Shakespeare & Company's 2023 Playbill

Thieves of Love

LENOX, MASS.

Left to Right: Gregory Boover and Gina Fonseca, Much Ado About Nothing, 2022. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

WELCOME TO SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY

Dear Friends,

Well, that was a helluva year. You may be reading this having settled into your seat and we thank you for joining us for some live, full-bodied storytelling. Who would have thought, just a few years ago, that the simple act of coming back to the theater would represent such a meaningful renaissance. You share something with the Elizabethans in their return to their seats to take in something like Timon of Athens, the story of a man who eventually buries his head in the sand. Not us.

Thieves of Love is our overarching theme for this Season, as we offer our own insight on language and connection and an immediacy that gives the heart something to beat for. Whether you’re watching the hopeful hearts in Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise, the intrigue of The Contention: Henry VI, Part II, or the power of August Wilson’s Fences, all these stories provide a reason for you to get drawn in to these characters’ journeys as well reflect on our own of these past years.

Introducing new work is as important to us as reviving work that reminds us of the pointedly cyclical nature of history. We’re excited to present a neo-nostalgic take on A Midsummer Night's Dream outdoors at The New Spruce Theatre, a return to Golda's Balcony, which had its World Premiere here in 2002, a staged reading of Shakespeare's timeless tragedy, Hamlet, and finally capping the summer season with the World Premiere of the sublime, ruminative piece by Donald Margulies, Lunar Eclipse.

All of these stories represent ways in which we offer our hands and thoughts to you, and ask you to lend an ear. Live theater will not be replaced by livestreaming, even though we’ve seen a lot of it these past few years. The fact that you’re sitting here for this live collective experience is a testament to the resilience of theater!

Thank you for being here.

Allyn Burrows Artistic Director

FORTH THY HAND, REACH AT THE GLORIOUS GOLD.” –Henry VI, Part II

Dear Friends,

As we enter our 46th year offering world-class theater in the Berkshires, I am struck by how we have become even more ambitious.

This Season’s titles explore timeless themes of love, family, and country through some of our contemporary plays, including a World War II courtship (Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise). We also reflect on the pursuit of our dreams and the risks we are willing to take during changing and tumultuous times (August Wilson’s Fences, William Gibson’s Golda’s Balcony). Further, we invite you to contemplate with us on the passage of time (the World Premiere of Donald Margulies’ Lunar Eclipse).

When it comes to our namesake, this Season’s Shakespeare productions are no less timeless and timely, steeped in the lessons of life, and brimming with nods to the human experience. We’ll open a window into the past with The Contention: Henry VI, Part II, which inspired Game of Thrones, and welcome audiences of all ages to an enchanting and rollicking outdoor version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Then, we'll herald the darkness and autumn chill with a staged reading of Hamlet.

As is our tradition, patrons will see faces both familiar and new in the Company this Season, bolstered by visiting artists who bring with them their own impressive credits as well as a desire to practice their craft within Shakespeare & Company’s aesthetic.

We’ve made strides in our effort to introduce ourselves to new audiences. Just this Spring, we staged our first-ever, sensory-friendly performance, offered an open-captioned show, and brought the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare to Pittsfield with free, community performances of Romeo and Juliet

The time is right for revelry, so we celebrate our source and inspiration: Shakespeare & Company’s Founding Artistic Director, Tina Packer. Evidence of Tina’s impact on the study and performance of Shakespeare abounds around the world, and as such, we honor her with a star-studded Gala on our beautiful campus July 1.

As the Season progresses, we will continue to share goings-on with you – a standing invitation to join us here in beautiful, historic Lenox. We welcome your “likes” and “shares” on Instagram. We love to see our Season posters at your businesses, and we hope to hear a honk or two as your cars pass by our local billboards.

Thank you for being with us and for supporting us. We put forth our hands in welcome and in gratitude.

Warmly, Beverly Hyman Chair, Shakespeare & Company Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Beverly Hyman, Chair

Jeffrey B. Konowitch, Vice Chair

Jenifer Salzberg, Vice Chair

Kenneth E. Werner, Treasurer

Michael A. Miller, Clerk

Allyn Burrows, Artistic Director

Amy Handelsman, Managing Director

Hank Baker, Volunteer President

Jerome Berko^

Sandra Bourgeois

Kevin G. Coleman

Kelly Galvin, Artist Trustee

Phoebe L. Giddon

Michael S. Helfer

Anita F. Heller

Karen A. Kowgios

Greg Lipper

Barri R. Marks

Helga S. Orthofer^

Macaire Pace

Tina Packer

Barry R. Shapiro

Licia Sky

David A. Smith

Robert B. Strassler

John Douglas Thompson, Artist Trustee

Gerald Friedman, Trustee Emeritus

^ Deceased

AMBASSADORS FOR SHAKESPEARE

Kevin Bartini

Helene Berger

Roxanne Bok

Scott Bok

Judy Boomer

George Camarda

Robert Cohen

Linda B. Colvin

Janet Egelhofer

Randall Frank

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

Andy Weinberger

Rhea Werner

Leone T. Young

“PUT

Board Chair Beverly Hyman

Directed by Ariel Bock with David Gow and Zoya Martin

MAY 26 – JULY 30

In Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise, the Tony Award-winning playwright presents a loving look at his parents’ World War II courtship: the story of two young people kept apart by war whose first encounter was through letters. With ink and paper they flirted, fell in love, broke up, reunited, endured hardship and triumph, and were drawn together through shared stories of their lives, hopes, and fears.

This lyrical and touching comedy, a Helen Hayes Award-winner for Best New Play (2020), portrays a slice of life during the world-shifting era of the 1940s, complete with nods to music, theater, and literature.

This production has been generously sponsored by the Friedman Family, in honor of Roberta Friedman.

DIRECTOR’S TAKE

Once in a while – not often, but once in a while – there is a crisis so urgent that it redeems any sacrifice we might make to overcome it.

In the last few years, we faced such a crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early 1940s – the setting for Dear Jack, Dear Louise – the crisis was the murderous rise of Fascism.

We are right to honor those who paid for the victories with what Churchill called “blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” But what about those whose sacrifices were quieter? What about the sacrifice of connection, of family togetherness and intimacy, of the slow, patient blooming of love between young people, of time to reflect, to change course? When there is no victory but total victory, what about the lessons we learn from surviving failure?

In 1941, ambitious young people went to war: the young men to battle, the young women often into factories, instead of to college. They communicated by letter or not at all. In 2020, a whole generation of students spent three precious years meeting “remotely,” communicating via Zoom, Instagram, and text messages, and were – much more often than they deserved – as physically isolated as if they themselves had gone to war, too.

This play is especially poignant to me because it celebrates those quieter costs and celebrates the lives of those who with wit, patience, and imagination, overcame them.

The Second World War exploded the Breadwinner/ Homemaker model of American family life, and everyone had to find a new avenue for civic virtue. The young men (and plenty of young women, too) went to battle. The women who stayed had to keep the home fires burning, but also the fires of mills and factories and school buses and harvesters. It would be nice to think that once America survived that awful war and discovered how well the women did these jobs that the change was permanent. The truth is, though, that at war’s end, Rosie the Riveter was all too often laid off and sent back home. The Black, Latin, and Native American heroes of the war went back to the back seats of buses and the backlands of the West.

Rosie’s children though – who all through the war saw their mothers’ and fathers’ triumph over distance and time and adversity – they were the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Movement, and the Information Revolution, too. One of them wrote this play.

— Ariel Bock

DIRECTOR’S TAKE

Many scholars think Henry VI, Part II was the first play Shakespeare ever wrote. Others think, “no,no… it was The Taming of the Shrew !” or “No, it was Titus Andronicus…” and so on.

The truth is, we don’t know. What we do know is that it was among the first, and it was a huge success. Christopher Marlowe had written Tamburlaine the Great , based on Asian history, and Shakespeare followed suit by writing a play about English history. In doing so, he immediately challenged Marlowe as the leading English playwright.

The Henry VI plays – there are three of them in all, followed by Richard III – take the storyline from Holinshed and Hall, a chronicle of British history published in 1577 that is chock full of violence, sexual passion, double dealing, and humor.

The first half of the play focuses on the aristocracy, the second half on the people's rebellion. 400 years later there’s a reason why television borrowed the themes of Henry VI for Game of Thrones – it's an excellent theatrical drama! You’ll be struck by the immediacy of the language, the life-and-death power grabs, the yearning for spiritual enlightenment of the teenage Henry, and the determination of the women not to be kept out of the picture.

Have you ever wondered why England went from a country with no professional theater in the 1500s to the most vibrant, popular entertainment center within a 20-year period? It’s because the Tudors set up a grammar school system in every town in England and Wales, so the middle-class boys could get an education. They learned the international language of Latin, and the chief tool to practice that Latin was studying the Roman revenge plays and farces. So, bright lads like Shakespeare, Thomas Kyd, and Ben Johnson copied the form, wrote in English, and created the modern theatrical industry. Shakespeare & Company continues the tradition this Season, mounting an early play full of firsts – and part of an ongoing process of storytelling that continues to spread across the world.

— Tina Packer

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Tina Packer

Associate Directors Kate Kohler Amory and Sheila Bandyopadhyay

with David Bertoldi, Allyn Burrows, Jonathan Epstein, Nigel Gore, Tamara Hickey, L. James, Bella Merlin, Jacob Ming-Trent, Kenneth Ransom, and Austyn Williamson

JUNE 17 – JULY 15

Considered to be the inspiration for Game of Thrones, Henry VI, Part II is commonly regarded as the strongest of the Henry VI trilogy, telling the story of the power struggles between the two ancient families of Lancaster and York who wrestled for the fate of England.

Now, four centuries on, and in tandem with the current King Charles Ill's coronation, Shakespeare & Company presents The Contention – an exploration of themes that remain timeless, including strategic marriages, political treachery, religious unrest, and a measure of comic sport.

This production has been generously sponsored by Gary and Jeanie Knisely.

Directed by Christopher V. Edwards

Featuring Ella Joyce with Brian D. Coats, L. James, JāQuan Malik Jones, Ashley McCauley Moore, “ranney”, and Kenneth Ransom

JULY 22 – AUGUST 27

A moving study of emotional depth and the human condition, August Wilson’s Fences follows the story of Troy Maxson – a working-class Black man struggling to provide for his family. His past includes the low of a prison sentence and the high of a promising career with the Negro Baseball League, but it’s Troy’s unrealized dream to play for Major League Baseball that fills his days with resentment and regret.

August Wilson’s Fences is a Pulitzer Prize-winner for Drama, Tony Award-winner for Best Play, and part of the playwright’s acclaimed American Century Cycle – a series of 10 plays that charts the African American experience throughout the 20th century.

This production has been generously sponsored by Natalie and Howard Shawn.

DIRECTOR’S TAKE

August Wilson's legacy in the American theater is remarkable. He has a myriad of awards and an immense body of work. He is the reason I became a theater artist. His advocacy made me rethink what kind of artist I wanted to be. His plays challenged me to be more honest in my work. His artistry gave me hope, and the opportunity to see aspects of my culture dramatized on stage for the first time. I am and will always be a fan of his work and legacy. It is an honor to direct August Wilson’s Fences at Shakespeare & Company. Wilson details his artistic process:

“

...I was trying to answer James Baldwin’s call for a profound articulation of the Black experience, which he defined as that field of manners and ritual of intercourse that will sustain a man once he has left his father’s house. I was trying to do that. I wanted to place that tradition on stage simply to prove that it was there and that it was capable of offering sustenance.” – August Wilson, 1988, Academy of Achievement Summit in Nashville

This quote encapsulates the scope of August Wilson’s writing. He wrote to challenge theater artists and audiences to open their awareness to Black life, presented on stage on its own terms. Through an unwavering love for his people; their vibrant speech patterns, traditions, rituals, shared knowledge, ancestral legacy, music, art, and mythology, Wilson declared to the world that these stories are epic, profound, and universal. Fences is all of this.

Sixth in August Wilson’s 10-part “American Century Cycle” that spans the 20th century decade by decade, Fences was written between 1982-1985. It appeared on Broadway in 1987 and won the Pulitzer and Tony Award for best play. It is Wilson’s most commercial and best-known work, one of three of his plays that have been adapted into films, and one of the most significant plays written for the American theater. Much like A Raisin in the Sun, August Wilson’s Fences resonates with the theme of dreams deferred. It focuses its attention on Troy, a frustrated ex-baseball player, who is struggling to balance the idea of responsibility to his family and the commitment to his own dreams; dreams that have dried up, and eventually become too heavy a load for his family to bear. Troy’s journey is a tragic one. It sheds light on the dignity, nobility, and flaws of every person, be they king or garbageman. It affords all of its characters a journey as they navigate a delicate balance between desires and obligations – something we all at some time must face.

Fences is a play about getting knocked down and getting back up to continue the fight. It is a play about the legacy our parents leave us. It is a play about scaling down gigantic dreams to fit humble lives. It is a play about swinging for the fences, hoping to hit a home run in Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District in 1957.

— Christopher V. Edwards

DIRECTOR’S TAKE

Hi Friend, or as it says in the etymology dictionary, ‘one attached to another by feelings of personal regard.’

A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolves around that which attaches us to each other, and how it is tested. This Season’s theme, Thieves of Love, (paraphrased from Midsummer ) speaks to it: “How can you take that from me? I desire you to give me my heart back!”

It also reminds me of our final performance of Midsummer at The Mount more than two decades ago, when all of us were quivering with so much feeling of what had come before and what was to come next. We were young, restless, and brave – or so we thought.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is all about possibilities: for love, for magic, for success. I’ve set this dream in the Seventies, because the soundtrack of that time was one full of possibilities, mystery, and promise. The fall of Saigon, Watergate, the arrival of Jimmy Carter, long lines at the gas pumps, a time of darkness and light in the same breath, a whirling dervish of a decade that felt edgy and innocent all at once.

Indeed, as you read this there might be a soothing, evening breeze encouraging you to surrender to a summer night in the Berkshires. Or, you could be warily staring at a dark cloud on the horizon over Yokun Ridge. That’s the paradox of a midsummer night. And if you feel like a walking paradox, you’re not alone.

Like the characters in Midsummer, we all constantly take stock of our lives and pretend that they follow some coherent narrative. With this play, Shakespeare hands us a looking glass. What do you see in your dreams?

— Allyn Burrows

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Allyn Burrows

Associate Director Nicole Ricciardi

with Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Sheila Bandyopadhyay, Blake Hamilton Currie, Javier David, Gina Fonseca, Nigel Gore, Sara Linares, Madeleine Rose Maggio, Jacob Ming-Trent, Carlos Olmedo, Naire Poole, and Michael F. Toomey

AUGUST 1 – SEPTEMBER 10

Athenians mix it up with the forest fairies in this raucous romp that features magical meddling, romantic tangles, and a playwithin-a-play for good measure.

One of the Bard's most beloved comedies, the carnivalesque chaos of A Midsummer Night's Dream takes flight on The New Spruce Theatre's tree-flanked stage this August, with a modern twist on the merry mayhem.

This production has been generously sponsored by Scott and Roxanne Bok.

By William Gibson

Directed by Daniel Gidron

Featuring Annette Miller

AUGUST 5 – 20

Golda's Balcony, featuring the Elliot Norton Award-winning Annette Miller, had its World Premiere at Shakespeare & Company in May 2002, and went on to become the longest-running one-woman play in Broadway history.

The inspiring story of Golda Meir – Russian immigrant, American school teacher, and fourth Prime Minister of Israel – returns to the Berkshires this year in a searingly topical production, staged at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre for a limited run of eight performances.

This production has been generously sponsored by Jerry and Honie Berko.

DIRECTOR’S TAKE

“For two thousand years, no Jew has known what it felt like to have a state. Failure is not my story. I had a part in a great success here – where nothing was. Israel is,” Golda says. Israel is 75 years old this year. What better way to celebrate it than to bring back Golda’s Balcony to Shakespeare & Company?

Twenty-one years have passed since we premiered Golda’s Balcony. The world then was living the aftermath of 9/11. As we worked on it, I was amazed by the prescience of the script which had been written by William Gibson long before. The world is very different now, but the more I work on the script, the more I am struck by how relevant it is. The world we live in now is plagued by a tremendous rise of antisemitism, not only in Europe, but in the U.S. The chants of “Jews will not replace us” are mixed with conspiracy theories to rival “the Elders of Zion.” QAnon is even promulgated by some members of Congress. This makes clear the necessity of the Jewish state as a refuge.

Israel is celebrating its 75th birthday this year, but antidemocratic, authoritarian forces have taken over its government. Their attempt to change the nature of the state has caused huge demonstrations and turmoil in the streets and brought Israel close to a civil war.

This play deals with Golda Meir’s crisis during the Yom Kippur War. She reviews her life and her pursuit of establishing and preserving the State of Israel while she is waiting for help from the American government. She is poised to use the nuclear option to prevent Israel’s destruction, but is horrified by the choice. “What happens when idealism becomes power?” she says. “To save a world you create – and this is the terrible question – how many worlds are you entitled to destroy?” The struggle with her conscience is at the center of the play. It should be at the center of any worthwhile leader who has a finger on the nuclear button. I hope and pray (even though I am an atheist) that this is the case with the likes of Putin, Kim Jong Un, or Netanyahu.

This year in October, we will mark 50 years since the Yom Kippur War. I lived in Israel during that war, and I have strong personal connections with that period. I was always ambivalent about Golda Meir, especially concerning her attitude towards the Palestinians, but I must admit that I miss her and her fierce social idealism. Where are the leaders who put the good of the public before their own profit? It is wonderful to spend time working with Annette Miller on recreating this fascinating and multifaceted woman, warts and all.

Annette and I are 21 years older than we were the first time around, and hopefully 21 years wiser. I know that every word William Gibson coined in Golda’s Balcony means a lot more to us now and has a deeper meaning. It is a privilege to do the play again.

— Daniel Gidron

“Millerisgivingthe performanceofher career” –Boston Phoenix

DIRECTOR’S TAKE

Concerning Hamlet , I had a story passed on to me some years ago from a Shakespearean scholar. Being a scholar, she of course had the requisite doubts about its veracity, but I’d like to pass it along anyway.

Two elderly British neighbors, housewives and friends, were off to see a production of Hamlet – one having invited her friend who, oddly enough, had never before seen, read, or even heard much about the play. Oddly enough.

Upon leaving the theater, when asked about her reaction to the world’s most famous play, the friend replied; “I don’t see what all the fuss is about. All Shakespeare did was take all the famous lines and stick them in one play. Unremarkable.”

Some of the lines, only yet heard in performance, were so striking they went into the vernacular before the play was even in print, so we believe. What we also and often believe is that Hamlet is the play that belongs to each of us personally, to each of us, and to nobody else: his feelings and sensibilities are our own. Hamlet speaks for us all. The play gives voice to our own grief and heartbreak, our own emptiness and uncertain purpose, our own melancholy – even wit – long before the modernists, the psychologists, or T.S. Eliot's.

Hamlet is the unwieldy play that offers something compelling, some new insight, and illumination beyond the mere dramatic – whether it be the first or the fiftieth time we attend. It keeps delivering. Unremarkable.

HamleT

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Kevin G.

Coleman

Featuring Christopher Lloyd and Finn Wittrock with Caroline Calkins, Ptah Garvin, Nigel Gore, David Gow, Dana Harrison, L. James, and Zoya Martin

SEPTEMBER 1 – 3

Murder both intentional and accidental, as well as madness both piteous and pretend, will haunt the stage as Shakespeare & Company presents a three-performance reading of William Shakespeare's most memorable tragedy, Hamlet, at the Tina Packer Playhouse.

This limited run will be directed by Shakespeare & Company Founding Member Kevin G. Coleman, a two-time Tony Award nominee for Excellence in Theatre Education.

— Kevin G. Coleman

This production has been generously sponsored by Jenifer and Mark Salzberg.

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.

For more information visit: www.routledge.com/9780367262556

Tina Packer

Bella Merlin

World Premiere

By Donald Margulies

Directed by James Warwick

with Karen Allen and Reed Birney

SEPTEMBER 15 – OCTOBER 22

On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their Midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse. While watching the celestial phenomenon unfold, the two sip bourbon and reflect on land and legacy, on children and dogs, and the accelerating passage of time.

Lunar Eclipse is a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies (Dinner with Friends, Time Stands Still, Collected Stories), making its World Premiere at Shakespeare & Company.

This production has been generously sponsored by Deb and Bill Ryan.

DIRECTOR’S TAKE

How often do we take quiet time out of our busy lives to watch, listen, and smell the natural world around us? To sit on a gentle mound in the middle of a field to experience that most evocative of celestial phenomena, a lunar eclipse? That night, a couple of times a year, when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon the Earth’s shadow briefly turns the Moon bloodred after several stages of umbra, then propels us slowly but surely into the sunlight of a new day.

When I first read Donald Margulies’ new play, I was profoundly moved by the slowly unfolding lives of his two characters. A long-married couple with layers and depths that we come to recognize and resonate within our own lives. But how well do we really know each other? Do we have to share all our darker complexities in order to fully enjoy our lives together? Love may be the most powerful force in the world, but fear of the shadows sometimes threatens to infiltrate and unbalance that harmony.

Part of a director’s job is to help meld and blend the challenges in the script with the right design team and of course, cast, set, lighting, costumes, and sound will make essential contributions to this production. Finding the right actors for the two leading roles is crucial – the play demands the most consummate skills of an actor’s craft. We were incredibly fortunate to engage the services and commitment of Karen Allen and Reed Birney – two major players with whom I look forward to exploring these beautifully written characters and the world in which they live.

As a matter of interest, the next total lunar eclipse unfolds April 8, 2024.

— James Warwick

PLAYS in Process

A Celebration of Developing Works

SUNDAY, JULY 16

Returning for its second year, Plays in Process offers a glimpse into the inner-workings of play creation, in the early stages when possibilities are endless. Performances will be accompanied by lively talkbacks with the playwrights and performers.

This production has been generously sponsored by Claudia Perles and Gerry Fultz and generously co-sponsored by Steve Bader & Cathy Monoxelos and Greg Lipper & Kate Kohler Amory.

A Lively Costumed Reading

HOLIDAY SHOW

Georgiana and Kitty:

christmas at Pemberley

a companion to miss bennet and the wickhams in the world of Pride and Prejudice. based on the characters of jane austen.

By Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon

DECEMBER 15 – 17

The Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre

THE EDUCATION PROGRAM

AT SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY

One of the most extensive arts-in-education programs in the Northeast, Shakespeare & Company's Education Programs invite actors ages 7-20 to experience Shakespeare in imaginative, innovative, and personally meaningful ways.

The 46th Season offers many opportunities to become immersed in Shakespeare's world, including through Young Company; Riotous Youth Summer theater programs; the 35th Fall Festival of Shakespeare; School Residencies; the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare, and Professional Development Workshops for Teachers. Visit shakespeare.org for more information, or e-mail education@shakespeare.org.

SUMMER & FALL EDUCATION PERFORMANCES

RIOTOUS YOUTH PRESENTS: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Friday, July 14

10am (ages 7–9); 11am (ages 10–12); 12pm (ages 13–15)

Outdoors at The Rose Footprint Theatre

RIOTOUS YOUTH PRESENTS: HAMLET

Friday, July 28

10am (ages 7–9); 11am (ages 10–12); 12pm (ages 13–15)

Outdoors at The Rose Footprint Theatre

SUMMER YOUNG COMPANY

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SAGE CENTER

Friday, July 28 & Saturday, July 29

For advanced high school and early college students Locations to be announced

RIOTOUS YOUTH PRESENTS: AS YOU LIKE IT

Friday, August 11

10am (ages 7–9); 11am (ages 10–12); 12pm (ages 13–15)

Outdoors at The Rose Footprint Theatre

RIOTOUS YOUTH PRESENTS: THE GAME’S AFOOT!

Friday, August 18, 11am (ages 7–12)

Outdoors at The Rose Footprint Theatre

RIOTOUS COMPANY FINAL PERFORMANCES

Friday, August 18, 12pm (ages 14–17)

Outdoors at The Rose Footprint Theatre

THE 35TH FALL FESTIVAL OF SHAKESPEARE

Thursday, November 16 – Sunday, November 19

The Tina Packer Playhouse

Education programming is generously sponsored by

The location you’ve been waiting for!! Minutes from the Main Gate of Tanglewood, this mid century Contemporary has it all. Main four bedroom residence with walls of glass taking in the sweeping view, separate guest cottage, in-ground pool with pool house all surrounded by 18+ private acres on both sides of the country lane.

$1,790,000

THE CENTER FOR ACTOR TRAINING

The heart of Shakespeare & Company is its professional actor training. The Company’s core aesthetic was created within its Center for Actor Training, devised by Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer, and is where it’s continuously honed today by a cadre of expert teachers.

Actors, directors, writers, and teachers from all over the world seek to work with Shakespeare & Company’s faculty, to train not only their voices and their bodies with a daily regimen of demanding classes, but also to delve deeply into their own imaginations, intellects, and emotional lives.

The Company’s internationally recognized programs are deeply effective training experiences for artists who aspire to bring their talent to a higher level. The Center for Actor Training specializes in working professional actors at all experience levels, while creating unique programming accessible to all those who seek to deepen their relationship with Shakespeare's text.

This year, the Center for Actor Training is offering a full slate of programming for artists at various stages in their careers. To learn more, visit shakespeare.org, or e-mail training@shakespeare.org

SUMMER & FALL ACTOR TRAINING

WORKSHOPS & INTENSIVES

SUMMER SHAKESPEARE INTENSIVE

May 30 – June 25

An immersive, four-week program designed for college students and early-career professionals.

9-DAY INTENSIVE

August 24 – September 2

Designed for mid-career professionals and acting teachers who want to reinvigorate their skills.

NEW: THE ART OF THE AUDITION

October 7 and 8

Sharpen your Shakespeare audition material with Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Allyn Burrows.

NEW: BUTOH FOR SHAKESPEARE: ALL THE WORLD'S A PLAYGROUND

November 4 and 5

A workshop in the Japanese dance and movement form with award-winning Butoh artist and instructor, Yokko.

SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY WEEKEND INTENSIVES

Held across the country, the classic Shakespeare Weekend Intensive is open to all who seek to deepen their connection with Shakespeare in a digestible but rigorous format.

Visit shakespeare.org to view upcoming dates and locations.

THE PHILIP HELLER FUND & DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

A longtime friend to Shakespeare & Company and an occasional spear-carrier (Much Ado About Nothing, 1995), Philip Heller was a highly-respected real estate attorney in the Town of Lenox, and represented Shakespeare & Company pro bono for 40 years until his passing in 2018.

Phil believed deeply in service to the Berkshire community, and he donated countless hours to its cultural and artistic institutions. His wise counsel and persuasive advocacy were essential to Shakespeare & Company's development into the globally recognized organization that it is today. We are deeply grateful to Phil for his longtime commitment, service, and love of the Company – as well as to his wife Anita Heller, who shares Phil's joyful spirit.

Anita also created the Philip Heller Fund and Philip Heller Distinguished Service Award in Phil’s memory in 2019, to be used toward various improvements to Shakespeare & Company’s campus and to recognize a member of the community for extraordinary service to the Company.

In recent years, funding has gone toward such initiatives as the creation of an on-campus composting system and COVID-19 testing supplies that enabled two New York State high schools to participate in the Fall Festival of Shakespeare. And last Season, the fifth and latest Phillip Heller Award for Distinguished Service was presented to Trustee Ken Werner.

A longtime friend and supporter of the Company, Ken joined the Board of Trustees in 2010. Artistic Director Allyn Burrows shared his gratitude for Ken and his wife Rhea, who has served as an Ambassador for Shakespeare for more than a decade.

“We can always count on Ken, and we were thrilled to surprise him with this award at our Gala last summer,” he said. “We thanked him then for his long and dedicated service, and we thank him again here – we are forever grateful for his continued commitment to the Company.”

For more information on how to make a gift to the Philip Heller Fund, please call Kristen Moriarty at (413) 637-1199 ext. 105.

“Life every man holds dear; but the dear man holds honor far more precious than dear life.”

–Troilus and Cressida, Act V

PHILIP HELLER DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD PAST RECIPIENTS

Sarah Lytle, Richmond, Mass.

Bob Lohbauer, Lee, Mass.^

Scott Rubinow, Pittsfield, Mass.^

Mary Ann Turney, Otis, Mass.

Ken Werner, Lenox, Mass.

^ Deceased

Philip Heller

Left to Right: 2022 Philip Heller Distinguished Service Award

Recipient Ken Werner and Anita Heller. Photo by Christina Lane.

THE DENNIS KRAUSNICK FELLOWSHIP FUND

The Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund was established in 2018 by Company Founder and longtime 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 DKF Fund in his memory, enabling Shakespeare & Company to grant more than $98,000 in scholarships to 86 artists of the global majority in four 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.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to study with Shakespeare & Company. This training has truly transformed my practice and freed me in ways I did not know were possible.”

SCHOLARSHIP SPOTLIGHT: CLARISSA RAYBON

CLARISSA RAYBON is a 2023

Month-long Intensive alumna, actor, singer, and photographer. Currently a Graduate Assistant at Ohio University, she is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who has spent much of her career bringing performance to children in international communities.

DennisKrausnick

Dennis Krausnick, King Lear 2012,

Photo by Kevin Sprague

–Clarissa Raybon, Dennis Krausnick Fellow Fund Recipient

Clarissa Raybon

STAY, SHOP, DINE & EXPLORE!

We urge visitors and residents alike to visit the fine establishments that have joined us as Business Sponsors in 2023. 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.

A.W. Confections

Adams Community Bank

Allison Crane Interiors

Alta Restaurant & Wine Bar

Annie Selke Companies

Arcadian Shop

Bard College at Simon’s Rock

Barrington Brewery & Restaurant

Barrington Stage Company

Berkshire Acupuncture / Peter Goldberg

Berkshire Classic Leather & Silver

Berkshire Cosmetic & Reconstructive Surgery Center

Berkshire Elegant Country Inns

Berkshire Food Co-Op Market

Berkshire Greenscapes

Berkshire Health Systems

Berkshire International Film Festival

Berkshire Jewish Film Festival

Berkshire Mountain Distillers

Berkshire Museum

Berkshire Music School

Berkshire Physical Therapy & Wellness

Berkshire Property Agents

Real Estate

Berkshire South Regional Community Center

Berkshire Theatre Group

Berskhire Eagle

Berskhire Landscapes

Betty’s Pizza Shack

The Bidwell House Museum

Blue Q

Blue Spark Financial

The Bookstore

Bousquet Mountain

Brava Wine Bar

The Brook Farm Inn

Café Triskele European Bistro

Campo de’ Fiori

Canna Provisions

Canyon Ranch

Carr Hardware

Carrie Haddad Gallery

Casablanca

Casablanca South

Cello

Chambery Inn

Chester Theatre Company

Chocolate Springs Café

Clark + Green, Inc. Architecture Design

Lauren Clark Fine Art

Classical Tents & Party Rentals

Cohen + White Associates

The Common Room

Michael J. Considine & Shawn P. Leary, Attorneys at Law

Crissey Farm Berkshire Banquet House

Decumanus Green

Design Menagerie

Devonfield Inn

Douglas James Rose Attorney & Counsellor at Law

Fluff Alpaca

Frankie’s Ristorante Italiano

Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio

Gateways Inn & Restaurant

GB9

The Gifted Child

Glimmerglass Festival

Great Barrington Bagel Company & Deli

Great Barrington Public Theater

Greylock Federal Credit Union

Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Guido’s Fresh Marketplace

GVH Studio, Inc.

H. Terry Designs

Haddad Auto Group

Elizabeth

Hampton Terrace Bed & Breakfast

Haven Café & Bakery

Heller & Robbins, Attorneys at Law

Hill-Engineers Architects, Planners, Inc.

Hilton Garden Inn

Homefarm at Undermountain

Hot Plate Brewing Co.

Inn at Stockbridge

J.H. Maxymillian, Inc.

Jacob’s Pillow

Kent’s Vacuum Center

Kimball Farms Life Care

Retirement Community

Kushi & Company, PC

The Lake House of the Berkshires

Laurie Donovan Designs

The Lenox Chamber of Commerce

Lenox Coffee

Lenox Family Chiropractic

Lenox Fit

Loeb’s Foodtown

Mac-Hayden Theatre

MacKimmie Co.

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center

Meadow Farm Equipment

Miraval Berkshires

Morrison’s Home Improvement Specialists

Nejaime’s Wine Cellars

Norman Rockwell Museum

October Mountain Financial Advisors

The Old Inn on the Green

One Mercantile

The Pack Shack Dog Day Care

Paula McLean Realtors

Pecorino Provisions

Pignatelli Electric Contractors

Piretti Real Estate

Pizzeria Boema

Proprietor’s Lodge

Purple Plume

QualPrint

The Red Lion Inn

Red Mannequin

Renaissance Investment Group

Riverbrook Residence

Rob Alberti Event Services

Roberts & Associates Realty, Inc.

Roche Funeral Home

Salisbury Bank

Scarafoni Financial Group

Second Life Books, Inc.

Shear Design

Shooz

SoCo Creamery

Stone House Properties

SWTRZ

The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home

Toole Insurance

Township Four Florists

Villa Amonoka

WAM Theatre

Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center

What a Gift

WHDD Robin Hood Radio

Williams & Sons

Stockbridge Country Store

Windy Hill Farm

The Yankee Inn

Zinc Bistro & Bar

, or by phone at (413) 637-1199 ext. 110.

“… a thousand thanks.”

– Henry

TALKS & TOURS

Shakespeare & Company has refreshed its walks and talks this year with the Behind the Curtain lecture series and Merry Wanderers’ Guided Tours! Our summer sessions are listed below; visit shakespeare.org to reserve your spot.

SUMMER BEHIND THE CURTAIN TALKS

BEHIND THE Curtain

Led by Shakespearean scholar Ann Berman, Behind the Curtain talks are free to the public and feature directors, cast, and design-team members as guests. They’re held outdoors on Saturdays at 10:30am at the tented Rose Footprint Theatre, and explore various themes presented during our 2023 Season.

MERRY WANDERERS’ GUIDED TOURS

Shakespeare & Company’s General Manager Steve Ball and his canine companion, Willie, lead weekly walking tours on Thursday mornings at 10:30am in July and August . These two-hour experiences offer a first-hand look into what it takes to make theater happen, from the page to the stage.

All Merry Wanderers’ Guided Tours are held July 6 through August 31. Tickets are $15 or $8 for students.

KEN LUDWIG'S DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE WITH DIRECTOR ARIEL BOCK

May 27

THE CONTENTION: HENRY VI, PART II WITH DIRECTOR TINA PACKER

June 17

AUGUST WILSON'S FENCES WITH DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER V. EDWARDS

July 8

GOLDA MEIR & GOLDA'S BALCONY WITH DIRECTOR DANIEL GIDRON

July 29

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM WITH DIRECTOR ALLYN BURROWS

August 19

SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY LAUNCHES COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERIES

This Spring, the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare’s cast of Romeo and Juliet directed by Kevin G. Coleman added a series of new performances to its schedule, through a new community-outreach initiative in the Berkshires.

Jeff Konowitch, vice chair of the Company’s Board of Trustees and co-chair of its Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee, said the program was designed to bring the Company’s work to new venues, as well as to foster new connections in the community.

“These performances help us continue a key goal to meet and learn more about new audiences, and to invite those audiences to theater in the Berkshires,” he said.

The Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare, which reaches more than 20,000 audience members each year, performed a free community performance at The Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church in March, a second free performance at The Berkshire Athenaeum in April, and a ticketed, promenade-style event at the Berkshire Museum in May – pairing performances of Shakespeare’s scenes with pieces from the museum’s collection. All three venues are located in Pittsfield, Mass.

Joel Bergeland, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, said the performance marked The Common Room’s first theater production, and he hopes the relationship will continue.

“Our flexible, beautiful community space has hosted farmers markets, yoga classes, craft fairs, and dance recitals, and we're glad to join the mission of offering accessible, quality theater to the community,” he said.

For more information on hosting a community event with Shakespeare & Company, contact the Marketing and Communications Department at news@shakespeare.org. n

WOMAN OF WILL: CELEBRATING TINA PACKER

by Jaclyn C. Stevenson

The story starts in England.

A young Tina Packer, having trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, became an Associate Artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and earned her place in the annals of Doctor Who fandom playing scientist Anne Travers in its fifth season, is beginning to set her sights elsewhere.

She applies for and wins a Ford Foundation Travel and Study Grant to research the visceral roots of Shakespeare’s plays, and soon travels to India, Israel, Italy, and, in 1974, the U.S.

Just four years later, Shakespeare & Company is born, with Tina and a cadre of like-minded artists at the helm.

Forty-six years on, Tina’s tale continues: It’s a long and winding story, punctuated by highs and lows and with a plot moved forward by passion, dedication, and a modicum of absurdity. It’s the story of a vision; one that has made Shakespeare & Company what it is today, but has also shaped how Shakespeare is talked about, performed, and experienced around the world.

"This is the transformative power of theater,” Tina says of her work. “It’s based on humanity's everpresent need to tell personal stories of survival and enlightenment. The actor's job is to speak that which cannot be spoken, in a public place, so all can hear."

This Season, as we revel in all that Tina has contributed to Performance, Actor Training, Theater Education, and the Berkshires, it’s worthy of note that she hasn't strayed far or for long: She’s worked for Shakespeare & Company, dutifully and constantly, day and night ever since its inception.

But that’s also an understatement. In the last four decades, she’s directed Shakespeare’s plays more times than can be counted – some of them several times. She’s acted in eight of them (never when directing) and has taught the enitre canon at more than 30 colleges, including Harvard, M.I.T., and NYU.

Tina Packer, Women of Will, 2010.

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

Tina Packer as Lucianna in RSC.

Left to Right: Nigel Gore and Tina Packer, Women of Will , 2010.

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

Tina Packer wins the STA

Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019. Photo by Katie McKellick.

Tina Packer at rehearsal for Merchant of Venice , 2016.

Photo by John Dolan.

Front to Back: Tina Packer and Johnny Lee Davenport, Women of Will , 1995.

Tina Packer as Dr. Anne Travers in Dr. Who

She’s the author of several books, including the management tome Power Plays: Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership and Management with Deming Center for Quality Management at Columbia Business School Professor John O. Whitney; a children’s book titled Tales from Shakespeare that earned the Parent’s Gold Medal Award; When Action is Eloquence, co-written with Company Artist Bella Merlin, and Women of Will, a fierce and funny exploration of Shakespeare's understanding of the feminine that’s been performed internationally on stages across the U.S., Mexico, England, China, and at The Hague (Netherlands).

Women of Will also earned both Guggenheim and Bunting Fellowships, and led to a TEDx Talk about women’s voices – just a few of the countless awards and honorary degrees Tina has garnered across the years. These include the American Shakespeare Center's Burbage Award for contributions to the international Shakespeare theater community; an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Direction; the Boston Theatre Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre; the Elliot Norton Award for Continued Excellence in Theatre, and the highest cultural recognition in Massachusetts, The Commonwealth Award.

At her usual break-neck pace, Tina has continued to add impressive credits to her résumé in recent years. Currently, she’s the subject of a new work titled Theatre: Tina Packer by Katharine Goodland, to be published by Arden/Bloomsbury in the Spring of 2024, and her most recent accolade came last year from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), which awarded her the 2022 Ellen Stewart Career Achievement Award in Professional Theatre to honor a career of distinguished service.

The award, among all others earned, is an apt feather in the cap of one of Shakespeare’s most intrepid travelers: An actor, director, writer, and visionary who remains hard at work, internationally loved, and young at heart. n

Tina Packer

Tina Packer at rehearsal for The Waverly

Gallery , 2019.

Photo by Amiee Ambriz.

Tina Packer teaching at the 2019 Summer Training Institute.

Photo by Zachary deSilva.

Tina Packer at Cleopatara in Antony & Cleopatara , 2007.

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

This year, The Red Lion Inn turns 250. Vintage charm. Classic comfort. Impeccable service. An unforgettable experience. The iconic Red Lion Inn. A ROARING good time continues.

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, please 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, e-mail development@shakespeare.org, or call (413) 637-1199 ext. 105.

Karen A. Kowgios | Michael A. Miller Gala Co-Chairs

June 3 – October 1 berkshiremuseum.org

Berkshire Museum Celebrates 120 Years of art, science, and history!

Beginning June 17, the Museum kicks-off the celebration of its rich history with the first of three successive exhibitions, each featuring some of the most iconic pieces of the Museum’s collection. The first installment, Cabinet of Curiosities offers a detailed look into the Museum’s rich history from its inception, and through its formative first decades of its growth under the nation’s first female museum director, Laura Bragg. Cabinet of Curiosities: 1903 – 1939, will be on view from June 17 – September 24, followed by exhibitions exploring the periods from 1939 – 1978 and 1979 – 2023.

Berkshire Museum celebrates 120 years of art, science, and history with a gala on Saturday, June 17 in support of education programs. For more information, visit berkshiremuseum.org/120gala

Thomas Hill (1829 - 1908) Yosemite Valley (detail), 1890 Oil on canvas Collection of the Berkshire Museum Gift of Zenas Crane 1915.28

THE STRATFORD CIRCLE –A GIFT OF A LIFETIME

“When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st, So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.” – Sonnet 18

Making a legacy gift is a meaningful way to help Shakespeare & Company continue to provide innovative, diverse, and sustainable Performance, Training, and Education programming to audiences, artists, and communities for generations to come. We hope you will consider including Shakespeare & Company in your estate plans by becoming a member of The Stratford Circle. Your legacy gift will provide much-needed financial assistance to Shakespeare & Company, while simultaneously offering tax and financial benefits to you. As we continue to grow and make a difference throughout the Berkshire community and in countless lives around the world, your very special gift will leave an indelible mark on the Company's health, stability, and longevity.

We express our heartfelt gratitude to the many supporters who have included Shakespeare & Company in their estate plans.

To learn more about joining The Stratford Circle, please call the Development Department at (413) 637-1199 ext. 105, or write to development@shakespeare.org.

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, Meetthe-Artist receptions, and opening night cocktail hours, and many other benefits. For more information, please call the Development Department at (413) 637-1199 ext. 105, or write to development@shakespeare.org.

Fall Festival of Shakespeare 2022, Springfield Central High School, Love Labor's Lost

Photo by Leah MacDaniel.

Riotous Company, Hear My Soul Speak, 2022.

Photo by Katie McKellick.

Tina Packer, 2008

Photo by Kevin Sprague

Left to Right: Tamara Hickey and L. James, Much Ado About Nothing, 2022. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Charls Sedgwick Hall, Measure for Measure, 2022.

Photo by Daniel Rader.

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

$50,000+

The Bok Family Foundation

GKV Foundation

Sarah Hancock

Massachusetts Cultural Council

Michael A. and Annette Miller

Estate of Linda E. Sambel^

$25,000-49,999

Arts Midwest

Ranny Cooper and David A. Smith

Estate of Hans R. Fehlmann^

Dr. Gerald and Roberta^ Friedman

Bev Hyman and Larry Birnbach

Gary and Jeanie Knisely

Karen A. Kowgios and Robert Fried

Krupp Family Foundation

Claudia Perles and Gerry Fultz

Suzanne Priebatsch

The Shubert Foundation

Barry and Marjorie Shapiro/ Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation

Trauma Research Foundation, Inc.

$10,000-24,999

Jerry^ and Honie Berko

The Elayne P. Bernstein Family

Liz and Frank Blake

The Feigenbaum Foundation

Hadley M. Fisher

Dr. Donald and Phoebe L. Giddon

Michael and Ricki Helfer

Anita F. Heller*

Barbara and Amos Hostetter

The Janey Fund Charitable Trust

Jeffrey Konowitch and Wendy Laurin

Peter and Candy LaPlante

Greg Lipper and Kate Kohler Amory

Lotta Theatrical Fund

Barri Marks and Woody Exley

K. Ann McDonald

Mill Town Foundation

One World Fund

Emily J. Rechnitz Philanthropic Fund

Kathleen Rogers and Rick Teller

Deborah and Bill Ryan

Jenifer and Mark Salzberg

Natalie and Howard Shawn

Licia Sky and Dr. Bessel A. van der Kolk

“I can no other answer make but thanks, And thanks; and ever thanks” – Twelfth Night, Act III

Jeanne and Frank Speizer

Toni and Robert Strassler

Paul V. Walsh and Jennifer S. Walsh

Rhea and Ken Werner

$5,000–9,999

Steve Bader and Cathy Monoxelos

Paul Clark and Carol Parrish

Commonwealth Corporation

Michael J. Considine & Shawn P. Leary, Attorneys

The Helen Matchett Demario Foundation, Inc.

Nancy Edman Feldman and Mike Chefetz

Dr. Thomas M. Fynan and Mr. William F. Loutrel

Jane Iredale and Robert Montgomery

Lisa and Tim Kent

John and Suzanne Martinson, Joseph Martinson Memorial Fund

Marsha Norman

Brooke Owen Thomas

Karen and Ron Rettner

Barrow Foundation, at the request of Marvin Seline

Stone Soup Fund

Junior Winokur and Craig Vickers

$2,500–4,999

Anonymous (2)

Shari and Steve Ashman

Helene Berger

John Bergman and Laura Ferber Hazen

Sandy Bourgeois and Sarah Lytle

Patrick J. Buckley

Linda Benedict Colvin

Todd and Jessica Curtis

Joanne and Gerald Dreher

Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

Bob and Debbie First

Donald Hicken+

The Martin and Judy the Isserlis Charitable Fund

Levitt Foundation

Lisa and Christopher Lloyd

Robert and Jeanne Meister

Selina Morris-Grinspoon

Diane and Deval Patrick

Joan and Robert Rechnitz

Robert D. Rieffel, Lenox School Faculty

Lawrence Rosenthal

Chuck Schwager and Jan Durgin

Kiki Smith

Sandra Urie and Frank Herron

Andrew B. Weinberger and Meredith Sue Willis

Janet Wynn and Roger Kubarych

$1,500–2,499

Anonymous (2)

Henry Baker and Jerry Arko

Rosalie M. Bandyopadhyay+

Sandra and Eric Berkowitz

Judy and Tim Boomer

Jody Bourgeois

John Bousa

Linda Cantoni

William Cavanagh and Ricki Gardner

Mary and Robert Cohen

Wolfe Coleman and Elliot LaPlante

Claudia Davidoff and Joseph Kahan

Davis Dyer and Janice McCormick

John and Janet Egelhofer

Ricki Gardner and William Cavanagh

Stephen Graves and Caroline Marten-Ellis

Carol and Joseph Green

William and Suzanne Harley

Karen and Steven Kaufman

Steve Kay and Lisbeth L. Tarlow

Jennifer Kotler

Maxene Kupperman-Guiñals

Lenox School Alumni Association, Inc.

Govane Lohbauer+

Nancy Lukitsh

Barbara A. Mahony+

The Wesley G. McCain, Noreene Storrie & Malcolm W. S. McCain Family Charitable Fund

Esther Messing

Martin Messinger

Bruce Miller and Valeska O'Leary

Deborah Miller and Adam Strickberger

Anne and Peter Most

Northern Berkshire Cultural Council

Mary Ellen O'Connor

Macaire Pace and Charles Owen

Pittsfield Cultural Council

Peter B. F. and Helen G. Randolph

Barbara Serating and Ted Shiffman

Steven Somkin and Naomi Spatz

Amy and David Sorkin

Springfield Cultural Council

Margery and Lewis Steinberg

Dorothy and Stephen Weber

Laird and Reid White

Paul Wing

Leone T. Young

INDIVIDUAL & INSTITUTIONAL DONORS

$1,000–1,499

Jadwiga and Donald Brown

Maggie and Don Buchwald

Walter Campbell

Paul D. Carlan and Sarah C. Carlan

Christine and Larry Carsman

Marie Cavanaugh and James Barrese

Freda Grim and Dan Courchaine

Cultural Council of Northern Berkshires

Michael and Constance Cunningham

The Jane and William Curran Foundation, Inc.

Paul Deutsch and Kiu Ling Tom

Chip and Cindy Elitzer

Randall and Ellen Frank

Ralph and Audrey Friedner

Linda Greenhouse

Torrence Harder

Madeline Brandt Jacquet

David and Joanne Sheehan Keator

Heather Coulter Kemp

Darlene McCampbell

Enid Michelman

Dr. Peter B. Mudge

New Marlborough Cultural Council

Sassona Norton

Arthur Oliver

Petricca Industries Inc.

Lia and Bill Poorvu

Edith V. Pye+

Ro Family Foundation

The Jeffrey and Karen Ross Charitable Fund

Melinda and Andy Rothstein

Myra Sallet

Barry and Jane Salzberg

David Scudder

Shakespeare & Volunteer Company

Arlene and Donald Shapiro

The Sholley Foundation

Rita and Harvey Simon

Edward and Carla Slomin+

Dr. Gerald Smetana Charitable Fund

David H. Strassler

Kevin Truex and Frank Burnes

Donald and Carol Welsch

Jacqueline R. Werner and Richard L. Soffer

Harrison Wilken

Susan and Geoffrey Woglom

Renee and Michael Zarin

Michael Zody

$500–999

Marcia Aiuvalasit

Averbuch/Rivest Family

Katherine L. Babson, Jr.

Fred Baker and Lisa Powers

Nancy D. Baker

Robin and Richard Baum

Cindy and David Berger

Michael Bourque

David S. Brink

Donnaldson Kathryn Brown

Joan and Robert Buccino

Philippa Claude and Tony Stretton

David Govaker and William Cook

Mary and James Nicoll Cooper

Tom and Ellen Ennis

Benjamin Epstein

Tad Evans

Robert and Iris Fanger

Mattie Kelley and Robert Fuglestad

Bill Fuller

Ann and John Galt

Amanda Gott Curnin and Paul Curnin

Trudi and Frank Gunsberg

Haddad Dealerships

Mela and Paul Haklisch

Bobbie Hallig

Sonya B. Hamlin

Ellen and Scott Hand

Kate and Rick Happy

Holly Hardman, Helen Schmidt Hardman Family Fund

Jim Heeger and Daryl Messinger

Peter E. Hilton

Janet and John Hutchison

Susan and Glenn Johnson

Alice Kaplan

Joan G. Kinne

Mary Lou Lacek

LaGarce Family

Hanna and Claude Lamedica

Sandra Larson and Nicolas Minutillo

Steve and Jorie Latham

Karen and Eric Laxer

Robert Lee

Lee Cultural Council

Lenox Cultural Council

Ira Levy, Lana Masor, and Juliette Freedman

Carol and Lance Liebman

Charles and Debra McCambridge

Jaan and Jacqueline Metsma

Ann and Donald Morrison

Paul and Deborah O'Brien

Carole Robinson Palermo and Mark Palermo

Irving and Sharon Picard

Bert and Letty Cottin Pogrebin

Noni Pratt

Frederick Rich

Adele P. Rodbell

The Philip and Myn Rootberg Foundation

Stanley Rosenzweig

Amy B. Kuhn and Stuart Rosow

Lawrence and Patricia Rutkowski

Brian and Elizabeth Rutledge

Lee and Cecilia Sandwen Fund

Elizabeth Schiro

The Zelda and John Schwebel Family Foundation

Sheffield Cultural Council

Jamie Shenkman, Jacob Burns Foundation Inc.

Eleanor G. Shore

Heather Stanford and James Salzman, Chilmark Fund

Brenda and Greg Stone

Jonathan Stone and Thomas Flanigan

Jonathan A. Swartz

June Thomas

Sheila and Randy Thunfors

John and Gina Toole

Mary Ann Turney

Gwendolyn and Samuel VanSant

Lorraine Vekens

Harry and Karen J. Waizer, Waizer Walsh

Family Fund

Ward's Nursery & Garden Center

Paula Wardynski and Jed Scala

Philip and Irmy Webster

Matthew Whitney

P. Wiener Family Fund

Nancy and Eric Williams+

Allan Winkler

Mara and Randy Winn

$250–499

Anonymous

James E. Aisner

Jennifer Anderson

Monica Aranguren

Steve and Judy August

Christine W. Baldridge

Miriam Bazeley

Veronica Beaupre

Paul and Barbara Berry

Elliott Bird

Robin and Sheldon Birnhak

G.L. Brackett

Carol and Robert Braun

Luz Bravo-Gleicher

Ira Brind

Emily Brod

Robert Brodrick

Russell W. Burns

Katie and Paul Buttenwieser

Patricia Callahan

George Camarda and David Murphy

Jerry and MaryLou Cartwright

Max and Nancy Case

Cekala Family Fund

Seth Cohen and Deborah Spey

Lewis G. Cole

Nomi and Harold Colton-Max

L. Berkley and Katharine H. Davis

Allan Dean and Julie Shapiro

Alessandro DeGregori and Sarah

Hitchcock-DeGregori

Jacqueline Del Rossi

Lyn and Joe Dellinger

Beverly Carolan and Chris Doyle

Jill and Josh Dubin

Marjorie and Skip Durning

M. Christine Dwyer and Michael Huxtable

Melissa and Joe Earls

Susan and Nelson Eby

Nora Fernandez

Nancy and Peter Finn

Madalyn and Steve Friedberg

David Gelman

The R. Constance Giesser Individualized Family Fund

Nancy and Ken Gilbert

Amy Handelsman

Susan and Kyle Haver

Ken Goldman and Marlo Hyman

Dr. Marc and Suze Goldman

David Goldston

Cynthia Good and Alan Pratt

Great Barrington Cultural Council

Rob and Wilma Guerette

Laura and Peter Haas

Charls Sedgwick Hall and Henry Bachofer

Phyllis Hammer

Liz and Ned Hazen

Petie Hilsinger Fund

Daniel and Judith Hoffman

Peter and Phyllis Hofman

Dr. Frederick W. Hollmann

Horizon Homes

Jeffrey Hughes and Nancy Stauffer

Mary C. Huntington

Tim and Elaine Hurley

Alice J. Isenberg

Gordon and Susan Josephson

Barbara and George Kafka

Joel and Jane Kamer Charitable Gift Fund

Roger and Judith Kamm

Jeff Kaplan and Ellen Cohen Kaplan

Carla E. Kazanjian and Don E. Giroux

Phyllis Klein

Linda Kopec

Howard and Gay Kraft

Nathan Kravis

Ilene Lander

Steven E. Lane

James A. and Joan Levine

Alan and Melanie Levitan

Benjamin Liptzin and Liz Schneider

Christopher and Krista Loose

Dawilla Madsen

Ellen and Peter Maggio

Elissa Caterfino Mandel

Michele and Steven Marantz

Judy and Don Marcus

Alissa P. Margulies

Lauren Beals-Markus and Allan Markus

Ellen and Michael Martin

Sara McCain

Mike and Lynne McKellick

Brian McMenimen

Jennifer Melville and Alex Abbott

Judy and Richard Miller

Magda and Gus Mininberg

Charles Mirotznik

Martin Monas

Alan Morse

Joseph T. Murphy

Alice and Manny Nadelman

Irvin Nathan and Judith Walter

Tina Packer

Matthew and Candace Penn

Lisa and Taylor Perron

Ross Peterson

Donna M. Pignatelli

Susan Popper and Robert Greenberg

Mary E. Porter

Janis Porter and Stephen Naber

Julie R. Quain

Sanford and Shelley Reback

Laurie and Al Richman

Richmond Cultural Council

Shirley Ripullone and Kenneth Stahl

Howard Rose

David Rosenthal and Martha Sauer

Amy Rudnick and Ben Hillman

Susan Jo Russell and David Smith

The Safran Charitable Gift Fund

Aaron Sakulich

Amy and Oscar Schachter

Raquel and Michael Scheck Philanthropic Fund

Carol and Marvin Schwartzbard*

Susi Weiner and Richard Shapiro

Robin and Jeffrey Sher

Jeff and Karin Sherman

Peter Siedlecki and Lynette Mende

Roberta Silman

Adrienne Silverstein

Susan Singer

Maria Sirois and Herb Kantor

M.B. Slaminsky

Meghan and Adam Small

Stockbridge Cultural Council

Dr. Liz Strand and Dean Cimini

KEY

* denotes contributor to the Philip Heller Fund

Abbie M. Strassler

Jonathan Thomas

Carole Smargon and Richard Tibbetts

Lisa Townson

Tyringham Cultural Council

Mary C. Vassallo

Dr. Deborah Verlen

Harriet and Elliott Vines

Alexandra Warshaw

James Warwick+

Stacey and Jeff Weber

Patricia Webster

Stephen and Jennifer Webster

Judith Factor and Robert Wechsler

The Wein/Sussman Family Charitable Fund

Will Maitland Weiss and Elspeth Strang

Albert and Muriel Wermuth

Lynda Faye Wertheim

Mary Jane Wilson-Bilik

Bob and Karin Wiseman

Stuart M. Wolf and Dr. Bonnie Wolf

Marie and John Woodward+

Wovsaniker Family Fund, Alan and Mark Wovsaniker

David and Patty Wukitsch

Christine and Ray Zelehoski

Audrey Zucker

+ denotes contributor to the Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund

^ deceased

We are grateful to our many friends whose gifts of under $250 make a difference every year, as well as donors who support our annual Gala and The New Spruce Theatre!

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, 2022 - March 31, 2023.

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. 105 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

27–JULY 16 at The Colonial Theatre

inspired by ELVIS PRESLEY, JOHNNY CASH JERRY LEE LEWIS and CARL PERKINS direction and choreography by Greg Santos music direction by Colin Summers

18–JUNE 3 at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage

written by Heidi Schreck directed by Kristen van Ginhoven featuring Kate Baldwin

15–JULY 1 at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage by Anna Ziegler directed by David Auburn

12–29 at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage

written and performed by Christine Lahti direction and dramaturgy by Robert H. Egan

29–30 at The Colonial Theatre

direction by Katie Birenboim A new adaptation of the acclaimed Broadway musical abridged for younger audiences in an enhanced concert-style production that is as beautiful and spirited as the original.

at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage

music direction by Kristin Stowell choreography and associate direction by Terry Berliner direction by Susan H. Schulman

at The Unicorn Theatre The Larry Vaber Stage by Charles Dickens adapted by Eric Hill

GROUP TOURS 2023

Save 20% or more!

“The heavenly-harness'd team

Begins his golden progress in the east.” – Henry IV, Part I

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

Director of Sponsorships, Groups & Special Events

Elizabeth Aspenlieder groups@shakespeare.org

(413) 637-1199 ext. 110

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

ON HOPE AND HERITAGE: COMPANY

ARTIST JAKE WAID REFLECTS ON THE ROLE OF THE NATIVE ACTOR

Shakespeare & Company launched the #LiveinCompany campaign in 2022 as an extension of the Company’s mission to live creatively, work collaboratively, and honor community. #LiveinCompany content highlights the words and work of visionaries in various disciplines and aims to answer the three questions at the heart of each of Shakespeare’s plays: What does it mean to be alive? How should we act? and What must I do?

In response to these questions, long-time Shakespeare & Company Artist Jake Waid, seen here most recently in the role of Don Pedro in the 2022 production of Much Ado About Nothing , is a member of Southeastern Alaska’s Tlingit Nation. During his most recent project – the World Premiere of Where the Summit Meets the Stars by Frank Henry Kaash Katasse, also a Tlingit artist, at Perseverance Theatre in Juneau – Waid took time in between rehearsals to reflect on his years on stage, his relationship with Shakespeare, and what roles he sees Native actors playing – both today and in the future.

Shake & Co.: What was your first experience with Shakespeare & Company?

Jake Waid: In 2008, I stepped into the role of Horatio in the already established, critically acclaimed production of Hamlet starring Jason Asprey and directed by Eleanor Holdridge. The show already had a great run in Lenox, and I was cast in the tour. It was my dream to work with Tina Packer and Dennis Krausnick. Oh, and Nigel Gore...C'mon! Heavyweights.

By the time I joined the cast, there were no questions about the world of the play or the direction, which was so fun because up to that point, I had never been cast in an already-established production. It was a gift to jump on that moving train. I've had the great fortune to return a couple of times since then (the last time with my family!) and encounter the next generation of heavy-hitters like Kelly Galvin and Caroline Calkins, who (can I swear here?) holy sh*t, are just blazing talents!

S&Co: Has Shakespeare & Company shaped your acting experiences? If so, how?

JW: Working at Shakespeare & Company provides a blueprint for Shakespeare. Yes, part of that is trying to hold your own with more experienced actors, but mostly, it's about plugging into a tried-andtrue system developed over the last four decades (spoiler alert: it's a whole crap-ton of hard work).

Shakespeare & Company has, without a doubt, galvanized my confidence as an actor. It’s a confidence that knows there is no stage in the world that I don't belong on, and wouldn't be better for having me on it. Period.

Left to Right: Tamara Hickey, Bella Merlin, and Jake Waid, Much Ado About Nothing, 2022.

Photo by Nile Scott Photography.

Left to Right: Jake Waid and Caroline Calkins, Much Ado About Nothing, 2022. Photo by Nile Scott Photography.

Left to Right: Nigel Gore, Jake Waid, Gregory Boover, and L.James, Much Ado About Nothing, 2022.

Photo by Nile Scott Photography.

Left to Right: Jake Waid and L. James, Much Ado About Nothing, 2022.

Photo by Nile Scott Photography.

S&Co: What are you working on now?

JW: I am currently performing in my hometown of Juneau, Alaska, in Perseverance Theatre's world premiere of Where the Summit Meets the Stars by my favorite playwright, Frank Henry Kaash Katasse, who is also a Tlingit man from Juneau.

This work was developed with an all-Native cast with the intention of decolonizing the creative process of rehearsing a play by reconnecting with our traditional ways. Every week, we would root ourselves in the land, our land, Tlingit Aani. We picked blueberries in our mountains to make and devour a pie, took a day trip paddling off of Douglas Island in a dugout canoe, and did a strength dip in Auke Bay's 38-degree ocean water. The resulting bond between the cast and our land that has translated into our performance cannot be replicated in any other way. The play celebrates a new era of Tlingit storytelling and is a reflection of my Southeast Alaska culture. We are performing for sold-out crowds and have even extended the run. Frank and I are also creating a one-man show starring yours truly.

S&Co: What are your hopes for the future professionally, or perhaps more globally?

JW: In recent years, I've led with my pride in my Tlingit culture. With that pride, I've found my path and want to continue to represent my Tlingit and Haida people, Alaska Native, and all Indigenous people that may be seeking a career in theater.

I am always looking for ways to include young Native actors in spaces that maybe Natives have not been represented in the past. My most recent play was Much Ado About Nothing this past summer at Shakespeare & Company, and I'd love for the audience to say, "Wasn't that the play with the Native man?" I want audiences to find it inconceivable to imagine a Shakespeare play without Native Americans in lead roles.

One of my recent hopes for Shakespeare & Company has also come to pass: {Artistic Director} Allyn Burrows approached me for advice on Native land acknowledgments this summer. His concern in our conversation was that he didn't want an acknowledgment to seem like an empty gesture. I told him "an empty gesture is a fine place to start." It's the continual practice of acknowledgment, like a mantra, that fills that empty space eventually, and begins the journey of decolonization. After our conversation, Shakespeare & Company began the practice of land acknowledgments before performances, acknowledging the Stockbridge Mohicans as the traditional caretakers of the land on which the campus resides. Our ancestors deserve recognition. That, in turn, will give pride to the living descendants who might someday dare to say "there is no place on earth that I don't belong, or wouldn't be made better by my presence."

Gunalchéesh! n

Jake Waid, Much Ado About Nothing , 2022.

Photo by Nile Scott Photography.

Jake Waid, All That Fall (Plays in Process) , 2022.

Photo by Oskar Ahlstrom.

A GHOST LIGHT REMAINS ON STAGE FOR BOB LOHBAUER

by J. Peter Bergman

Sunday, November 6. Old 7:10 a.m., new 6:10. Eastern Standard Time again. I lay awake for half an hour remembering the actor, the man, Robert Lohbauer, dead at 87, remembered by so many at a memorial tribute the day before in the Tina Packer Playhouse at Shakespeare & Company. And yet not as many as I thought would be in attendance. In a 90-minute program, tribute was paid to the man. Some of his favorite songs were sung and played by Teresa Mango, David Joseph, Greg Boover, Malcolm Ingram, Caroline Calkins, Ryan Winkles, and Kelly Galvin—all folks who worked with him on that stage and in other places. The passion of loss often entered their voices but they sang on, as he would have wanted, as he would have sung on also.

A quote from “Hamlet” graced the program cover, a simple statement of fact that spoke volumes about this actor: “He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.” A critic makes few friends in the theater. Actors keep their distance; no influencing the writer who may hold an actor’s future faith in what may come. Bad notices could deter a producer from offering another role; good notices may cry out kindness due to excessive friendship. Not so for Bob Lohbauer. When I returned to reviewing at The Independent, he came up to me at a party and said, “You may write nasty things about me, Peter, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.” I never forgot that heart-felt sentiment. I appreciated it more and more as the years went on. In the audience yesterday were other actors I consider friends. Anne Undeland, Michelle Joyner, MaConnia Chesser, James Warwick, Kevin Coleman, Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Annette Miller. These are not my closest pals, but they are people who inform my life. They bring me joy and sorrow in a mixed measure, and I am grateful for that.

Friends, companions, family all paid tribute to Bob on that stage. At the end of each row in the audience, boxes of tissues had been placed and they did come in handy. I used one when the stories about him got too funny and provoked a sadness that couldn’t be held back. I never really knew him well. His wife, Govane, and I had more of a relationship. She helped me costume my first Historic House play at the Clapp House in Pittsfield, and she helped me costume myself for my last performance in a filmed historic tour. But Bob Lohbauer had a way of making you feel you were special to him. Never very close, his face would literally light up whenever he and I met, usually by accident. He truly glowed with that proffered friendship and his smiling eyes left me feeling better than I, perhaps, deserved. It’s something impossible to forget, that sort of personal joy.

In the tradition of the theater when the memorial was concluded, when the performance was done, a free standing lamp was carried onto the stage. It was set downstage center and remained alight as the company of family, friends, professional companions, and admirers slowly left

Bob Lohbauer, Mengleberg and Mahler , 2013.

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

the space. A ghost light. It’s a tradition that goes back into the 19th century when theaters were lit with gas-light. Some believe that it gives the ghosts of actors the feeling that they can still perform for one another, and for us if we happen to be in the theater. Its practical purpose is to keep people from having accidents on a darkened stage. It’s true meaning is that it welcomes the spirit of friendship and professionalism at those times when they are needed. During this COVID era, it has symbolized even more, as a way of indicating that our theaters will reopen. So, it was for Bob Lohbauer, for whom the theater never closed. His life was filled with the enjoyment of the world that obeyed the sentiments of the song David Joseph sang: “Try to Remember.” I will never forget this man. Surely no one who knew him, or saw him, ever will. n

This article was originally published by The Berkshire Edge on November 9, 2022, and is reprinted here with permission.

Left to Right: Bob Lohbauer and Malcolm Ingram, Heroes, 2013. Photo by Kevin Sprague.

Left to Right: Bob Lohbauer and Emile Fallaux, Mengleberg and Mahler, 2013.

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

Cast of Kaufmann's Quartet with director Regge Life, 2013.

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

Cast of the staged reading of Hamlet, 2016.

Photo by Ava G. Lindenmaier.

Left to Right: Bob Lohbauer and Annette Miller, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2014.

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

CULTURAL COCKTAILS CREATES A STIR IN THE BERKSHIRES

Glasses full of the finest concoctions will be raised across the Berkshires this summer, as Berkshire Mountain Distillers’ popular Cultural Cocktails program returns to the region. Based in Sheffield, Mass., BMD is one of the founding members of the craft distiller movement, as well as a regionally focused maker of award-winning, small-batch craft spirits – many of which use local ingredients. It launched its inaugural Cultural Cocktails initiative last year, partnering with theaters, museums, and other cultural organizations in the Berkshires to create a series of hand-crafted, culturally inspired recipes. The cocktails, which included the Norman Rockwell Museum’s Downhill Daring, The Trustees’ Berkshire Sunset, and Shakespeare & Company’s own Red Lady – inspired by “relentless, blood-thirsty and ambitious” Lady Macbeth – were served throughout the summer in more than two dozen bars and restaurants across the county.

BMD Founder Chris Weld called Cultural Cocktails “a tribute to the remarkable culture we celebrate here.” “We are so fortunate to live in a region of creative, inspiring institutions,” he said. “BMD is honored to be a part of a supportive community that cherishes art, culture, and the crafting of a great cocktail."

This year, Shakespeare & Company’s Cultural Cocktail takes a direct note from its 2023 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Bottom's Elixir: a fanciful take on a Gin Gimlet. Bottom’s Elixir will be available in fine bars, restaurants, and taverns across the county, including both Josie’s Place and Mike’s Place – the Company’s full-service bar and concessions stands –and the Berkshire Mountain Distillers’ tasting room, retail shop, and outdoor bar in Sheffield.

For more information on where to find Cultural Cocktails, visit berkshiremountaindistillers.com. n

BOTTOM’S ELIXIR

2 oz. Greylock Gin

3/4 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

3/4 oz. Simple Syrup*

Garnish with a Lime Wheel

* BMD recommends turbinado sugar, aka Sugar in the Raw, but regular sugar works just fine. Use a 1:1 ratio-by-volume of sugar to water.

Johnny Lee Davenport as Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream , 2014.

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

ME AND RAQUEL

by Eric Corbett Williams

Actor, model, and business leader Raquel Welch, who passed away in February 2023, was a 1997 alumna of the Center for Actor Training Month-long Intensive and went on to appear in Shakespeare & Company's 1998 production of The Millionairess by George Bernard Shaw.

Eric Corbett Williams, a retired Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI who worked at Shakespeare & Company for 25 years as an actor, stage manager, house manager, and production coordinator, collaborated with Welch during both the intensive and The Millionairess . Years after the show’s closing, Williams penned a recollection of the time he spent stage managing one of his favorite actors. It’s reprinted here in memory of Raquel Jo Welch (née Tejada).

Liza, Cher, Barbra, Angela, and my favorite: Raquel. Of course, I refer to the one and only, Raquel Welch. She lives in Beverly Hills. I live in the historic Hamlet of New Concord, Columbia County, N.Y.

I've been to Beverly Hills. I'd rather be on my seven acres with woods, grass, and a big pond, nestled between the Catskills and the Berkshires. Raquel and I are the same age, but somehow she looks better.

Shakespeare & Company hosts a Month-long Intensive Training Program for theater professionals. Actors and other theater people come from all over the world to take part. Graduates include Colin Firth, Richard Dreyfuss, Sigourney Weaver, Karen Allen, Alicia Silverstone, and Keanu Reeves.

Raquel decided to undertake the intensive to help prolong her career. For many years, the January Intensive was conducted at Bennington College in Vermont. In 1997, I was one of two stage managers helping with the program. And on the first day, I met Raquel.

While the participants were housed in dorm rooms, she was given a small house on the campus. She immediately found fault with many things, including the food. By the second day, she was ready to leave –Beverly Hills is warm and sunny in January. Vermont is below-zero and covered in drifting snow. After the initial difficulties, though, she settled in and became an active member of the group, enduring the six-days-a-week, early morning to late evening study and work on voice, movement, text, sonnets, clown and scene preparation.

Left to Right: Raquel Welch and Johnny Lee Davenport, The Millionairess, 1998. Photo by Carol Rosegg. Costume Design by Arthur Oliver.

A year later, Raquel returned to Shakespeare & Company to star in a George Bernard Shaw play, which was a great vehicle for her – The Millionairess, first produced in 1936. Perhaps because I had worked with her the previous year, I was asked to be the Assistant Stage Manager.

At the time, Raquel was being courted by a man from Los Angeles, {restaurateur} Richard Palmer. Beautiful roses arrived almost on a daily basis, and Richard visited several times. One day, after a rehearsal break, Raquel returned wearing a huge diamond ring and informed me she was engaged. We opened the play in Lenox in The Stables Theatre on the grounds of the Edith Wharton estate, The Mount. The theater was an intimate space, and the audiences loved her. The play then moved to a larger theater in Foxboro, Mass., which had housing for the Equity actors below ground level. The dressing rooms were located up a flight of stairs that Raquel refused to climb, so a tent affair was set up just off the stage for her use. During each performance, the stage manager worked from a booth in the back of the theater while I ran the show backstage.

Raquel would ready herself in the safety and security of her tent, and the show would only start when she whispered to me she was ready. We had a great run and once again, the audiences loved her.

As I think back on my days with Raquel, I can say she was demanding, and at times difficult. Yet, she could be a warm, thoughtful, and caring person.

And, no, the marriage to Richard Palmer didn't last.

Left to Right: Raquel Welch and Michael Hammond, The Millionairess

Photo by Carol Rosegg. Costume Design by Arthur Oliver.

HomeFarm at Undermountain is a newly formed Berkshire commmunity nonprofit organization committed to wellness, historical preservation, land conservation and the arts.

• We teach recreational horsemanship and equine husbandry and provide therapeutic equine-assisted programs to children and adults.

• We work to preserve the unique historical architecture and purpose of HomeFarm at Undermountain through adaptive reuse and restoration of our buildings and property.

• We provide a resource for horse rescue, sanctuary, and retirement.

ROBERTA FRIEDMAN’S MEMORY LIVES

ON FOREVER IN FRIENDSHIP

“If I do vow a friendship, I’ll perform it to the last article.”

– Othello, Act III

The legacy of Roberta Doris Friedman, long-time friend and supporter of Shakespeare & Company, can be seen and felt in very tangible ways.

The most visceral is perhaps The Roman Garden Theatre, a 280-seat outdoor venue brought into existence in 2017 by Roberta and her husband Dr. Gerald (Jeff) Friedman.

Shakespeare & Company’s Artistic Director Allyn Burrows said the space takes many design cues from Elizabethan times, when the Bard's plays were largely held outdoors and aimed to immerse audiences in the “natural world.”

“When naming the theater, Roberta didn’t want to make a fuss with a big, long name, but wanted something fitting of the space and its surrounding gardens,” he said. “We came up with the ‘Roman Garden Theatre,’ and hid a little secret inside of the name: the ‘Ro’ in Roman is also for the ‘Ro’ in Roberta, and ‘man’ for the last three letters in the Friedman name.

“Last year, we unveiled a plaque dedicated to both Roberta and Jeff,” Burrows continued, “and it sits, fittingly, just outside the entrance to the theater by an arbor of flowers and canopy of trees.”

Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer added that the creation of The Roman Garden Theatre was not the first time the Friedman family had contributed to bettering the Shakespeare & Company experience.

“I met Roberta and her husband Jeff in the early 1990s. They came to one of our first productions at The Mount’s Stables Theatre, and said generous things about the play they had just seen,” she said. “But they added, ‘the seats are very, very uncomfortable.’”

Resolved to be part of the solution, Packer said the Friedmans “paused for a full second” before committing to the purchase of new, more comfortable seating.

“That was the beginning of a three-decade friendship,” she noted, including years of unwavering support of Shakespeare & Company’s Education Programs. “I bless the day they complained about the seats in The Stables – from there, it was a fortuitous and most wonderful journey for us all.” Indeed, Director of Education Kevin G. Coleman agreed that Roberta and Jeff’s influence has touched the lives of hundreds of students, and he expects that influence will be felt for years to come.

“Most recently, when I asked for help to create a documentary that could capture our Fall Festival of Shakespeare and take it nationwide, they were the first to respond so students could see other students like themselves creating Shakespeare in the wildest and most dramatic ways,” he said. “I cannot fully express the gratitude I feel for the difference Roberta and Jeff have made, and the love they have shared with our world.” n

This Season’s performances in The Roman Garden Theatre are dedicated to the memory of Roberta Friedman.

Left to Right: granddaughter Gabrielle, Jeff Friedman, and Roberta Friedman

Left to Right: Roberta and Jeff Friedman

Roberta Friedman

HELGA ORTHOFER’S GENEROUS SPIRIT PERSONIFIED THE BOUNTY OF THE BERKSHIRES

“The last taste of sweets is sweetest last.” – Richard II, Act II

This Season, Shakespeare & Company honors the legacy of Helga S. Orthofer (Kaiser): an artist, Board of Trustees member, and great friend and supporter who passed away this September.

An avid theater and concert-goer, Helga was a great fan of the Berkshires and its cultural scene, especially Shakespeare & Company. Her participation across many seasons included not just attending shows and events, but hosting them from her beautiful home in Stockbridge, Mass., or at nationally renowned venues such as The National Arts Club in New York, N.Y. She never missed a gala, a new-play reading, or a special event, and Company artists and administrators regularly looked forward to her lively and impassioned discussions of recent performances.

“Helga’s generosity and close friendship with the artists and staff was a joy to behold,” said Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. “She was also a long-time member of our Board of Trustees, a wonderful artist, and one of our biggest cheeleaders for the Company. We are deeply grateful for her extraordinary commitment to the Company, and for her warm friendship with us all over the years – she is missed.”

She first became a part-time Berkshires resident in the 1980s, moving to Stockbridge full-time in the late 1990s with her late husband, raconteur extraordinaire, John Kaiser. From then on, she lived a quintessential country life: adding an art studio to her home and frequently hosting gallery shows, harvesting her vegetable garden, and staging lavish, themed dinner parties for friends old and new.

It was at just such a gathering that Shakespeare & Company’s Founding Artistic Director, Tina Packer, recalled meeting Helga and John.

“I think it was meant to be 15 of us, but there must have been over 30 people, and Helga seamlessly put out a delicious spread of food and drink for our always hungry actors,” she said. “She never ran out, never turned away an actor, and miraculously, another chair would appear in the dining room or living room or porch.

“Helga’s devotion to the Company for over three decades was exemplary,” Packer continued. “She loved wit and conversation, and always aligned her life to the principles she held dear: fairness, compassion, and generosity. We miss Helga’s lovely smile, kindness, and wonderful spirit.” n

Left to Right: Remel Dickerson, Jamie deRoy, Eda Sorokoff, Allyn Burrows, and Helga Orthofer.

Helga Orthofer

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TRUSTEE JERRY BERKO’S PASSING SPURS MEMORIES

OF LOVE AND LEADERSHIP

“Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break.” – Macbeth, Act IV

This Spring, Shakespeare & Company received word that long-time friend of the Company and Trustee Jerome (Jerry) Berko had passed away.

It was not long after that family, friends, and Company Artists began sharing their recollections of Jerry – each one representative of a man of great virtue, with a love of theater and literature and a strong entrepreneurial spirit.

Born in Brooklyn in 1932, Jerry married his wife, fellow Company supporter and friend Honie Berko, in 1953. The duo went on to have countless adventures together and with their two daughters, Karen and Amy.

“Jerry first learned of Shakespeare as a boy in school,” his family shared. “As a man, he understood the enduring relevance of his works for people of all ages. After being invited to Shakespeare & Company and meeting Tina Packer, Jerry knew he wanted to be a part of fostering this organization’s growth and prosperity. He had a deep admiration for Shakespeare & Company‘s educational work and believed that such programs will always afford both children and adults opportunities to learn the values embodied in Shakespeare’s works.” Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer recalls a similar sense of connection at that meeting.

“Jerry was always quick-witted and encouraging, and we will especially miss his impish laugh when he expressed his thoughts about whatever we were doing,” she said. “We are grateful for the part he played in our lives.”

Board Chair Beverly Hyman added that Jerry was also one of Shakespeare & Company’s longestserving members, with appointments dating back 20 years.

“He was one of our most committed and generous members, from the early days when the Company created the Founder’s Theatre {now The Tina Packer Playhouse} to advocating for the construction of The New Spruce Theatre in 2021,” she said.

Board of Trustees Clerk Michael A. Miller, who served as Board Chair upon first meeting the couple, noted he “knew immediately when he started talking about his passion for theater and his commitment to the arts that Jerry would be a terrific addition.”

Miller’s wife, actor and Company Artist Annette Miller, shared her gratitude for Jerry and Honie’s unwavering support of both art and the artists who create it.

“I am so grateful for their vote of confidence,” she said. “They underwrote every show I was in at the Company, and Jerry brought his insightful comments and special energy to every performance.

“Jerry was a man who walked the walk and talked the talk,” she said.

Jerry Berko Photo by Tricia McCormack

Left to Right: Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Amy Iles, Jerry Berko and Honie Berko

Left to Right: Jerry Berko and Ken Werner

“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

Coming May 2024

Hardcover 9781350205710 | $100.00

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

PAYING HOMAGE: RENAISSANCE MAN ARTHUR WALDSTEIN

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” – The Tempest, Act IV

Arthur Waldstein, who passed unexpectedly last fall, was a true renaissance man – one who had a successful career as a lawyer and as a well-respected and award-winning actor later in life.

“Arthur was my closest and dearest friend,” remembered Board of Trustees Clerk Michael A. Miller. “When the Company was faced with losing our home at the Mount, I turned to Arthur for help, and we worked tirelessly together negotiating a very complex real estate transaction that resulted in a favorable purchase of our current home on Kemble Street in Lenox.

“Arthur was an unequivocally brilliant real estate attorney, but what I remember most about Arthur is that he was a dear sweet man, a person who loved theater, and a giving and loving friend.“

Arthur and his wife Andrea came to Shakespeare & Company more than two decades ago, when Mike and his wife, Company Artist Annette Miller, introduced them to the indomitable Tina Packer, Shakespeare & Company’s founder.

“Arthur was full of life,” Tina said. “He may have been a lawyer, and a very good one, but like the young lawyers in Shakespeare’s day, he wanted to be an actor too. He would have been happy if the Inns of Court was where he had trained: hearing a court case in the morning, performing in the afternoon, with the odd riot thrown in.”

As an actor, Arthur worked extensively with many of the best stages in the Greater Boston area, and this year’s Elliot Norton Awards paid posthumous tribute to him in honor of his contributions. Artistic Director Allyn Burrows recalled seeing him on several stages across the region many times over the years.

“Arthur was full of life and artistry, and I enlisted him to play a wonderful Firs in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard with Actors' Shakespeare Project, which won an Elliot Norton Award for Best Production in 2014,” he recalled. “He was also very savvy when it came to business, legal and real estate advice – always looking at the big picture when it came to Shakespeare & Company, its longevity, and how to balance the ‘art’ and the ‘business’.”

Indeed, Arthur’s family agreed that he “had a huge presence, not only on the stage but on ‘life’s stage’.”

“No one could escape the magic of Arthur’s twinkling eyes, his infectious smile and grace,” they shared. “He always made room for everyone else – making them feel counted, seen and heard. He always encouraged the entire family to attend Shakespeare & Company, and we’ve been so blessed to have been able to support its programs, from training, education, and on the stage.” n

Left to Right: Andrea and Arthur Waldstein

Left to Right: Andrea and Arthur Waldstein

Left to Right: Board of Trustees Member Michael A. Miller and Arthur Waldstein

Photo Credit: Martin Albert. Thanks to Mixologist Billy Jack Paul of Mooncloud.

COMPANY ARTIST GREG BOOVER

FINDS THE MELODY IN THE MOUNTAINS

For Shakespeare & Company Artist Greg Boover, music and acting have always been intertwined. “Music has always been integral to my role as an actor, and I’ve long found myself gravitating toward places where music exists, or is needed,” he said.

Indeed, Boover and his acoustic guitar have been a welcomed sight on Shakespeare & Company stages for several years – just last Season, his original arrangement of the Shakespeare-penned song Sigh No More drew applause night after night during Much Ado About Nothing, in which Boover played Claudio.

In some ways, the throughline is natural: “every Shakespeare play has music somewhere,” Boover said. But that’s not where his musical connections to the Company end. He’s also served as a Composer, Music Director, and Sound Designer, most recently for the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare’s production of Romeo and Juliet. He formed a music duo – the MoonCaps – with fellow Center for Actor Training alumnus Deaon Griffin-Pressley, releasing two albums, and found a long-time collaborator in fellow Company Artist David Joseph, with whom he’s played live at a number of venues across Berkshire County.

In fact, Boover noted that the Berkshires as a whole have become an apt and inspiring artistic home in recent years, including through the COVID-19 pandemic, when he was able to create a home studio and spend time composing, rehearsing, and capturing video and audio content in the local woods. Many new creative roots began to form during that time, he said, including Rain or Shine –Boover’s latest album, released in January 2023. It’s a 16-track exploration of many themes: some a celebration of community, others a rumination on isolation, and all written and recorded in the Berkshires over the course of two years.

Boover’s rendition of Sigh No More appears on Rain or Shine, and another track, Uplift, appears in the Shakespeare & Company documentary Speak What We Feel, an accounting of its awardwinning and locally treasured Fall Festival of Shakespeare released in 2021.

“You could say I’ve found a niche as a musician in the Shakespeare world,” he said, “ and I’m grateful the Berkshires have given me opportunities to explore, experiment, and refine my art, both alone and in collaboration with others.”

Greg Boover’s album Rain or Shine is available now via gregoryboover.com , Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and other streaming services. n

Cover Art by Liza Foley

Gregory Boover, Much Ado About Nothing, 2022. Photo by Nile Scott Studos.

Left to Right: Bella Merlin, Gregory Boover, Miles Anderson, and Steven Barkhimer, Twelfth Night, 2019. Photo by Daniel Rader.

A LASTING LEGACY CONTINUES TO GROW AT THE ELAYNE P. BERNSTEIN THEATRE

“Thy eternal summer shall not fade, So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.ˮ – Sonnet 18

Elayne Polly Bernstein Schwartz (1924-2011) was a dear friend and beloved benefactor of Shakespeare & Company for more than 30 years.

An ardent believer that Shakespeare's words speak to us all, Elayne's ideals aligned with those of Shakespeare & Company, its founders, artists, and staff. She attended countless rehearsals, performances, and events. She championed the Fall Festival of Shakespeare and other youth programs, in which several of her grandchildren participated. She served as an esteemed member of our Board of Trustees, and in 2008, one of Elayne and her family's most noted contributions to the Company opened its doors: Bernstein Center for the Arts.

Envisioned to serve as a venue for contemporary plays and intimate productions as well as a hub for behind-the-scenes action year-round, the Bernstein Center for the Arts is a modern, spacious building surrounded with seasonal blooms still maintained today by the Bernstein family. Elayne's Corner, a landscaped water garden with benches and a fountain, offers a space for quiet reflection outdoors, and the Jane Iredale Lobby welcomes patrons with a full-service concessions stand and lounge areas.

The Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre and studios allow artists of all ages and experience levels – starting at age seven with Riotous Youth summer theater programs for children – to gather for rehearsals and training, and Shakespeare & Company’s extensive prop and costume collection, world-class armory, and state-of-the-art set and costume shops call this space home.

We gratefully and humbly acknowledge the passion, vision, and support Elayne and her family have given us and invite everyone to experience the Elayne P. Bernstein during the 46th Season, be it for a performance, a tour, or for the first time. n

Elayne Bernstein with granddaughter Jenna Rubin.

Photo by Kevin Sprague.

Elayne's Corner

Elayne Bernstein Theatre

Elayne Bernstein Theatre

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH… PLAYWRIGHT DONALD MARGULIES

Playwright, screenwriter, and academic Donald Margulies premieres his latest play, Lunar Eclipse , at Shakespeare & Company this season, directed by James Warwick and featuring Karen Allen and Reed Birney. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Margulies, also a Professor in the Practice of English and Theatre Studies at Yale University, paused between meetings with students to speak with Shakespeare & Company about the play, its origins, and the inspiration writers sometimes find when star-gazing.

Shake & Co.: What drew you toward writing a play centered on a lunar eclipse?

Donald Margulies: I don't know what exactly drew me to this particular celestial phenomenon but, like many of my plays, it began with an image. I saw a man and a woman sitting in a field looking at the sky. I decided they were in late middle-age and that they had a lot on their minds, the kinds of things people who have lived a long time tend to have. Then I wondered why this couple was in a field and why they were looking at the sky and I decided that they were there to watch a lunar eclipse. The seven stages of a lunar eclipse gave me an elegant structure to work with, hence this “play in seven stages.” There was something excitingly musical about this design, like movements in a symphony.

S&Co: Lunar Eclipse is set on a farm in the midwest. What inspired that setting?

DM: I decided this field was on a farm in the middle of America and that the man of this couple had spent his life farming this land. Now, you may wonder, what is this playwright long-associated with Brooklyn doing on a farm in the midwest? Well, perhaps surprisingly, I am quite familiar with that part of the world: Forty-four years ago, I fell in love with a Kentucky farm girl. So, you could say I’ve been “farm adjacent” for decades; it was a culture I knew something about and it felt like the right time to write about it.

S&Co: How would you say Lunar Eclipse fits into your overall body of work?

DM: My plays have dealt with time, loss, legacy, family, mortality – themes that, in Lunar Eclipse, are stirred up on a quiet night, in a dialogue unfolding under the stars. When people ask me what inspired this new play, my best response is that it felt like my next play, the very play I should be writing at this stage of my life, my career, and my time on our troubled planet. In its quiet way, it seemed deceptively urgent.

S&Co: What are you most looking forward to seeing as Lunar Eclipse comes to life?

DM: This is my first new play in a couple of years, birthed during a global pandemic! I’m excited to watch these exceptional actors bring these characters to life. I’ve known and admired Reed Birney for a long time, since we were young men of the theater, but we’ve never worked together, so it feels sweet to finally do a play with him. I’ve never worked with Karen Allen, either, but have long been a fan. Theater at its universal, communal best holds up a mirror so that audiences may reflect on their own circumstances and choices. That’s what we’re all aspiring to pull off in Lenox!

S&Co: What’s notable to you about premiering Lunar Eclipse in the Berkshires?

DM: I was looking for a venue outside of the glare of New York to gently bring this gentle play into the light. That we are putting on this show at a beautiful time of year, in this bucolic, autumnal haven feels especially momentous. The stars might even be aligned, he said, with his fingers crossed. n

Donald Margulies

SOCO CREAMERY’S BARD-INSPIRED FLAVORS RETURN TO SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY

Shakespeare & Company and SoCo Creamery are reviving their partnership this summer to offer five Shakespeare-inspired ice cream and sorbet flavors to patrons of both destinations.

“People loved these ice creams, so we decided that like music, we should play on,” said SoCo Creamery owner Erik Bruun. “Or as Shakespeare might say, “Yummy!”

SoCo and Shakespeare & Company jointly launched the range – ice cream and sorbet with names and flavors based on foods and herbs mentioned in Shakespeare plays – last Season. They made their debut at Shakespeare & Company’s Sapphire Gala, and went on to become fan favorites at both SoCo’s Great Barrington ice cream shop and at the Company’s concessions stands.

THE FIVE FLAVORS ARE:

DESIRE , made from marzipan, orange zest, dates, and served at the party at which Romeo and Juliet met.

PASSION, a lemon ice cream with thyme, rosewater, and rose petals – “Pick a play, pick a sonnet and you will find roses and passion are one and the same for Shakespeare,” said Bruun.

MAGIC, a blackberry-lemon sorbet with thyme inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the character Oberon, King of the Fairies, who declares “I know a riverbank where the wild thyme grows.”

REMEMBRANCE, a nod to Ophelia’s herb-laden lament in Hamlet, made from strawberry, shortbread, and rosemary – the latter by which she asks her followers to remember her.

COURAGE, a spiced coffee ice cream with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves – two of which are mentioned in Henry V, the classic play of daring and bravery.

Each ice cream cup features custom, Bard-centric labels designed by Lisa Cavender of LN Designs, and a QR code on its bottom that leads to not only an ingredients list, but notes on the Shakespearean scenes and historic ingredients that inspired each flavor, as well as photos from past performances of those plays at Shakespeare & Company.

Anyone enjoying a “Shakespeare & SoCo” interactive cup is welcomed to share photos and videos enjoying their treats on social media, using the hashtag #sweetshakespeare. Throughout the Season, Shakespeare & Company will award select prizes to patrons who post the most amazing or mouth-watering content online.

For more information, visit sococreamery.com or shakespeare.org

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 at Shakespeare & Company.

To get involved, e-mail volunteers@shakespeare.org.

Ushering

Administrative Support

Company Event Support

Company Hospitality

Flower Arranging

Gardening

Gift Shop Sales & Support

Patron Greeting

Oral History & Archive Project Support

Tour Support

BLUE FINANCIAL SPARK

Investment management and financial planning for women, men, and their families.

Maura Griffin, CFP®, founder.

A 100% fiduciary firm. We put your interests first.

Offices in New York City and Berkshire County.

LEADERSHIP & STAFF

Allyn Burrows, Artistic Director

Amy Handelsman, Managing Director

ADMINISTRATIVE

Founding Artistic Director: Tina Packer

General Manager: Stephen Ball

Producing Associate: Ariel Bock

Executive Assistant: Catherine E. Wheeler

Company Manager / Intern Program Coordinator: Natalie Love

Chloe Otterson, Maureen Pace & Frances Rippy (Interns)

CENTER FOR ACTOR TRAINING

Director of Training: Sheila Bandyopadhyay

Administrative Director: MaConnia Chesser

Social Media Coordinator: Tracy Einstein

Faculty: Sarah Kate Anderson, Sheila Bandyopadhyay, Ariel Bock, Andrew

Borthwick-Leslie, Kevin G. Coleman, Susan Dibble, Marie Ramirez Downing, Tom

Giordano, Rebecca Goodheart, Charls Hall, Michael Hammond, Sarah Hickler, Corinna May, Kristen Moriarty, Normi Noel, Natsuko

Ohama, Tina Packer, Gwendolyn Schwinke, Michael F. Toomey, Kevin Vavasseur, Kimberly White, Ryan Winkles & Kristin Wold

Guest Instructors: Nehassaiu deGannes, Raphael

Massie, Jenn Rabbit Ring, Alba Quezada & Yokko

Luke Lamond (Intern)

COSTUMES

Costume Director: Govane Lohbauer

Costume Shop Manager: Michelle Hathaway

Drapers: Michelle Benoit & Toby Kreimendahl

Design Assistants / First Hands / Stitchers /

Wardrobe: Christina Beam, Mary Boyce, Jaysen Engel, Lezlie Lee, Eliza Maggio, Cal Murphy, Audrey Pugh, Susan Thomas, Peggy Walsh, Melissa Ziccardi, and Sen Barone, Jez Laurin & Caleb Stoloski (Interns)

DEVELOPMENT

Senior Manager of Individual Giving: Kristen Moriarty

Director of Sponsorships, Groups & Special Events: Elizabeth Aspenlieder

Development Strategist: Alexander Zaretsky

Maeve Carroll & Madeline Johns (Interns)

EDUCATION

Director of Education: Kevin G. Coleman

Education Programs Manager: Megan Marchione

Tour and Professional Development Manager: Kaitlin Henderson

Residency and Riotous Youth Programs Manager: Caitlin Kraft

Education Artists: Travis Ascione, Ellie Bartz, Gregory Boover, Caroline Calkins, Cameron Davis, Lydia Duff, Noa Egozi, Lori Evans, Leslie Field, Kelly Galvin, Ptah Garvin, Luke Haskell, Tom Jaeger, Kelly Johnston, Charlie Lavaroni, Lezlie Lee, Sara Linares, Eliza Maggio, Madeleine Maggio, Claire Martin, JoJo McDonald, Kirsten Mulrenan, Nick Nudler, Stephanie Neuerburg, Erin O’Connor, Savanna Padilla, Kirsten Peacock, Naire Poole, Tom Reynolds, Victoria Rhoades, Lauren Russo, A’Rhyan Samford, Abigail St. John, Ryan Winkles, Malle Winters & Kristin Yates

FACILITIES & HOUSEKEEPING

Facilities: Graham Moriarty (Manager), Al Hiser & Robert Pelliciotti

Housekeeping: Bonnie Wilson (Manager) & Gina Squires

FINANCE & IT

Director of Finance: Richard Martelle

IT & Business Systems Manager: Kevin Andle

Staff Accountant: Stan Bolton

MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS, & PATRON SERVICES

Director of Marketing and Communications: Jaclyn C. Stevenson

Graphic Designer and Marketing Associate: Katie McKellick

Associate Box Office Manager: Haley Barbieri

Associate Patron Services Manager: Malle Winters

Patron Services Associates: Haley Barbieri, Catherine Daymude, Maddie Dustin, Luke Haskell, Amelia Heastings, Mac

MacDaniel, Alex Magallanes, Zoya Martin, Scott “Renzo” Renzoni, A’Rhyan Samford, Lacey Jo Sloat, Olivia Thiemann, Madison

Van Deurzen, Madeline Weltchek, Dayton

Willison, Malle Winters, Linyi Yin and Chloe Otterson & Eran Zelixon (Interns)

PRODUCTION & STAGE MANAGEMENT

Production Manager: Erika Johnson

Chief Safety Officer / Technical Director / Yearround Production Manager: Kevin Harvell

Assistant Production Manager: Devon Drohan

Associate Technical Director: Sean Sweeney

Carpentry: Alex Drake, Andrew Johnson & Patrick Kilgore

Electrics: Kristina Perroni (Supervisor), Maddie Dustin & Katie Ward

Properties: Patrick Brennan (Charge), Keely Heyl & Rosario Appleton Figueira

Sound: Tera Woolley (Supervisor) & Maddie Dustin

Paints: Caitrin Leigh (Charge) & Rosario Appleton Figueira

Equity Stage Managers: Maegan Conroy, Diane Healy, Hope Rose Kelly & Amelia Heastings

Stage Managers & Assistants: Dennis Ebert, Hannah Lewis, Alex Magallanes, Lacey Jo Sloat, Kathleen Soltan, Amanda Wingo & Melissa Ziccardi

Shakespeare & Company, 2019, Photo by Zachary de Silva

INTERNSHIPS AT SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY

The Shakespeare & Company Internship Program is designed to train the next generation of theater professionals to become successful and well-rounded members of the theater community.

Interns receive one-on-one mentoring from their department in addition to collaborating with professional artists. Throughout the experience, interns attend a mixture of lecturestyle and interactive classes exploring the various departments within the Company, are given opportunities to complete independent capstone projects within their departments, and receive career guidance with performance evaluations and resume and portfolio reviews.

Internships are typically 12 – 16 weeks in duration, and can sometimes be tailored to specific areas of interest or study.

Shakespeare & Company is committed to evolving its approach to diversity and inclusion to engender an active process and positive change toward race equity in its artistry. Our goal is to engage ourselves in endeavors that enrich and promote a more just society.

To be considered for any internship listed, please send a cover letter, history of related experience or resume, and email addresses for two references.

For more information regarding the Internship Program at Shakespeare & Company, e-mail CoMgr@shakespeare.org.

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In the Berkshires This Week

A free, weekly email newsletter covering the best of the arts, dance, music and theater happening in the Berkshires, from Memorial Day to Halloween, emailed every Thursday.

To sign up, scan this code with your phone camera or visit BerkshireEagle.com/itbtw

WHO’S WHO

ANITA ABDINEZHAD (Playwright, Three Tall Persian Women [Plays in Process]) Anita Abdinezhad is thrilled to be collaborating with Shakespeare & Company on her first full-length play. She is a writer and actor based in Los Angeles and New York, N.Y. Her writing credits include Three Tall Persian Women (the one act) at San Francisco Playhouse and Fareeda’s Phantasias (½ comedy pilot), a semifinalist at Sundance Episodic Lab. Acting credits include Broadway: POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, (Shubert Theatre); Off-Broadway: Persian Pod (Ars Nova), Bismillah (Wild Project), and The Welcoming Committee (The Lark); TV and Film: Girls on the Bus (HBO Max), Evil (Paramount+), Ahamed’s Ramadan Diary (Comedy Central), and Eradication (Tubi). Abdinezhad is also a co-creator with Dalia Ashurina on an exciting ½ hour comedy pilot, Understudies

KAREN ALLEN* (Em, Lunar Eclipse)

Karen Allen worked for the first time with Shakespeare & Company in 1988 when she played Rosalind in As You Like It and is delighted to be doing a play again in the Berkshires. Other theater performances include The Monday After the Miracle (Broadway), Extremities, The Miracle Worker, The Country Girl, Speaking in Tongues, The Glass Menagerie, Beautiful Bodies, Temporary Help and most recently A Summer Day at the Cherry Lane in NYC. She has starred in over fifty films including Animal House, The Wanderers, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Starman, Scrooged, The Glass Menagerie, White Irish Drinkers, Bad Hurt, Colewell, A Year By the Sea and A Stage of Twilight, and has played in many television films and shows.

As a director in theater she directed productions of Moonchildren, The Batting Cage, Extremities, Ashville, Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and Outside Mullingar. Karen directed her first short film “A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud” based on a Carson McCullers’ short story several years ago, and is planning to direct a feature film based on Joan Ackermann’s play The Batting Cage in 2024.

AMY ALTADONNA she / her (Sound Designer, Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise) S&Co: King Lear, The Chairs, Time Stands Still, Merry Wives of Windsor, The Children, HIR, Creditors, Heisenberg, 4000 Miles, The Wharton Comedies, God of Carnage, Or, Ugly Lies the Bone, The Taming, The Unexpected Man, Red Velvet NYC: Eureka Day, Joan, Cal in Camo, Dry Land, Seven Minutes in Heaven, (Colt Coeur), Unraveled, Pressing Matters (MBL Productions), American Daughter, Glengarry Glen Ross (NYU Tisch). Regional: All’s Well That Ends Well (OSF), Dear Elizabeth (Dorset Theatre Festival), Julius Caesar (Actors Shakespeare Project), How I Learned to Drive (Round House, MD), Our Town (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Death of a Salesman, Fences, The Hampton Years (Virginia Stage Company), Peter and the Starcatcher, Skin of Our Teeth, (Perseverance Theater). She is Undergraduate Program Director at the University of Massachusetts. amyaltadonnasounddesign.com Thank you to my incredible daughter...life is most joyous with you.

KATE KOHLER AMORY she / her (Associate Director, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II]) Kate Kohler Amory is an award-winning, multi-hyphenate theater maker and professor. Some of her favorite directing/devising credits include: This Is It Shakespeare & Company: Plays in Process; Midsummer Nights: Dream Love Escape, The Birds, Romeo and Juliet: A Space Oddity (The Ridiculous Project); Dog Act, Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, The Mermaid Hour: Remixed, Midsummer Night’s Dream (Boston Conservatory Berklee); Macbeth, Big Love, Ghosts of Troy, The Wolves, Comedy of Errors (Salem State University) and Hamlet (Brandeis University, co-directed). Kate is Founding Artistic Director of The Ridiculous Project, and Professor of Movement and Acting for Boston Conservatory Berklee. MFA Naropa University, MA RADA/ Kings College, BFA Goldsmiths College London. Kate is a master teacher of the Acrobat of the Heart psychophysical actor training, is certified in Trish Arnold Pure Movement, DE-SMTT: Somatic Movement Educator and CYT. Acting and other credits can be found at katekohleramory.com

NICOLE ANSARI* she / her (Nasrin, Three Tall Persian Women [Plays in Process]) Nicole Ansari is happy to be back at Shakespeare & Company after performing here last year in the Irish play The Approach. Her career started in European theatre and film and has expanded to many countries, languages and cultures. She performed with the famed theatre du Soleil under Ariane Mnouchkine, both in Paris and on tour and has starred in numerous plays at the Public Theatre in Vienna, in Zuerich, London and NY (Irma la douce; Much Ado About Nothing; Hamlet; Daybreak; I am Antigone, etc). Nicole originated her role in Tom Stoppard’s Rock N’ Roll, directed by Trevor Nunn at the Royal Court in London and went on to perform in the West end and on Broadway. Her most recent creation is the multimedia show She/Her which started at PS21, Performance space for the 21st Century and had a successful run at the Assembly rooms at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023. A version with Iranian women’s voices is commissioned by La Mama in NYC for this Nov/ Dec. Nicole also starred in Joshua Sobol’s Sinners at the Playground Theatre in London, directed by her husband Brian Cox and worked with Waterwell at Here Arts NYC in Stephano Massini’s 7 Minutes. She most recently filmed the feature What a Feeling in Vienna. Current Films VOD: the Civil Right’s drama Son of the South (executive

produced by Spike Lee); Remember Me with Bruce Dern; and Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects. TV: Succession (HBO); Law and Order (Peacock); Hit and Run (Netflix), FBI (CBS). Directing credits: Messy (Best Director Award at the British Web fest & Socially Relevant Film Festival); The Dhammapada and the prelude to John Taverner’s Quartett: Towards Silence (both at the Rubin Museum of Art); Tina Goes to Town; Padim at PS3. Producing credits: Blumenthal; As Good as Dead; the upcoming Glenrothan directed by Brian Cox. Upcoming: “The Score”, directed by Trevor Nunn at the Theatre Royal in Bath, UK. Nicole also started an online community for creators called “actors rising.” More Information on her work atnicoleansari.com or on IMDB.

Stage and before that, assisted at Center Theatre Group and Cornerstone Theatre. She is also an Alum of UC Irvine, Claire Trevor School of the Arts

DALIA ASHURINA she / her (Directing Consultant, Three Tall Persian Women [Plays in Process]) Dalia currently serves as the Associate Director on Sweeney Todd on Broadway. Previous to ST, she served as the Resident Director of Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theater. Her directing focuses on explosive theatricality and changing the narrative on Middle Eastern women. Her most recent new play development work has been seen at Wayward Artists Ensemble, SF Playhouse, Dixon Place, Access Theatre, and heard on the Parsnip Ship Radio Theatre Podcast. She is an alumnus of the Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship in Directing at Arena

ELIZABETH ASPENLIEDER* (Titania, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Director of Sponsorships, Groups & Special Events) S&Co: Over 40 productions: The Approach, The Waverly Gallery, HIR, God of Carnage; Mother of the Maid (pre–Broadway, originated Lady of the Court); Vanya and Sonia 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 (final performance at The Mount). Regional: Silverthorne Theatre: The Cake; Great Barrington Public Theatre: Queen of the Sea, Wet Ink reading series; 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. Berkshire Playwrights Lab: Radius series, Gala’s etc.; Directing: Merchant of Venice (Assistant Dir, Tina Packer Dir.). Indy Films: Trigger Finger; Seriously Twisted. Voice Over actor/producer: TV, cartoons, radio, and the audiobooks: Choosing Joy: Alzheimer’s -- a Book of Hope; and Peregrine Island.) Producer Feature films: Cold Wallet (in post w/ Joshua

Brener), Onyx The Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (2023 Sundance, BIFF, etc.); The Secret Art of Human Flight (2023 Tribeca FF, w/ Lucy DeVito, Paul Raci); Skelly (in post 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, The Cutting Room NYC), Living the Dream (by Mark Roberts, reading series 52nd Street Project). Lizzy’s performance is dedicated to Tina Packer, mentor, confident, inspiration, and kick-ass girlfriend!

MARTIN JASON ASPREY (Violence Designer, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] ) Martin J. Asprey just graduated with an MFA in directing from Texas State University. He has been an acting coach and text teacher for the past 20 years, a Shakespeare scholar, and has acted in over 20 Shakespeare professional productions. He is a stage fight teacher and choreographer. He’s directed many theater productions, and helped produce and direct a one-woman show called NOW starring TAMIR, that was voted one of the best shows in the Berkshires. He also directed and wrote two short indie films in the last two year’s titled Bicycle Pump and Mojo’s Three Words that were accepted in many film festivals and won awards including best short in London. He's appeared in many a Shakespeare & Company productions, including Mercutio (Romeo & Juliet), Edgar (King Lear), and Hamlet (Hamlet).

STEPHEN D. BALL (General Manager) Steve has a Bachelor’s in Technical Theatre and a Master’s in Business from the University of Miami plus a Master of Fine Arts, set design, from New York University’s Tisch School, and has participated in Executive Education in non-profit management at Harvard’s Kennedy School. After an internship at the Greater Miami Opera, Steve has been freelance set & lighting designer for theatre and dance, box office manager, charge artist, carpenter, and company manager, with set and/or lighting designs in Boston, Falmouth, Foxboro, and Lenox, Mass.; Sharon, Conn.; New York, NY; New Hope, Pa.; Marietta, Ga.; and Miami, FL. Steve has consulted on home, theater, and museum design projects. At Shakespeare & Company, Steve has been Production Manager, Company Manager, Set Designer, Lighting Designer, Theatre Designer, HR Officer, General Manager and Interim Managing Director, all the time helping to coordinate the company’s multi-faceted, multidepartmental activities.

Part II]; Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Sheila Bandyopadhyay is a multi-hyphenate theater artist who, after 18 years in Brooklyn, NY, is delighted to be marking her first year as Shakespeare & Company’s Director of the Center of Actor Training. Movement Direction: Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare & Company); Macbeth (The Humanist Project); Mother Courage and her Children, The Cherry Orchard (American Academy of Dramatic Arts Company); Hamlet, Measure for Measure (NYU Gallatin); Twelfth Night (FSU Conservatory/ Asolo Rep). In New York, Sheila has directed shows at the Brick, the United Solo Festival (Theater Row), the Tank, the Women in Theater Festival (the Gural), the West End Theater, and the 72nd St Theater Lab. Favorite roles include Stephano in The Tempest (Stages on the Sound), Tamora in Titus Andronicus (The Humanist Project) and Bianca/Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew (Tempest Ladies). Sheila is a proud member of the Humanist Project and a sponsored artist with Leviathan Lab.

NIA SAFARR BANKS^ (Costume Designer, August Wilson’s Fences) Nia Safarr Banks is a Costume Designer from Richmond, Virginia. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is currently studying to receive her Master of Fine Arts at Boston University. She was nominated in 2019 for Richmond Critic Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design in a Play An Octoroon (TheatreLab), and Outstanding Achievement in Costume

Design in a Play A Christmas Kaddish (Richmond Triangle Player). Her credits include: August Wilson’s Seven Guitars (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), Passover (American Shakespeare Center), and The Barber of Seville (The Santa Fe Opera).

GLENN BARRETT he / him (Cardinal / Horner, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] {understudy}) Glenn has been performing on stages throughout the Berkshires, New York, Connecticut and abroad since 1969. In New York at La Mama ETC., The Manhattan Theater Club, and in the New York Shakespeare Festival Tony Award winning revival of Threepenny Opera. Regionally with Longwharf Theatre, Riggs Theatre 37, Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park, Great Barrington Public Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Walking the Dog Theatre, Mixed Company and Barrington Stage. Finally, way back in 1985 with Shakespeare & Co. in their Salon Plays In One Door and Out the Other, Songs from the Heart, 2019’s production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, and last season in Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues for which he was nominated for a Berkshire Critics Award.

ELLIE BARTZ she / her (Hippolyta / Snout, A Midsummer Night's Dream {understudy}) Ellie is an actor and theatre education artist who is proud to teach for many of Shakespeare & Company’s education programs, including The Fall Festival of Shakespeare, Riotous Youth, and the Spring Residencies. She also teaches Creative Movement for Berkshire Music School’s summer program, and has been a teaching artist/ director for Portland Playhouse’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare and summer education programs at Advice To The Players in Sandwich, NH and The Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY. Past credits include MaryAnne, When We Were Young And Unafraid (reading, S&Co), Isabella, Measure for Measure (Advice to the Players), Tranio/Widow, The Taming of the Shrew (Advice to the Players), Jaquenetta, Love’s Labors Lost (Advice to the Players), Desdemona, Othello (Hampshire Shakespeare Company). Training: S&Co 2017 January Intensive; BA in Theatre and English Literature, Ohio Wesleyan University.

SHEILA BANDYOPADHYAY she / her (Director of Actor Training; Associate Director, The Contention [Henry VI,

In the words of Shakespeare, you can never have “too much of a good thing"

CHRISTINA BEAM she / her (Costume Designer, Lunar Eclipse)

Christina Beam is a New York- and New England - based costume designer and technician whose work spans theater, opera, dance and film. Christina holds an MFA in costume design from UMass Amherst, having completed an assistantship that included rigorous work in costume construction. Some of her recent design credits include Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge (UMass), Re/ Emergence (The Re/Emergence Collective), The Tempest (Hartt), A Walk in the Woods (Shakespeare & Company), The Mystery of Irma Vep (Silverthorne Theater Company), Pride@Prejudice (Chester Theatre Company), Matilda (Wheelock Family Theatre), and Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight (Duende Productions). Her designs for The Lily’s Revenge were included in the Emerging Artist Exhibit at the 2019 USITT Conference and also at the 2019 Prague Quadrennial, and they were recently displayed as part of the 2022 World Stage Design Emerging Artist Exhibit in Calgary. Her costumes for the In the Woods photography project were selected to be featured as part of the 2023 USITT/USA

Prague Quadrennial Emerging Artist Exhibit, which were displayed at the USITT conference in March and will be displayed again at the 2023 Prague Quadrennial in July. Christina is also currently working as the Costume Shop Supervisor at Western Connecticut State University. For further examples of her work, please visit christinabeamdesign.com.

DAVID BERTOLDI he / him (Henry VI, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II ) S&Co: Albany/ Oswald (King Lear), Don Bowman (The Waverly Gallery), Mr. Knightley (Emma; staged reading), Mr. Wickham (Pride & Prejudice; staged reading), Berowne (Love’s Labor’s Lost), Oberon ( A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Romeo (Romeo & Juliet; NE Regional Tour); Brown/ Trinity Rep MFA: Cloten/ Cymbeline (Imogen Project), Eric Glass (u/s The Inheritance); GhostLit Rep: Tommy McCorkle (Pterodactyls), Antonio (The Tempest); WAM Theatre: Calvin (REALLY; reading); 13th Street Rep: Prudblood (Waste, Fraud and Abuse). Other credits include: Tartuffe (Tartuffe), Emcee (Cabaret), Seymour (Little Shop of Horrors). David is an MFA Acting candidate at Brown/ Trinity Rep and is a proud alumnus of S&Co’s Education and Training programs.

RAYE BIRK* (Old Man, The Aves [Plays in Process]) Mr. Birk has worked in regional theatres throughout the country including playing 9 seasons with the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and 15 seasons at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, appearing in productions of The Sunshine Boys, The Crucible, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Othello, A Delicate Balance, Faith Healer, Pride and Prejudice, 1776, The Great Gatsby, The Winter’s Tale, Pygmalion, Macbeth, and nearly 500 performances as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. He performed with Mark Rylance in New York and London’s West End in the Guthriespawned production of Nice Fish. Mr. Birk played at the Chester Theatre in Massachusetts In Curve of Departure.

During his 20 years in Los Angeles he appeared in nearly 150 television show, including recurring roles on LA Law, The Wonder Years, Coach, Cheers and Golden Girls, Babylon 5, X-Files, Seinfeld, and Star Trek. His feature films include Naked Gun, Doc Hollywood, Throw Momma from the Train and A Serious Man.

REED BIRNEY* (George, Lunar Eclipse)

Reed Birney is a New York - based actor who made his film debut in 1980 in Arthur Penn and Steve Tesich’s Four Friends. Recent films include Fran Kranz’s Mass (Independent Spirit’s Robert Altman Award, Gotham Award Nomination), The Menu, The Hunt, The 40-Year-Old-Virgin and Bess Wohl’s Baby Ruby. He will next appear in Part Two of Kevin Costner’s epic four-part film, Horizon. On television he has been seen in House of Cards, Lost Girls, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Americans, Poker

Face, Succession, High Maintenance, Titans, and The Blacklist. On stage, he last appeared with his son, Ephraim, at The Irish Rep in Joseph Dougherty’s Chester Bailey, which they had previously performed at Barrington Stage in the summer of 2021. Other New York appearances include Robert Icke’s production of Orwell’s 1984; Casa Valentina (Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Award); Gemini; Picnic; Uncle Vanya (Drama Desk Nomination); Blasted (Drama Desk Nomination); Circle Mirror Transformation (OBIE, Drama Desk Awards). 2006 OBIE for Sustained Excellence. 2011 Drama Desk Award for Career Excellence. 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

(Off the Map) Directing: 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.

ARIEL BOCK (Producing Associate; Director, Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise; Vocal Coach, A Midsummer Night's Dream) 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

PATRICK BRENNAN he / him (Set Designer, Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Golda’s Balcony; Props Charge) S&Co Set Design: Much Ado About Nothing, Morning After Grace, Mothers and Sons, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Roman Fever / Fullness of Life, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, The How and the Why, Henry V, Mother of the Maid, Shakespeare’s Will, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Private Eyes, Master Class, Heroes, Beauty Queen of Leenane, Accomplice, Cassandra Speaks, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Parasite Drag, 39 Steps, Santaland Diaries, Private Lives, The Learned Ladies, Women of Will, The Memory of Water, The Hollow Crown, Red Hot Patriot: The Kick–Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, War of the Worlds (Bernstein Theatre); Mother Courage, Richard III, The Winter’s Tale, The Liar (Tina Packer Playhouse). Designer & Performer: Dibble Dance (Tina Packer Playhouse & Colonial Theatre). Patrick holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design from Academy of Art College, San Francisco. Other work includes Laura Ashley, Pierre-Deux, Anthropologie.

ALLYN BURROWS* he / him (Artistic Director; Suffolk, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II]; Director, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) S&Co: Director: The Tempest (2017), As You Like It (2018), Twelfth Night (2019). Shakespeare & Company performances: 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, and Don’t Look Up.

CAROLINE CALKINS* she / her (Bernardo / Rosencrantz, Hamlet S&Co: Time Stands Still, Love’s Labor’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Emperor of the Moon, Henry V, and others Caroline has taught for many years in S&Co’s Education Program, including directing in the Fall Festival of Shakespeare (20112018) and performing in the Northeast Regional Tours of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Macbeth She recently performed at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and the Theater at Woodshill. Caroline is a collaborator with the rig, an arts collective based in the Berkshires. BA: Brown University; MA: Emerson College. Other training: National Theatre Institute.

NANCY CALLESEN she / her (Titania, A Midsummer Night’s Dream {understudy}) Nancy Callesen is a native Austinite who travels about the Northeast and is happy to

have the Berkshires as her current home. She was most recently in the world premier play The End of the World As We Knew It (Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theater). Independent Film: A Sun-Dried Cycle, Sinking Ships. TV: Commercial and music video productions. She is grateful the path taken has allowed her return to her love of theater and acting with a soundtrack provided by guitar and voice lessons.

MACONNIA

CHESSER she / her

(The Center for Actor Training’s Administrative Director; Producer, Plays in Process) S&Co: An Iliad (Berkshire Theatre Award for Outstanding Solo Performance), King Lear, The Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It, Intimate Apparel, Henry VI.six (Tygre’s Heart, A Pair of Molehills... Boys of York, Queen Meg), Pride & Prejudice, Lovers’ Spat (2017 & 2018), Winter Studio Festival of Plays, Fringe Festival producer (2017, 2018, 2019).

AIDEN CHALFONTE he / him (Henry VI, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] {understudy}; Theseus / Demetrius, A Midsummer Night's Dream {understudy}) Aiden is wicked excited to be a part of the Shakespeare & Company this season! He is a recent graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, where he most recently directed a production of Macbeth. His acting credits at SLC include Into the Woods, The Moors, and Three Sisters Other credits include A Mouthful of Birds (BADA), The Tempest, Spring Awakening (Ghostlit Rep), A Christmas Carol (BTG), and Bye Bye Birdie (BSC). Training includes the British American Drama Academy and Shakespeare & Company. Much love to Momma!

REGIONAL: Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, WAM Theatre, Ancram Opera House, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Kennedy Center, NJ Rep (company member), Theater Alliance (Insurrection: Holding History, Helen Hayes nomination), Ensemble Studio Theatre, Tennessee Shakespeare, Chester Theatre, Berkshire Playwrights Lab, York Shakespeare, African Continuum Theatre, & Totem Pole Playhouse.

FILM/TV: The Shape of Destiny (Official selection, 2018 Women in Comedy Festival), Nothing But the Truth, Ghosts of Hamilton Street, Diseasels, HBO’s “The Wire.” Education: S&Co, National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, Alcorn State University. UPCOMING: The Poet in An Iliad with Advice to the Players. For my mom Dorothy D. Scott Chesser, and my friend Dennis Krausnick.

Ruta (Working Theater), The First Noel (Classical Theatre of Harlem / The Apollo), On the Levee (Lincoln Center), The Merry Wives of Windsor, Two Gentlemen of Verona (Public/ NYSF). Regional includes: The West End (Cincinnati Playhouse), Two Trains Running (Pittsburgh Public), Ghosts of the Diaspora (Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Royale (Cleveland Play House), The Nest (Denver Center Theatre), The Bluest Eye (Huntington), Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (Huntington Theater, Studio Theatre DC), King Hedley II, Seven Guitars, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Two River Theater), Fences, A Raisin in the Sun (Geva Theater), Distant Fires (People’s Light and Theater), Clybourne Park (Caldwell Theatre), The Wedding Gift, pen/ man/ship (Contemporary American Theatre Fest), Count (PlayMakers Rep). TV includes: “Queens”, “FBI”, “Law & Order”, “Law & Order: SVU”, “JAG”, “Blue Bloods”, “The Sopranos”, “Boardwalk Empire”, “Luke Cage”, and “The Blacklist”.

is a University of Pennsylvania alum and a recent graduate of Brown/ Trinity Rep’s MFA Acting program. In the fall of 2020, Kalyne was chosen to participate in ABC’s Discovers Showcase. Her Off-Broadway credits include: Four, What To Send Up When It Goes Down (BAM), Lorraine H. & Nikki G., Lessons in Survival (Vineyard Theater); and Leigh, America v. 2.1 The Sad Demise and Eventual Extinction of the American Negro (Barrington Stage). She sends unbounded gratitude to her incredible parents, family, and friends for their unconditional love and support.

KALYNE COLEMAN* she / her (Young Woman, The Aves [Plays in Process]) Kalyne was born and raised in Richmond, Va. She can be seen in a major recurring role on AMC’s hit drama series Interview with the Vampire, based on the acclaimed film of the same name and written by Rolin Jones. She can be seen in guest star roles on CBS’ hit series So Help Me Todd and Evil. Kalyne

KEVIN G. COLEMAN Founding Member (Director of Education; Board of Trustees; Co-Director / Producer, Speak What We Feel; Director, Hamlet; York / Dick the Butcher, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] {understudy}) 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 M.I.T., 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

BRIAN D. COATS* (Gabriel, August Wilson’s Fences) Broadway: August Wilson’s Jitney (National Tour). Off-Broadway includes: The Best We Could (Manhattan Theatre Club), La

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.

MAEGAN A. CONROY* she / her (Stage Manager, August Wilson’s Fences, Hamlet) Maegan is thrilled to be returning to Shakespeare & Company! Selected previous credits include Much Ado about Nothing, Creditors, Ugly Lies the Bone (Shakespeare & Company); Fairview (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches, The Chinese Lady, Guards at the Taj (Central Square Theater); The Legend of Georgia McBride (Greater Boston Stage Company); The Effect, A Measure of Normalcy (Gloucester Stage Company); Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End, The Rise and Fall of Holly Fudge, Wild Horses, Until the Flood, Nina Simone: Four Women, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, Tiny Beautiful Things, Cry It Out, The Heath, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Native Gardens, The Royale (Merrimack Repertory Theatre). Maegan received her BFA in Stage Management from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Maegan and her husband live with their dog in Lowell, MA. Maegan is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

BLAKE HAMILTON CURRIE

(Demetrius, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Warwick / Holland, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] {understudy}) Blake Hamilton Currie is incredibly excited to be making his Shakespeare & Company debut! Blake is an actor based out of Chicago, Illi., and is a recent graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, having received his Master of Fine Arts degree in acting this past summer. Some of his most recent theatre credits include: Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It (Tennessee Shakespeare Company) TopDog/UnderDog, Three Antarcticas, Sweat, Do You Feel Anger? (The Theatre School of DePaul) and the world premiere play Buried Deep (Endstation Theatre).

JAVIER DAVID* (Theseus / Flute, A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Javier David is excited to be making Shakespeare & Company debut! He is a California-born-and-raised actor based in New York City. Credits include: Clyde’s (The Huntington Theatre), Do You Feel Anger?, (Kitchen Theater Company), Witch (The Huntington Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Classical Theatre of Harlem), A Dollzes House (Signature Theatre), Cold Read Festival (Syracuse Stage), The Rocky Horror Show (Artist Repertory Theatre), Almost, Maine (L.A. Theatre Center), Commedia (Atelier Teatro Fisico), In The Red And Brown Water (Columbia University), A Street Car Named Desire (Columbia University), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Columbia University). Film: The Changeling (Apple TV). Javier received his M.F.A in Acting from Columbia University (2019) and his B.A. in Theatre with an emphasis in Performance from San Diego State University (2016).

ritual to breathe new life into physical storytelling. He is the Associate Artistic Director of On The Verge Theatre Company-Santa Barbara, a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellow, Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellow, and Soul Directing Resident with the National Black Theatre. He received an MFA from Brown/ Trinity Rep in Directing and a BA from UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. Recent work: Clyde’s (Alabama Shakes), Clyde’s (Arkansas Rep), AMANI (NBT/ Rattlestick), Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (TheatreWorksUSA), Omar Offrendum’s Little Syria (BAM), Asst. Director - Mr. Saturday Night ( Broadway). josiahdavis.net

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JOSIAH DAVIS † he / him (Director, The Aves [Plays in Process]) Josiah Davis is a director, choreographer, performer, designer whose work intersects expressive movement, live music, emerging technology, and

BRENDAN F DOYLE^ he / him (Sound Designer, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Brendan F Doyle is a sound designer, engineer, and artisan working primarily in live performance applications: theatrical sound design, live music, and bespoke audio objects. He holds a MSC in Sound Design from the University of Edinburgh, and a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology from Emerson College. His work has been heard in bars, basements, chapels, and concert halls: He has also worked

in theatres, at improvised venues of all sorts, and across the internet. Previous projects with Shakespeare & Company include Hymn, The Approach, hang, Art, Topdog/ Underdog, The Waverly Gallery, and Macbeth. He is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local USA 829.

Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labor’s Lost, and God of Carnage (S&Co), The Magic Flute (UNCG Opera), Antigone, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (UNCG), Machinal and Casanova (UMass Amherst); props master at S&Co and the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts. Devon has also served as a production designer for S&Co’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare. She holds an MFA in Design from UNC-Greensboro’s School of Theatre and a BA from UMass-Amherst. Website: DevonDrohanDesigns.Weebly.com

Western Massachusetts. She recently completed a BA in Drama and Mandarin Chinese at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont. She is delighted to be having her first season working at Shakespeare & Company after many years of participating in the education programs as a student.

DEVON DROHAN she / her (Scenic Designer, Hamlet) Hailing from Westborough, Massachusetts, Devon has been involved in technical theater since the age of eight. Most recently she served as Adjunct Professor at BCC as well as UAlbany. She received the BroadwayWorld Berkshires 2021 Award for best Scenic Design of a Play/Musical for her design of S&Co’s production of BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girls Journey. Other professional and academic credits include scenic design for A Walk in the Woods,

LYDIA DUFF she / they (Louise, Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise {understudy}; Jourdan / Vaux, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] {understudy}; Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream {understudy}) Lydia Duff is a theater artist based in

DENNIS EBERT JR. he / him (Assistant Stage Manager, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) 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. Previous S&Co credits include Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues, hang, Coriolanus, The Waverly Gallery and others.

SARAH EDKINS she / her (Set Designer, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] ) Sarah Edkins is a set designer based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from London, England she started her theater career there as a puppeteer. Sarah has designed sets internationally, including three versions of The Return Of The Exile, in New York, London and Athens. Sarah worked five seasons as Resident Set Designer for Shakespeare-OnThe-Sound in Rowayton, CT. In 1991 she was awarded a Theater Communications Group NEA design fellowship. Sarah has designed numerous projects at The Ancram Opera House including An Iliad, which was also produced at Shakespeare & Co. last year. In 2022 Sarah designed sets for Invasion and Still Life at Ancram Opera House, a new musical based on Pride and Prejudice, and two new Italian

annieselke.com

ANNIE SELKE SHOP • 36 MAIN ST, LENOX, MA THE OUTLET @ PINE CONE HILL • 125 PECKS RD, PITTSFIELD, MA

plays in NYC. For more information, please visit sarahedkinsdesign.com.

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

CHRISTOPHER V. EDWARDS

(Director, August Wilson’s Fences)

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

CAROLINE ENG she / her (Sound Designer, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] ) Caroline Eng is a sound designer and podcast engineer based in New York. Selected Sound Design credits: Little Women (Theaterworks, UCCS), Three Sisters (Two River Theatre), Belfast Girls (Irish Rep), A Christmas Carol (Trinity Rep), The Late Wedding (Brown University/ Trinity Rep), Popcorn Falls (Greater Boston Stage Company), Twelfth Night (Theatreworks, UCCS) Selected Assistant Design credits: Bring Down The House (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Fefu and Her Friends (Theatre For A New Audience) Selected Training: Fordham College At Lincoln Center (NY). Connect at carolineengdesign.com

JONATHAN EPSTEIN* he / they (Humphrey of Gloucester, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] ) S&Co: Jonny has directed or acted in more than 60 S&Co productions since 1987, including last year’s A Walk in the Woods and previously Creditors, Henry V, Merchant of Venice, Tempest, Cymbeline, Midsummer, Merry Wives, Private Eyes, Brief Lives, Heroes, An Iliad and the title roles in King Lear, Henry IV, Richard III and Macbeth. In 1990, he created the role of The Men in Tina Packer’s original Women of Will. He has performed on and off-Broadway and at scores of regional theatres around the country including Berkshire Theatre Festival (Amadeus, Cuckoo’s Nest, Via Dolorosa, Educating Rita...) and ART (Merchant of Venice, Phaedra, Paradise Lost, Picasso at the Lapin Agile ). He is a two-time recipient of the Elliot Norton Award and is Teaching Professor of Classical Performance at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training where he adapted and directed their production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. This year he was the recipient of FSU’s Outstanding Graduate Teacher Award. Jonny and his wife Ariel Bock met onstage during The Aspern Papers (1991).

[Plays in Process]) Ellena Eshraghi is an Iranian-American actor and writer from Southern California. She graduated in May 2022 from NYU Tisch with a BFA in Drama and Dramatic Writing. Off Broadway: Hound Dog (Ars Nova), Erastes (The Wild Project). Film: Mean Girls: The Musical (Paramount). She recently wrote and acted in the pilot Minor Inconvenience. She is thrilled to be working with Shakespeare & Company this summer.

GINA FONSECA* she / her (First Fairy / Philostrate / Snug, A Midsummer Night's Dream) Gina Fonseca is a Cuban-American actor and creative based in NYC. Previous credits: Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare & Company), Witch (Huntington Theatre Company); Fade (Kitchen Theatre Company); Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Florida Premiere, Zoetic Stage at The Adrienne Arsht Center); Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Workshop Premiere, Off the Grid Theatre Company); Photograph 51, Antigone, Time Stands Still, The Clean House, Measure for Measure (Boston University); The Tempest (Shakespeare Academy @Stratford); BFA Acting, Boston University. ginafonseca.com

ELLENA ESHRAGHI* she / her (Golnar, Three Tall Persian Women

the author of a dozen plays, most notably The Miracle Worker and Two for the Seesaw, and several books, the fattest being A Mass for the Dead. For more than 50 years, he has been a resident of Stockbridge with his wife Dr. Margaret Brenman and their two sons. In recent years he has been working on a posthumous book, hopefully endless.

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.

Midsummer Night’s Dream; Macbeth, Macbeth at Colorado Shakes. Squeers/Hawk, Nicholas Nickleby at The Lyric, Boston. Lyman Felt, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan at Oldcastle, VT: Scrooge, Christmas Carol; Caesar, Julius Caesar; Orlando Shakes. Brutus, Julius Caesar at Prague Shakes. Women of Will: USA, World Tour. TV & Film: Bedlam: The Series, Cold Wallet.

PTAH GARVIN (Marcellus / Guildenstern, Hamlet ) Ptah Garvin is blessed to be back at Shakespeare & Company. Originally from Atlanta, GA, Ptah is grateful with the opportunity to join this amazing cast. He is a 2022 graduate the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training where he received his MFA in acting. Some of his previous credits: Shakespeare & Company Northern Eastern Tour of R&J, Texas Shakespeare Festival (Comedy of Errors, Lear, Something Rotten) Pipeline (The Warehouse Theatre) Our Town, Twilight Los Angelos 1992. Ptah wants to thank his family, friends, and the good lord above for his talents and continued support. “Believe in yourself or no one else will.” Love you mommy!

DANIEL GIDRON † (Director, Golda’s Balcony ) 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 Boston UMass. In Israel he has directed for Habimah National Theatre, Haifa Municipal Theatre, Arab Theatre in Israel ( 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, and Nora Theatre Company, where he served as

NIGEL GORE* (York / Dick the Butcher, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II]; Oberon, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Claudius, Hamlet ) S&Co, recent: Leonato, Much Ado About Nothing; Gloucester, King Lear; Prospero, The Tempest; Belarius/ Doctor, Cymbeline; Falstaff Merry Wives; George, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Actor) at the Public Theatre Boston. Off-Broadway: Voltaire Emilie with Duende; Dr. Rank, A Doll’s House; Ostermark, The Father; at TFANA. Pickering, Pygmalion; Col. Brandon, Sense & Sensibility; Dorn, The Seagull with Bedlam. Regional: Killigrew, Nell Gwynn; Enobarbus, Antony & Cleopatra at The Folger in DC. Richard, Richard III (Westword Denver; Best Actor); Bottom, A

DAVID GOW* he / him (Jack Ludwig, Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise; Horatio; Hamlet) FILM: The Intruder, Chrissy Judy (Apple TV) TV: The Girls on the Bus (HBO), The Good Fight, Madam Secretary (CBS), Jon Glaser Loves Gear (truTV). NY Theater: Burning Leaves (Duke Theater), Chokehold (14th St. Y), What I First Desired (Soho Playhouse), Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone (Workshop Theater), Bleach (Wilson’s Lounge); Decky Does a Bronco (Royal Family Productions), REGIONAL: Measure for Measure, Mothers and Sons, Waverly Gallery (Shakespeare & Company), Up The Hill (Eugene O’Neill Center), Peter and the Starcatcher (SPAC), Pirira, Giant Void in my Soul, The Ground on Which We Stand (Luna Stages), The Group (Great Barrington Public), Why Do You Stand There In The Rain

WILLIAM GIBSON (Playwright, Golda’s Balcony ) William Gibson is

(Edinburgh Fringe), Scooter Thomas Makes It To The Top of the World (Hollywood Fringe); David holds a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Love to OTC.

AMY HANDELSMAN she / her (Managing Director) Amy Handelsman has more than two decades of diverse experience in theater, dance, film, and television, particularly in the areas of nonprofit management, business development, and strategic planning. She was Managing Director of GALLIM in Brooklyn N.Y.; Executive Director of David Dorfman Dance; Executive Director of United States Mind Sports Association (USMSA) and United States Poker Federation (USPF), and Creative Director of the Showtime Development Project at Center Theatre Group. She also served as a story executive, producer, curator, dramaturge, project manager, and consultant for a wide range of clients including Disney, Warner Bros., Tri-Star, PBS, and HBO. She is on the Artistic Council of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s Playwrights Conference, and holds a MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Stony Brook University, and a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Fine Arts from Harvard University.

DANA M. HARRISON* (Gertrude, Hamlet ) Dana M. Harrison is a Berkshires-based theatre artist, educator and coach, who considers Shakespeare & Company her artistic home. Since 2007 she’s trained, performed, and taught frequently with all three departments of the company-including directing for the Fall Festival of Shakespeare many times. Favorite acting roles with S&Co include Amanda (Private Lives), Philaminte (The Learned Ladies), Isabelle/Sabine (The Liar ), Phoebe ( As You Like It ), Lady Cynthia (The Real Inspector Hound ), Emilia/Mopsa (The Winter’s Tale), Nerine (Scapin), and u/s-performing Desdemona (Othello). She most recently played The Nurse/Lord Mont (R&J ) for The Rooted Voyagers; Ursula/Verges (Much Ado about Nothing) for New York’s Shakespeare on the Fly; and Edith Wharton (Mr. Fullerton) at The Great Barrington Public Theatre. Credits with other area companies such as WAM Theatre, Ghostlit Rep, Barrington Stage, Mixed Company, and Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park include: Malvolio (Twelfth Night ), Lucio/Froth (Measure for Measure), Alonzo (The Tempest ), Grace Duncan (Pterodactyls). She received the

Volatility Matters

Berkshire Theatre Award (or “Berkie”) for Best Supporting Actress as Esther/Myra (Holy Laughter ) at WAM; and has been listed in Berkshire Eagle’s Notable Performances multiple times. Dana holds a Master’s degree from Emerson College; is the Founding Director of Drama at the Berkshire Montessori School; and has coached dozens of students to acceptance at premiere BFA or MFA programs-and professional gigs-from national tours to roles on Broadway.

KEVIN HARVELL he / him

(Production Manager / Technical Director) Kevin holds a BFA in Theater Arts Production with a concentration in Technical Direction from Hofstra University. Prior to coming to Shakes & Co. Kevin was the Assistant Technical Director at Hangar Theater and Master Carpenter at North Shore Music Theater. While focusing in Production Management since 2016 he has also held the positions of Technical Director, Assistant Technical Director, Master Carpenter, and Fall Festival of Shakespeare Production Coordinator since arriving at the company in the fall of 2009. Kevin is a Certified EMT and has led the company’s COVID response. He also happens to be avid ski patroller in the winter.

LUKE HASKELL (Gloucester / Clifford, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] {understudy}; Egeus / Peter Quince, A Midsummer Night's Dream {understudy}) S&Co: 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), Boris (St. Petersburg: 1913, Winter Studio Festival of Plays), Gerald (Marcus is walking, Joan Ackermann: One Playwright, One Weekend ) Ensemble, (Shakespeare & The Language that Shaped a World ). The Conspirators (Chicago, IL.): Opposition Leader, (The InEptidemic.) Rooted Voyageurs: Benvolio/Friar Lawrence, (Romeo & Juliet). Advice to the Players: Duke Vincentio, (Measure for Measure), Lucentio (The Taming of the Shrew). Aglet Theater Company: Tom (These Shining Lives). UMass Theater Department: Dwight (Dead Man’s Cell Phone), Roland (Constellations), Van (Dog Sees God ), Stephano/Ensemble (The Merchant of Venice). Luke is an actor, writer, and musician who graduated from UMass Amherst in 2015 with a double major in Theater and Communication, where he acted in many performances

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and composed original music for productions of The Merchant of Venice and Romeo & Juliet. 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 is currently workshopping his play A Midsummer Night’s Nightmare, a spooky adaptation of the Shakespeare classic. Luke has worked for the education department at Shake&Co for the last few years, and is thrilled to be back at the Company for another summer.

DIANE HEALY* (Stage Manager, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) S&Co: (just a few) King Lear, Merry Wives, As You Like It, The Tempest, Red Velvet, Women of Will, Satchmo at the Waldorf, Hound of the Baskervilles, All’s Well That Ends Well. Diane is a NY based SM who has worked (extensively) with BEDLAM: Fall River Fishing, The Winter’s Tale, Hedda Gabler, Persuasion, The Crucible, Sense & Sensibility, Saint Joan, Hamlet, Pygmalion, Peter Pan, Cry Havoc!, Twelfth Night/What You Will. Also in NY with: TFANA, NAATCO, Clubbed Thumb, Radical Evolution/WP Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, Mabou Mines; Primary Stages; Playwrights Realm; Barrow Street Theatre; Atlantic Theatre Co., LCT3, LaMama, The Civilians. Regionally: Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Folger Theatre, Oldcastle Theatre Company, Princeton University, Bard College and East Tennessee State.

AMELIA HEASTINGS* (Stage Manager, Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise; Assistant Stage Manager, Golda's Balcony, Hamlet ) Amelia Heastings is excited to be joining the Shakespeare & Company team for her first time this Summer season! Favorite past credits include Murder on the Orient Express (Assistant Stage Manager) and The Tempest (Production Assistant) both with Pittsburgh Public Theater, Mountain Home Christmas (Assistant Stage Manager) with Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Much Ado About Nothing (Assistant Stage Manager) with Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, After Independence (Stage Manager) and As You Like It (Assistant Stage Manager) with Pittsburgh’s PICT Classic Theatre, and worked as Young Artist Supervisor with Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera for Peter Pan, Once, and the 2019 and 2021 productions of A Musical Christmas Carol

VI, Part II] ) S&Co: Much Ado About Nothing, Time Stands Still, Heisenberg, Cymbeline, The Tempest, Merchant of Venice, Two Gentlemen of Verona; Regional: Appropriate, SpeakEasy Stage; God’s Ear (Elliot Norton Award Best Actress & Best Production), Henry VIII, Pericles, Living In Exile, all for Actors’ Shakespeare Project; Rancho Mirage, New Repertory Theatre; Cabaret, American Repertory Theatre (IRNE Award Best Ensemble); Film/ TV: Sheepdog, Boston Strangler, Mother/Android, John And The Hole (2020 Cannes/2021 Sundance), The Equalizer 2, The Judge; “Defending Jacob”; “Bull”; “The Secret Life Of Marilyn Monroe”; “Olive Kitteridge”; “Chasing Life”, “Army Wives”, “One Life To Live”; Canadian TV: “Blue Murder (Series Lead), “The Associates” (Series Lead); MFA American Repertory Theatre. Tamara’s solo show, This Is It, was recently in residency at Central Square Theatre in Boston. It was also part of Shakespeare & Company’s inaugural Plays in Process Festival last July, as well as at the United Solo festival in NYC last fall. Instagram: @ thisisit_soloshow Facebook: This Is It

Lost in Yonkers. Everyman Theater: Behold, A Negress. American Repertory Theater: Hear Word

The Public Theater Under-The Radar Festival: Hear Word. John W. Engeman Theatre: On Your Feet

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival: Fences. Virginia Repertory Theatre: Chicken and Biscuits (Easter Regional Premiere) North Carolina Black Rep: Freedom Summer. Speakeasy Stage: Once on This Island. Lyric Stage Company of Boston: The Cake, Breath and Imagination. Actor’s Shakespeare Project: Nat Turner in Jerusalem

Moonbox Productions: Passing Strange. Boston Early Music Festival: Pimpinone and Ino. Dance: Modern Connections: Hot water over Raised Fists. HoldTight: Resident Lighting Designer and Company member. [TEACHING]: Boston University. Board Chair of Brighter Boston. Proud member of USA 829. IG: @ ajamjackson | ajajacksonlighting.com

AJA M. JACKSON^ she / her (Lighting Designer, August Wilson's Fences) [OFF-BROADWAY]: Rock and Roll Man (upcoming), A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet. Regional: Huntington: The Art Of Burning Hartford Stage: The Art of Burning,

L. JAMES* he / him (Warwick, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II]; Lyons, August Wilson’s Fences; Laertes, Hamlet ) S&Co Art. TV/Film Credits include: Law & Order, Zombie Wedding, FBI. Theater Credits: Backwards Forwards KCAB, The Agitators, Sender, Intimate Apparel, Hamlet, Sweat, The MotherF@cker with the Hat, ThreePenny Opera, and Angels in America.@picjames

TAMARA HICKEY* she / her (Margaret, The Contention [Henry

ERIKA JOHNSON she / her (Production Manager; Lighting Designer, Golda's Balcony ) Erika is excited to return to S&Co for a third 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.

Roles: Trinity Rep: By The Queen Brown/Trinity Rep: Siya, Soul Tapes; Somebody 1/Kinship/Strength/All The Shitty Evil Things You’ve Done to the World and Other People, Everybody Other Theaters: Booth, TopDog/ UnderDog; Citizen Barlow, August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean; Norfolk State University. JāQuan Malik Jones is an artist who is passionate about the black diaspora, which is entrenched in his coastal southeastern culture. He was born and reared in the city of Chesapeake in South Norfolk, Va., and is all about telling stories that are deeply founded in his own lived experiences, whether he is on stage, in front of the camera, or behind the camera. Quan is completely committed to passing it on and helping people through his art. JāQuan is an actor, writer, and creator who is currently pursuing his M.F.A. in acting at Brown University’s Trinity Repertory M.F.A. programs in Acting and Directing. Quan is the co-creator, writer, and producer of BILLIARDS, his signature body of work. IG @ jaquanmalikjones | @billiardsvmsoa

ELLA JOYCE* (Rose, August Wilson’s Fences) Regional Theatre has earned her many awards and citations for her work. Credits include: Having Our Say (Goodman Theatre), August Wilson’s King Hedley II at The Matrix (Los Angeles Ovation Award; LA Drama Critics Circle Nomination for the role of Ruby). Ella also played Tonya in the original production of King Hedley II at

the opening of the O’Reilly Pittsburg Public Theater, with Tony Todd. Ella originated the role of Risa in Two Trains Running directed by Lloyd Richards at Yale Rep. She also originated the role of Lily Ann Green in Lynne Nottage’s Crumbs From the Table Of Joy at Second Stage Theater (NYC) directed by Joe Morton, at South Coast Rep (CA), and at The Goodman Theater (Chicago) earning both a Jefferson Award and a Black Theater Alliance Award for the role. As a Beinecke Fellow at Yale Rep School Of Drama, Ella performed in Bossa Nova by Kirsten Greenidge which she also originated at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in Utah, and at Yale Rep. She is an original founding member of The National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, and has performed as a favorite at that festival for years. She performed with Ruby Dee at the Bermuda Arts Festival in Ron Milner’s Checkmates, directed by Woodie King, Jr. Last season, Ella performed in Fences at The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival alongside Tony Todd. Ella recently closed at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles to wonderful reviews in The First Deep Breath. Her love of theater has taken her to many regional theaters across the country, and overseas. Ella is affectionately known for her role of “Eleanor” in the family sitcom Roc Other select TV and film roles include My Wife and Kids, The Jamie Foxx Show, Seinfeld, Eve, Being Mary Jane, Tyler Perry‘s Temptation, Preacher’s Kid , Lucky Girl, Bubba Ho-Tep, Set It Off, Selma, Lord Selma , Nina , Catfish Christmas, Holiday Hideaway, Haus Of Vicious, and the MTV Award winning TLC Waterfalls video.

As a talented voiceover artist, she is heard on Audible Books-on-tape: Ron Milner’s Ruby McCollum Story, portraying the voice of Zora Neal Hurston produced by Susan Lowenberg’s Los

Angeles Theater Works, and BET’s Storyporch children reading series. More info available at EllaJoyce.com.

MICHELLE JOYNER she / her (Stage Directions, Three Tall Persian Women [Plays in Process]) Michelle Joyner is an actor, writer, and director and is always happy to be here at Shakespeare & Company! Last season Michelle played Anna in The Approach and directing credits at the company include The Waverly Gallery (Assoc. Dir. with Tina Packer), The Winter Studio Festivals of Plays, The Valentine’s Surprise Show (Co-dir. with Allyn Burrows). She just finished directing a critically acclaimed run of The Stones at The Great Barrington Public Theater, where last season she directed The Shot, starring Sharon Lawrence which has gone on to other award winning productions around the country. Locally she has acted and directed for The Radius Festival (Berkshire Playwrights Lab), and performed an original short play Asking for a Friend (Theater Fest), She/Her, directed by Nicole Ansari at PS21 and last season at The Edinburgh Festival, Scotland, and Annapurna at The Chester Theater. Notable stage roles include the premiere of Life Sentences by Richard Nelson at The Second Stage, NY (opposite Edward Herrmann) and Romeo and Juliet (opposite Michael Cerveris and Viggo Mortensen) at IRT. She has a prolific acting career in television and film and has written ten studio screenplays, and is a repeat performer at THE MOTH. michellejoyner.com

JĀQUAN MALIK JONES* he / him (Corey, August Wilson’s Fences)

15 Crissey Road Great Barrington, MA 01230

HOPE ROSE KELLY* (Stage Manager, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II], Golda’s Balcony, Lunar Eclipse)

S&Co: An Iliad, Measure for Measure, The Chairs, King Lear, Topdog/ Underdog, Macbeth, Heisenberg, Cymbeline, God of Carnage, Or, Two Gentleman of Verona, Complete 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: American Stage Company, Hartford Stage Company, Barrington Stage Company, Montana Repertory Theatre, WAM 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. Education: University of Toronto & Ithaca College. Based in Pittsfield, MA, Hope Rose is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and Stage Managers’ Association where she serves on the Board of Directors as Editor-in-Chief and International Cohort Chair. Follow @doctorstgmgr on Instagram.

JEFF KENT (George, Lunar Eclipse {understudy}) Jeff is delighted to return for his fifth season at Shakespeare & Company! Some favorite roles performed here include Jack Westgate in The International Episode directed by Normi Noel. Also, Pantalone in The Servant of Two Masters directed by Dan McCleary; The Judge in Kerfol directed by Michael Hammond and Grumio in The Tamer Tamed directed by Michael Burnet. Other recent roles include Lucky, in the Berkshire Theatre Group production of Moonchildren directed by Karen Allen. Also, Thomas Putnam in the Barrington Stage production of The Crucible directed by Julianne Boyd. Jeff has also enjoyed working with Kevin Coleman in several productions at Theatre 37, most recently as Pischik in The Cherry Orchard Jeff lives in Richmond Massachusetts with his lovely wife Morgan and “Buddy”, a Corgi and Border Collie Mix.

(Brothers Paranormal ), American Repertory Theater (Endlings), Page 73 (Today is My Birthday ), Actors Theater of Louisville (we, the invisibles), Huntington Theater (Tiger Style, Woman Warrior ), Artists at Play (Two Mile Hollow ), Alliance Theater (Tiger Style), Sundance Theater Lab (Today is My Birthday, A Cage of Fireflies),East West Players (over 30 productions), Kirk Douglas, Mark Taper Forum, Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Singapore Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, The Doolittle, LATC, Zephyr, LA Women’s Shakespeare Company, and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. Selected TV: Mrs. Kim in Gilmore Girls, All Rise The Good Doctor, The Resident, Drop Dead Diva, Sequestered and as Sister Veronica in the upcoming series The Power for Amazon. Recent Films: Kimi, Porcupine, Take the 10, Party Boat, Red, Yellow Face and Sensei. Awards: - Dramalogue Ikebana, The Maids, Minamata, The Golden Gate, and Visitors from Nagasaki - LA Commendation ( About Love) - Garland Straight As a Line. Entertainment Today (Winter People).

Night’s Dream {understudy}) Charlie Lavaroni is a bi-coastal actor and teaching artist. They have proudly worked with: SFBATCO, Shakespeare & Co., SF Shakespeare Festival, Livermore Shakespeare Festival, Catalyst Theatre, Big Idea Theatre, and the Davis Shakespeare Festival. Some of his favorite recent credits include: Helena ( A Midsummer Night’s Dream); Clown- over 14 different characters! (The 39 Steps); Nell Gwyn (Charlie and Nell ); Hades (Shining); and Touchstone ( As You Like It ). They have trained at Shakes and Co’s month-long intensive and are a Resident Artist at HamletIsntDead in NYC. charlielavaroni.com

EMILY KURODA* (Old Woman, The Aves [Plays in Process]) Emily Kuroda worked at South Coast Rep (Fast Company, Our Town, Ballad of Yachiyo), TheatreWorks (Language Archives, Calligraphy ), New York Theatre Workshop (Endlings), Yale Rep (Today is My Birthday ), Pan Asian

NATHAN LEIGH he / him (Sound Designer, Lunar Eclipse) Nathan Leigh has collaborated on hundreds of plays across the northeast at theatres including MCC (Space Dogs), Signature Theatre (Our Brother’s Son), New York Theatre Workshop (Nat Turner In Jerusalem), Cherry Lane (Original Sound ), Red Bull Theatre (The Duchess of Malfi ), Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing), Huntington Theatre (Skeleton Crew), Barrington Stage ( Anna in the Tropics, Waiting for

CHARLIE LAVARONI they / she / he (Lysander / Oberon, A Midsummer

Godot), Chester Theatre (Circle Mirror Transformation), and Berkshire Theatre Group (Godspell ). With Kyle Jarrow, Nathan co-created the musicals Big Money (WTF Boris Segall Fellowship 2008) and The Consequences (World Premiere 2012 at WHAT). With the Liars and Believers ensemble, Nathan Leigh composed scores for adaptations of Song of Songs, Icarus, and A Story Beyond. Nathan’s latest album is Myths, Conspiracy Theories, and Other Stuff I Made Up To Sound Interesting

HANNAH LEWIS she / her (Assistant Stage Manager, Lunar Eclipse)

Hannah Lewis is a recent graduate of Marymount Manhattan College, where she earned both her BFA in Stage Management and her BA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Directing. She sends her love to her parents, her girls, and to everyone involved in this production. This is her first season at Shakespeare & Company.

and dove right into a national tour with American Shakespeare Center that same year. During the pandemic, she continued performing via Zoom and started training in Intimacy Direction. Sara has proudly been an educator here for the last few years and she’s very excited for her main stage debut! “If I be waspish, best beware my sting.” Follow her on IG: saralinares_actor and check out her website: saralinaresactor.com

year run as Jim Ignatowski on the television series Taxi, for which Lloyd won two of his three Emmys.

In 1992 Lloyd made Emmy history when he won Best Dramatic Actor for Disney’s Road to Avonlea. In a category dominated by series regulars, Lloyd was the first actor to win for a guest appearance. The following year, the rules were changed to include a Guest Appearance category.

SARA LINARES* she / ella (Helena, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Sara is a bilingual bird from the Tropic of Cancer so she’s thankful for the opportunity to soar to new heights in the Berkshires! She graduated in 2019 with an MFA from the FSU/ Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training

CHRISTOPHER LLOYD* (Polonius, Hamlet ) Lloyd began his career in theater. He has appeared in over two hundred plays including on and off Broadway, regional, and summer stock productions. For his title role in Kaspar he took home an Obie and Drama Desk award. Christopher starred in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Morning’s at Seven, directed by Dan Sullivan, as well as Twelfth Night in NY Festival’s Shakespeare in the Park, Center Stage’s Waiting for Godot, as Dalton Trumbo in the New York production of Trumbo, and Caucasian Chalk Circle at Classic Stage Company with Brian Kulick directing.

In 1975 Lloyd began his film career in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest This was soon followed by a two-

Lloyd has appeared in over ninety film and television productions including the Back to the Future trilogy, Things To Do in Denver When You’re Dead, Eight Men Out, Addams Family and Addams Family Values, BBC’s Dead Ahead: Exxon Valdez Disaster, The Pagemaster, Dennis the Menace, Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Track 29, Clue, The Dream Team, Angels in the Outfield, Star Trek III, Goin’ South, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, My Favorite Martian, Tales of Despereaux, Snowmen, Nobody directed by Ilya Naishuller with Bob Odenkirk, and Mike Nichols’ HBO adaptation of Wit, starring Emma Thompson.

Christopher was nominated for a BIFA award for his work in the independent feature, I am Not a Serial Killer

Lloyd won an Independent Spirit Award for his chilly depiction as a soulless murderer in Twenty Bucks Shakespeare & Co credits: King Lear in King Lear. Recent film and TV projects: Tender Bar, directed by George Clooney and The Mandalorian on Disney+.

GOVANE LOHBAUER she / her (Costume Director; Costume Designer, Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise, Golda’s Balcony,

Hamlet ) Selected credits at S&Co: The Approach, 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, Golda’s Balcony, The Ladies Man, Rough Crossing, Enchanted April, Ice Glen, Lettice and Lovage, House of Mirth, Glimpses of the Moon and many years of the Education Department’s Fall Festival and Tour productions including Shakespeare & the Language That Shaped a World film for Shakespeare’s 2021 Birthday. Selected Regional: 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.

BOKAER they / them (Assistant Stage Manager, Plays in Process) Victoria is

thrilled to be returning to Shakespeare & Company this summer after doing wardrobe for last year’s Much Ado About Nothing. They are working on a Masters in Shakespeare Studies from King’s College London and have previously worked for Shake & Co’s education department, doing spring residencies for fourth and seventh graders. Selected credits include: Kamloopa — WAM theatre; Elgar, Danny’s at the Fair, Secret City, Leatherheads, Maestro Doolally and the Choir, The Scavenger Hunt — Bard College at Simon’s Rock; The Sweet Taste of Freedom — Film; as well as wardrobe and design work for commercials. Victoria is also the collections librarian at Simon’s Rock.

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.

ALEX MAGALLANES they / them

nominations (for Sight Unseen and Collected Stories ), and one Pulitzer Prize (for Dinner with Friends ). His other plays include Brooklyn Boy, The Loman Family Picnic, What’s Wrong with this Picture?, Found a Peanut, God of Vengeance, Coney Island Christmas and Shipwrecked!

An Entertainment — The Amazing Adventures of Louis De Rougemont (As Told by Himself). Margulies has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and The New York Foundation for the Arts. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists and serves on the council of The Dramatists Guild of America. He teaches English and Theatre Studies at Yale University.

KEN LUDWIG (Playwright,

Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise)

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 20 th century

(Assistant Stage Manager, August Wilson’s Fences) Alex is excited to be joining Shakespeare & Company for their 2023 season. They first fell in love with Stage Management working as a Production Assistant at From Broadway with Love: A Benefit Concert for Parkland and is about to begin their final year as a Stage Management BFA Candidate at University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Favorite recent credits include Ragtime at Piedmont Opera Company and A Chorus Line at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Lots of love to my family, friends, and cat! @alexmag2

MADELEINE ROSE MAGGIO* she / her (Hippolyta/ Snout, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Somerset / Hume, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] {understudy}; Helena, A Midsummer Night's Dream {understudy}) S&Co: Don John, Much Ado About Nothing; Cassie, The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, Ensemble: Shakespeare and the Language that Shaped a World, Marianne Dashwood: Sense & Sensibility; Robert Shallow/Bardolph: Merry Wives; Elizabeth Bennet: Pride & Prejudice; Longaville/Jaquenetta, Love’s Labor’s Lost; Elizabeth Darcy, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley; Helena/Cobweb, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; S&Co Regional Tour: Lady Capulet/ Benvolio, Romeo & Juliet; The Humanist Project: Lavinia, Titus Andronicus. Madeleine is proud of her work as an education artist in the Fall Festival of Shakespeare, and Shakespeare & Young Company. She attended the two-year professional course at L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and studied at The Second City in Chicago.

ZOYA MARTIN* she / her (Louise Rabiner, Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise; Ophelia, Hamlet; Margaret / Dutchess of Gloucester / Sea Captain / Michael / Citizen / Richard / Messenger, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] {understudy}) Zoya Martin is thrilled to be making her Shakespeare & Company debut this summer. She is a recent MFA graduate 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, Henrietta in The Learned Ladies, Abby in Belleville, and Harriet Smith in Emma: The Musical. She received her BFA from Azusa Pacific University. Zoya sends love and gratitude to her mentors, friends, family, and Brendan.

DONALD MARGULIES (Playwright, Lunar Eclipse ) Donald Margulies has won a Lucille Lortel Award, two American Theatre Critics New Play Citations, two Los Angeles Drama Critics Awards, two OBIE Awards (for Sight Unseen and The Model Apartment ), one Tony Award nomination (for Time Stands Still ), one L.A. Ovation Award (for The Country House ), two Dramatists’ Guild Hull-Warriner Awards, five Drama Desk Award nominations, five Burns Mantle Best Play citations, two Pulitzer Prize

JAMES MCNAMARA he / him (Light Designer, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] ) James McNamara is the Professor of Light/Sound

Design and the 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 for the last 17 seasons.

Professional Design: Ancram Opera House, LaMaMa ETC, CompanyOne, Lost Nation Theater, Pilgrim Theater Company, New Century Theatre, Strong Coffee Stage, New World Theater, Vermont Commons Group, Sankofa Dance Project, World Myth and Music and The Calvin Theater. Assistant design: The Guthrie Theatre Center, The McCarter Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, The Clarence Brown Theatre and Bard SummerScape. James received his MFA in Theatre Design from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Cinematography, Moscow; PhD from University of Birmingham, UK. Professor of Acting & Directing, University of California, Riverside. Union: AEA, British Equity, SAG-AFTRA. 2016 S&Co. Winter Intensive.

BELLA MERLIN* she / her (Eleanor/Captain/First Citizen/ Michael, Richard III, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] )

S&Co: Ursula/George Seacoal ( Much Ado About Nothing ), Tilly ( Tilly No-Body: Catastrophes of Love ), Maria ( Twelfth Night ), Sir Hugh Evans ( Merry Wives of Windsor ), Queen/Arviragus ( Cymbeline ), Trinculo ( The Tempest ), Nerissa ( The Merchant of Venice ), Margaret ( Worse Than Wolves ), Outlaw ( Two Gentlemen of Verona ). Regional: Colorado Shakespeare Festival: Margaret ( Richard III ), LA Phil: Beckett One–Acts. UK: National Theatre: A Laughing Matter ; The Permanent Way ; She Stoops to Conquer. UK Regional includes: The Seagull; As You Like It ; Brighton Beach Memoirs ; Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!; Anna Karenina ; Orlando. Film: Mente Revolver (Best Feature at Granada Cines del Sur, 2018). Numerous BBC TV and Radio. Publications include: Shakespeare & Company: When Action is Eloquence with Tina Packer (2020); With the Rogue’s Company: Henry IV at the National Theatre (2005), The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit (2014). Training: Russian University of

ANNETTE MILLER* (Golda Meir, Golda’s Balcony) Annette Miller has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in Boston, Regional Theaters, and in Film and Television. She has been a leading actor at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass. for 20 seasons. SHe was acclaimed by The Wall Street Journal as 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 Critic’s 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, 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 a recurring role on As The World Turns and Ryan’s Hope. Other awards include Gann Academy Award for Excellence in the Arts, Boston Jewish Film Festival Award, Zev Cohen Leadership Award, and the Excellency in the Performing Arts Award from the Boston Children’s Theater. Annette studied with Stella Adler and holds a BA and MFA from Brandeis University. She is currently an Affiliate Scholar at Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center where she wrote and continues to perform for organizations, colleges etc. Now is Our Time a Theatrical Collage on the Pleasures and Perils of our Third Chapter

JACOB MING-TRENT* (The Cardinal, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II], Bottom, A Midsummer Night's Dream)

TV: White Famous, Showtime (series regular), Watchmen, HBO (series regular), Ray Donovan, Showtime (Recurring), Feed the Beast, AMC (recurring). Also seen on, Only Murders in the Building, WU-TANG: An American Saga, New Amsterdam, God Friended Me, High Maintenance, and several more. Film: Superfly, Forty-year-old Version, Snakes, R#J, Possession of Hannah Grace, The Bygone, Julie Taymour’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, and others. Broadway: Shrek the Musical (Original cast), Hands on a Hardbody, (Original Cast). Off Broadway: The Harder They Come, Public Theatre, Lortel nomination Alchemist, Mammon, Redbull theater, Lortel nomination Merry Wives, Falstaff, Public theater, Drama Desk nomination Father Comes Home from the Wars, Public theater, Lortel Award. Twelfth Night, Sir Toby, Public Theater. Cymbeline, Public Theater. Mother Courage, CSC. Merchant of Venice, TFANA. Midsummer Night’s Dream, TFANA. Widowers Houses, Epic Theater Ensemble. Tempest, Public Theater. On the Levee, Lincoln Center.

AFSHEEN MISAGHI (Arash, Three Tall Persian Women [Plays in Process]) Afsheen Misaghi is a performer and two time Tony Award® nominated producer (New York, New York, The Piano Lesson) based in New York. He has performed at numerous regional theaters including Mosaic Theater Company, Barrington Stage Company, Stageworks Theatre, American Stage Theatre Company, the Weathervane, and Gulfshore Playhouse. TV credits include Succession, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Power Book II: Ghost, FBI: Most Wanted, and Normal for Now. He received his BA in Theatre from West Virginia University, MFA in Theatre from the University of Florida, was a part of the 2022 ViacomCBS Showcase, and is a Fulbright alumnus. Find him @affyjay and afsheenmisaghi.com.

POOYA MOHSENI* she / her (Mamani, Three Tall Persian Women [Plays in Process]) Pooya Mohseni is a multi award-winning Iranian American actor, writer, filmmaker and transgender activist. She recently appeared in the world premiere of The Sex Party (Menier Chocolate Factory) in London. Her other stage performances include her Obie win in the Pulitzer and Obie-winning play English (Atlantic Theater Company), Hamlet (Play On Shakespeare Festival), One Woman (United Solo), She,He,Me (National Queer Theater), Our Town (Pride Plays), Galatea (The WP Project), The Good Muslim (EST), White Snake (Baltimore Center Stage), and the Audible production of Chonburi Hotel & The Butterfly Club (Williamstown Theater Festival). Her film and television credits include

Law & Order: SVU, Big Dogs, Falling Water, Madam Secretary, Terrifier and See You Then, streaming on all digital platforms. She’s part of the advisory council for The Ackerman Institute’s Gender & Family Project. She’s represented by Headline Talent Agency and TGTalent.

Stage). Kirsten has trained here at Shakespeare & Company and at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. She is a graduate of Skidmore College.

Night’s Dream (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), and you may have seen him with a dart in his forehead on Season 7, Episode 8 of Chicago Fire. He wouldn’t be here without his loving wife, mom and all those who supported him along the way.

ASHLEY MCCAULEY MOORE she / her (Raynell, August Wilson’s Fences; First Fairy / Snug, A Midsummer Night's Dream {understudy}) Ashley McCauley Moore is a union actor originally from North Carolina, by way of Los Angeles CA. She is currently a second-year student at the FSU/ Asolo Acting Conservatory obtaining her master’s in fine arts. Ashley has performed in a variety of stage plays and television shows. She has recently appeared in plays such as Three Musketeers Constance, Chicken & Biscuits Latrice (U/S). Ashley has worked for television networks such as Disney, ABC, and Netflix just to name a few. She is set to perform in the conservatory season productions of Three Sisters, Clyde’s, and Romeo & Juliet. Ashley is committed to the craft of acting and truthful storytelling, her mission with every role is to have a human experience that gives the viewer a chance to live again.

JOHN MUSALL (Set Designer, Lunar Eclipse) 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 throughout the USA. In November he will exhibit portraits of dancers at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. 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, and others for the past twenty-four years, retiring in May of this year. 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. He has collaborated with James Warwick on productions of Almost Maine, by John Cariani, Gogol’s The Inspector General, Three Penny Opera, and Ionesco’s The Chairs, his first design for Shakespeare & Company. He is delighted to return to design for Lunar Eclipse

KENÉ CHELO ORTIZ (Young Man, The Aves [Plays in Process]) Kené

Chelo Ortiz found his passion for acting at his local church in the Bronx, where he was born and raised, before going on to graduate The London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts. His credits included Angel in Jesus Hopped the A Train as well as Matt in The Spaulding Suite He then went on to be featured as the lead Raheim, in Theatre Rows off-Broadway production of B-Boy Blues as well as Fulton Theatre’s world Premiere of For Colored Boyz where he played Man in Green. Kené also starred as Astolfo in Baltimore’s Center stage adaptation of Life is But a Dream Directed by Stevie WalkerWebb. Kené is ecstatic to be a part of the reading and thanks God and his family for their support.

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.

KIRSTEN MULRENAN she / her (Stage Directions, The Aves [Plays in Process]) Kirsten is an educator and actor based in Los Angeles, CA. She is so excited to be back at Shakespeare & Company this summer teaching Riotous Youth, and to be participating in the Plays in Process. Favorite credits include The Christians (Apollinaire Theater Company) and Hamlet (Praxis

CARLOS OLMEDO (Lysander, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Suffolk / Cade, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] {understudy}) Carlos Olmedo is an actor from Chicago, IL. Recent credits include: United Flight 232 (House Theatre of Chicago); A Midsummer

TINA PACKER Founding Member (Founding Artistic Director; Director, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] ) Born in England, Tina was trained at the Royal 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

JIEHAE PARK (Playwright, Three Tall Persian Women [Plays in Process]) Park’s plays include peerless (Yale Rep, Primary Stages), Hannah & the Dread Gazebo (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Here We Are Here (Sundance, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, Princess Grace WIP @ Baryshnikov Arts Center), The Aves (Alley All-New, McCarter Spotlight Festival), contributions to Wondrous Strange (Humana/ATL), and the

book for the upcoming musical Kill the Boyband. Her awards include Steinberg, Leah Ryan Prize, Princess Grace Award, Weissberger, ANPF Women’s Invitational, Blackburn Finalist. Development projects include Soho Rep, the Public, p73, ACT, CTG, Atlantic, Dramatists Guild Fellowship, Ojai, and the amazing Ma-Yi Writers Lab. Commissions include Playwrights Horizons, Yale Rep, Geffen, OSF, MTC/Sloan. Residencies include MacDowell, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, McCarter/Sallie B. Goodman. As a performer, she most recently appeared in Celine Song’s ENDLINGS (NYTW, ART), and Ripe Time/Naomi Iizuka’s adaption of Murakami’s SLEEP (BAM Next Wave, Yale Rep). For TV, she has written for Hulu, Apple, & Anonymous Content. Former Tow Fellow and Hodder Fellow; current NYTW Usual Suspect, Lincoln Center Theater writer in residence, and New Dramatist.

NAIRE POOLE* (Hermia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Naire

Poole is fresh off of her performance as Juliet ( Romeo & Juliet ) in Shakespeare & Company’s Northeast Regional Tour. Select credits include: Theater: Margaret/the Sexton

Much Ado About Nothing, Elizabeth Darcy The Wickams: Christmas at Pemberly, Hamlet Hamlet, three hang, Macy The Cake, Antigone Antigone, Dave Moss Glengarry Glenross, Francine/Lena Clybourne Park. Bella For the People’s Good Film: Andrea (Lead) Wet Things,

Hermia (Lead) A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Veterinarian (supporting) George. She has a hunger for exploring work of challenging societal structures. When she isn’t tackling work that explores the complexity of interpersonal expansion through her performances, she is directing and teaching, ablaze to adjust theatrical structures into inclusive, healing, and transcendent spaces. She’s currently failing at learning electric guitar with joy; grounded by family and lifted by friends. salu. blm.

“ranney”* (Troy, August Wilson’s Fences) “ranney” has five decades in the performing arts as a multi-disciplinarian. Acting credits include Doaker (The Piano Lesson, A Public Fit Theatre Company); Brucie (Sweat, Ensemble Theatre Company); Benny, Mark (Hymn, Art, Shakespeare & Company); Polonius/Gravedigger, Toledo, Troy Maxson (Hamlet; Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; Fences. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company); Hambone, Sterling (Two Trains Running; Radio Golf. American Stage Company.); King Hedley, Chutes & Ladders (Seven Guitars; Water By the Spoonful. Nevada Conservatory Theatre); Boy Willie (The Piano Lesson Center Theatre Co.); Adriana/Antipholis/ others (The Bomb-itty of Errors. American Stage, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, The Helix in Dublin, Ireland, and Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End). As a comedian, he has headlined internationally and shared billing with Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, and Paul Mooney. Nine one-man shows include And the Horse You Rode In On (Projects Arts Centre, Dublin), Whatever (People’s Improv Theater, NY), Incendiary (The Straz Center, Tampa), and Cufflinks and Jolly Ranchers for Dummies (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland). itsranney.com

professional productions, including: As You Like It with Karen Allen, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Comedy of Errors Film credits include: his critically acclaimed turn in Gods of Egypt (as the Sphinx) with the late Chadwick Boseman; Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course with Steve Irwin; Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles with Paul Hogan and several Australian television dramas, including The Heights, Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End and the Secret Life of Us

On Stage, Kenneth collaborated with Mary Zimmerman on her Australian production of Metamorphoses and Dr. Wang Xiaoying of the National Theatre of China on his production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle. He has worked for The Mark Taper Forum, Melbourne Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare (Sydney) and every major festival in Australia, as well as the Daegu International Music Festival in Korea. Kenneth is a proud member of Actors Equity, SAG/AFTRA and Australian Equity.

JON SAVAGE^ he / him (Set Designer, August Wilson’s Fences)

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. 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.

KENNETH RANSOM* he / him (Somerset, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II], Bono, August Wilson’s Fences) Kenneth Ransom is an international actor and teacher with over 30 years of experience in theatre, film, television and streaming platforms. He is delighted to return to Shakespeare & Company, where he trained with eminent teachers, including co-founders Kristin Linklater and Tina Packer, and where he performed in some of his first

NICOLE RICCIARDI she / her (Associate Director, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) 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.

BEKAH RUDNEC (Sound Designer, Golda's Balcony ) S&Co: Sound Supervisor, 2022 season; Wheelock Family Theatre: Bud, Not Buddy, Make Way for Ducklings Audio Engineer; M.I.T. Sounding Series: the wave function collapses Audio Engineer; and the New Hazlett: Büer’s Kiss Audio Engineer.

STELLA

GIULIETTA SCHWARTZ

she / her (Costume Designer, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) S&Co: Costume Designer for Plays in Process Series (2022), Art (2021), Topdog/Underdog (2019), Morning After Grace and Mothers and Sons (2018), 4000 Miles (2017), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (2016), The Unexpected Man (2015), The Servant of Two Masters (2014) and Les Faux Pas (2013); Costumer for S&Co’s Education Program, 2011–2018. Recent design credits include Disgraced (Chester Theatre), The Aliens (Chester Theatre), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (BCC Players), Twelfth Night (Pittsfield Shakespeare in the Park) and The Last Wife (WAM Theatre). In addition to Costume Design, Stella also enjoys teaching English to her multilingual students at Taconic High School in Pittsfield, MA.

GWENDOLYN SCHWINKE she / her (Voice and Text Coach, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II]; Training Faculty) Vocal Coaching/S&Co: Measure for Measure, Much Ado, Merry Wives of Windsor, Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Cymbeline, Intimate Apparel, The Merchant of Venice, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Or, Ugly Lies the Bone, Comedy of Errors, Hamlet, others. International: Prague Shakespeare Company: Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night, Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble: Season prep. Regional: PlayMakers Repertory Company: As You Like It, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Emma, Julius Caesar, Native Son, Skin of Our Teeth, Wrinkle in Time, others, Atlantic Stage, Oxford Shakespeare Festival, Frank Theatre. Acting/Regional: Adam ( As You Like It ), Margie (Good People), Gertrude (Hamlet ), Mistress Quickly (Merry Wives), Nurse ( Romeo & Juliet ), Desdemona (Masks of Othello), Betty Dullfeet, (Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui ), Jean (Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer ), Inspector (The Enchanted ), Amanda (Glass Menagerie). Designated Linklater Teacher, Linklater Teacher Trainer, Certified Feldenkrais Teacher, Colaianni Speech and Dialect Work, and member of Actors Equity.

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.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Founding Member (Playwright, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II], Hamlet) He was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s preeminent dramatist. His works, including some collaborations, consist of about 37 plays, 154 sonnets, two long

LACEY JO SLOAT (Assistant Stage Manager, Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise) Lacey Jo Sloat is a Stage Manager originally from Rochester, NY. She is thrilled to join Shakespeare & Company this summer! Lacey’s other Shakespeare credits include Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shake on the Lake), and Macbeth (Drunk Shakespeare NYC). Her regional credits include In the Heights (Geva), Elf: The Musical and Once (Olney Theatre Center) as well as some new works including The Agitators, and The Other Josh Cohen (Geva Theatre Center) as well as Technical Difficulties (2022 New York Theatre Festival). Lacey’s film credits include award winning independent feature My Autopsy (PA), Fatal Influence: Like Follow Survive (AD), It’s All True (AD) and High School Lullaby (AD).

KIKI SMITH she / her Founding Member (Costume Designer, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] ) Kiki has designed over 24 productions here since the very first production at the Mount of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and is grateful for another chance to work with Tina and such wonderful actors. She's also worked for years with the Talking Band in New York, with whom received an Obie Award for costumes. Her book Real Clothes, Real Lives: Two Hundred Years of What Women Wore about selected garments from the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection will be released in September. Smith has been Professor of Theatre at Smith College. She's very proud of a succession of former students who have worked here at S&Co over the years.

KATHLEEN H. SOLTAN she / her (Stage Manager, Plays in Process; Assistant Stage Manager, The Contention [Henry VI, Part

II], A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Kathleen H. Soltan 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 Diane and Hope, the cast and crew, and to SPF 50!

MICHAEL F. TOOMEY* he / him (Egeus / Peter Quince, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Clown/Text teacher Summer Shakespeare Institute; Bottom, A Midsummer Night's Dream {understudy}) Michael F. Toomey is a neurodivergent performer and Theater creator. He is the Artistic Director of The Humanist Project based in Brooklyn and founding member of Split Knuckle Theatre, which devises new works that have toured from Bangkok to Buenos Aires. S&Co roles include: Serg ( ART ), Puck (Midsummer ), Poet ( An Iliad ), Bassinet (Ladies Man), Scapan (title role), Walter (Split Knuckle’s Endurance). Various Roles NYC: Francis (Francis Goes To War ), Francis (Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle). Michael’s childhood passion for The Muppets and Looney Tunes has served as the basis of his adult obsession with Clowning and comic structure. He teaches Clowning in NYC. He studied with Clown masters Philippe Gaulier and Giovanni Fusetti. Graduated from LISPA and holds an MFA in Lecoqbased Theatre. Michael lives in Brooklyn with his wife Sarah and son August. Michaelftoomey.com. Career goal: Recenter play, pleasure and laughter in a world that takes itself very seriously.

ANNE UNDELAND (Em, Lunar Eclipse {understudy}) Anne Undeland is a theater artist who has worked as an actor with WAM Theatre, Great Barrington Public Theatre, Berkshire Playwrights Lab, Ancram Opera House, Ventfort Hall, Barrington Stage, Stageworks, Capital Repertory Theatre, Mixed Company, MopCo, Shakespeare & Company, Metropolitan Playhouse, and the New Repertory Theatre. Recently, she’s branched out into playwriting with her short play, The Kiss, winning best play at the West Side Y, her short audio piece, Adeline’s Gambol a finalist for Miller Audio Prize at The Missouri Review, her full-length play, Lady Randy, produced by WAM Theatre in 2019 and her latest play, Wharton Between the Sheets, produced by Great Barrington Public Theater in 2021 and at Gloucester Stage in 2022. She’s currently at work on a solo piece about Mozart’s wife. anneundeland.com

JAMES WARWICK† he / him (Director, Lunar Eclipse) James Warwick has been a resident US theatre director since 2000. He trained as an actor in his native England at the Royal Central School in London and played leading roles in London’s West End and on national tours. The Rocky Horror Show, On the Spot, Pride and Prejudice at The Old Vic, The Family Dance, The Rivals, the title role in Dr. Faustus, Secret Life of Cartoons, A Winter’s Tale, On the Spot, The Real Thing and many others. James first came to the US to play Sir Robert Chiltern in An Ideal Husband on Broadway. He then

played King Arthur in Camelot on the national tour. He has featured in many UK TV series including Lillie, Dr. Who, Iris Murdoch’s The Bell and Tommy Beresford in Partners in Crime for BBC/PBS Masterpiece Theatre. In the US, Murder She Wrote, Babylon 5, Civil Wars, Home Improvement and the voice of Qui Jon Jinn in Star Wars video games. In 2018, he directed Mothers and Sons by Terrence McNally for Shakespeare & Company, (Berkshire Theater Critics outstanding director award) followed by The Children by Lucy Kirkwood, Ionesco’s The Chairs and Lee Blessing’s A Walk in the Woods which received Top Production of the Year in The Berkshire Eagle. Earlier this year James directed Native Gardens for The Majestic Theatre in West Springfield and Off Peak for the Great Barrington Public Theater. Next year, he will direct the world premiere of Danny Eaton’s play, The Ladyslipper, at the Majestic Theater and Big Big Sky by Tom Wells for Chester Theater Co. James has received awards from Spotlight, BAFTA, Ovation, Helen Hayes, Showcase, The Berkshire Eagle and the Berkshire Theatre Critics Assn.

CATHERINE WHEELER (Artistic / Executive Assistant) Catherine enjoys supporting the artistic team at S&Co. She serves as assistant to Allyn Burrows and Tina Packer, including doing research and preparing the manuscripts for Tina’s publications. She studied at The School of American Ballet and performed in various productions with the

New York City Ballet, including The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Tarantella. Each summer she enjoys partaking in all of the Berkshire arts and culture offerings.

AUSTYN WILLIAMSON (Iden / Jourdain / Vaux, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II] ) Austyn Williamson is thrilled to be making his Shakespeare & Company debut. Previous regional credits include The Inheritance Parts I & II (Trinity Repertory Company), The Tempest (Oak Park Festival Theatre), How To Defend Yourself (Victory Gardens Theatre), Henry V (First Folio Theatre), and several more. Austyn is a current student at 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!

AUGUST WILSON (Playwright, August Wilson’s Fences) [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 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 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 include the one-acts The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming and the musical satire Black Bard 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 int 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 death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero.

FINN WITTROCK* (Hamlet, Hamlet )

Finn Wittrock is a two-time Emmy nominee and Julliard trained film, television, and theater actor.in. He is best known for Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story on FX, for which he received an Emmy

The cast of Much Ado About Nothing, 2022.

Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

nomination for Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie, and a Critics Choice Award nomination in the same category.

Most recently, Wittrock has appeared in Luckiest Girl Alive opposite Mila Kunis, A Mouthful of Air opposite Amanda Seyfried, and in the thriller Deep Water opposite Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, directed by Adrian Lyne, and Long Weekend with Zoe Chao, written and directed by Steve Basilone. He can also be seen on the tenth season of American Horror Story and in Ryan Murphy’s Golden Globe nominated drama series Ratched , starring opposite Sarah Paulson. and recently wrapped on two films, Don’t Move and Start Without Me. He starred opposite Renee Zellweger in the critically acclaimed film Judy, playing Judy Garland’s fifth ex-husband Mickey Deans, and earlier appeared in A24’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco , which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival. Wittrock starred in Adam McKay’s Oscar-nominated drama The Big Short alongside John Magaro, Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, and Brad Pitt, earning nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and the Broadcast Film Critics Association for “Best Ensemble.” He appeared in Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk , nominated for Best Feature at the Golden Globe Awards, Critics Choice Awards, and the Independent Spirit Awards. Additional credits include Unbroken directed by

Angelina Jolie; The Submarine Kid , which he wrote with lifelong friend Eric Bilitch, who directed; My All American written and directed by Angelo Pizzo and starring opposite Aaron Eckhart; Noah directed by Darren Aronofsky; Winter’s Tale, written and directed by Akiva Goldsman; Twelve, directed by Joel Schumacher; Semper Fi alongside Jai Courtney; Gillian Robespierre’s Landline alongside Jenny Slate, which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released by Amazon Studios; Write When You Get Work , opposite Rachel Keller; A Midsummer Night’s Dream opposite Rachael Leigh Cook, and Netflix’s A Futile & Stupid Gesture

Wittrock’s television work includes American Horror Story (Hotel) and (Freak Show) ; the Emmy-nominated film The Normal Heart directed by Ryan Murphy. Other television credits include his role as Damon in ABC’s All My Children ; Criminal Minds ; Law & Order: SVU ; Harry’s Law ; CSI: Miami ; Cold Case, and ER , as well as the recurring role of Dale in Showtime’s acclaimed drama Masters of Sex .

Wittrock made his Broadway debut as Happy Loman opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield in Mike Nichols’ 2012 revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, earning a Theatre World Award and the Clarence Derwent Award. His Broadway credits also include The Gentleman Caller in 2017’s The Glass Menagerie at the Belasco Theatre, directed by Sam Gold and

opposite Sally Field and Joe Mantello, and Cassio in William Shakespeare’s Othello, also directed by Sam Gold and opposite Daniel Craig, Rachel Brosnahan, and David Oyelowo.

Off-Broadway, Wittrock starred in Tony Kushner’s The Illusion at the Signature Theatre and Age of Iron at the Classic Stage Co., and the Ahmanson Theater production of 2:22. He also appeared at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre opposite Diane Lane in Tennessee Williams’ critically acclaimed Sweet Bird of Youth , directed by David Cromer, and The Guardsman , directed by Gregory Mosher at The Kennedy Center. Other regional theater credits include The Blue Deep at the Williamstown Theatre Festival; The Laramie Project with The Mechanicals Theatre Group; and productions of The Matchmaker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream , at A Noise Within Theatre Company. He began his career onstage playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C., and Marchbanks in Shaw’s Candida at the Berkshire Theatre Festival near his hometown of Lenox, Mass.

JIM YOUNGERMAN (Set Designer, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Jim is a visual artist who has exhibited his paintings throughout the U.S. & Europe. Theater credits; Great Barrington Public Theater – Public Speaking 101. Shakespeare & Co. credits include – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Approach, King Lear, As You Like It, The Tempest, The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (S&Co at The Mount), Romeo & Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Merchant of Venice, Summer, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Ethan Frome, Laughing Wild Odyssey Theater, L.A. – The Man Who Killed the Buddha (award winning). Barrington Stage – Killer’s Head, The Dumbwaiter. Bard College – Vinegar Tom. Berkshire Public Theatre –Carousel, Angel City, Tongues, Savage Love, Just Passing Thru. Jim’s artwork can be viewed at his website –jimyoungerman.com.

MELISSA ZICCARDI she / her (Wardrobe Supervisor, The Contention [Henry VI, Part II], August Wilson's Fences) Melissa is excited to back for a fifth season and Shakespeare & Company.

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.

KEY

(P) = Preview | (O) = Opening | (C) = Closing

Jack / Louise = Ken Ludwig's Dear Jack, Dear Louise Henry VI = The Contention (Henry VI, Part II)

Fences = August Wilson’s Fences

Hamlet = Hamlet: A Staged Reading

Wanderers’ = Merry Wanderers’ Guided Tours

Fall Festival = Fall Festival of Shakespeare

Midsummer = A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Eclipse = Lunar Eclipse

Talk = Behind the Curtain Free Talks

* Programs, artists and talks are subject to change.

PIP = Plays in Process

Golda = Golda’s Balcony

Pemberley = Georgiana and Kitty Christmas at Pemberley

RY = Riotous Youth

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The Merry Wives of Windsor act 2, scene 2 by William Shakespeare

courtesy: The First Folio Theatre The Merry Wives of Windsor

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