: Simply put, this never would have happened without the support of Shakespeare & Company.

Having a space to workshop and then present a reading to a live audience enabled me to work with actors and the director to make edits that made the play so much better.

LG: A lot of naivete and foolishness, probably.

But also, I was guided by my sense that America cannot get through its current crisis without art.

And we especially need theater to move, provoke and challenge us.

S&Co: The art of the monologue is truly celebrated in The Victim. What led you to write the play in this format?

S&Co: The play’s title suggests shifting perspectives on guilt and suffering—what do you hope audiences take away from the LG: I wanted the audience to feel like each of these ambiguity around who is the “real” victim? characters was directly speaking to them. The play LG: Every playwright dreams that the audience becomes a conversation between the audience will not just enjoy the show but also have a fierce and these three powerful, thoughtful, passionate debate and discussion about it afterwards: Who women, each of whom desperately wants to share is in the right? Who is wrong? How are we always their story. misperceiving others? How can we transcend our differences and get along? n

Learn more about The Victim on page 7!

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Remembering Mark G. Auerbach Champion of the Arts

Theater critic, writer, publicist, broadcaster, and overall champion for the arts Marck G. Auerbach passed away on May 2. He studied theater at American University and The Yale School of Drama, worked for arts organizations nationwide, and reported on the arts for print and broadcast.

Mark produced and hosted ArtsBeat, On The Mark, and Survivor Stories for WCPC15 and 89.5fm/WSKB, was a regular contributor to Berkshire Onstage, and a member of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association.

In true public-relations-professional fashion, Mark left behind an obituary he penned himself.

I’ve spent most of my professional life telling other people’s bios, so here’s my final chapter.

Mark G. Auerbach died on May 2 at the age Auntie Mame Dennis might have described as “somewhere in between 40 and death”.

There are many people I hope to see again at some point. I’ll be glad to be reunited with my parents I’ve lived with diabetes for decades, and eventually, and some close friends awaiting my arrival…

Newman, Cole, Barrett, Beecher and Paquette. At diabetes won. On my life journey from Springfield my request, no funeral services. Remember me to Longmeadow [Mass.], to Northfield Mount Hermon to Washington, D.C. to New Haven, Conn., as you mentor others. Make other people laugh. back to DC, then to Houston, back to New Haven, Enforce the White Shoe Season rules. n to New York City, Miami, and ultimately back to Springfield and Longmeadow, I had a great time working for arts organizations, public radio, running my own company, and working as an arts reporter.

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Honoring Annette Miller and John Douglas Thompson

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

Miller has garnered numerous awards for her work at Shakespeare & Company alone, including the Elliot Norton Best Actor Award and the Independent Reviewers of New England Best Actor Award for her performance as Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony in 2002 – a role she originated. In 2023 and 2024, Miller reprised her Golda’s Balcony performance with Shakespeare & Company at its Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre and again at Boston’s Emerson Paramount Center. This season, she is featured in the World Premiere of Lawrence Goodman’s The Victim.

This year, Shakespeare & Company recognizes two of its most celebrated and prolific Company Artists: award-winning actors Annette Miller and John Douglas Thompson, our Gala 2025 honorees.

In addition to performing on our stages, including together in Richard III in 2010, both actors are alumni of Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Actor Training, which offers acting intensives and workshops for artists at varied stages in their careers and provides the basis for the company’s aesthetic.

Bev Hyman, chair of Shakespeare & Company’s Board of Trustees, said Miller and Thompson’s bodies of work — at once prolific, diverse, and acclaimed — exemplify the Center for Actor Training’s focus on training the voice and body, but also imagination, intellect, and emotion.

“Seeing Annette or John perform is enough to help any theatergoer understand what’s unique about Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Actor Training,” she said. “The actor’s ability to connect with the audience, to speak what they feel, and, above all, to make every word accessible, separates this training from the rest.”

Miller, a leading actor at Shakespeare & Company for more than 25 seasons, has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in Boston, in regional theaters, on television, and in film.

Among many other roles, she’s appeared as publisher Mrs. Tanken in the Oscar-nominated film Don’t Look Up, and on television in recurring roles on As the World Turns and Ryan’s Hope. Just last year, she earned a Special Citation for a Lifetime of Defining Performances from the Boston Theater Critics Association.

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Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

A Tony Award nominee for August Wilson’s Jitney, Thompson’s acting career began in New England, including roles with Shakespeare & Company. In 2005, he made his Broadway debut as Flavius in Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington and went on to play Le Bret in the 2007 Broadway production of Cyrano de Bergerac alongside Jennifer Garner and Kevin Kline.

He plays opposite Washington again in the upcoming film Highest 2 Lowest directed by Spike Lee, and currently portrays Arthur Scott on HBO’s The Gilded Age, for which he was nominated for a Screen Photo by Kevin Sprague.

Actors’ Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

Photo by Enrico Spada.

Thompson has won three Obie Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, three Elliot Norton Awards, one Outer Critics Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, an NAACP Award, and many other accolades for his stage performances. In 2024, he made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut in the titular of Othello — a role he’s played several times, including at Shakespeare & Company in 2009. He’ll appear this year in Celebrating Jewish Plays: An Immersive Weekend of Readings, on Sunday, Oct. 12, as part of a reading of Roz & Ray by Karen Hartman.

Artistic Director Allyn Burrows said both Annette and John exemplify dedication to the craft of acting, and offer a wealth of knowledge to both seasoned and emerging artists. “I adore talking to both John and Annette about acting, because after all these years — and together, I’ve known them for about 75 years — they both continue to be eminently curious, despite their knowledge and expertise, about how to bring these embodied stories to life. Every discovery with them brings fresh delight.”

Shakespeare & Company’s Gala is held annually in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, and includes a cocktail hour, performance, dinner, and dancing. Proceeds benefit Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Actor Training, Education Program, and Performances. n

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Talking Cover: “ranney”

Company Artist “ranney” is celebrating his fifth, consecutive season with Shakespeare & Company by appearing on stage and on the covers of our Season 2025 playbill and brochure.

He returns this season with feathers already in his cap, performing as Wining Boy in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, presented in collaboration with Actors’ Shakespeare Project. At the time of this printing, the production – staged earlier this year in Boston – had earned “ranney” an Elliot Norton Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play.

The production also garnered nominations for Outstanding Midsize Play and Outstanding Ensemble, among other nods to cast, lighting design, and scenic design.

Pictured: Jade Guerra, “ranney”, Jonathan Kitt, and Omar Robinson.

“ranney,” L. James, and Michael F. Toomey starred in ART by Yasmina Reza in 2021 on the occasion of its 25th year being performed on American stages.

Of his performance, The Berkshire Edge wrote: “ ‘ranney’ is new to Shakespeare & Company, and a definite asset. His acting and character development are superb.”

Pictured: “ranney” and Michael F. Toomey.

“ranney” appeared in Lola Chakrabarti’s Hymn along with Company Artist Kevin Craig West in 2022. The Berkshire Eagle praised his performance, saying it “raises the high bar he has set throughout the show to an even higher level at the play’s end.”

Pictured: “ranney” and Kevin Craig West.

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In 2023, “ranney” — a Wilsonian actor – featured in August Wilson’s Fences in the lead role of Troy Maxon. Directed by Christopher V. Edwards, the production earned the Outstanding Production of a Play Award from the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association, with “ranney” receiving a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play.

Pictured: “ranney” and Kenneth Ransom in August Wilson’s Fences.

“ranney” follows his 2024 turn as Dutch in Carey Crim’s World Premiere two-hander The Islanders, directed by Regge Life and co-starring Michelle Mountain. He earned a 2024 Berkshire Theatre Critics Association Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play for his performance, and The Islanders was nominated for Outstanding Production of a Play. n Pictured: “ranney” and Michelle Mountain.

All photos by Nile Scott Studios

Want to know even more about “ranney” and his life on and off the stage? Visit tinyurl.com/ranneyL, or scan the QR code.

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VOLUNTEER WITH US!

Shakespeare & Company Volunteers are truly the stars of the show — as well as of the gardens, the Gift Shop, guest services, and beyond.

The Volunteer Company supports Shakespeare & Company year-round, and touches thousands of lives from audiences to youth groups to actors-in-training. Plus, Volunteer Company members enjoy several benefits in thanks for their service, including free ticket vouchers to performances and special programs.

Recently, we asked several volunteers to tell us what VOLUNTEER has made their time at Shakespeare & Company special.

Here’s what they had to say: OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE “I need to be busy because I was a teacher for 33 years! I love the arts, so I first signed up to do ushering. Then I decided I wanted to work in the Gift Shop, and I’ve done some backstage tours as well. There is nothing here that you don’t want to do because everyone is really, really friendly, and very, very helpful, and it’s a casual atmosphere.” – MaryAnn “One of my favorite things to do is the Fall Festival of Shakespeare with the kids from high schools. It’s the best and everybody should know about it. I usher for it, and get to meet some of the kids, and it’s really a fun time, the whole thing.” – Ruth “I have loved being a gardener because you see the results of your efforts and you get to garden with lots of wonderful people.” – Clay

Ushering Administrative Support Company Event Support Community Event Support Company Hospitality Flower Arranging Gardening Gift Shop Sales & Support Patron Greeting Oral History & Archive Project Support Tour Support To get involved, email Volunteer President Hank Baker at volunteers@shakespeare.org.

To hear from more from our Volunteers, scan the QR code!

“I bake, usher, work in the gardens, and I also curate Behind the Curtain talks. What I love about Shakespeare & Company is how welcoming it feels. The possibility of doing anything that you’re interested in is made pretty easy. If you’re a baker you should join the baking gang, if you love gardening, there’s plenty of things to do in the gardens. Ushering is always a treat, and you get to see the show for free.

They’re always interesting and fabulous to watch. I hope you’ll join us!” –Ann

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In Memoriam

Janet Carey, cofounder of our Volunteer Company passed away in September 2024.

Hank Baker, co-president of the Volunteer Company along with MaryAnn House, explained that Carey was its first co-president — with Harriet Vines — when the Volunteer Company was first launched in the early 2000s.

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“What the Volunteer Company is today is due to her ability to organize and get people involved,” he said, noting that Carey remained active as an advisor to the Volunteer Company for many years.

“She will be sorely missed.”

Artistic Director Allyn Burrows said he, too, was sorry to hear of Janet’s passing.

“Her inspiration to start the Volunteer Company has turned into a lasting legacy,” he said. n

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Living and Breathing August Wilson Christopher V. Edwards returns to direct in the Berkshires with The Piano Lesson

By Alyssa Seidman After a successful run of August Wilson’s Fences in 2023, Christopher V. Edwards has returned to direct another work from the playwright’s American Century Cycle with The Piano Lesson.

Set in Pittsburgh during the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson explores the complexities of family, history, and legacy. The Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winner is the fourth play in Wilson’s American Century Cycle series, and the second performed at Shakespeare & Company.

Edwards credits Wilson for his decision to become an actor, noting that the scope and language of his works are “culturally specific” to his family’s history.

Christopher V. Edwards

“He’s put the Black African-American experience on the stage unapologetically, and in that what he’s done is show the humanity of what we’ve often looked down upon,” Edwards said. “At the end of the day his plays are about love: love for your family, your community, yourself, and who came before us.”

BACK TO THE BERKSHIRES Edwards directed The Piano Lesson for Actors’ Shakespeare Project in Boston earlier this year.

This iteration in the Berkshires is a co-production, and thus features the same cast and crew.

From left: Jade Guerra, “ranney”, Jonathan Kitt, and Omar Robinson in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.

Omar Robinson, left, and Anthony T. Goss in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.

“Opening night the show is what it is, but it begins to grow and evolve through the process of four weeks of performances,” Edwards said. “I’m excited to get back and see where it starts anew.”

“Being at Shake & Co. is a little like being at summer ‘A LESSON FOR THE MOMENT’ camp,” he said. “You’re able to focus on the play itself, The conflicts the main characters experience in the play revolve around a 137-year-old piano. and live and breathe it for four weeks all the time.”

Boy Willie’s hope is to sell the piano and use the Since Wilson’s works are generally written for “Proscenium-like houses,” he’s excited to see how profits to purchase land and establish a farm, thus fulfilling his late father’s dream. His sister Berniece The Piano Lesson plays out in a smaller space, specifically the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. Some refuses, however, arguing that the heirloom holds too much sentimental value. audience members may get “a more intimate portrait of this play,” he added, noting that the “actor may be four feet away from you.”

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This sibling rivalry represents how we must engage with the positives and the negatives of our past in order to heal, Edwards explained, adding that the piano symbolizes the “pain and suffering” Black people have endured in this country since the dawn of American slavery.

From left, Omar Robinson, Jonathan Kitt, “ranney”, and Anthony T. Goss in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.

Jonathan Kitt in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.

“The play is about that: how do you take the shame and trauma and turn it into something good without becoming the thing that traumatized you?”

Edwards posed.

He continued, “We’re in a moment right now where certain aspects of American history are being erased... whether that be the contributions people of color had to the country or reframing... terrible things as necessary or positive. This play also reminds us that our history is bigger than what we hold on to for posterity — it’s a lesson for the moment.” n

Jade Guerra and Ariel Phillips in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.

Photos by Nile Scott Studios.

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Integrating Waste Reduction in the Arts

Shakespeare & Company's Commitment to Sustainability

By Cassie Rogers How do waste reduction and theater relate to each other?

Shakespeare & Company is known for its theatrical programming, but in addition to its artistic achievements, the company is also dedicated to enhancing its sustainable practices. As part of the mission to foster creativity and community engagement, the theater recognizes the importance of integrating eco-friendly practices into its operations.

Effective waste management programs are very important for any company looking to reduce their waste. Shakespeare & Company has a single stream recycling system that separates recyclable materials such as cardboard and containers from general waste. In addition to recycling, the company partnered with Impact Apparel to run a textile donation program, allowing old costumes and fabrics to be repurposed rather than discarded. Shakespeare & Company also composts landscaping debris on-site. These efforts showcase the company's commitment to waste reduction and environmental stewardship.

Looking for even more opportunities to reduce waste, Shakespeare & Company collaborated with RecyclingWorks. Following a site visit from a RecyclingWorks Waste Reduction Consultant, several waste reduction opportunities were identified. One recommendation included how the company can explore partnerships with other organizations to donate surplus staging materials.

RecyclingWorks also recommended a composting initiative to divert food scraps from resident kitchens and expanding sustainability training during staff and resident onboarding to improve compliance with waste management practices and ensure ongoing participation. RecyclingWorks gave insight on how to conduct a formal bin inventory to assess the number, sizes, and labels of bins to help optimize bin placement across the grounds, ensuring more efficient material stream separation.

Shakespeare & Company has made impressive strides in integrating sustainable practices into its operations. These ongoing efforts will contribute to the company’s sustainability goals and inspire others in the arts community to embrace sustainable practices. To answer the initial question, most businesses generate waste; however, the decision to reduce waste depends on passion, available tools and resources, and the willingness to take the first step.

If your business or institution is interested in implementing similar waste reduction and diversion programs, RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts can create educational signage for your waste and recycling bins, offer in-person site visits and comprehensive, customized waste reduction recommendations, and more. RecyclingWorks is Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) funded programs administered by CET. n

This article originally appeared at RecyclingWorksMA.com. For more information, call its hotline at 888.254.5525, or email info@RecyclingWorksMA.com.

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By the Book

Renzo’s Reading Library Commemorates the Life of an Actor, Poet, and Friend

By Haley Barbieri Poet, actor, mimic, bartender, bookseller, and Company Artist Scott “Renzo” Renzoni passed away at home on January 9, 2025.

Renzoni first came to Shakespeare & Company in January 2005 as part of our Center for Actor Training’s Month-long Intensive, and remained for the next two decades to serve as an actor, teacher, and administrator who was also a familiar face at our theater bars, Josie’s Place and Mike’s Place. In addition to practicing his craft as an actor, he loved teaching and sharing his knowledge and experience onstage with students.

Renzoni spent his childhood in Vermont and maintained a deep love for his home state throughout his life. He graduated from Rice Memorial High School in 1989 and Saint Michael’s College in 1993, where he earned degrees in English and Drama. At Saint Michael’s, he found his lifelong passion for the theater.

Be great in act, as you have been in thought.

As an Equity actor, he performed in a number of our shows, including The War of the Worlds, The Real Inspector Hound, The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and also featured in productions at several other theaters and festivals, including The Majestic Theater in West Springfield, Mass.; Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier, Vt., and Carolinian Shakespeare Festival in – King John, Act V, sc. i New Bern, N.C., among others. One of the world’s great trivia mavens, Renzoni was a four-time “Jeopardy!” champion in 2004.

To commemorate his great love for Shakespeare, poetry, and books in general, the lounge area at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre has been transformed into Renzo’s Reading Library. His love of the arts was built on a lifetime of voracious reading. He owned many hundreds of books and loved bookshops. In the 1990s, he worked at City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, California, and over the last four years, he worked at The Bookstore here in Lenox.

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The books on the shelves in Renzo’s Reading Library are from his own collection, which have been arranged into four sections: Shakespeare’s Text, Reading/Interpreting Shakespeare, On Acting, and Musings on Shakespeare.

Each tome has been embossed “from the library of Renzo” on the inside of the book.

This Reading Library was established shortly after Renzoni’s passing as a way to honor his time and commitment to Shakespeare & Company, as well as to ensure his curated collection of books on Shakespeare and acting could be utilized and enjoyed by Company Members and audiences alike. We invite you to sit in the Reading Library and enjoy some quiet time with a book. Please replace books on the shelf before leaving.

If you are interested in having one of these books as your own, visit The Bookstore at 11 Housatonic Street, Lenox. n

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THE ARDEN SHAKESPEARE “Shakespeare wrote plays that demand an active participation of all people involved…without the truth of others, the plays do not exist. Shakespeare’s words are the piercing shafts to drill deep, penetrating the conscious and unconscious minds of the players, the characters, and the audience.” –Tina Packer

Now Available in Hard Cover!

Paperback Available December 2025

Hardcover 9781350205710 | $90.00

Drawing on new interviews with original casts and creative teams as well as with Tina Packer herself, this book examines the work of the acclaimed director and founder of Shakespeare & Company.

Sign up to our newsletter for an alert on publication! www.bloomsbury.com/newsletter

www.bloomsbury.com/drama

2025 Honoring Award-winning Actors Annette Miller & John Douglas Thompson

Saturday, June 28

Annette Miller

John Douglas Thompson

TICKETS ON SALE NOW 413.637.1199 ext. 145

SHAKESPEARE.ORG/GALA2025

JOIN THE PLAYERS’ SOCIETY Patrons who contribute $1,500 and more enjoy inside access to all the Company has to offer, including a free Ticket Hotline for priority seating, no-cost ticket exchanges, invitations to special events including rehearsals, Meet-the-Artist receptions, opening night cocktail hours, and many other benefits.

For more information, please contact Director of Development Sunie Gorey at 413.637.1199 ext. 180, or email sgoery@shakespeare.org.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR DONOR BENEFITS AT ALL LEVELS Left to Right: Evan Stevens, Kristofer Wilson, Sharmarke Yusuf, David Gow and Dennis Trainor, Jr., The Comedy of Errors, 2024. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Knesset Israel Presents

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Tours by Appointment, Memorial Day-Oct 100 Art School Road, Monterey, Mass 413.528.6888 |  bidwellhousemuseum.org

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New Business Sponsor Spotlight ROAM: A Xtina Parks Gallery An esteemed photographer, filmmaker, conservationist, and the visionary founder of ROAM: A Xtina Parks Gallery, Xtina’s love affair with Africa began in 2010, and over the course of 13 extraordinary years, she embarked on countless expeditions throughout the African Continent. Her exceptional skill in capturing the raw emotions and untamed beauty of nature through her lens shines brilliantly in every page of her photography collection in “ROAM.” We are thrilled to welcome two new Williamstown businesses who are no strangers to ROAM: its next door neighbors Provisions and The Coffee Shop! Provisions provides a variety a local and imported wines, delicious meats, cheeses and gourmet fare. Newly opened, The Coffee Shop ROAM is not just one of Williamstown’s newest offers up an eclectic menu of fresh baked goods, art galleries; nor just the name of owner and lattes, coffees, teas and more. Plus, The Coffee photographer Xtina Parks’ new book.

Shop is a co-venture between Provisions and ROAM owners! There’s something Rather, “it is a powerful statement that resonates for everyone with this eclectic little with the urgency of protecting our planet’s most triumvirate—and all located right in vulnerable species,” Xtina says. “It serves as a constant reminder of the intricate web of life and the a row at the top of Water Street in shared responsibility we all bear in safeguarding our Williamstown, Mass.  natural heritage for future generations.”

Learn more at roamgallery.photo!

Shakespeare & Company is happy to welcome ROAM: A Xtina Parks Gallery of Williamstown, Mass., as one of several new businesses who’ve joined our growing Business Sponsor family this season. The gallery allows visitors to experience the soul-stirring magic of African wildlife through photographer Xtina’s lens, and to embark on an unforgettable journey through the untamed splendor of Africa’s wilderness.

“I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks.” – Twelfth Night, Act III, sc. iii

Welcome to Our New Business Sponsors!

Berkshire Muse • Bousquet Sport • Chatham Yoga • Doctor Sax House • Hado Mark Gallery Considine Leary & Arnold LLP • Glad Rags • Henry’s Electric • House of Polish Inspired Dental Wellness • LePrevost Plumbing, Heating & Cooling • Lifetree Pilates Park Row Gallery • The Soules Team Realty

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“The cleverest murder mystery of the British Theatre.”

July 24–August 17 at The Colonial Theatre

–The Telegraph

by Agatha Christie

directed by Gerry McIntyre

DAYDREAMING

S C E N E BY S C E N E , N AT U R E S T E A L S T H E S H O W.

Galleries, Classes, Concerts, Family Days, Farmers Markets, Tours, and More

May 28–June 15

at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage

“A poignant exploration of humanity’s great cruelty and deep empathy.”

– Vanity Fair

June 30–July 26 at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage

“a compelling exploration of identity and self-acceptance.”

–Peter Marks, The Washington Post

All Season Long at 5 West Stockbridge Road Stockbridge, MA BerkshireBotanical.org Berkshire Theatre Group presents The Berkeley Repertory Theatre Production of

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written and performed by

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directed by Eric Hill

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Sept. 25–Oct. 26

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Everything in this play is true.

at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage

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“A shimmering synthesis of image, word, and movement.”

–Ben Brantley, The New York Times

Did you know Shakespeare & Company offers a selection of gift items inspired by both the Bard and the Berkshires?

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Visit the shop in the lobby on your way out, or browse online later on at shakespeare.org.

written and performed by

based on the myths of Ovid written and originally directed by

directed by Elaine May

directed by Isadora Wolfe

Renée Taylor

Mary Zimmerman

The Colonial Theatre 111 South Street • Pittsfield, MA The Unicorn Theatre 6 East Street • Stockbridge, MA

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This exhibition is organized by the New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut in partnership with the artist, Walter Wick. I Spy! Walter Wick's Hidden Wonders is made possible by The Saunders Foundation and the Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation.

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JUNE 5–15

JUNE 19–JULY 6

JULY 10–20

JULY 24–AUGUST 3

AUGUST 7–17

AUGUST 21–31

Leadership & Staff Allyn Burrows, Artistic Director ADMINISTRATIVE Founding Artistic Director: Tina Packer General Manager: Stephen Ball Producing Associate: Ariel Bock Executive Assistant to the Artistic Director: Catherine E. Wheeler Company Manager: Jayden Rema Dudley

CENTER FOR ACTOR TRAINING Director of Training: Sheila Bandyopadhyay Programs Manager: Kristen Moriarty Workshop Faculty: Sarah Kate Anderson, Sheila Bandyopadhyay, Ariel Bock, Andrew Borthwick-Leslie, Kevin G. Coleman, Susan Dibble, Marie Ramirez Downing, Michael Hammond, Rory Hammond, Edgar Landa, Madeleine Maggio, Raphael Massie, Kristen Moriarty, Normi Noel, Tina Packer, Lisa Ann Porter, Jen Rabbitt Ring, Michael F. Toomey, Ryan Winkles & Kristin Wold Workshop Managers: Jessie Chapman, Mitchel Csermak, Anthony Feola & Charlie Lavaroni Center for Actor Training Intern: Ava Solis

COSTUMES Costume Shop Manager: Michelle Hathaway Drapers: Michelle Benoit & Cal Murphy Design Assistants/First Hands/Stitchers/ Wardrobe: Mary Boyce, Dan Doherty, Aimee Green, Jez Laurin, Lezlie Lee, Rin Menge, Annalise Taylor, Peggy Walsh & Rasa Walter Wardrobe: Liam Delaney, Aimee Green, Ollie Gretok, Cal Murphy & Melissa Ziccardi

DEVELOPMENT Director of Development: Sunie Gorey Director of Sponsorships, Donor Relations & Special Events: Elizabeth Aspenlieder Development Strategist: Alexander Zaretsky Development Operations & Database Manager: Liam Castellan Development Events Coordinator: Rachel Smith

EDUCATION Director of Education: Kevin G. Coleman Education Programs Administrator: Megan Marchione Residency & Riotous Youth Programs Manager: Caitlin Kraft Tour and Professional Development Manager: Kirstin Leigh Daniel Education Artists: Shiree Adkins, Lochlan Angle, Ellie Bartz, Gregory Boover, Caroline Calkins, Heather Damia, Joslyn Eaddy, Leslie Field, Bill Gordon, Rory Hammond, Luke Haskell, Kaitlin Henderson, Jennie Jadow, Charlie Lavaroni, JoJo MacDonald, Madeleine Maggio, Kirsten Mulrenan, Mollie Murk, Nick Nudler, Erin O’Connor, Chloe Otterson, Kirsten Peacock, Naire Poole, Kallie Pong, Tom Reynolds, Tori Rhoades, Anna Rock, Abigail St. John, Madeline Weltchek, Ryan Winkles, Malle Winters & Kristin Yates Education Production & Costuming: Ellie Bartz, James Bilnoski, Mary Boyce, Tc Clarke, Brendan Doyle, Alex Drake, Devon Drohan, Grace Goosman, Aimee Green, Michelle Hathaway, Erika Johnson, Marcus Kearns, Lezlie Lee, Govane Lohbauer, Eliza Maggio, Cal Murphy, Will Sexton, Caleb Stoloski, Sean Sweeney, Monica Tran & Peggy Walsh

FACILITIES & HOUSEKEEPING Facilities Manager: Graham Moriarty Housekeeping Manager: Bonnie Wilson Facilities & Housekeeping Associates: Thomas Butler, Al Hiser, Marcus Kearns, Robert Pelliciotti, Gina Squires & Carolina Tenorio

FINANCE & IT Director of Finance: Wendy Calkins Staff Accountant: Stan Bolton IT & Business Systems Manager: Kevin Andle

MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS, & PATRON SERVICES Director of Marketing and Communications: Jaclyn C. Stevenson Graphic Designer / Marketing Associate: Katie McKellick Patron Services Manager: Haley Barbieri Marketing Specialist: Hayden Whisnand Box Office Manager: Art Williams Assistant Box Office Manager: Grace Kelley Assistant Front of House Manager: Lydia Duff Front of House Associates: C. Collins, Teagan Demlar, Heather Flemming, Charlie Lavaroni, Chloe Otterson & Madeline Weltchek Patron Services Interns: Maggie Ives & Ava Solis

PRODUCTION & STAGE MANAGEMENT Production Manager: Erika Johnson Assistant Production Manager & Lighting Supervisor: Luke Willson Technical Director: Sean Sweeney Assistant Technical Director: Grace Mondy Carpentry: James Bilnoski, Catherine Hampp, Louisa Hulbert, Katie Polebaum & Lia Smit Electrics: James Bilnoski, Jemma Kepner & Rowan Lupton Props & Paints Artisans: Eden Clementine, Alex Drake & J.C. Hartloff Sound Supervisor: Cyril Putzer Lights & Sound Operators: Jonah Hane & Sam Hoffman Equity Stage Managers & Assistants: Anthony Feola, Hope Rose Kelly, Alex Magallanes, Josh Rodrigues, Kathleen Soltan & Adele Traub Stage Managers & Assistants: Dennis Ebert, Jayden Rema Dudley & Gabriella Walko Production Department Interns: Jonah Hane, Kulia McLaughlin & Olivia Stith

Tina Packer, Founding Artistic Director

Shakespeare & Company, 2024. Photo by Katie McKellick.

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Shakespeare & Company, Berkshire Trans Exchange Join Forces through Fashion Shakespeare & Company has announced a new partnership with Berkshire Trans Exchange, a dynamic pop-up boutique providing free, gender-affirming, community-sourced clothing and accessories for transgender and gendernonconforming youth and adults in Berkshire County.

“We have to think about many peoples’ aesthetics, not just our own,” they said. “The trans community is as broad as any other, so there is not one way to dress. There are trans people who wear very ‘normal’ or ‘boring’ clothes, as well as a range of other gender expressions!”

The partnership is another step by Shakespeare & Company’s Costume Shop Manager Michelle Hathaway to ensure that the company’s spare resources are reallocated to communities in need, following the installation of an Apparel Impact textile recycling bin in late 2023.

Trans Exchange’s events have included a New Year’s “Glow Up,” a “Pride-o-ween” pop-up in October, and a back-to-school resource fair that provided clothes for local trans youth, including clothing and accessories from Shakespeare & Company. Just this April, the costume shop donated a set of tuxedos and dress shirts for use at a Trans Work Readiness Initiative launched in partnership with Greylock Federal Credit Union and Berkshire Pride.

“It’s a beautiful way that Shakespeare & Company is benefiting the wider Berkshire community, and we hope more organizations follow suit,” said Squailia. “This partnership reminds us that we are all connected, and that our relationships can be mutually beneficial.”

The Berkshire Trans Exchange has a physical location within WANDER Cafe, located at 34 Depot Street Suite 101 in Pittsfield, which always has resources available. For more information, visit them on Facebook at facebook.com/ BerkshireTransExchange or email info@berkshirepride.org. n

“Thanks to our connection with Berkshire Pride, I was put in contact with Najwa Squailia at Berkshire Trans Exchange,” Hathaway said. “I told them about the massive amount of clothing in the free bin, and invited them to pull what would be useful.”

Squailia and their colleague, Isadore Chernila, visited Shakespeare & Company throughout the summer of 2024 to handpick additions to their stock for pop-up events. Squailia, who worked for 14 years in the fashion industry, said that they try to cast a wide net when selecting clothes.

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GROUP TOURS 2025 Save 20% or more!

“The heavenly-harness’d team Begins his golden progress in the east.” – Henry IV, Part I, Act III Whether you’re a travel and tourism industry professional, an event planner, or a group or student tour director, Shakespeare & Company is a premiere destination for a memorable professional theater experience in The Berkshires.

Bring your group of 10 or more to a Shakespeare & Company performance and enjoy exclusive group benefits, including complimentary tickets, discounted ticket pricing, free talks and tours, and more!

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT groups@shakespeare.org LEARN MORE

Rent Our Spaces “Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”

– Sonnet 18 Shakespeare & Company has some of the most creative and technically advanced spaces on the East Coast, as well as a full range of props, costumes, and other production resources.

We also have a wide range of event and studio spaces available for weddings, workshops, meetings, retreats, and other special events.

Rental opportunities include props and furniture designed, built, and curated by our talented scenic and props artisans; weapons from an armory assembled over the course of 30 years; more than 50,000 costumes including contemporary and period pieces, hats, shoes, masks, and accessories; indoor and outdoor theater spaces, dressing rooms, on-site accommodations, and more.

To learn more about rentals of our theaters, studio spaces, and production resources, visit shakespeare.org/rentals, or contact Shakespeare & Company General Manager Steve Ball at steve@shakespeare.org.

LEARN MORE 92

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Your curated online guide to art, culture, outdoor life & food in the Berkshires.

Visit BerkshiresWeek.com every day for new things to do and experience.

Photos by The Berkshire Eagle, Mac-Haydn Theater, Walter Wick, Jason Walker, Ben Garver, Rick Odell

WHO’S WHO

JUAN LUIS ACEVEDO* he / him (Lord Capulet, Romeo and Juliet; Tranio, The Taming of the Shrew) Juan Luis Acevedo is thrilled to be making his Shakespeare & Company debut. His vast New York, Regional and International credits include among others: Anna in the Tropics at Asolo Rep., Henry IV at NY Classical, Destiny of Desire (2020) at Cincinnati Playhouse, Jardin Salvaje, House on the Lagoon, The Mayor of Zalamea, Fuenteovejuna (US & Spain), Tierra del Fuego, Verano Verano, Life is a Dream (US & Spain), As You Like It, Preying on Instinct, Woyzeck, Hamlet, Cuarto adentro, Camino Real, The Order of Things, “Experiencias Clásicas” Spain.

Film: Kiss of The Damned, 79 Parts, Fake. TV: Billions, Blacklist, Law & Order SVU and Criminal Intent. Juan Luis is excited to return to Massachusetts where he began his professional acting career performing Shakespeare with CSC in the Boston Commons.

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OMID AKBARI he / him (Set Designer, Mother Play) Omid Akbari was recently named The 2024 Burry Fredrik Design Fellow. He is a freelance scenic designer and costume concept artist based in NYC. He holds an M.F.A in Theater Design at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. His recent credits include: Lookingglass Theatre: Iraq, But Funny; Long Wharf Theatre: Unbecoming Tragedy; Boise Contemporary Theater: The Life You Gave Me; Playhouse on Park: The Irish And How They Got That Way; Juilliard: The Seven; Shakespeare & Company: Three Tall Persian Women; Yale Repertory Theatre: Wish You Were Here; Iseman Theatre: Furlough’s Paradise; Iseman Theatre: Macbeth.

AMY ALTADONNA she / her (Sound Designer, The Victim) S&Co: King Lear, The Chairs, Time Stands Still, Merry Wives, The Children, HIR, Creditors, 4000 Miles, Or, Red Velvet, and others. NYC: Eureka Day, Joan, Cal in Camo, Dry Land, Seven Minutes in Heaven, (Colt Coeur), American Daughter, Glengarry Glen Ross (NYU Tisch). Regional: All’s Well That Ends Well (OSF), 10x10 (BSC), Dear Elizabeth (Dorset Theatre Festival), Julius Caesar (Actors Shakespeare Project), How I Learned to Drive (Round House), Our Town (Alabama

SHAKESPEARE.ORG

JENNIFER APPLE* she / her (Actor / Musician, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) TV: Recurring on Law & Order: SVU, New Amsterdam. Broadway Tour: The Band’s Visit (Original Cast).

Regional: The Band’s Visit (Huntington Theater/SpeakEasy Stage, Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Lead Performance); Detroit ‘67, Romeo & Juliet (Chautauqua Theater Company); A Walk on the Moon, A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater); [title of show] (Bridge Production Group); Theory of Relativity (Goodspeed Musicals); Fiddler on the Roof (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival & CFRT). MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater.

Jennifer is the host of the Empowered Artist Collective Podcast and an Acting Coach who specializes in MFA/ BFA auditions, finding monologues specifically for you, and audition prep.

and Masha and Spike; The Beauty Queen of Leenane; Parasite Drag; Merry Wives of Windsor; The Winter’s Tale; Les Liaisons Dangereuses; Bad Dates (Elliot Norton Award Best Solo Performance); Rough Crossing; King Lear; Richard III, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia, final performance at The Mount). Regional: Silverthorne Theatre: The Cake; Great Barrington Public Theatre; Simon’s Rock: The House of Bernarda Alba; Oldcastle: The Consul, The Tramp & America’s Sweetheart, The Lion in Winter; Barrington Stage: 10X10 Play Fest; Merrimack Rep: Bad Dates; Boston Theatre Works: Angels in America, Othello. Directing: Merchant of Venice (Assistant Dir, Tina Packer Dir.). Indy Films Actor: Trigger Finger; Seriously Twisted. Voice Over actor/producer/ audiobooks: Choosing Joy: Alzheimer’s – a Book of Hope); Peregrine Island.

Producer Feature films: Unfinished Song (Doc 2025 in production); Thickly Settled (2025 post prod w/ Naheem Garcia), Cold Wallet (Amazon Prime w/ Joshua Brener, Tony Cavalero, SXSW, BIFF); Onyx The Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (Sundance, BIFF Amazon Prime/ Sling); The Secret Art of Human Flight (Amazon Prime/ AppleTV w/ Lucy DeVito, Paul Raci); Skelly (Netflix w/ Brian Cox, Torrey DeVitto, John Palladino); I’m Not Him (Amazon Prime w/ John Palladino); Stroke of Luck (Netflix w/ John Popper).

Theatre Producer: Rhinoceros (w/ Chris Noth at The Cutting Room NYC), Living the Dream (by Mark Roberts, 52nd Street Project). Lizzy’s performance is dedicated to her mother Faye whose spirit and light walks with her every day.

ELIZABETH ASPENLIEDER* (Actor, Plays in Process; Actor Celebrating Jewish Plays; Director of Sponsorships, Donor Relations & Special Events) S&Co: Over 40 plays: The Winter’s Tale (Paulina), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Titania), The Approach, The Waverly Gallery, HIR, God of Carnage; Mother of the Maid (pre–Broadway, originated Lady of the Court); Vanya and Sonia

STEPHEN D. BALL he / him (Merry Wanderer’s Tour Guide; General Manager) Steve leads the “Merry Wanderers” behind-the-scenes tours here at Shakespeare & Company on Thursday mornings each summer.

He started at S&Co in 1989, after receiving a Bachelor’s in Technical Theatre and a Master’s in Business from the University of Miami along

Shakespeare Festival), Death of a Salesman, Fences (Virginia Stage Company), Peter and the Starcatcher, Skin of Our Teeth (Perseverance Theater). She is the Undergraduate Program Director for UMass Theater.

Thank you to my incredible daughter... life is most joyous with you.

with a Master of Fine Arts, set design, from New York University’s Tisch School, and subsequently participated in Executive Education in non-profit management at Harvard’s Kennedy School. After interning at the Greater Miami Opera, Steve has been box office manager, charge artist, carpenter, company manager, set and/or lighting designer for theatre and dance in Boston, Falmouth, Foxboro, and Lenox, MA, Sharon, CT, New York, NY, New Hope, PA, Marietta, GA, and Miami, FL, and has consulted on home, theatre, and museum design projects. Steve received the prestigious 2002 Achievement Award from the Town of Ripton, serving as a staff advisor to their Candlelight Council. At S&Co, Steve has been Production and Company Manager, Set and Lighting Designer, Theatre Designer, HR Officer, Volunteer Liaison, General Manager and Interim Managing Director, always helping to coordinate the company’s multi-faceted, multidepartmental activities. “Steve Ball Day” is October 1.

NYU, Brandeis, FSU Conservatory/ Asolo Rep, Dell’Arte International, Middlebury, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Emerson, Westfield State. Sheila is a member of the Humanist Project, an affiliated artist with Leviathan Lab and Project Y, and proud member of AEA. Center for Actor Training alumna: January Month-long Intensive, 1999.

SHEILA BANDYOPADHYAY* she / her (Baptista / Grumia, The Taming of the Shrew; Director of Actor Training) Sheila Bandyopadhyay is an actor, director, devisor and movement specialist. You may have caught her last summer as a ferocious goldendoodle in GBPT’s production of Dog People (Jesse/Betty). At Shakespeare & Company: Puck/ Starveling (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). NY Theatre selected: Tamora in Titus Andronicus (The Humanist Project); Miranda/Stephano in The Tempest (Stages on the Sound); Dubois/Officer in The Misanthrope (Hunger & Thirst). In NYC, Sheila has developed and directed work at the Brick, the United Solo Festival, the Tank, the Women in Theater Festival, the West End Theater, and the 78th St Theatre Lab. Faculty/Guest Artist:

NIA SAFARR BANKS^ (Costume Designer, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Nia Safarr Banks is a Costume Designer and Educator. Her design work has been seen in various productions, including William Shakespeare’s Hamlet at American Shakespeare Center, August Wilson’s Fences at Shakespeare & Company, and Self Portrait (Deluxe) at The Bushwick Starr. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Costume Design from Boston University in 2023, and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2019. She has been nominated for two Richmond Critic Awards for her outstanding work in Costume Design, for both An Octoroon (2019) and A Christmas Kaddish (2022).

CHRISTINA BEAM she / her (Costume Designer, Romeo and Juliet) Christina Beam (She/Her) is a freelance costume designer and maker whose work spans theater, opera, dance and film. Her designs for The Lily’s Revenge at UMass Amherst were included in the 2019 USITT/USA Prague Quadrennial Emerging Artist Exhibit and the 2022 World Stage Design Emerging Artist Exhibit, and her costumes for the “In the Woods” photography series were featured as part of the 2023 USITT/ USA Prague Quadrennial Emerging Artist Exhibit. Christina is also currently working as the Costume Lab Manager for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

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Mr. Fullerton, Between the Sheets (Gloucester Stage), Golda’s Balcony (New Rep), Flight of the Monarch (Shake&Co). Upcoming: Madame Mozart, The Lacrimosa at GBPT.

JAMES W. BILNOSKI he / him (Lighting Designer, The Taming of the Shrew) James W. Bilnoski is currently the Technical Director at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA and is a freelance Lighting, Projection and Scenic designer. He holds a Master of Fine Art in Theatrical Design from Temple University, Philadelphia, PA where he concentrated in Lighting, Projection, and Scenic Design. James also holds a Bachelor of Science in Technical Theatre from West Texas A&M, Canyon, TX. Since college his main concentration has been in lighting design, while pursuing other creative endeavors. He has been fascinated with the potential of projections and how it can be incorporated into any kind of performance since his first introduction to it. Shakespeare & Company shows include Flight of the Monarch (2024), hang, The Chairs (2021), The Children, Time Stands Still, The Waverly Gallery (2019), Morning After Grace, Creditors, Mothers and Sons (2018), 4000 miles, Intimate Apparel, God of Carnage (2017). Ugly lies the Bone, The Taming (2016), The How and the Why, Henry V, Mother of the Maid (premier) An Illiad (2015) Master Class, Heros, Private Lives, The Liar (2013) Stay Curious!

ARIEL BOCK she / her (Director, Mother Play, Sense & Sensibility; Vocal Coach, Romeo and Juliet; Producing Associate) S&Co: Acting: Duke (Measure for Measure), Rose (The Children), Mom (Ugly Lies the Bone); Mistress Quickly (Henry IV Pts. 1 & 2); Goneril (King Lear); Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing); Elizabeth (Richard III); Audrey (As You Like It); Hippolyta (Midsummer Night’s Dream); The Nurse (Romeo and Juliet); Mistress Quickly (Merry Wives of Windsor); Paulina (The Winter’s Tale), Ruth (Private Eyes), The Woman (Laughing Wild); Arlene (Off the Map) Directing: Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Miss Bennet, Christmas at Pemberley; The Wickhams, Christmas at Pemberley; Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility.

At Mixed Company: Ramona (Zara Spook and Other Lures) and Eileen (The Cripple of Inishmaan). With the Ensemble for the Romantic Century in NYC: Nadezhda VonMeck (None But the Lonely Heart), as well as Fanny Mendelsohn, Emily Dickinson, Sonia Tolstoy, and Anna Akhmatova (in multiple shows). Ariel is a Designated Linklater Teacher.

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GREGORY BOOVER he / him (Musician, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Gregory Boover S&Co: Claudio (Much Ado), Feste (Twelfth Night), Fenton/Slender (Merry Wives), Silvius/Amiens (As You Like It), Leo (4000 Miles), Iago (Othello ed. tour), Bottom/Demetrius (Midsummer ed. tour), Scaramouch (The Emperor of the Moon), Polonius/Horatio (Hamlet ed. tour), Nurse/Friar (R&J ed. tour), Damis (Tartuffe). Regional: The Majestic Theater, Hanover Theater, Catskill Mountain Shakespeare, Urbanite Theatre, The Theater at Woodshill, The Umbrella Stage Company, WAM Theatre, Emergent Ensemble Theater, The Theatre at Monmouth, Looking Glass Theater (NY), and more. Greg serves on the faculty at Community Access To The Arts, and produces independent music and artwork. His short film Notification is an official selection for the 2025 Berkshire International Film Festival. Training: S&Co January Month-long Intensive (2017); (BA) UMass Amherst.

JUDY BRAHA† (Director, Plays in Process: The Shallows) Judy Braha has been a director, teacher and arts activist for over four decades. Longtime Head of the M.F.A. Directing Program at Boston University College of Fine Arts, her credits include theaters and universities throughout New England. She proudly works with the BU Prison Arts Project and Race Prison Justice Arts. Judy is currently Associate Artistic Director at Great Barrington Public Theater in the beautiful Berkshires. Recent Directing: Things I Know To Be True, Mr. Fullerton, Dog People (GBPT), Representation and How To Get It (Revolutionary Spaces), The Exonerated, Our Class (BU),

ALLYN BURROWS he / him (Cocreator / Director, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret; Co-creator Circus & The Bard; Artistic Director) S&Co: Director: The Tempest (2017), As You Like It (2018), Twelfth Night (2019) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2023), Shake It Up (2024). Shakespeare & Company performances: Flight of the Monarch, Henry VI, Part 2, A Walk in the Woods, King Lear, God of Carnage, Or, King John, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry IV, Part 1, among others. As Artistic Director of Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Allyn directed and acted in numerous productions. Other Boston area performances include Can You Forgive Her (Huntington Theatre), Breaking the Code (Underground Railway Theatre), Shipwrecked (The Lyric Stage), The Seafarer and The Homecoming (Merrimack Repertory Theater), Five by Tenn (Speakeasy Stage). Elliot Norton Award for The Homecoming, King Lear, Five by Tenn; IRNE Award for Breaking the Code.

Off-Broadway: Bug, Killer Joe, Louis Slotin Sonata, Closetland. Regionally: Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, American Conservatory Theatre, Long Wharf, Denver Center, Walnut St. Television: The Broad Squad, Law and Order, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Against the Law. Films include The Company Men, Julie & Julia, Manchester by the Sea, Don’t Look Up, and the upcoming Tony.

KAIA CALHOUN (Playwright, Director, Plays in Process: Free and Equal) Kaia Calhoun is a director, educator and

writer. She has worked in such theaters as Shakespeare & Company (founding member), Yale Repertory, Manhattan Theatre Club, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Great Lakes Festival, Portland Stage Company, New York Theater Workshop, Round House Theater Company, New York Shakespeare Festival, Joe’s Pub, Great Lakes Festival, and Triad Stage. Kaia has been a guest artist/teacher at Yale University Summer Program, Juilliard, New York University, and the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Awards and achievements include the Sir John Gielgud Fellowship for Classical Directors (first recipient), the NEA/TCG Directors’ Grant, Drama League Directing Fellowship, and the Helen Hayes Award. She holds a BFA from New York University and an MFA from the Geffen School of Drama at Yale University.

JAMES CANNON he / him (Sound Designer, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Regional: Jersey Boys, Fiddler on the Roof, Disney’s Frozen (North Shore Music Theater); The Full Monty, The Minutes, LIZZIE: The Musical, The Color Purple, Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy... Really, Middleton Heights, The Colored Museum, The Old Man and The Old Moon (Umbrella Stage Company); Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber

of Fleet Street, Passing Strange, The Rocky Horror Show (Moonbox Productions); FAIRVIEW (SpeakEasy Stage Company); A Wrinkle in Time (Wheelock Family Theater); Next to Normal (Front Porch Arts Collective/ Central Square Theater); Boulevard of Bold Dreams (Greater Boston Stage Company); John Deserves to Die (Fresh Ink Theatre Company).

Associate Sound Design: The Band’s Visit (HuntingtonTheatre Company). He gives all the love to his son, Trevanté, and his supportive partner Rebecca!

York Shakespeare. REGIONAL: Front Porch Arts Collective, SpeakEasy Stage, Lyric Stage, Franklin Stage, Elm Shakespeare, Hanover Theatre Repertory, Notre Dame Shakespeare, WAM Theatre, Ancram Opera House, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Kennedy Center, NJ Rep (company member), Theater Alliance, Tennessee Shakespeare, Advice to the Players, African Continuum Theatre, & Totem Pole Playhouse. FILM/TV: The Shape of Destiny (Official selection, 2018 Women in Comedy Festival), Ghosts of Hamilton Street (Mike Flanagan, dir.), HBO’s “The Wire.” EDUCATION: S&Co (Center for Actor Training alum, 2016 Month-long Intensive), National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, Alcorn State University.

For my mom Dorothy D. Scott Chesser, and my friend Dennis Krausnick.

MACONNIA CHESSER* she / her (Kate, The Taming of the Shrew) S&Co: An Iliad (Berkshire Theatre Award, Outstanding Solo Performance), King Lear, The Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It, Intimate Apparel, Fringe Festival producer (2017-2019). NEW YORK: Ensemble Studio Theatre,

STEPHANIE CLAYMAN* (Daphne, The Victim) Off-Broadway: The Women’s Project, Vineyard Theatre.

Regional: Kennedy Center, Trinity Rep. Boston area: Huntington Theatre, Gloucester Stage, Merrimack Rep, New Rep, Lyric Stage, Central Square Theater. Favorite roles: Clive/Betty (Cloud Nine), Flora (Humble Boy), Irene (Beyond Words), Lady Macbeth (Macbeth), Gertrude (The Underpants), Ann Landers (The Lady With All the Answers). Film: The Women, Orphan, A Simple Question. She can be seen putting her Deaf Studies degree to good use in What’s the Worst That Could Happen? as her character gleefully interprets a string of invective into American Sign Language.

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KEVIN G. COLEMAN Founding Member (Co-director, Romeo and Juliet; Director of Education; Board of Trustees) Kevin is one of Shakespeare & Company’s artistic and administrative leaders. He works in the Performance and Training departments as an actor, teacher, and director, and oversees the mission of the Education department.

Kevin has been a guest teacher or director at MIT, Harvard, L.S.U., Stanford, Shenandoah Shakespeare, Q.U.T.- Brisbane, Lincoln Center, the Folger Library, Shakespeare Festivals in both Stratfords, and the Mercury Theatre in Colchester, UK. Kevin is the Theatre Director at the Austen Riggs Center, where he has directed over 30 productions. In 2016, Kevin was Runner-Up for the Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education.

Along with Patrick Toole, Kevin recently produced the soon to be released film, Speak What We Feel, documenting the Fall Festival of Shakespeare.

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BRENDAN F DOYLE^ he / him (Sound Designer, The Taming of the Shrew; Sound & Projection Design, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Brendan F Doyle is a designer for live performance and fixed media: working with sound, projections, and reactive systems of all sorts. Works have been heard in bars and basements, chapels and concert halls, and in intentional and improvised venues alike, as well as across the internet. Training consists of an MSc in Sound Design from the University of Edinburgh, a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology from Emerson College, and more than two decades working with musicians. Brendan is a proud member of IATSE Local USA 829 - Previous Shakespeare & Company credits include The Islanders, Midsummer, The Contention, Hymn, The Approach, hang, Art, Topdog/Underdog, The Waverly Gallery, and Macbeth.

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JAYDEN DUDLEY she / they (Assistant Stage Manager, Mother Play; Company Manager) This is Jayden’s first season with Shakespeare & Company and is excited to explore Massachusetts this summer! Jayden is a graduate of the University of Utah with a BFA in Stage Management. She has loved working on shows like We Aint Ever Gonna Break Up: A Hymon and Parfunkel Musical, and Jersey Boys (ASM, Phoenix Theatre Company), Into the Woods (SM, UofU) La Boheme and (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (ASM Utah Opera, Capital Theatre). Jayden has also worked as a dresser for Pioneer Theatre Company on their 2021-24 seasons most notably on Hello Dolly, Something Rotten, and Shucked on their pre-Broadway run. She would like to thank everyone for supporting her throughout this journey in theatre.

LIV DUMAINE she / her (Intimacy Director, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Liv Dumaine is a Bostonbased actor and Intimacy Director.

Select intimacy credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Piano Lesson, Emma, Romeo & Juliet, How I Learned to Drive, Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); The Hombres

(Gloucester Stage/Teatro Chelsea); All Shook Up (Reagle Music Theatre); Fade (Teatro Chelsea); The Normal Heart (New Repertory Theatre); The House of Ramón Iglesia, Passing Strange (Moonbox Productions); Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare & Company). She is a graduate of the BFA Theatre Performance program at Salem State University, and is pending certification with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators. She is the resident Intimacy Director at Actors’ Shakespeare Project, and a regular actor with Sh!t-faced Shakespeare.

DENNIS EBERT JR. he / him (Assistant Stage Manager, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Plays in Process) Dennis Ebert Jr. is one of two ASMs, both alike in dignity. Dennis is a New York-based Stage Manager and graduate of Pace University, having received a BA in Stage Management. He is stoked to be returning to Shakespeare & Company for another season! While away from S&Co, he is a resident stage manager at AMDA & subs on the props track for Little Shop of Horrors at the Westside Theater.

Previous S&Co credits include Comedy of Errors, The Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Contention, Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues, hang, Coriolanus, The Waverly Gallery and more.

CHRISTOPHER V. EDWARDS (Director, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Edwards is excited to be back at Shakespeare & Company.

He is the Artistic Director of Actors’ Shakespeare Project (ASP) in Boston.

Recent directing credits include: How I Learned What I Learned at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; ART at Shakespeare & Company; Let the Right One In, The Bomb-itty of Errors, Pride & Prejudice, Equivocation, Much Ado About Nothing at ASP in Boston; How to Break at the National Theatre of Norway; Hamlet at Gloucester Stage in MA; Fences, A Raisin in the Sun, Othello at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company; Venus in Fur, Water by the Spoonful, As You Like It at Nevada Conservatory Theatre in Las Vegas; Othello, The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in NY. Chris has performed in London’s West End, Off-Broadway, in Regional Theatres and Internationally. He is a Senior Lecturer at the BU School of Theatre and has been a distinguished artist and consultant with The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, and a consultant with the Madison Park Development Corporation in Boston.

He lives in Jamaica Plain with his wife and daughter, Jennifer and Anya.

ANTHONY FEOLA* he / him (Stage Manager, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson; Set Design / Prompter, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Anthony is excited to return to Shakespeare & Company for another summer! Shakespeare & Company credits include: A Body of Water (Production Stage Manager), Three Tall Persian Women (Production Stage Manager), Shake It Up (Scenic JONATHAN EPSTEIN* he / they (Co- Designer), and the 2024 Gala (Scenic Director / Friar, Romeo and Juliet) S&Co: and Event Designer) Select Regional theatre credits include: A Christmas Jonny has directed or acted in more than 70 S&Co productions since 1987 Carol (Assistant Stage Manager) with including Walk in the Woods, Creditors, Trinity Rep. The Vermont Farm Project Henry V, Merchant of Venice, Tempest, (Production Stage Manager) Twelfth Cymbeline, Midsummer, Merry Wives, Night (Production Stage Manager) The Private Eyes, Brief Lives, Heroes, An Iliad Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (Production Stage Manager Sub) and the title roles in King Lear, Henry and A Midsummer Night’s Dream IV, Richard III and Macbeth. In 1990, he created the role of The Men in Tina (Assistant Stage Manager) with Packer’s original Women of Will. He has Northern Stage. Anthony spent 2023 on an international tour with Les performed on and off-Broadway and Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo as at scores of regional theatres around the country including Berkshire Theatre their Production Associate. Anthony graduated with a BFA in Stage Festival (Amadeus, Cuckoo’s Nest, Via and Production Management from Dolorosa, Educating Rita...) and ART Emerson College. He recently opened (Merchant of Venice, Phaedra, Paradise Lost, Picasso at the Lapin Agile). He is his own wedding and event planning business – Anthony Feola Designs. a two-time recipient of the Elliot Norton Award and is Teaching Professor of Classical Performance at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. He was a graduate of the 1988 Month Long Intensive and thereafter taught at more than 30 month-long workshops. His former S&Co and FSU/Asolo students are regularly featured on S&Co stages.

JIM FRANGIONE he / him (Playwright, Plays in Process: The Shallows) Jim Frangione’s play Breakwater, set on Cape Cod, premiered at Great Barrington Public Theater in 2019 (Berkshire Theater Critics Association nomination for Best New Play). Flight of the Monarch

was first presented at Gloucester Stage and received its Berkshire premiere last summer at Shakespeare & Company. The Shallows is the final play in the Trilogy. Jim directed Romance at WHAT; Seriously Funny: An Evening of Short Plays by Mamet, Silverstein and Pinter at Harvard/ART; and Private Life at HERE. For GB Public Theater: Public Speaking 101 and Dad, by Mark St. Germain; the east coast premiere of David Mamet’s The Christopher Boy’s Communion and Will LeBow’s The Bard The Beat The Blues.

Jim’s acted in many plays with NYC’s Atlantic Theater, in National Tours, on Broadway, at the Alley Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf Theatre, the Humana Festival, in American Buffalo at Berkshire Theatre Festival and in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Shakespeare & Company. Jim is Artistic Director of Great Barrington Public Theater and would like to thank Allyn Burrows and everyone at Shakespeare & Company for bringing Flight of the Monarch— and now, The Shallows— to life.

DANIEL GIDRON† (Director, The Victim) S&Co: Directed Golda’s Balcony (Lenox and Boston), Master Class, Full Gallop, Sotto Voce. He was born in Israel, earned Fulbright and Wien Scholarships, and received his MFA from Brandeis University. Daniel has taught at Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Brandeis. He currently teaches at UMass Boston. In Israel he has

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directed for Habimah National Theatre, Haifa Municipal Theatre, Al Midan Arab Theatre (Accidental Death of an Anarchist), and Beersheva Municipal Theatre (Beauty Queen of Leenane). Directing credits in the USA include Peterborough Players, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Gloucester Stage, Merrimack Repertory, Opera Boston, New Repertory Theatre, Odyssey Opera, and Nora Theatre Company, where he served as Associate Director for over twenty years. Recent productions include Groundswell, Or, The Chosen (Lyric Stage), Hysteria, Photograph 51, The How and the Why, Absurd Person Singular, Insignificance (Nora). His production of Arabian Nights (a coproduction of Nora and Underground Railway Theater) which won 2012 IRNE award for Best Direction was revived for five seasons.

LAWRENCE GOODMAN (Playwright, The Victim) Lawrence Goodman is a playwright living in Washington, D.C. His plays include The Serpent’s Tooth, Heresy, The Disappearance of the Jews, The Zionist Conspiracy, The Heshie Kantankowitz Chronicles, and Keep Your Distance. His work has been produced at the Wilbury Theatre Group, the Brick Playhouse, the HERE Arts Center, and the New York International Fringe Festival. He was a Playwriting Fellow at the Huntington Theater in Boston from 2011 to 2013 and received the 2018 Rhode Island Fellowship Award in Play and Screenwriting.

ANTHONY T. GOSS* he / him (Lymon, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Anthony T. Goss is an awardwinning actor from Boston. He has appeared in various independent film, TV and theatre projects. Recent theatre credits include: The Piano Lesson (Actors Shakespeare Project); The Effect (The Gamm Theatre); Toni Stone (The Huntington Theatre); Topdog/Underdog (The Gamm Theatre); Feed The Beast (North Carolina Black Rep); and Cowboy Off Broadway. He is a current playwright in residence with the National Black Theatre’s (NBT) I Am Soul Residency in New York City. He is excited to be returning to the Piano Lesson and honored to be working with Shakespeare & Company this season.

AMANDA GRONICH (Playwright, Celebrating Jewish Plays: Here There Are Blueberries) Amanda Gronich is an Emmy-nominated documentary scriptwriter who has devoted her career to bringing true stories to the stage and screen.

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Born and raised in New York City, Amanda received a BA in Drama from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Soon after, she joined Tectonic Theater Project as a charter member and became captivated by interview-based storytelling. Amanda was one of the group of artists who traveled to Laramie, Wyoming to co-create (based on 200+ interviews) The Laramie Project, later made into an HBO film. She directed the company’s Toronto production of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. Most recently at Tectonic, Amanda co-authored Here There Are Blueberries (La Jolla Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre Company DC, New York Theatre Workshop 2024).

In addition to her work in theater, Amanda pursued a prolific, decade-long career in documentary television. She joined the awardwinning production team at National Geographic Television as a lead series writer. Prior to that, Amanda was the Supervising Senior Writer at Hoff Productions, where for many seasons she oversaw the company’s entire staff of writers and all scripting. In this role, Amanda created, wrote and story-consulted on top-rated series and specials for diverse national broadcast networks, including National Geographic, Animal Planet, WeTV, Travel Channel and TLC. Her work has also been seen internationally, with her programs receiving some of the highest ratings in their timeslots overseas.

Throughout, Amanda committed herself to inspiring new generations of playwrights to create groundbreaking documentary storytelling, bringing unheard voices to the stage. While teaching as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Graduate Program in Educational Theatre at the City College of New York, Amanda developed a unique method

for generating interview- and researchbased dramas. She is at work founding a documentary theater development institute to expand these techniques.

In addition, a book about her original play-devising methods will be released

by Southern Illinois University Press.

Amanda currently works as a playwright and script consultant. She is developing a new documentary musical about a family coping with a rare genetic condition. She plans to continue working in the under-explored field of interview-based musicals.

JADE GUERRA* she / her (Berniece, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Jade is born and raised in Boston. Recent shows include Her Portmanteau (Central Square Theater and Front Porch Collective), Taming of the Shrew (Actor’s Shakespeare Project), Nerds of Color (virtual Central Square Theater), Miracle on 34th St (Greater Boston Theatre Co), King Lear (Actor’s Shakespeare Project), Well (Wellesley Rep), Macbeth (Actor’s Shakespeare Project), Calendar Girls (Greater Boston Stage), The Legend of Georgia Mcbride (Greater Boston Stage), Shakespeare in Love (Speakeasy Stage Co), Julius Ceasar (Actor’s Shakespeare Project). She is a proud company member of Actor’s Shakespeare Project. She is a graduate of Ithaca College Acting program. She is infinitely grateful to Gail Guerra who aides in making all of her goals and dreams possible.

KATE HAMILL (Playwright, Sense & Sensibility) Kate Hamill is an actor & playwright. Kate has been one of the most-produced playwrights nationwide for the last seven years, from 2017-current season. Wall Street Journal Playwright of the Year, 2017; Einhorn Award, 2023. Plays include Pride & Prejudice - Primary Stages / HVSF (originated role of Lizzy; nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award), Sense & Sensibility at Bedlam (originated role of Marianne; winner, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; nominee, Drama League Award); Vanity Fair at the Pearl (originated Becky; nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award), Mansfield Park at Northlight, Little Women at Primary Stages & the Jungle, Dracula at Classic Stage Company, Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, Apt. #2B at KCRep, The Little Fellow at Cygnet Theatre, Emma at the Guthrie. Other plays include Scrooge for Senate; The Piper (O’Neill Finalist, PlayPenn Fellowship), In the Mines (Sundance Finalist); and The Odyssey. Her plays have been produced off-Broadway, at A.R.T., the Guthrie, Seattle Rep, The Alley, Folger, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Trinity Rep, Pittsburgh Public, Dorset Theatre Festival, Shakespeare Theatre of DC, Dallas Theater Center, Kansas City Rep, Long Wharf, A.C.T., Actors Theater of Louisville, Denver Center, & many others. World Premieres in 2024: The Scarlet Letter at Two River, The Light & The Dark at Chautauqua Theater Company and more TBA.

RORY HAMMOND* she / her (Lady Capulet, Romeo and Juliet; Bianca, The Taming of the Shrew) This is Rory’s 35th season with us. Last Summer she played Angelo in The Comedy of Errors which won the Broadwayworld.

com award for Best Ensemble. She is currently teaching Voice for the Actor at the University of Hartford (UHart Conservatory). Rory just earned her MFA and Linklater Designation in London, at the Rose Bruford College of Music and Drama. During her London studies, in addition to her concentration on the Linklater Method, she was immersed in the work of Augusto Boal and Theatre of the Oppressed, as well as Trish Arnold’s Pure Movement, and the Michael Chekhov technique. Throughout these studies there was an emphasis on devising, working to create one’s own performance pieces through the art of theatrical storytelling. In addition to her studies at Rose Bruford, Rory has also been focused these past few years on directing and teaching Shakespeare to kids from ages 7–18. Directing Credits: Do you feel Anger, at the University of Hartford. Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, and Macbeth, all for the Fall Festival of Shakespeare at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. New York acting credits include: Pericles, directed by Edward Berkeley, produced by Animus Theatre Company at SoHo Rep; Measure for Measure, also directed by Edward Berkeley, at Circle in the Square Theatre School; Bachelorette, directed by Lesley Headland, produced by Animus Theatre Company at Circle in the Square; John Patrick Shanley’s Where’s My Money, produced by Animus Theatre Company at the Cherry Lane Theatre; Shakespeare & Company credits include: Measure for Measure, Duke Vincentio, directed

by Alice Reagan; Love’s Labour’s Lost, Princess of France, directed by Kelly Galvin; Christmas at Pemberley, directed by Ariel Bock; Ugly Lies the Bone and Taming of the Shrew, both directed by Daniela Varone; King John, Richard III, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, all directed

by Tina Packer. The Wharton Salon at the Mount: Autres Temp, Xingu, and Summer, all directed by Catherine Taylor Williams. TV credits include: Dr. Pepper commercials circa 1998. Rory received much of her early training at Shakespeare & Company, starting with Young Company and ending as a member of the Summer Performing Institute (SPI). Rory is a graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City, and is a founding member of Animus Theatre Company in New York City. This performance is dedicated to Alan Langdon, my beloved acting teacher, mentor, and friend.

KAREN HARTMAN (Playwright, Celebrating Jewish Plays: Roz & Ray) Karen Hartman is a finalist for the 2023 international Susan Smith Blackburn prize. In 2022, her work launched VOLT at 59e59 Theaters, an unprecedented festival of three simultaneous off-Broadway premieres by a single author: New Golden Age (Primary Stages); The Lucky Star (The Directors Company); and Goldie, Max & Milk (MBL Productions). Also in 2022, Rattlesnake Kate, book by Hartman, score by Neyla Pekarek, won eight Henry Awards, including Best New Work, in its world premiere at Denver Theater Center.

Some of Hartman’s many plays include: Good Faith: Four Chats about Race and the New Haven Fire Department (Yale Repertory Theater), Roz and Ray (McKnight Fellowship, Edgerton New Play Prize, Kilroy’s List), Project Dawn (NEA Art Works Grant, NNPN Rolling World Premiere, currently in development for television), Leah’s Train (National Asian American Theater Company, Weissberger Award Finalist), Girl Under Grain (Best Drama in NY Fringe) and Gum. Her plays are published

by Theater Communications Group, Dramatists Play Service, Concord Theatricals and more.

Her prose has appeared in the New York Times and the Washington Post.

A recent Guggenheim Fellow and former Fulbright Scholar, Hodder Fellow, and New Dramatist, Hartman served as Senior Artist-in-Residence at University of Washington School of Drama for five years, and lives in Brooklyn with her family. She wrote the book for Alice Bliss (music: Jenny Giering, lyrics: Adam Gwon, based on Laura Harrington’s novel), which won the 2019 Weston-Ghostlight New Musical Award and will premiere at TheatreWorks in 2023.

LUKE HASKELL he / him (Lord Montague / Peter, Romeo and Juliet) S&Co: Mr. Elton/Mrs. Bates (Jane Austen’s Emma), Theseus/Oberon, (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), George Wickham, (The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley) Costard, (Love’s Labor’s Lost), Lysander/Flute, (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Paris/ Prince/Gregory, (Romeo & Juliet), Hamlet/Decius Brutus (I Have Had a Most Rare Vision), Roles elsewhere: Rooted Voyageurs: Benvolio/Friar Lawrence, (Romeo & Juliet). Advice to the Players (NH): Duke Vincentio, (Measure for Measure), Lucentio (The Taming of the Shrew). UMass Theater Department: Dwight (Dead Man’s Cell Phone), Roland (Constellations), Van (Dog Sees God), Stephano/ Ensemble/Musician (The Merchant of Venice). In 2019, he was nominated for Best Actor in a Play by the New Hampshire Theater Alliance, for his portrayal of the Duke in Measure for Measure. He has worked for the Education department at Shakespeare & Company since 2016. Month-Long Intensive Alumni, 2018.

MADELEINE HEBERT (Light Designer, Mother Play) Recent work includes Ohio University: We are Proud of Present, ShiningGirls, Twelfth Night (ALD). OU Opera: The Gondoliers, Cendrillion & Trouble in Tahiti, Hansel & Gretel. San Francisco Opera 2024 Fall season (ALD). Santa Fe Opera 2025 season (ALD). Chester Theater Company: Pass Over (LD). And working with children in Connecticut through Cirillo Summer Theater multiple years and various high schools.

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TAMARA HICKEY* she / her (Phyllis Herman, Mother Play) S&Co: The Contention (Henry VI, Part II), Much Ado About Nothing, Time Stands Still, Heisenberg, Cymbeline, The Tempest, Merchant of Venice, Two Gentlemen of Verona; Regional: Appropriate, God’s Ear (Elliot Norton Award Best Actress & Best Production), Henry VIII, Pericles, Living In Exile, Cabaret; Film/TV: Sheepdog, Mother/Android, John And The Hole, The Equalizer 2, The Judge; Defending Jacob; Bull; The Secret Life Of Marilyn Monroe; Olive Kitteridge; Chasing Life” Canadian TV: Blue Murder (Series Lead), The Associates (Series Lead); MFA American Repertory Theatre. Tamara is part of MetaGirl Productions with Kate Kohler Amory. Their solo play This Is It has been performed in Boston and New York. They are currently adapting the novel The Weight of Ink to the stage. Alumni: January Month-long Intensive 2003.

JOHNNY IRION (Musician, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Johnny’s new album Sleeping Soldiers Of Love features exciting collaborations, where I was joined by the staggeringly creative and multi-talented Jeff Bridges, Patrick Sansone of Wilco, The Chatham Rabbits, Mike Mills of REM, and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes.

Rolling Stone Magazine sat down with Mike Mills of REM who provided vocals & Patrick Sansone of Wilco who constructed the string arrangements and discussed how Johnny has produced his best album to date, Sleeping Soldiers of Love. Rem HQ and other musicians are steadily sharing the album. No Depression magazine premiered the video. New ads at Outlaw Country XM interviews with WAMC NPR and The Fabulous 413 New England Public Radio on the iconic brand Blackwing Music.

JAMAL JAMES* (Petruchio, The Taming of the Shrew) Jamal James is thrilled to have his debut at Shakespeare & Co. An actor who has performed all over the country, Jamal currently lives in sunny LA exploring Hollywood and its vibrant community. Always willing to talk about God, Star Wars, and Superheroes at any given time, he has worked in voiceovers, television, features and short films, improv and is currently working on writing his own projects.

Some of his recent favorite productions include: The Royale, Hamlet, Feeding Beatrice, The Color Purple, Beauty and The Beast, Violet: The Musical, Barter Theater; TV/Film Credits: Blue Bloods, GOTHAM, City on a Hill, FBI: Most Wanted, Hit Me, Power Out, Lost Time.

All love to God, his family and friends and to you and yours.

ERIKA JOHNSON she / her (Light Designer, The Victim, Sense & Sensibility; Scenic Designer, Romeo and Juliet; Production Manager) Erika is excited to return to S&Co for a fourth summer season. Before relocating to the Berkshires, Erika was based in New York City lighting for television, theater, and dance. She had the pleasure of designing shows for everything from Red Bull Music to Animal Planet; and spent full seasons

with some truly fabulous institutions such as San Francisco Opera, New York City Ballet, Broadway, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Erika spent her summers before S&Co as the production manager/ head electrician for Adirondack Theatre Festival, putting on Broadway-bound productions like Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat, Loch Ness, Calling All Kates, and Beau. Erika has spent the last seven years traveling the world as the lighting supervisor for Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, a company of folks very close to her heart. She is happy to finally put down roots and call Shakespeare & Company her artistic home.

MOISÉS KAUFMAN (Playwright, Celebrating Jewish Plays: Here There Are Blueberries) Tony- and Emmy-nominated director and playwright, and recipient of the National Medal of Arts from President Obama, Moisés Kaufman has led Tectonic Theater Project since its founding in 1991. Broadway credits include Paradise Square (10 Tony Award nominations), the revival of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song, Rajiv Joseph’s Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo with Robin Williams, the revival of The Heiress starring Jessica Chastain, 33 Variations starring Jane Fonda (Tony Award nomination for Best Play), and

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Doug Wright’s I Am My Own Wife (Obie Award and Tony, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award nominations). West End: Gross Indecency, I Am My Own Wife, This Is How It Goes. Off-Broadway / Regional: Here There Are Blueberries (Tectonic Theater Project/La Jolla Playhouse), Seven Deadly Sins (Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, Tectonic Theater Project/ Madison Wells Live), One Arm by Tennessee Williams (Tectonic Theater Project/The New Group); The Laramie Project (writer/director; Theater in the Square, Drama Desk nomination); The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (writer/director; Alice Tully Hall); Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (writer/director; Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play, Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play and the Joe A. Callaway Award for Direction); Macbeth with Liev Schreiber (Delacorte Theater); Master Class with Rita Moreno (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). Opera: El Gato Con Botas (New Victory Theater). Film/TV: The Laramie Project (HBO; two Emmy nominations for writing and directing, Opening Night Selection at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, National Board of Review Award, the Humanitas Prize); The L Word. Kaufman is the Artistic Director of Tectonic Theater Project, a Guggenheim Fellow in Playwriting, and an Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award winner.

JIM “CHETZ” KEEGAN he / him (Musician, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Jimbo is celebrating 51 years of performing music! He has played bass guitar and guitar in many, many groups based in the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley and the Greater Boston areas. He has toured the U.S. and Canada, performed extensively in Florida and on the East Coast. A native New Englander (and Berkshire boy), he studied music and business at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Comedy of Errors, Richard II, Rough Crossing, Blue/Orange, The Ladies Man, Othello, Twelfth Night, Richard III, The Taster, As You Like It, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The War of the Worlds, Santaland Diaries. Regional: TheatreSquared, Central Square Theatre, WAM Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Theatre Group, Majestic Theatre, American Stage Company, Hartford Stage Company, Montana Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, The Wilma, Wallis Center, The Public Theatre, McCarter Theatre, New Repertory Theatre, Hangar Theatre, George Street Playhouse, Stonington Opera House Arts, CLOC. Based in Pittsfield, MA, Hope Rose is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, Stage Managers’ Association where she serves as the International Cohort Chair, and OISTAT.

HOPE ROSE KELLY* (Stage Manager, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew) S&Co: The Islanders, The Contention, Golda’s Balcony, Lunar Eclipse, An Iliad, Measure for Measure, The Chairs, King Lear, Topdog/ Underdog, Macbeth, Heisenberg, Cymbeline, God of Carnage, Or, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Complete

YVETTE KING* (Maria, The Victim) Yvette King is proud to be working with Shakespeare & Company! She has previously performed in Elektra: The Opera at NYC’s DiMenna Center, Rabbit Hole at Atlantic Theater Company, Vatican Falls at Theatre for a New City, Houseless in Paradise and The Unsaleable Thing as part

of NYC’s Fringe Festival, and The Taming of the Shrew at Riverbank State Park. Yvette was also a company member of The Bats of The Flea Theater under the artistic direction of Jim Simpson. She holds a BA in Theatre from SUNY Albany.

JONATHAN KITT* (Doaker Charles, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Boston Theatre: The Piano Lesson (Actors Shakespeare Project); Toni Stone (Huntington Theatre); Holiday Feast (Front Porch Arts Collective).

Off Broadway: Boy x Man (Negro Ensemble Company). Off-Off Broadway: Becoming Something: Canada Lee (The Kraine Theater); Blues for an Alabama Sky (NYU Gallatin School); The Mighty Gents, The Odd Couple (African American Showcase Theatre). Regional: Knives In Hens (The Vineyard Playhouse); North Folk, Ends (New Jersey Repertory Company); Servant of the People, Julius Caesar (Jomandi Productions). Film: Unexpected (Dark Arts Film, Forager Films). TV: Crisis (NBC); Chicago Fire (NBC). Education: MFA (The Theatre School at DePaul University). He is an Assistant Professor Scene Study and Acting Emerson College.

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BENNY KOHN (Musician, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Benny Kohn is a Berkshire based pianist/ singer/composer. Benny joins forces with many local artists spanning a variety of genres (Jazz, Blues, Funk, R&B, Popular, Rock) including Wanda Houston, Ed Moran, Andy Wrba, Gina Coleman, Glori Wilder, The O-tones, Samirah Evans, Hot Sauce, Chantell McFarland, The Rejuvinators, Rev Tor and many others. Benny can also be found leading his own combos and playing Solo.

JOHN LEGGETT he / him (Prince / Tybalt {understudy} / Paris {understudy}, Romeo and Juliet; Fight Captain) All the way from Myrtle Beach, SC, John is excited to be in the Berkshires for his Shakespeare & Company debut! Recent Credits Include; Ken Ludwig’s World Premiere Lady Molly of Scotland Yard,

Three Musketeers, Goodnight Oscar, Romeo & Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing (Tour), Miss Julie, and Chekov’s Three Sisters at Asolo Rep; Complete Works of Shakespeare: Abridged! and Patches: A New Musical at Piknik Theatre; Unto These Hills Outdoor Drama; Pericles at Shakes in The Park (SC). MFA FSU Asolo Conservatory 2025. Much love to Jonny, Ariel, Kevin, Tate, Joz, and the entire Shakes & Co. team for the opportunity!

DANIEL LEVY (Original Music, Romeo and Juliet) Daniel Levy is delighted to be working with the Shakespeare & Company again. A composer and working musician in New York City, his work includes scores for forty-one productions of plays, six short films, three musicals and the operas The Singing (Richard Rodgers Award), and an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles (Ars Nova NYC, Miami University). A leader in urban teaching artistry, he has partnered with the 92nd Street Y, The Little Orchestra Society, Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Lincoln Center Education, and Project Music Heals Us. Author: A Teaching Artist’s Companion (Oxford University Press).

GOVANE LOHBAUER she / her (Costume Designer, The Victim, The Taming of the Shrew, Sense & Sensibility) Now retired as Costume Director, Govane is in her 44th year with Shakespeare & Company and enjoying costume design as her primary commitment. Selected credits at S&Co: Comedy of Errors, Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Golda’s Balcony, An Iliad, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Martha Mitchell Calling play and film, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, The Tempest, Ugly Lies the Bone, Or..., It’s a Wonderful Life, Henry V, Mother of the Maid, Shakespeare’s Will, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Private Lives, Loves Labor’s Lost, Kaufman’s Barbershop, The Learned Ladies, Women of Will, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Taster, Mengelberg and Mahler, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Shirley Valentine, The Ladies Man, Enchanted April, Ice Glen, Lettice and Lovage, House of Mirth, Glimpses of the Moon and many years of the Holiday productions and costumed, staged readings and the Education Department’s Fall Festival and Tour productions. Selected Regional credits: Grant & Twain, Emilie..., The Long Run, In Darfur, Arabian Nights, Red Noses, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Metamorphosis, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Alice in Wonderland, Our Country’s Good.

KEN LUDWIG (Playwright / Director, Ken Ludwig’s Adults at Play) Ken Ludwig has had six shows on Broadway, seven in London’s West End, and many of his works have become a standard part of the American repertoire. His 32 plays and musicals have been performed in more than 30 countries in more than 20 languages and are produced throughout the U.S. every night of the year.

Lend Me a Tenor won two Tony Awards and was called “one of the classic comedies of the 20th century

by The Washington Post. Crazy For You was on Broadway for five years and won the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical.

In addition, Ludwig has won the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of the Year, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, and the Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theater. His plays have starred Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Tony Shaloub, Joan Collins, and Hal Holbrook, among others.

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ALEX MAGALLANES* they / them (Stage Manager, Mother Play) Alex is thrilled to be returning to Shakespeare & Company for the 2025 season.

Favorite credits include the world premiere of Millions (The Alliance Theatre), Les Misérables, Dreamgirls, The Little Mermaid, Fiddler on the Roof and Waitress (The Muny), Dear Evan Hansen (Second National Tour), and Salome (Heartbeat Opera). UNCSA Stage Management, Class of 2024.

Lots of love to my family, friends, and my cat.

MADELEINE ROSE MAGGIO she / her (Nurse, Romeo and Juliet; Dance Captain) S&Co: Adriana, The Comedy of Errors; Hippolyta/Snout, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Don John, Much Ado About Nothing; Robert Shallow/Bardolph, Merry Wives; Longaville/Jaquenetta, Love’s Labor’s

Lost; Helena, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Elizabeth Bennet, Pride & Prejudice; Marianne Dashwood, Sense & Sensibility; Elizabeth Darcy, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley; S&Co Regional Tour: Lady Capulet/ Benvolio, Romeo & Juliet; The Majestic: Lana, The Ladyslipper; The Humanist Project: “Dorkus Hoare”, A Crucible: A Puritanical Celebration of Witches and Turkeys; “Bubbles”, Mad Mad Mad! (A Devised Clown Play); Lavinia, Titus Andronicus. Madeleine attended the two-year professional course at L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, is an alumni of the Shakespeare & Co. Winter Intensive ’18, studied at The Second City in Chicago and is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

RAYA MALCOLM* she / her (Actor, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Raya Malcolm is thrilled to revamp the Cabaret with this firecracker team of artists!

An actor and musician based in the Capital Region, she most recently appeared in Barrington Stage Company’s 10x10 play festival. Other credits include: Capital Repertory Theatre: Hermia (Midsummer Night’s Dream). Great Barrington Public Theatre: Rosie (Things I Know To Be

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True), Bobby (Breakwater). Central Square Theater: March Girl/Swallow (Matchless & The Happy Prince).

Saratoga Shakespeare Company: Juliet (Romeo & Juliet), Poins (Henry IV: Parts I & II). Raya recently performed an original in-process work, Homebody, at the inaugural Capital Region Festival of Theatre. She also makes up one-third of local, award winning, indie-folk trio, Hold On Honeys who are on track to release their first EP early next year.

ZOYA MARTIN* she / her (Martha Herman, Mother Play) Zoya Martin is so grateful to be returning to Shakespeare & Company this summer.

During her first season in 2023, she played Louise Rabiner in Dear Jack, Dear Louise directed by Ariel Bock and later in the season the role of Ophelia in Kevin Coleman’s “Enhanced Reading” of Hamlet. She received her MFA degree from the FSU/ Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training in Sarasota, Florida. Her Asolo Repertory Theatre credits include Margaret Leavitt in Silent Sky and Penelope in Looking for Ithaca. Other credits include Malvolia in Twelfth Night, The Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol, Henrietta in The Learned Ladies, Abby in Belleville, and Harriet Smith in Emma: The Musical. She received her BFA from Azusa Pacific University.

CORINNA MAY (Intimacy Coordinator, The Taming of the Shrew) S&CO. 30+ productions including Morning After Grace, The Memory of Water, A Winter’s Tale, Enchanted April, Jack and Jill, Betrayal, Fortune and Misfortune, House of Mirth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet. BTF/ BTG: Copenhagen, Seascape, Shirley Valentine (“Berkie” Award), The Importance of Being Earnest Benefactors, Same Time Next Year, Homestead Crossing, Two-headed.

Great Barrington Public Theatre: Things I Know To Be True (“Berkie” award) Wharton Salon: The Long Run, Autre Temps. National Tour: The Graduate with Linda Gray/ Lorraine Bracco/Morgan Fairchild.

Regional (selected): Portland Stage Co., Merrimack Rep., Syracuse Stage, Rep. Theater of St. Louis, Capitol Rep. Film: Split Ends (starring); Speck’s Last. TV: “House of Cards”, “Unforgettable”, “Law & Order”, “PBS: Evening at the Pops”.

Playwright: Dancing with the Czar.

Designated Linklater Voice teacher.

Feldenkrais practitioner. Proud to be a union member: SAG-AFTRA, AEA, Dramatists Guild.

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in the Northeast Regional Tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His other favorite credits include: Viola (National Black Theatre Festival), Millie in Trouble in Mind (Clarence Brown Theatre), and Hero and Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing (Starling Shakespeare) Training: MFA from University of Tennessee Knoxville.

BRITTANI MCBRIDE she / her (Grace, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Off-Broadway: Mud; Or when things get messy and how we live with it (Connelly Theater | SheNYC).

Regional: The Piano Lesson (Actors Shakespeare Project); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Gloucester Stage); Fabulation; Or the Re-Education of Undine (Lyric Stage). Other: Lia Del Mar (Columbia University); Bay Dreaming (SFBATCO). Education: BFA in Acting from Boston University.

Special thanks to: The McBride Tribe for their unwavering support and love.

MERLIN MCCORMICK* (Actor, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Merlin is a performer and screenwriter originally from Raleigh, North Carolina and is excited to be in the Berkshires this summer. Merlin made his Shakespeare & Company debut

JAMES MCNAMARA he / him (Light Designer, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) James McNamara is the Professor of Light/Sound Design and the Founding Chair of the Theatre Arts Department at Westfield State University. He is also an Associate Artist/Designer at The Chester Theatre Company, where he has designed since 2006. Professional KULIA MCLAUGHLIN she / her Design: Ancram Center for the Arts, (Stage Management Intern, The LaMaMa ETC, CompanyOne, Lost Victim) Kulia is excited for her first Nation Theater, Pilgrim Theater production with Shakespeare & Company, New Century Theatre, Company as an Assistant Stage Strong Coffee Stage, New World Manager. She is a rising junior at Theater, Vermont Commons Group, Tufts University, majoring in Theatre, Sankofa Dance Project, World Myth Dance, and Performance Studies and Music and The Calvin Theater. with a minor in Music. Her previous Assistant design: The Guthrie stage management credits at Tufts Theatre Center, The McCarter include The Furies with the Theatre Department and The Enchanted Pig with Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, The Clarence Brown Theatre and Bard the Music Department, among other productions. Originally from Sherwood SummerScape. James received his MFA in Theatre Design from The Oregon, Kulia began her stage management journey with the Sherwood University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Foundation for the Arts and is delighted to continue pursuing her passion as a summer Stage Management Intern at Shakespeare & Company.

CONOR MEEHAN he / him (Musician, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Conor Meehan is a versatile drummer currently based in western Massachusetts. As an in demand sideman, Conor has appeared on over 50 recordings and has toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Japan and Brazil.

Since 2005, he has held the position “Artist Associate of Jazz Drums” at Williams College and has also served as a clinician at numerous summer institutes including Jazz in July at UMass and Interplay Jazz Workshop.

Conor’s comfort playing a wide range of styles, from straight ahead jazz, to rock, r’n’b, samba and everything in between, has led to opportunities to work with artists across many genres, including Dr. John, Charles Neville, The Boston Pops, Brian MacNight, Honeyhoney, Ted Rosenthal Trio, John Medeski, David Spinozza, The Midtown Men, Reggie Workman, Albert Cummings, Jeremy Pelt, Heiruspecs, Sonya Kithcell, Samirah Evans, Whiskey Treaty Roadshow, Andy Suzuki & The Method, Norma Miller, Berkshire Symphony among many others.

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ANNETTE MILLER* (Ruth, The Victim) Annette Miller has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in Boston, in Regional Theaters, and in Film and Television. She has been a leading actor at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass. for 25 seasons. Annette was awarded a Special Citation at the 2024 Elliott Norton awards ceremony, for her body of work and her recent sold-out reprisal of Golda’s Balcony at Shakespeare & Company and at Boston’s Emerson Paramount Theater, February and March 2024. She was acclaimed by The Wall Street Journal as the best actor of the 2020 season in regional theater for her performance as Gladys Green in The Waverly Gallery.

She received the 2018 Berkshire Theater Critics Association Award for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Katherine in Mothers and Sons. Annette originated the role of Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony before it went to Broadway for which she received both Boston’s Elliot Norton Best Actor Award and the Independent Reviewers of New England Best Actor Award. In Florida, she received the Carbonell Best Actor Award nomination for her portrayal of Vi in August Osage County and the Elliot Norton Best Actor Nomination for her role as Martha Mitchell in Martha Mitchell Calling. Other favorite roles include Maria Callas in Master Class, Madam Ranevskaya in The Cherry Orchard, Vera in 4,000 Miles, Diana Vreeland in Full Gallop, Duchess of York in Richard III, and Maria in Twelfth Night.

Film role credits include: Mrs. Tanken in Don’t Look Up with Leonardo DiCaprio, You Will Not Play Wagner (featuring Annette, which has been successfully seen at the New Plaza Cinema in NY and the Miami, Sarasota, Boca, Chicago, and Vancouver Jewish film Festivals and this June at the prestigious Berkshire International Film Festival.), Company Men, Autumn Heart, The Imported Bride Groom, The Next Karate Kid, The Eye Has to Travel (documentary on Diana Vreeland), and See How She Runs. On TV, Annette had recurring roles on As The World Turns and Ryan’s Hope. Other awards include the Boston Jewish Film Festival Award and the Zev Cohen Leadership Award. Annette studied with Stella Adler and holds a BA and MFA from Brandeis University. She is currently an Alumni Scholar at Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center where she wrote and continues to perform for organizations and colleges.

Now is Our Time: for a Theatrical Collage on the Pleasures and Perils of our Third Chapter.

ARTHUR MILLER (Playwright, Celebrating Jewish Plays: The Price) Arthur Miller (1915-2005) was born in New York City and studied at the University of Michigan. His plays include The Man Who had All the Luck (1944), All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), A View from the Bridge and A Memory of Two Mondays (1955), After the Fall (1964), Incident at Vichy (1964),

The Price (1968), The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972), The Archbishop’s Ceiling (1977), The American Clock (1980) And Playing for Time. Later plays include The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (1991), The Last Yankee (1993), Broken Glass (1994), Mr. Peters’ Connections (1998), Resurrection Blues (2002), and Finishing the Picture (2004).

Other works include Focus, a novel (1945), The Misfits, a screenplay (1960), and the texts for In Russia (1969), In the Country (1977), and Chinese Encounters (1979), three books in collaboration with his wife, photographer Inge Morath. Memoirs include Salesman in Beijing (1984) and Timebends, an autobiography (1988). Short fiction includes the collection I Don’t Need You Anymore (1967), the novella Homely Girl, a Life (1995) and Presence: Stories (2007).

He was awarded the Avery Hopwood Award for Playwriting at University of Michigan in 1936. He twice won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, received two Emmy awards and three Tony Awards for his plays, as well as a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. He also won an Obie award, a BBC Best Play Award, the George Foster Peabody Award, a Gold Medal for Drama from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the Literary Lion Award from the New York Public Library, the John F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Algur Meadows Award. He was named Jefferson Lecturer for the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2001. He was awarded the 2002 Prince of Asturias Award for Letters and the 2003 Jerusalem Prize. He received honorary degrees from Oxford University and Harvard University and was awarded the Prix Moliere of the French theatre, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Pulitzer Prize.

JACOB MING-TRENT* (Co-creator / Musician / Actor, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) TV: White Famous, Showtime (series regular), Watchmen, HBO (series regular).

Ray Donovan, Showtime (recurring), Feed the Beast, AMC (recurring). Only Murders in the Building, WU-TANG: An American Saga; New Amsterdam, God Friended Me, High Maintenance and more. Film: Superfly, Forty-YearOld Version, Snakes, R+J, Possession of Hannah Grace, The Bygone, Julie Taymour’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The shallow tale of a writer...starring Steve Buschemi, Friendship, staring Paul Rudd . Broadway: Gypsy revival, (original cast) Shrek the Musical (original cast), Hands on a Hardbody, (original cast). Off-Broadway: Medea Reversed at RedBull theater (Lucille Lortel Nom) The Harder They Come at the Public Theater, (Lucille Lortel Nom, AUDELCO, Nom); Falstaff in Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare in the Park (Drama Desk Nom); Sir Toby Belch, Twelfth Night, Public Theater; Father Comes Home from the Wars, Public Theater, (Lortel Award, AUDELCO Nom); Cymbeline, and The Tempest; Public Theater. Mother Courage, Classic Stage Company; The Alchemist, Mammon at Red Bull Theater, (Lortel Nomination); Merchant of Venice, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theatre for a New Audience; Widowers’ Houses, Epic Theater Ensemble; On the Levee, Lincoln Center Theater. Regional theaters: Yale Rep, Long wharf, Berkley rep, lojolla playhouse, A.C.T, The Folger

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theater, The studio Theater, 5th Ave Playhouse, City Theater, Pittsburgh Playhouse, A.R.T, Emerson, Hudson valley Shakespeare festival. England: Birmingham rep, The Barbican. Writing/ creator credits: How Shakespeare Saved My Life, the film Mac n Beth and Shake It Up Cabaret.

ASHLEY MCCAULEY MOORE* she / her (Juliet, Romeo and Juliet) Ashley McCauley Moore is an MFA graduate of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Ashley made her professional debut with Shakespeare & Company in the 2023 season as Raynell for August Wilson’s Fences. In 2024 she was nominated for a Broadway World Berkshires Award for best supporting performer in a play, for her role as the Courtesan in the company’s production of Comedy of Errors. Ashley is delighted to be returning to Shakespeare & Company for her third season.

Other notable works includes Much Ado About Nothing (Hero/Don Jon), Romeo & Juliet (Juliet), Lynn Nottage -Clyde’s (Letitia), Chekov’s Three Sisters (Masha), Three Musketeers (Constance/us). Some of Ashley’s television credits includes Shonda Rims -Scandal, Breaking Homicide, and ABC- Signatures Grown-ish. “The Privilege of Humanity is Experience”

Riot by The Wardrobe Ensemble; and Lunar Eclipse; by Donald Margulies.

Recently retired from Bard College at Simon’s Rock, he continues to light dance concerts for Berkshire Pulse, and create scenic designs for area theaters.

In September he will light an original production in Zurich, Switzerland.

JOHN MUSALL (Set Designer, The Victim) John Musall has been working in theater, dance, and performance for over fifty years. He has designed sets, lighting, and costumes for over four hundred concert, dance, theater and performance events around the US and Europe. As a performing artist he has written and directed some thirty performance works and he has exhibited paintings and installation works though out the USA. He spent thirteen years with the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, and has taught lighting and set design within the Bard College system under JoAnne Akalaitis, Karen Beaumont, Aimee Michel, James Warwick, and others for the past twenty-five years.

He is the recipient of four project grants from the NEA, and fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts and Art Matters in New York City.

Recent production credits include scenic designs and/or lighting for Almost Maine, by John Cariani; Thornton Wilder’s Skin Of Our Teeth; Gogol’s The Inspector General; Breakwater by Jim Frangione; Dad,

by Mark St Germain; Brecht/Weill’s Three Penny Opera; Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Henry V, Much Ado; The Christopher Boy’s Communion; by David Mamet, Ionesco’s The Chairs;

ERIN O’CONNOR* she / her (Benvolio, Romeo and Juliet) Erin is so thrilled to be back at Shakespeare & Company! Last year she made her debut in Plays in Process as Hero in Ado. Erin is also a Teaching Artist and Fall Festival Director. Select credits include: Sabine in Ken Ludwig’s The Three Musketeers, Linda in Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Viola in Twelfth Night, Everybody in Everybody, Armande in Learned Ladies (Asolo Rep), Coco in The Cocoanuts, Cassius/Portia/Antony in Julius Caesar, Mrs. Hopkins/as cast in My Fair Lady (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). She is also a proud member of the all female Shakespeare and stage combat group, Vixens en Garde.

Big shout out to her parents and her husband, Sean, for their endless love and support. MFA: FSU / Asolo

TIMOTHY OH* he / him (Tybalt, Romeo and Juliet) “TT”, as his parents always call him, is a Korean-American actor, writer, and cook who is honored to return to Shakespeare & Company. TT first came to Shakespeare & Company through the Summer Shakespeare Intensive in 2023, after graduating from Ohio University, where he found freedom, community, and the courage to move to New York City. Since then, TT most recently appeared in the Tony-nominated Broadway Production of Romeo + Juliet. “I want to change people through stories that matter.

Standing up for the unheard and uplifting their voices everywhere.”

TINA PACKER Founding Member (Voice, The Taming of the Shrew; Founding Artistic Director) Born in England, Tina was trained at the Royal

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Academy of Dramatic Arts, performed in regional theater, was an Associate Artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company, played in television series for the BBC and ITV, and arrived in the U.S. in 1974.

She had a Ford Foundation Travel and Study Grant to research the visceral roots of Shakespeare’s plays, and travelled to India, Israel, Italy and the U.S. She co-founded Shakespeare & Company in 1978, and has worked for the Company ever since! She has directed all of Shakespeare’s plays (some of them several times), acted in eight of them (never when directing) and taught the whole canon at more than 30 colleges, including Harvard, M.I.T., and NYU. At Columbia University, she taught in the MBA program for four years, resulting in the publication of Power Plays: Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership and Management with Deming Center for Quality Management at Columbia Business School Professor John O. Whitney for Simon and Schuster. For Scholastic, she wrote Tales from Shakespeare, a children’s book and recipient of the Parent’s Gold Medal Award. Tina was the subject of WGBH documentary Sex, Violence and Poetry: A Portrait of Tina Packer. Tina’s book Women of Will was published by Knopf, and she has performed Women of Will with Nigel Gore in New York, Mexico, England, The Hague, China, and across the U.S. Charlie Rose interviewed Tina about her book Women of Will and she spoke at a TEDx talk about Women’s Voices. Her directing work is currently being written about in a work entitled Shakespeare in the Theatre: Tina Packer by Katharine Goodland, and will be published by Bloomsbury-Arden for their Shakespeare in the Theatre Series.

S&Co acting credits include: Shirley Valentine, Molly Ivins, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Mother of the Maid; Volumnia, Gertrude, Cleopatra, and Edith Wharton several times.

She’s the recipient of numerous awards and six honorary degrees, including the Commonwealth Award.

ARIEL PHILLIPS she / her (Maretha, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Ariel Phillips Regional: The Piano Lesson (Actors’ Shakespeare Project).

Film: My Friend Marvi (Boston

University); Lucid (Boston Arts Academy). Education: The Colored Museum (Boston Arts Academy); The Crucible (Boston Arts Academy); Death Of A Salesman (emShakes); Emerson College Theatre & Performance (BFA).

NAIRE POOLE* she / they (Actor / Musician, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Naire Poole is fresh off of her performance in Barrington Stage Company’s 10x10 Festival! Her selected credits include: Theater: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet, The Wickams: Christmas at Pemberly, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare & Company); 10x10 Ten Minute Play Festival (Barrington Stage Company); Way Beyond Water (St. Pete Opera); hang, The Crucible, The Cake (Asolo Rep); Glengarry Glenross, Clybourne Park, Mud, A Chip on Her Shoulder, Oh the Humanity (Virginia Tech Theater); Hamlet #inpieces, Tuk in the Arctic, The Outsider, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (ODU REP).

Film and television: Wet Things, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, George.

MFA 2021 (FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training).

When she isn’t tackling work that explores challenging societal structures, she is directing and teaching, ablaze to adjust theaters into inclusive, healing, and transcendent spaces. She’s grounded by family and lifted by friends. salu. blm.

BOBBIN RAMSEY (Tina Packer Women of Will Directing Fellow, The Taming of the Shrew) Bobbin Ramsey is a theatre and film director based in New York. Recent work includes a workshop of BRKN by Abigail Onwunali at Ensemble Studio Theater and ENRON

by Lucy Prebble at the Atlantic Acting

Conservatory. Other productions include: Fucking A by Suzan-Lori Parks, Macbeth, and the world premiere production of Cactus Queen by Doug Robinson (Yale School of Drama); Arlington by Enda Walsh, Udo by Abigail Onwunali and Nomé SiDone, a devised piece titled The Betrayal Project (Yale Cabaret); Barron’s Dance Nation; Jennifer Haley’s The Nether; Alice Birch’s Revolt. She Said.

Revolt Again. (Washington Ensemble Theater); BrechtFest, an original mash-up of Brecht plays served over a 3-course brunch (The Horse in Motion); and a site-specific Waiting for Godot performed on a Seattle pier (Arts on the Waterfront).

She is an Oregon Shakespeare Festival FAIR Directing Fellow, an alum of the SDCF Observership Class, and an SDC Associate Member. BA: Unversity of Washington, MFA: Yale School of Drama.

“ranney”* he / him (Wining Boy / Music Director, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) West End: The Bomb-itty of Errors (Ambassadors Theatre).

Regional: The Islanders, Fences, Hymn, Art (Shakespeare & Company); How I Learned What I Learned, Sweat (Ensemble Theatre Company); The Amen Corner, Hamlet, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, All the Way, Fences (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company); Jitney, Radio Golf, Two Trains Running, The Piano Lesson, Gem of the Ocean, Crowns, The Bomb-itty of Errors (American Stage Theatre Company); Scarlet, The Piano Lesson (Portland Playhouse Theatre); Water By the Spoonful, Seven Guitars (Nevada Conservatory Theatre); Zora Neale Hurston, The Piano Lesson (Center Theatre Company), Topdog/ Underdog, Race, The Boys Next Door (Jobsite Theater Company); The Piano Lesson (A Public Fit Theatre Cmpany) Solo: Cufflinks and Jolly Ranchers for Dummies (Edinburgh Festival Fringe); And the Horse You Rode In On (Projects Arts Center, Dublin); Glossolalia: “ranney” is Speaking in Tongues, Whatever (Peoples Improv Theatre); Incendiary, The Break of Dawn: Tracing the Origins of Speech, Pardon Me: I Promise to Do My Best; “ranney” in Surround Zound (Straz Center for the Performing Arts); The Chicken or the Egg (American Stage Theatre Company).

NICOLE RICCIARDI† she / her (Director, The Taming of the Shrew) S&Co: King Lear, Time Stands Still, Creditors, 4000 Miles, The Taming, The How and the Why, and Cassandra Speaks. She has directed, developed, and assisted productions at Third Avenue Playhouse, Youngblood/ Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Flea, Primary Stages, the Drama Book Shop, Chelsea Repertory Lab, Circle East, Bushwick Arts, Central Square Theatre, Two River Theater Company, Berkshire Playwrights Lab, Shadow Lawn Stage, and the Irish Repertory Theatre. She is on the faculty of The Theatre School at DePaul. MFA, Carnegie Mellon University. S&Co Month-long Intensive, ’01.

DANIEL RIOS JR* (Avery, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Daniel Rios Jr is pleased to return to Shakespeare & Company. Regional credits include Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Macbeth (Ross); Central Square Theater’s Young Nerds of Color (Dr. DC Lopez/Reinaldo Herrera); Ivoryton Playhouse’s The Great Gatsby (George B. Wilson); Umbrella Stage Company’s Fences (Lyons); and Shakespeare & Company’s Comedy of Errors (Segundo-The Second Merchant).

Film/TV credits include Aftermath, American Sports Story, The Perfect Couple, FBI, and New Amsterdam. He earned his MFA from The University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts.

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OMAR ROBINSON* he / him (Boy Willie, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Regional: King Hedley II, Seven Guitars, Pride and Prejudice, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, The School for Scandal, The Comedy of Errors, Henry VIII, Pericles, Twelfth Night (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); Toni Stone, Common Ground Revisited, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Romeo and Juliet, Tartuffe (Huntington Theatre Company); Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, The Winter’s Tale (Hartford Stage); Radio Golf, black odyssey, The Hunchback of Seville (Trinity Repertory Company); Dorset Theatre Festival, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Lyric Stage Company, Central Square Theater, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.

Film: The Finest Hours. Education: BA, Emerson College. Training: Shakespeare & Company’s Summer Shakespeare Intensive, 2016.

JOSH RODRIGUES* (Stage Manager, The Victim) Josh is thrilled to be back at Shakespeare & Company having last been seen assisting in 2022’s Much Ado About Nothing! A Proud AEA Member and Massachusetts Native, they have worked around the country with some favorite credits including (School of Rock, Escape to Margaritaville) Little Theatre On the Square, (The Play That Goes Wrong) Lyric Stage, (Murder for Two) Greenbrier Valley Theatre, (The Underpants). Lake Dillon Theatre Company.

CAITLIN ROSE* (Romeo, Romeo and Juliet) Caitlin Rose recently earned their MFA from FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training where she first played Romeo, Julie in Miss Julie, and Natásha in Three Sisters. Recent credits: U/S Rose in Dancing at Lughnasa, U/S Peg

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in Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, and Don Pedro/Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing at Asolo Repertory Theatre.

A Shakespeare enthusiast, Caitlin produced and acted in Complete Works (Abridged) last summer alongside John Leggett at Piknik Theatre in Colorado.

After Romeo & Juliet, Caitlin is moving to Portland, Oregon for love (a true romantic), theatre, teaching, and modeling. Endless love to Jody, Andrea, and the WamFamBam. Admiration and gratitude for Jonny and every soul at Shakespeare & Company for this opportunity to be in her most-loved favorite play.

JON SAVAGE^ he / him (Set Designer, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Jon Savage is a set designer based in Boston, MA. Past New England credits include work with Actors Shakespeare Project, Gloucester Stage, New Rep Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Front Porch Arts Collective, Central Square Theatre to name a few. Some Regional credits include work at Olney Theatre Center, DC Area; Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia; ACT Theatre, Honolulu, HI; Bay Street Theatre, NY; Bucks County Playhouse, PA. International credits include work at Academia del ‘Arte, Arezzo, Italy; Prague Shakespeare Company, Prague, CZ and Verona Shakespeare Fringe Festival, Verona, Italy. He has also worked on TV and film productions for Max, HBO, Discovery Channel and Normandy Films. He is currently on faculty at Boston University.

BRYN SCHARENBERG (Sound Designer, Mother Play) Bryn Scharenberg is a New York-based sound designer and engineer. She grew up in Seattle, where the murmur of rain is near-constant. The vividness of the natural world is a core theme in their designs, as well as an earnest love for the moody and melodramatic.

Her professional credits include a mix of designing, associate designing, and engineering for New York Theater Workshop, Juilliard, the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, Yale Repertory Theater, and the New School, among others.

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WILL SEXTON he / him (Scenic Designer, The Taming of the Shrew) Will Sexton is an Air Force Veteran, MFA recipient in Scenic Design from the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign and holds his B.A. in Theatre Arts and B.S. in Business Management from Bridgewater State University. Selected scene design credits of his include Carrie Goes to Horror High, The Bald Soprano (Bridgewater State University), Fall Festival of Shakespeare, Emma (Shakespeare & Company), I WISH: An Immersive Escape Experience, RENT, The Revolutionists (Illinois Theatre), Pass Over (Armory Free Theatre), Descendants: The Musical and Moana (Ogunquit Playhouse). He has presented at USITT on his topic: “Integrating Military Experience into an Undergraduate Theatre Education”.

Further, Will has scenic carpentry experience expanding across Upstate Scenic, Barrington Stage Company, Ogunquit Playhouse, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, and Brown Box Theatre Project.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Founding Member (Playwright, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew) He was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. His works, including some collaborations, consist of about 37 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

EDDIE SHIELDS* (Carl Herman, Mother Play) Eddie Shields is thrilled to be at Shakespeare & Company this summer. Recent Credits: Bedlam’s Angels in America, The Inheritance, A Man of No Importance, Shakespeare in Love, Casa Valentina, and Significant Other (Speakeasy Stage), Edward II, The Comedy of Errors (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); Breaking the Code (2026), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Central Square Theater); Hair (New Rep); Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (Company One); The Seagull (A.R.T/ BTC). Off Broadway/NY: A Class Act (Playwrights Horizons); Billy Redden (Theater Row); Europia Escapes Europe (Austria Stage); Miss Julie (Workshop Theater); Twelfth Night, Henry VI.3, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Drilling Company). Film/ TV: Kill that Man, Moonrise Kingdom, Unsure/Positive, Road to Joy, The Entertainment. Plays: Julie (Midtown Theater Fest. Best in Show); The Good Girls High (Manhattan Rep. Official Selection). Eddie has been nominated for the Elliot Norton award three times and holds an IRNE award and 4 IRNE nominations. MFA – Brandeis University, BFA – Adelphi University.

AEA/SAG-AFTRA. KATHLEEN H. SOLTAN* she / her (Stage Manager, Plays in Process; Assistant Stage Manager, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew) Kathleen H. Soltan is one of two ASMs, both alike in dignity. Kathleen is a Philadelphia based Stage Manager and Creator.

Selected Theatre Credits: King Lear, The Waverly Gallery, Macbeth with Shakespeare & Company, I Do! I Do! with Purple Crayon Productions, Cadillac Crew, Kamloopa with WAM Theater Company, Noises Off!, Othello, The Birds, The Handmaid’s Tale with CurioTheatre Company.

Selected Training: BA Theater Temple University. Creative Inspiration: Kathleen is dedicated to providing and promoting safe spaces for all Performers, Designers, and Artistic Creators. Special thanks to Hope, Dennis, the cast and crew, the cows at High Lawn, and to SPF 50!

He is the resident fight director and SFX designer for the Tony-Award winning outdoor drama, The Lost Colony. Tate is a professor of movement at FSU/Asolo Conservatory. He currently serves as Vice President of the SAFD, with whom he is also a Certified Teacher and Fight Director. Proud Member: SDC/AEA.

JACLYN C. STEVENSON she / her (Musician, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret; Director of Marketing & Communications) This is Jaclyn’s second season as a performer with Shakespeare & Company and her fourth as its Director of Marketing & Communications. Recent credits as a performer or speaker include: violin/vocals with Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret (Shakespeare & Company); A Conversation with Best-selling Author Terry Hayes (The Mahaiwe); Poet 13, From Stone to Song (and back again) – A Very Large Poem 2024, featured poet, Walkin’ with WordxWord, and Poet 47, The Very Large Poem 2023 (WordxWord at The Mount); feature violin at Bousquet Mountain Jam and The Iron Horse with Shakedown, and feature violin, PVPA Dance Company. Additional credits include television: Songwriter, singer, and violinist, Undressed Mtv. Albums: feature violin, Piano Planet, Derrick Cummings; singer and violinist, Pass the Sombrero, Singer Bad Dancer; feature violin, Matinee, Rob Cushing, and singer/violinist, the Cape Cod Musicians’ Social album.

JOHN DOUGLAS THOMPSON* (Actor, Celebrating Jewish Plays: Roz & Ray) John Douglas Thompson Broadway credits: Jitney (Tony Award nomination), King Lear, Carousel, A Time to Kill, Cyrano de Bergerac, International: Othello at RSC, The Merchant of Venice at Royal Lyceum Theater. Off-Broadway: Irish Rep: Endgame (Obie Award), Public Theatre : Hamlet (Audelco Award) Julius Caesar, Troilus & Cressida, King Lear; BAM: The Iceman Cometh (Obie Award, Drama Desk Award), TFNA: The Merchant of Venice, A Doll’s House, The Father, Macbeth, Othello (Obie, Lucille Lortel Award), Tamburlaine the Great (Obie, Drama Desk); Westside Theatre: Satchmo at the Waldorf (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award, NAACP Theatre Award); NYTW: Hedda Gabler; Irish Rep: Regional: Huntington Theatre: Man in The Ring (Elliott Norton Award), Commonwealth Shakespeare Company: The Tempest (Elliott Norton Award), ART: Othello, Richard II, Antigone, Henry V, Mother Courage, ACT: Hamlet; Mark Taper: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Ovation Award); Shakespeare & Company: Red Velvet, Othello, King Lear, Richard III; Wilma Theater: Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (Barrymore Award); Film: Highest 2 Lowest, Till, The Bourne Legacy, Glass JASON PAUL TATE† (Fight Choreographer, Romeo & Juliet) Jason Chin, Michael Clayton, and Wolves.

Television: The Gilded Age, Bull, The Paul Tate is a director, choreographer, and performer making his Shakespeare Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Law & Order: SVU, Madam Secretary, & Company debut! NYC: Met Opera, Person of Interest. Additional Awards: Public, Ars Nova, BAM, PACMatador Award, Robert Brustein Award, NYC, Classic Stage, Onsite Opera, Rattlestick. Regional: A.R.T., Asolo Rep, Samuel H. Scripps Award, Eugene O’Neill Award, AAFCA Distinguished Bucks County Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse, Florida Rep, Florida Studio, Achievement Award, Elliott Norton Sustained Excellence, and the Earle Great Lakes Theatre, Idaho Shakes, Hyman Award. John is an alumnus of Lake Tahoe Shakes, Old Globe, Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Ordway, Shakespeare Theatre New Actor Training.

Jersey, Studio Tierra del Sol, Theatre Lab, Tuacahn, Urbanite, Virginia Stage Company, Westcoast Black Theatre.

DENNIS TRAINOR JR.* he / him (Gremio, The Taming of the Shrew) Previously at Shakespeare & Company: The Comedy of Errors.

Recent acting credits include How I Learned To Drive, Let The Right One In, and The Merchant of Venice (Actors’ Shakespeare Project) and The Inheritance (Speakeasy Stage).

Additionally, has appeared at New Rep, Gloucester Stage, Company One, Lyric Stage, Soho Rep, The Flea, The Kraine, and others. As a playwright, his plays include Manifest Destiny’s Child (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Plug, and I Coulda Been a Kennedy (Rude Mechanicals).

Directing credits include Antigone or And Still She Must Rise Up (Boston Conservatory), The Trojan Women: A Love Story (Stonehill College), Plug, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Rude Mechanicals). He produced and directed the documentaries American Autumn and Legalize Democracy. Dennis was the founding co-artistic director of the NYC-based Rude Mechanicals Theater Company.

Currently, he serves as an Associate Professor of Theater at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

ADELE NADINE TRAUB* she / her (Stage Manager, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) A founding company member with Actors’ Shakespeare Project where she has stage managed over 25 productions, Adele has also stage managed for The Huntington Theatre, Playwrights Horizons in NYC, the A.R.T in Cambridge, MA, Capital Repertory Theatre, in Albany, NY; Lyric Stage, SpeakEasy Stage,Israeli Stage, Central Square Theatre, Boston Playwrights’ Theater, Boston Conservatory, and BU Dance Theatre in Boston, MA. Education: Brandeis University (BA). Adele is the General Manager at Lyric Stage of Boston, the Artist Coordinator for J.P. Lick, teaches stage management at Boston College, is, and a professional quilter.

DANIELA VARON† she / her (Director, Celebrating Jewish Plays: Roz & Ray) S&Co: Director, Coriolanus, Intimate Apparel, Ugly Lies The Bone, Red Velvet, Shakespeare’s Will, Romeo and Juliet, Sea Marks, Martha Mitchell Calling, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, Love Letters, Collected Stories, The Winter’s Tale, Wit, A Room of One’s Own, The Turn of the Screw. New York: Abingdon; Culture Project; EST; HERE; Joe’s Pub; Lincoln Center Theater Directors’ Lab; Mud/ Bone; New Dramatists; the Public; Shakespeare Society; Symphony Space; 78th St. Theater Lab; Upstart Creatures; Vineyard Theatre. Regional: Boston Playwrights’; Connecticut Repertory; LA Women’s Shakespeare; the Modern; Northern Stage; Sun Valley Shakespeare; Tygre’s Heart Shakespeare; Vineyard Playhouse; VoxFest; Wharton Salon. Co–founder, The Company of Women; co–creator, Conversations with Shakespeare; Drama League Fellow; NYTW Usual Suspect. Faculty/Guest Artist: The Linklater Center, Barnard, Bennington, Columbia, Dartmouth, David Geffen School of Drama, Emerson, NYU, Purchase, Smith, U. Conn., Yale University. International theater exchange projects: Sfumato Theatre Laboratory, Sofia, Bulgaria; Pro Rodopi Art Centre, Bostina, Bulgaria.

Artistic Research Fellow, The Folger Institute, 2025-2026. CAT alumna: January Month-long Intensive 1988,1990; SSI (formerly STI) 1988.

PAULA VOGEL (Playwright, Mother Play) Paula Vogel is a Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright whose plays include Mother Play, Indecent, How I Learned to Drive, The Long Christmas Ride Home, The Mineola Twins, The

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Baltimore Waltz, Hot ’n’ Throbbing, Desdemona, And Baby Makes Seven, The Oldest Profession and A Civil War Christmas. She served as Director of Playwriting at Brown University and as the O’Neill Chair of Playwriting at Yale School of Drama. Awards include three Tony nominations, the American Theatre Hall of Fame Award, two Obies, the Lily Award, the NY Drama Critics Circle Award, a Guggenheim and a Pew Charitable Trust Award. Her memoir, Travels Without Carl, will be published by Penguin Press.

GABRIELLA WALKO she / her (Assistant Stage Manager, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) Gabriella Walko is a multidisciplinary theatre artist currently based in Pittsburgh, PA. Select SM credits include: Trouble in Mind, A Christmas Story, The Hobbit (Pittsburgh Public Theater); Shake it Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret, Flight of the Monarch, Georgiana & Kitty…Pemberley (Shakespeare & Company); A…My Name is Still Alice, Falsettos, Grand Hotel (Front Porch Theatricals), Pittsburgh CLO (2023 summer series), Harriet Tumban…

Railroad (Primestage Theatre), The Importance…Earnest, The 39 Steps, A New Brain (Pitt Stages). Select performance credits include: Spring Awakening (Wendla Bergmann), John Proctor is the Villain (u/s Beth, Baily), Appropriate (Cassidy LafayetteKramer), Abduction: A New Musical Comedy (Gleep Glorp), The Little Mermaid (Ursula).

WENDY WASSERSTEIN (Playwright, Celebrating Jewish Plays: The Sisters Rosenweig) Wendy Wasserstein’s

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play The Heidi Chronicles won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize; the New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards; and earned her a grant from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays. For The Sisters Rosensweig she received the 1993 Outer Critics Circle Award, a Tony Award nomination, and the William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in American Theatre.

Other plays include Old Money and An American Daughter and Third (Lincoln Center); Uncommon Women and Others (Phoenix Theater); Isn’t it Romantic (Playwrights Horizons); a musical, Miami (with Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman); Waiting for Philip Glass, included in Love’s Fire (The Acting Company). Wasserstein’s screenplays include The Object of My Affection, produced as a major motion picture starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd. For PBS Great Performances she wrote Kiss, Kiss Darling; Drive, She Said; and adaptations of John Cheever’s The Sorrows of Gin and her own Uncommon Women and Others. She adapted The Heidi Chronicles for TNT (1996 Emmy Award nomination for Best Television Movie) and An American Daughter for Lifetime Television. Her adaptation of The Nutcracker was performed at The American Ballet Theatre at The Met, and her adaptation of The Merry Widow premiered at San Francisco Opera. She was the librettist for the original opera Festival of Regrets: Central Park, which had runs at Glimmerglass Opera and New York City Opera. She wrote Pamela’s First Musical, a children’s book, which adapted with Cy Coleman into a musical which premiered in Spring 2006. Her other books include the essay collections Shiksa Goddess and Bachelor Girls. She contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York Woman, and Harper’s Bazaar, among many other publications. She was the recipient of an NEA Grant, Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome.

She served on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, on the Board of the British American Arts Association, School of American Ballet, WNET/ Thirteen, and The Educational Foundation of America. She taught at Columbia University, New York University, Juilliard School, and Princeton University, and held an Honorary Doctorate from Mount

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Holyoke College. Wasserstein was born in Brooklyn and raised in Manhattan. She was a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the Yale School of Drama.

RICKEY WATSON, JR.* he / him (Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet) From New Orleans, La Credz include: Harry Esterbrook – Inherit the Wind (Asolo Rep); Lysdander/Bottom – Midsummer Night’s Dream (Asolo Rep Tour); George – OurTown (Triad Stage); Tommy U/S – Grand Horizon (Asolo Rep); George U/S – OurTown (Asolo Rep); Kaa – Jungle Book (Peppercorn Theatre); Mason– Billy and the Golden Pencil (Peppercorn Theatre); Lord Capulet – Romeo and Juliet (Asolo Conservatory); Don Armado – Love’s Labour’s Lost (Asolo Conservatory) Kent (Spoon) – StickFly (Asolo Conservatory); John Dashwood – Sense and Sensibility (Asolo Conservatory); Jeremy F. – Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (UNCSA); BFA – Acting (UNCSA); MFA – Acting (FSU). I am thrilled to be here for the first time!

J. AUSTYN WILLIAMSON* he / him (Paris / Mercutio {understudy}, Romeo and Juliet; Lucentio, The Taming of the Shrew) Austyn Williamson is thrilled to be returning for this season at Shakespeare & Company. Shakespeare & Co.: The Contention: Henry VI, Part II, Regional Theatre: The Inheritance Parts I & II (Trinity Repertory Company), The Tempest (Oak Park Festival Theatre), How To Defend Yourself (Victory Gardens Theatre), Brown/Trinity Rep. MFA: Ironbound, Cold War Choir Practice, Hamlet, and several more.

Austyn is a recent graduate of the Brown University/Trinity Rep. MFA

Acting Program. He would like to thank his family, the B/T ’25 Cohort, as well as his fellow cast and crew for all their love and support!

LUKE WILLSON he / him (Lighting Designer, Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret) Luke Willson is a NYCbased lighting designer with a passion for capturing the puzzles at the heart of stories. He is thrilled to be back at Shakespeare & Company for the 2025 Summer Season as the staff Assistant Production Manager and Head Electrician, as well as designing both Shake It Up and the premiere of Circus & the Bard. Luke recently graduated from Fordham University after working on more than 40 productions, including his thesis: the world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Horoscope, directed by May Adrales.

Luke has worked on productions at The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, The Tank, The Flea, La MaMa, Atlantic Acting School, Theatre for a New Audience, NYC Fringe, Target Margin Theatre, and many more.

AUGUST WILSON (Playwright, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson) August Wilson (April 27, 1945 -October 2, 2005) authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African-Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the twentieth century. His plays have been produced at regional theaters across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his

one-man show, How I Learned What I Learned. Mr. Wilson’s works garnered many awards including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1987); and for The Piano Lesson (1990); a Tony Award for Fences; Great Britain’s Olivier Award for Jitney; as well as eight New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, Seven Guitars, Jitney, and Radio Golf.

Additionally, the cast recording of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Mr. Wilson’s early works included the one-act plays The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills.

Mr. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwrighting, the Whiting Writers Award, 2003 Heinz Award, was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by the President of the United States, and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He

was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and on October 16, 2005 Broadway renamed the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street-The August Wilson Theatre. Additionally, Mr. Wilson was posthumously inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.

Mr. Wilson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Seattle, Washington at the time of his death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero

ARTHUR WILSON he / him (Costume Designer, Mother Play) Costume design: Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Board Members (Yale Rep), Cactus Queen and Uncle Vanya (Geffen School).

Associate costume design: Eden (Yale Rep); assistant costume design: Falcon Girls (Yale Rep), Candide (Glimmerglass Opera), Marys Seacole (Geffen School), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Yale Rep), Emma: The Musical (Ensemble Theater Company). Associate Set Design: Twelfth Night (The Public Theater ’25). Assistant Set Design: Clueless: The Musical (West End), Harvey (Laguna Playhouse), and Skylight (Chance Theater). MFA in Costume & Scenic Design (Yale School of Drama), Double BA Music & Theater (California State University, Fullerton).

Creditors, Hound of the Baskervilles, The Learned Ladies, Mother Courage, The Mystery of Irma Vep, and It’s a Wonderful Life. Regional Credits include: Great Barrington Public Theater: The Stones, Breakwater; WAM Theatre: ROE, The Old Mezzo; Commonwealth Shakespeare Company: The Winter’s Tale, Universe Rushing Apart; Gloucester Stage: Mr. Fulllerton: Between the Sheets; The Huntington Theatre Company: Joy and Pandemic. Film: The Boston Strangler (Hulu). TV: Time Traveling Bong (Comedy Central). Ryan has a BA from FSU, an MFA from UWMadison, and he is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and SAG.

RYAN WINKLES* (Hortensio, The Taming of the Shrew) Ryan has been a company member of Shakespeare & Company since 2006 and some of the productions he has been in include: As You Like It, Henry V, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, The Tempest, Twelfth Night,

ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION (“Equity”), founded May 26, 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional Actors and Stage Managers. Equity fosters the art of live theatre as an essential component of society and advances the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Actors’ Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. Equity is governed by its own members through an elected Council, representing principal actors, chorus actors and stage managers living in three regions: Eastern, Central and Western. Members at large participate in Equity’s governance through a system of regional Boards and Committees. Equity has 28 designated area liaison cities with over 100 members each. #EquityWorks * Appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. † This director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union. ^ This designer is represented by United Scenic Artists – Local USA 829 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

Shakespeare & Company operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Shakespeare & Company is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theater.

Shakespeare & Company is a constituent of The Shakespeare Theatre Association, a forum for theatres involved in the production of works of William Shakespeare.

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MON

JUNE

2025 CALENDAR

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

7 14 21 10:30 am Talk 7 pm The Victim (O) 28 5 pm GALA

2 9 16

3 10 17

4 11 18

5 12 19 7 pm The Victim (P)

6 13 20 7 pm The Victim (P)

23

24 7 pm The Victim

25 2 pm The Vicitm 7 pm The Victim

26 7 pm The Victim

27 7 pm The Victim

30 MON

JULY

TUE

1 2 pm The Victim 7 pm Shake It Up

WED 2 2 pm The Victim 7pm Shake It Up

THU

FRI

SAT

1

SUN

8 15 22 11:30 am SSI 2 pm The Victim 29 2 pm The Victim SUN

3 4 5 6 10:30 am Wanderers’ 3:30 pm Shake It Up 10:30 am Talk 2 pm The Victim 2 pm The Victim 7 pm The Victim 7 pm The Victim 7 pm Shake It Up (C) 7 pm Shake It Up 8 pm Shake It Up 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 7 pm The Victim 7 pm The Victim 10:30 am Wanderers’ 10 am Riotous Youth 2 pm The Victim 2 pm The Victim 7 pm The Victim 7 pm The Victim 7 pm Romeo & Juliet (P) 7 pm Romeo & Juliet (P) 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 10:30 am Talk 2 pm The Victim (C) 7 pm Romeo & Juliet (P) 2 pm The Victim 10:30 am Wanderers’ 2 pm The Victim 7pm Romeo & Juliet (O) 2 pm The Victim 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 7 pm Romeo & Juliet (P) 2 pm The Victim 7 pm Romeo & Juliet (P) 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 7 pm The Victim 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 10:30 am Wanderers’ 10 am Riotous Youth 6:30 pm Piano Lesson (P) 2 pm Piano Lesson (O) 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 6:30 pm Piano Lesson (P) 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 28 29 30 31 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 10:30 am Wanderers’ 7 Romeo & Juliet 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 7:00 Romeo & Juliet MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN 1 2 3 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 10:30 am Talk 2 pm Piano Lesson 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 2 pm Piano Lesson 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 10:30 am Wanderers’ 10 am Riotous Youth 2 pm Piano Lesson 2 pm Piano Lesson 7:00 R&J 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 7 pm Romeo & Juliet (C) 7:00 R&J 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 7 pm Romeo & Juliet 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 10:30 am Wanderers’ 11 am Riotous Youth 10:30 am Talk 2 pm Shrew 2:00 PL 2 pm Piano Lesson 2 pm Piano Lesson 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 7:00 TS (P) 7 pm Shrew (P) 7 pm Shrew (O) 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 2 pm Piano Lesson 10:30 am Wanderers’ 11:30 am Circus 11:30 am Circus 11:30 am Circus 7 pm Shrew 7 pm Shrew 2 pm Piano Lesson 2:30 pm Circus 2 pm Shrew 2:30 pm Circus 2:30 pm Circus (O) 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 6:30 pm Piano Lesson 2 pm Piano Lesson (C) 7 pm Shrew 7 pm Shrew 7 pm Shrew 7 pm Shrew (C) 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 11:30 am Circus 11:30 am Circus 10:30 am Wanderers’ 11:30 am Circus 11:30 am Circus 11:30 am Circus 2:30 am Circus 2:30 pm Circus 11:30 am Circus 2:30 pm Circus 2:30 pm Circus 2:30 pm Circus (C) 7 pm Mother Play (P) 7 pm Mother Play (P) 2 pm Mother Play (O) 7 pm Plays in Process 7 pm Plays in Process 2:30 pm Circus 7 pm Plays in Process

AUGUST

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SHAKESPEARE.ORG

MON

2025 CALENDAR

TUE

SEPTEMBER

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

SUN

6 2 pm Mother Play 7 pm Mother Play 13 2 pm Mother Play 7 pm Mother Play 20 2 pm Mother Play 7 pm Mother Play 27 2 pm Mother Play 7 pm Mother Play

7 2 pm Mother Play

1

2

3

4 7 pm Mother Play

5 7 pm Mother Play

8

9

10

11 7 pm Mother Play

12 7 pm Mother Play

15

16

17

18 7 pm Mother Play

19 7 pm Mother Play

22

23

24

25 7 pm Mother Play

26 7 pm Mother Play

THU 2 7 pm Mother Play

FRI 3 7 pm Mother Play

29 30 MON

TUE

OCTOBER 6

1

WED

7

8

9

10 7 pm Jewish Plays

13 14 20 21 27 28 MON

15 22 29

16 23 30

17 24 31

TUE

NOVEMBER

3 10 17

4 11 18

24 25 MON

WED

5 12 19

TUE

26

DECEMBER

WED

THU

FRI

SAT 4 2 pm Mother PlayP 7 pm Mother Play 11 2 pm Jewish Plays 7 pm Jewish Plays 18 25 1

SAT

14 2 pm Mother Play 21 2 pm Mother Play 28 2 pm Mother Play SUN 5 2 pm Mother Play (C) 12 2 pm Jewish Plays 19 26 2

SUN

6 13 20 6:15 pm Fall Fest 27 THU

7 14 21 6:15 pm Fall Fest 28 FRI

8 15 22 1:15 pm Fall Fest 29 SAT

9 16 23 1:15 pm Fall Fest 30 SUN

6 13 2 pm Sensibility 7 pm Sensibility 20 27

7 14 2 pm Sensibility

1 8

2 9

3 10

4 11

5 12 7 pm Sensibility

15 22 29

16 23 30

17 24 31

18 25

19 26

KEY (P) = Preview | (O) = Opening | (C) = Closing The Victim = The Victim Shake It Up = Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret Romeo & Juliet = Romeo and Juliet Piano Lesson = August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson Wanderers’ = Merry Wanderers Guided Tours Riotous Youth = Riotous Youth SSI = Summer Shakespeare Intensive Final Scenes

21 28

*Programs, artists and talks are subject to change.

Shrew = The Taming of the Shrew Mother Play = MOTHER PLAY: a play in five evictions Jewish Plays = Celebrating Jewish Plays Sensibility = Sense & Sensibility Talk = Behind the Curtain Free Talks Plays in Process = Plays in Process Circus = Circus & The Bard Fall Fest = Fall Festival of Shakespeare

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Where to Stay, Shop, Dine, and Explore!

Business Sponsors 2025 ART & ANTIQUES Carrie Haddad Gallery........................................89 Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio.................18 Hado-Mark Gallery.............................................26 Laurie Donovan Designs.....................................96 Park Row Gallery................................................56 Roam: An Xtina Parks Gallery.............................43

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EXPLORE Actors’ Shakespeare Project..............................61 Berkshire Botanical Garden................................83 Berkshire International Film Festival....................18 Berkshire Jewish Film Festival.............................81 Berkshire Music School......................................77 Berkshire Opera Festival.....................................48 Berkshire Pride...................................................54 Berkshire Pulse...................................................54 Berkshires Week.................................................91 Berkshire Theatre Group.....................................83 Bousquet Mountain..........................................114 Bousquet Sport..................................................10 Chester Theatre Company..................................60 Chesterwood......................................................28 Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio.................18 Great Barrington Public Theater..........................80 HomeFarm at Undermountain............................38 Mac-Hayden Theatre..........................................84 Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center........................72 The Mount, Edith Wharton's Home...................115 Norman Rockwell Museum.................................84 Sharon Playhouse...............................................38 The Bidwell House Museum...............................81 WAM Theatre.....................................................84 Windy Hill Farm..................................................88

HEALTH & HEALING Berkshire Cosmetic & Reconstructive Surgery Center.......................12

118

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STAY Brook Farm Inn.................................................104 Canyon Ranch....................................................20 Devonfield Inn.....................................................50 Doctor Sax House................................................2 Gateways Inn & Restaurant................................10 Hampton Terrace Bed & Breakfast....................115 Miraval Berkshires......................................16, 117 Stonover Farm......................................................6 The Inn at Stockbridge.....................................101 The Red Lion Inn..................................................6 The Yankee Inn...................................................54 Villa Amonoka...................................................103

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