LENOX, Mass.–Since 1988, Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program has brought together high school students from across the region to introduce and nurture a love of theater and language through the Fall Festival of Shakespeare.
Back for its 38th year, the Fall Festival of Shakespeare includes students from 10 schools in Massachusetts and New York, supported by a cadre of 20 Shakespeare & Company directors, six costume designers, and five production designers.
Nine weeks of after-school rehearsals, set builds, weekly “common class” workshops attended by all participants collectively, and culminate in full-scale productions at each school and on the main stage at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse during Fall Festival Weekend, Thursday, Nov. 19 through Nov. 22. Kevin G. Coleman, director of Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program, said, “The festival celebrates the work, the creativity, the courage and the working together of nearly 500 students.
“There are no prizes, no trophies, no awards,” he said. “It’s never been and never will be a competition. Instead, the festival is an opportunity to appreciate the bravery, the risk-taking, the humor, the mischief and the heartbreak of these great plays, and all of the students who bring them alive.”
Fall Festival of Shakespeare performances are open to the public. This year, shows produced by students from high schools in Berkshire and Columbia counties will perform at the Fall Festival in the course of four days:
38th Fall Festival Schedule
Thursday, November 19
6:15 pm – Berkshire Waldorf High School’s The Winter’s Tale
Directed by Lydia Duff & Mitchel Csermak
Production Design by Rayne Barrett Costume Design by Rin Menge
8:30 pm – Monument Mountain Regional High School’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Directed by Malle Winters & Adam Koda
Production Design by Alex Drake Costume Design by Anna Vernetti
Friday, November 20
6:15 pm – Pittsfield High School’s Romeo & Juliet
Directed by David Bertoldi & Kristin Yates
Production Design by Tapanga Hill Costume Design by Anna Vernetti
8:30 pm – Mt. Everett Regional School’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Directed by Madeleine Maggio & John Leggett
Production Design by Alex Drake Costume Design by Anna Vernetti
Saturday, November 21
1:15 pm – Lenox Memorial High School’s Julius Caesar
Directed by Victoria Rhoades & Leslie Field
Production Design by Rey Hankinson Costume Design by Lezlie Lee
3:30 pm – Springfield Central High School’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Directed by Ellie Bartz, Ryan N. Murray, & Maurice Doran
Production Design by Tapaynga Hill Costume Design by Aimee Green
6:15 pm – Mt. Greylock Regional School’s Cymbeline
Directed by Erin Jones & Luke Haskell
Production Design by Rey Hankinson Costume Design by Cal Murphy
8:30 pm – Lee Middle & High School’s Hamlet
Directed by Abigail St. John & Lochlan Angle
Production Design by Rayne Barrett Costume Design by Aimee Green
Sunday, November 22
1:15 pm – Taconic Hills Jr./Sr. High School’s Love’s Labour’s Lost
Directed by Kirsten Peacock & Kirsten Mulrenan
Production Design by Grace Goosman Costume Design by Silas Leiter
3:30 pm – Chatham High School’s Twelfth Night
Directed by Nick Nudler & Madeline Weltchek
Production Design by Grace Goosman Costume Design by Silas Leiter
5 pm – Closing Reverence
Tickets and multi-show passes are now on sale for all Fall Festival weekend performances at Shakespeare & Company. Individual show tickets are available at both general admission and student prices.
In addition, a generous group of donors has pledged $50,000 to benefit Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program and the Fall Festival of Shakespeare. Now through November 22, every donation to the Fill the Quill Match Challenge will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $50,000.
Thanks to Community Television for the Southern Berkshires, The Fall Festival of Shakespeare will stream live via CTSB and the Cablecast app on Roku, iOS, Apple TV, Android, and Amazon Fire TV. For more information, visit shakespeare.org.
For more information about the festival, visit shakespeare.org, or call the Box Office at 413.637.3353. For more information on donating to the Fill the Quill Match Challenge, email development@shakespeare.org.
About Shakespeare & Company
Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1978 by Tina Packer. Located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Company offers performance, education, and actor-training opportunities year-round, and attracts more than 40,000 patrons annually with a core of more than 150 artists.