Virtual Fall Festival of Shakespeare at Shakespeare & Company

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Shakespeare & Company will present its Virtual Fall Festival of Shakespeare, featuring graduating seniors of Berkshire and Columbia County, in light of COVID-19. This special online only festival is premiering Friday, DECEMBER 18th and available to stream through Sunday, DECEMBER 20th. This celebrates the culmination of a 5-week program where 30 students came together to explore creative thinking, teamwork and Shakespeare, as they create 45-minute virtual performances to be shared with their classmates and wider communities.

The 2020 Fall Festival is a reimagined online version of the Company's annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare, nationally recognized for its innovative teaching, and philosophy of creativity and collaboration that encourages over 500 students from a variety of schools to come together and support one another. While the program could not be held in its accustomed venue in the Tina Packer Playhouse the Company felt it was imperative to create an expressive space for students and give seniors the chance to take their final bows.

"We are so very proud of the seniors who have come together to continue the Festival work and create such an ambitious project against such daunting odds," said Kevin G. Coleman. "We are grateful to the teachers, staff and directors who have bravely envisioned and executed a way to continue this work. And we are once again humbled by the attitude of care and support for each other that needs to become a model for the world."

Led by Education Director Kevin G. Coleman, the Shakespeare & Company Education Artists, and Shakespeare & Company Costumers this virtual Fall Festival, like past Festivals is a non-competitive celebration. Senior students from eight schools have delved into Shakespeare's works, unpack the language, and savor the humor, intensity, and transcendent beauty of these plays. Daily rehearsals over the past five weeks have built on students' personal connection to the text and the language. Students also had the opportunity to develop skills in stage combat, performance aesthetics, dance, technical theatre, costuming, stage management, marketing, and publicity during this virtual Fall Festival experience.

Senior students of this year's special Fall Festival join the company from eight different schools across Berkshire county and Columbia County, including Berkshire Waldorf High School, Chatham High School (New York), Lee Middle and High School, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Mount Everett Regional High School, Mount Greylock Regional High School, Springfield Central High School, and Taconic High School.

Shakespeare & Company Education Artists directing in this year's festival include: Lori Evans, Rory Hammond, Madeleine Maggio, Devante Owens, Kristen Peacock, and Nick Nudler. With costumes designed by the Company's Costume Director, Govane Lohbauer.

The 30 participant students have formed three groups to create pieces to share with their classmates. The students look forward to gathering virtually in a spirit of celebration to perform their plays for each other and the community virtually. Register online at shakespeare.org , while the event is free, donations are encouraged. For more information on this performance and others visit shakespeare.org.

"At the start of our project our students were looking for a sense of community," said Fall Festival Director Lori Evans. "So we are focusing on providing that for them with the playful comedy, Love's Labour's Lost. This week a student from Monument Regional High School in Great Barrington, told the group that she feels 'a sense of belonging that she hasn't felt since MARCH.'"