2024 Building a Brave New Theatre

April 25 - June 29

Shakespeare’s place at the apex of the Euro-centric classical canon has allowed the plays to sometimes be presented in ways which demeaned, erased or appropriated other cultures and excluded people.   Elm Shakespeare Company believes in the transformative power of these plays and is committed to creating theatre that uplifts everyone in our community.  We invite you to an exploration at the intersections of inclusion, equity, and Shakespeare. Join us as we seek to amplify a diversity of artists, and celebrate their experiences, while we ask the question of how Shakespeare can serve our community today.

Sponsored in part by Elizabethan Club of Yale University, CT Humanities, and the City of New Haven’s Dept. of Arts, Culture and Tourism.

By the Book: Gender in Shakespeare’s Plays

Where: Online Only

By better understanding how Shakespeare’s plays interact with the feminine, we can better illuminate our own relationship with gender equality, gender expression, and these stories. Join these remarkable scholars, artists, and activists as they explore how to interact with Shakespeare’s text and stories in ways that open meaning and create a more just theatre.

Sponsored by Yale’s Elizabethan Club

Featuring Dr. Terri Power and Dr. Marguerite Tassi, Vanessa Morosco

Tina Packer’s Women of Will

Where: SCSU Blackbox Theatre – 501 Crescent Street
Special Event Tickets May 19 – Post Show Discussion with Wine & Appetizers – ($95)

Funny, fierce, deep and accessible, Tina Packer’s Women of Will is the bonus content to Shakespeare’s plays that you have been searching for. Master Shakespearean, Tina Packer directs Elm Artistic Director Rebecca Goodheart - deconstructing and conjuring William Shakespeare’s most famous female characters in this exciting first production since Packer’s nationally acclaimed off-Broadway run and international tour.

A combination of riveting scenes and trenchant analysis, Tina Packer’s Women of Will explores themes of love, loss, freedom, control, violence, and power through the heroines of Shakespeare’s text. Using performance and discussion, Packer/Goodheart, with ace actor Nigel Gore, trace the chronological evolution of Shakespeare’s female characters, and examine Shakespeare’s own journey and growth as a writer.

Partners

In Partnership with Yale Schwarzman Center presents

Lisa Wolpe’s Shakespeare & the Alchemy of Gender

Where: Yale’s Schwarzman Center – 168 Grove Street
Partners: Yale’s Schwarzman Center

From cross-gender exploration to the legacy of Auschwitz, Lisa Wolpe's internationally triumphant one woman show confirms Shakespeare’s insight into the human condition is as relevant as ever.

Partners

Saturday, June 29, 2024 @ 2:00pm EST
Part of the final Festival of Arts & Ideas Summit Day

TRANSforming Shakespeare: How Creative Casting Makes Better Plays

Where: Yale Quadrangle and online
Partners: Festival of Arts & Ideas
Tickets: Free In Person Registration or Free Online Registration

How we embody concepts of gender is changing in 2024.  Come explore how creative gender casting reflects today’s reality, illuminates Shakespeare’s stories, and enriches everyone’s experience.

 With: Original Practice Shakespeare Festival's Jennifer Lanier & Others

Partners