Bard in Boston - May 22nd, 2008

King John and Greenblatt & Mee's Cardenio have only just opened in Boston and Cambridge, but Memorial Day brings with it thoughts of summer.

So, here's a look ahead at what's in store, starting with the major companies:

Play	by	Company	Opens	in	Location
All's Well That Ends Well	by	Shakespeare & Company	June 20	in	Lenox
As You Like It	by	Commonwealth Shakespeare	July 18	in	Boston
Othello	by	Shakespeare & Company	July 18	in	Lenox
Much Adoe About Nothing	by	New England Shakespeare Festival	July 22	in	various cities
A Midsummer Night's Dream	by	Redfeather Theatre	July 23	in	Worcester
Twelfth Night	by	Redfeather Theatre	Aug 6	in	Worcester

Some of the usual subjects (*cough* Publick Theatre *cough*) are not offering any Shakespeare this summer. And, sadly, Industrial Theatre has gone on hiatus. [Best wishes, guys!]

Any other productions I'm missing?

Remember, Bard in Boston is an open community to which anyone is welcome to post.

Coming this autumn:

• In September, Huntington Theatre unveils the world premiere of a new play, How Shakespeare Won The West
• And Actors' Shakespeare Project has another four-play season opening in November.

Where	Who	What	When	Details
Sudbury	LSB Players	MacBird	May 22 - 24	( Read more... )
Gloucester	The Actors Company	Shakespeare's Ghost	May 30 and 31, 7:30 p.m.	( Read more... )
Dartmouth	The Classical Players Theater Company	The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged)	Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, June 8, at 2 p.m.	( Read more... )
Westport	The Classical Players Theater Company	The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged)	Friday and Saturday, June 27 and 28, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, June 29, at 11 a.m.	( Read more... )

Where	Who	What	When	Details
Pawtucket	Gamm Theatre	The Taming of the Shrew	Now thru June 15	( Read more... )
Little Compton	The Classical Players Theater Company	The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged)	Friday and Saturday, June 13 and 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, June 15, at 2 p.m.	( Read more... )

Where	Who	What	When	Details
Jaffrey		16th Annual Jaffrey Rindge Shakespeare Festival,	Friday, May 23, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.	( Read more... )
Durham	Amare Cantare	Renaissance Performing Arts Festival	June 1	( Read more... )

Also, Shaker Bridge Theatre in Enfield, NH, is tentatively planning outdoor Shakespeare-in-the-park for this summer.

And in Vermont, Rutland Youth Theatre is planning an upcoming touring Shakespeare performance across Vermont. This year's summer Shakespeare play will be A Winter's Tale.

Where	Who	When	What	Details
Plymouth, MA	Plymouth Community Theatre	May 27 and 28	Much Ado About Nothing	( Read more... )
North Adams, MA	Main Street Stage	May 31 and June 1	Romeo And Juliet	( Read more... )

The American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) will be holding their conference in Boston, November 5-9, 2008.

Within the organization, the Shakespearean Performance Research Group provides "an ongoing home for the study of Shakespearean performance," and have just issued their call for papers:

For the 2008 conference, to be held in Boston, November 5-9, we seek papers that address issues relating to our three subgroups:

1. Shakespearean Performance Histories;
2. Shakespearean Performance Theories; and
3. Shakespearean Performance Practices.

To wit:

• What makes a "Shakespearean performance" count as "Shakespearean"?
• Is this a genre of performance that is particularly defined/deformed/undone by textuality, authorship?
• What kinds of analytic strategies seem required by this genre of performance?

Selected papers will be assigned to one of the three subgroups and the conveners will organize on-line communication of subgroup members before the conference. At the three-hour conference session, papers will be discussed first within the subgroups, after which the groups will come together to exchange ideas. We will seek to continue discussion of the work of the group's members after the conference, in an on-line forum moderated by the group's conveners.