Fall College Shakespeare
I started compiling this to make sure I didn't forget about these as the semester goes on, but figured posting it here makes more sense. Most of the local college performances are either cheap or free, and some of them are every bit as innovative as, say, the obscenely expensive productions Arts@Emerson or other pro troupes put on (last spring's Twelfth Night at Harvard, MIT's 2011 Romeo and Juliet, and BU's 2009 Much Ado all stand out). They also tend to be easier to get tickets for and take place in smaller venues.
Harvard:
Titus Andronicus. September 21, 22, 23 27, 28, 29. "Approached with a Quentin Tarantino aesthetic, this production stands of Shakespeare’s bloodiest work will examine the downfalls accompanying deception and revenge." I missed the Titus at Brandeis earlier this year (a little embarrassing, given how close it is for me), which also took a gonzo approach. This is always a tough play to watch, and BU's Femina Shakespeare did a fantastic job with it last year, so the bar's pretty high for me.
The Taming of the Shew. October 25, 26, 27, 28, November 2. They're going with an all-female cast for this one, which has me very intrigued.
Macbeth. November 30, December 1, 2, 6, 7, 8. I'm kind of surprised that this is the November play, as it seems more suited to Halloween, but it's always a fun play. Doing it sans intermissions should be interesting.
MIT:
Taming of the Shrew. October 26, 27, 28, November 1, 2, 3. Yeah, it's a two-Shrew autumn, with some actual date overlap here. Since the MIT production on the 28th is at 2PM, you could have an all-Shrew day, if you wish. MIT has done some amazing productions in recent years, including one of the best Romeo and Juliet's I've seen and a solid one-act slapsticky Tempest last spring. I rarely miss their performances.
Brandeis:
A King of Infinite Space: Hamlet in a Nutshell November 16, 17, 18. "This production presents a creative encounter with Shakespeare's "Hamlet," incorporating movement, music, martial arts, sound and song. The collaboration seeks to explore the flesh, blood and bones of life in Elsinore through the shards and fragments of the lives of its well-known players. Lowry and Kohler Amory seek to discover the ways in which actors, as artistic collaborators, can deepen their relationship to great texts by temporarily exploding the elegance of established forms in order to uncover the depths of each character's journey." I'm intrigued.
Boston U:
Henry V. October 24-28. As I said above, I loved the job the Femina Shakespeare group did with Titus, so seeing them handle one of my favorite of the histories is exciting.
Wellesley:
The Merchant of Venice. September 24-30. This is presented by Notre Dame's "Actors from the London Stage," and there's more infomation at the latter's page (like the actual full list of dates).
As far as I can tell (since neither page has been updated in over a year), both the Wellesley College Shakespeare Society and the Boston University Shakespeare Society are dormant (or possibly outright dead). Emerson's student troupes will be offering Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Winter's Tale in the spring, but no Bard this fall.
ETA: Wellesley's society is still active, but has not announced their fall production yet.
As always, given the roughly 4000 local colleges and the generally poor state of many of their websites, I might well have missed one or two. Corrections/updates are welcome.
Harvard:
Titus Andronicus. September 21, 22, 23 27, 28, 29. "Approached with a Quentin Tarantino aesthetic, this production stands of Shakespeare’s bloodiest work will examine the downfalls accompanying deception and revenge." I missed the Titus at Brandeis earlier this year (a little embarrassing, given how close it is for me), which also took a gonzo approach. This is always a tough play to watch, and BU's Femina Shakespeare did a fantastic job with it last year, so the bar's pretty high for me.
The Taming of the Shew. October 25, 26, 27, 28, November 2. They're going with an all-female cast for this one, which has me very intrigued.
Macbeth. November 30, December 1, 2, 6, 7, 8. I'm kind of surprised that this is the November play, as it seems more suited to Halloween, but it's always a fun play. Doing it sans intermissions should be interesting.
MIT:
Taming of the Shrew. October 26, 27, 28, November 1, 2, 3. Yeah, it's a two-Shrew autumn, with some actual date overlap here. Since the MIT production on the 28th is at 2PM, you could have an all-Shrew day, if you wish. MIT has done some amazing productions in recent years, including one of the best Romeo and Juliet's I've seen and a solid one-act slapsticky Tempest last spring. I rarely miss their performances.
Brandeis:
A King of Infinite Space: Hamlet in a Nutshell November 16, 17, 18. "This production presents a creative encounter with Shakespeare's "Hamlet," incorporating movement, music, martial arts, sound and song. The collaboration seeks to explore the flesh, blood and bones of life in Elsinore through the shards and fragments of the lives of its well-known players. Lowry and Kohler Amory seek to discover the ways in which actors, as artistic collaborators, can deepen their relationship to great texts by temporarily exploding the elegance of established forms in order to uncover the depths of each character's journey." I'm intrigued.
Boston U:
Henry V. October 24-28. As I said above, I loved the job the Femina Shakespeare group did with Titus, so seeing them handle one of my favorite of the histories is exciting.
Wellesley:
The Merchant of Venice. September 24-30. This is presented by Notre Dame's "Actors from the London Stage," and there's more infomation at the latter's page (like the actual full list of dates).
As far as I can tell (since neither page has been updated in over a year), both the Wellesley College Shakespeare Society and the Boston University Shakespeare Society are dormant (or possibly outright dead). Emerson's student troupes will be offering Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Winter's Tale in the spring, but no Bard this fall.
ETA: Wellesley's society is still active, but has not announced their fall production yet.
As always, given the roughly 4000 local colleges and the generally poor state of many of their websites, I might well have missed one or two. Corrections/updates are welcome.