Program

The authorship question may be new to many attending this weekend Festival Conference. We have invited individuals to speak from both traditional Shakespeare scholarship and those from the Oxfordian viewpoint.

• By “traditional,” or, “orthodox,” perspective, we mean those who believe that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon is the Bard.
• “Oxfordian” perspective means those who believe Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, is the author of the Shakespeare canon.

We would like to create an atmosphere of friendly, open discussion for anyone who would like to learn about this issue. We respect differing viewpoints, and we are also aware that the authorship question is a provocative subject for many. You will notice our program consists of some sessions that are “Oxfordian” and others that are from the “traditional” or “orthodox” viewpoint, and a few that are neutral on the subject.

You are welcome to attend any or all sessions. Please see the Admission and Registration page for details.

Our program is listed below. Please note that presenters and times may change with or without notice. We will update any changes prior to the day of the conference on this web site.

The program begins Friday evening with a musical event at 7 p.m. at The Concord Free Public Library, 129 Main Street, Concord, Mass. This event is free and open to the public. However, registration is recommended to ensure you a space. Please see our Registration page for details.

Saturday and Sunday sessions will be held at the Masonic Temple, 58 Monument Square, in Concord Center. Admission is $35 in advance, $40 at the door for the entire weekend of events; full-time students age 25 and under are free at all times. There are partial admissions available as well as scholarships for those who would benefit from a reduced admission. Please see the Admission and Registration page for details.

Program Overview

Friday, May 30, 2008, Concord Free Public Library, 7 p.m.- 9 p.m.

Saturday, May 31, 2008, Masonic Temple:

• 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Presentations & performances
• 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Presentations & performances
• 7:00 p.m. - 10: 00 p.m. “Evening Fest” Community Event

Sunday, June 1, 2008, Masonic Temple:

• 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Coffee
• 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Presentation
• 12:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m. Sunday Lunch
• 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Presentations & performance
• 5:30 p.m. King John at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in Boston, near the Park Street Subway Station.We will not be coordinating tickets to this event. Please see our King John page for Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s ticket information.

Full Program
printable program

Give us leave, I pray... We have some secrets to confer about.
--Duke of Milan, Two Gentlemen of Verona

FRIDAY EVENING:
Concord Free Public Library
7:00 – 9:00: Opening Presentations & Performance: Secrets and Genius -- Mozart and Shakespeare

I. Order and Chaos in Shakespeare and Mozart: The Revelation of an Inner Landscape.
Roderick Phipps-Kettlewell, Concert Pianist & Lecturer
I believe there is a relationship between the outer form and structure of a work to be performed and its effect on the listener/audience's inner condition – peace or turmoil and a range in between. A comparison could be made, using examples from both of these creative geniuses, of how this process extends the insight into our common inner experiences: a landscape that is revealed by their transcendent art.

II. Shakespeare's Secrets: How Twelfth Night Reads Like An Elizabethan Courtly Gossip Sheet
Mark Anderson, Author, “Shakespeare by Another Name”
Following a music-oriented presentation, it is perhaps appropriate that we delve into a play that begins with the immortal words, If music be the food of love, play on. The story Twelfth Night tells, however, is not just idle musings. In fact, a new layer of meaning will be uncovered that dates an antecedent of this beloved Shakespeare comedy to the pre-Shakespearean date c. 1580. The Elizabethan court from this time -- and European geopolitics in the early 1580s -- are indeed a crucial but largely nappreciated subtext for the goings on at the court of the great and much-admired Olivia.

SATURDAY
Masonic Temple

I know you two are rival enemies.
How comes this gentle concord in the world?
-- Theseus, Midsummer Night's Dream

9:00 – 9:30: Introduction to the Authorship Issue, A Brief “User’s Guide”
Mark Anderson, author, “Shakespeare” by Another Name

9:30-10:30: Interpreting Shakespeare, Presentations & Performances I
Alex McNeil, President, The Shakespeare Fellowship
The relationship between Touchstone, Audrey and William in Act V, Scene 1 of As You Like It, as seen from an Orthodox and Oxfordian perspective. This short three-character scene has nothing to do with advancing the plot of Shakespeare's pastoral comedy. Why would an experienced dramatist choose to insert it? Is it, as most orthodox scholars conclude, simply a comic interlude in which the fool Touchstone lords it over the country bumpkin William? Or is it, as Oxfordians contend, a dialogue of sorts between the real author and his front man?

10:30 – 11:00: Break - coffee and tea will be served downstairs in the Masonic Temple dining hall

11:00-12:00: Interpreting Shakespeare, Presentations & Performances II
Dennis Taylor, Professor of English, Boston College; Editor, Religion and the Arts
The Winter's Tale as Miracle Play: Catholic, Protestant, and Secular Food for Thought (Act 5, concluding scene 3).

12:00 – 2:00: Lunch - please see our Dining page for local restaurants

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc'd
it to you, trippingly on the tongue.
-- Hamlet

2:00 – 3:30: An Encounter between Sensibilities: Elizabethan and Twentieth-Century Attitudes toward the Spiritual
in Nature in The Tempest and Rudolf Steiner's The Portal of Initiation.
Douglas Reed, pianist and conductor; John Stirling Walker, poet/librettist; David Conte, composer.
Scenes will be presented from both works to illuminate a certain quality of consciousness in the West and its historical transformation, providing a context for conversational inquiry into the questions the encounter between these two sensibilities can raise.

3:30-4:00: Break - coffee and tea will be served downstairs in the Masonic Temple dining hall

4:00-5:00: Screening Shakespeare
Cheryl Eagan-Donovan, Filmmaker
An overview of Shakespeare as seen on screen throughout the last century. The presentation will look at the ways in which the various interpretations of the works on screen reflect the message, meaning and motivation of the author.

5:00-7:00: Dinner - please see our dining page for local restaurants

7:00 – 10:00: Evening Fest: Music, Merriment, Verse & Good Spirits
Friends and lovers of Shakespeare are invited to step up and present their favorite sonnets, speeches from the plays, and related gems in celebration of the Bard. Highlights include Shakespeare rap, the Shamster Dance, and a comic letter from William Shakespeare. Bring your Flash drives for some free MPGs.

SUNDAY
Masonic Temple

Let the reason serve to make the truth appear
Where it seems hid, and hide the false seems true.
-- Isabella, Measure for Measure

10:00 – 10:30: Coffee and tea will be served downstairs in the Masonic Temple dining hall

10:30 – 12:00: Personal Shakespeares & Concluding Reflections
Sarah Smith, novelist; Gerit Quealy, actor and journalist
What does Shakespeare mean to you? Who is your Shakespeare? Is your idea of Shakespeare different than when you first began to read him? What does your Shakespeare tell you about yourself? Actor and journalist Gerit Quealy and novelist Sarah Smith share their personal journeys. Come and talk about yours.

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch in Masonic Temple dining hall

1:00 - 2:00 King John
Ben Evett, Founder and Artistic director, Actors’ Shakespeare Project
From a “Shakespeare practitioner’s” point of view, Ben Evett, the director of the Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of King John, will discuss making this play contemporary and relevant to today’s audience. He will also discuss the practicalities of performing this complex and rarely staged play.

2:00 - 2:15 Break - coffee and tea will be served downstairs in the Masonic Temple dining hall

2:15 - 3:30 The Role of Ross in Macbeth Reveals a Courtier's Hand
Richard Whalen, Author, Shakespeare: Who Was He? The Oxford Challenge to the Bard of Avon
The significance the role of the Thane of Ross in this play is often overlooked. Through performance, actors will reveal the significance of this character in Macbeth.

End of the official program
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5:30 p.m. King John performance in Boston.

The Festival Conference officially ends at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Those who wish to see King John this weekend may purchase tickets through the Actors’ Shakespeare Project to the 5:30 p.m. performance at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul located on Tremont Street in Boston, near the Park Street Subway Station. Please also visit the Actors’ Shakespeare Project Web site for the full performance schedule ticket information, and directions.

Then to the elements be free, and fare thou well!
-- Prospero, The Tempest

Please note: Food and beverages, except water, are not permitted in the Masonic Temple’s meeting space. We will be providing coffee and tea during breaks on both Saturday and Sunday in the Temple’s lower-level dining hall. We will be serving sandwiches for lunch on Sunday in the Masonic Temple’s lower-level dining hall. Your admission includes Sunday lunch.