We have an exciting slate of Strode-sponsored programs coming up this spring, compiled by program director and Hudson Strode Professor Michelle Dowd– please take note of these events and mark your calendars accordingly! Thanks to the abundance of early modern performances and films on offer this semester, Improbable Fictions is temporarily shifting focus away from Shakespeare and toward less bardolized early modern playwrights: Margaret Cavendish, John Lyly, and Margherita Costa.
Sponsored Performances:
We are sponsoring three fantastic performances this spring in conjunction with EN667, The Shakespeare in Performance Practicum. All three events are free and open to all members of the UA community. A poster for the ASC shows is attached. More details to follow!
- American Shakespeare Center touring company performance of The Comedy of Errors, Friday, February 15, 7:30PM (pre-show music begins at 7:00PM). Brock Recital Hall, Samford University, Birmingham.
- American Shakespeare Center touring company performance of The Winter’s Tale, Saturday, February 16, 7:30PM (pre-show music begins at 7:00PM). Brock Recital Hall, Samford University, Birmingham.
- Resurgens Theatre Company touring performance of The Changeling, Tuesday, February 26, 7:30PM. Allen Bales Theater, UA.
Guest Speakers:
We are excited to welcome the following guest speakers this spring. All events are free and open to the public:
- Brent Griffin, Artistic Director of the Resurgens Theater Company. Tuesday, February 26. Title TBA. 5PM in the Allen Bales Theatre (UA).
- Wendy Wall (Northwestern University). Thursday, March 28. Title TBA. 5PM in 301 Morgan Hall.
Strode Film Series:
Please also check out the Strode Film Series schedule for the spring. Note that some events will be held at the Bama theater, and others will be held on campus. All shows are free and open to the public. For more information, please visit the Film Series’ website: http://shakespearefilmseries.ua.edu/
- Monday, January 28: Globe Production of The Duchess of Malfi. Morgan 301, 7:30PM.
- Monday, February 11. Warm Bodies. Bama Theatre, 7:30PM.
- Monday, March 25: Kozintsev’s King Lear. Morgan 301, 7:30PM.
- Monday, April 15: Shakespeare in Love. Bama Theatre, 7:30PM.
Improbable Fictions:
Improbable Fictions is hosting several events this spring. The first three are for small groups and thus aren’t appropriate as a broad extra credit opportunity for students, but the last performance will be perfect for 200 level English courses and the like. If you’d like to participate or just come listen to the first three, please RSVP.
- Wed, Jan 16, 6:30pm in 301 Morgan Hall, a cold reading of Margaret Cavendish’s The Convent of Pleasure, dramaturged by Chris Koester (cwkoester@ua.edu).
- Wed, Feb 6, 6:30pm in 301 Morgan Hall, a cold reading of John Lyly’s Gallathea, dramaturged by Mark Hulse (mchulse@crimson.ua.edu).
- Wed, Mar 6, time TBA at the Strode House, a cold reading of Margherita Costa’s burlesque “ridiculous comedy” entitled The Buffoons (1641), translated by Jessica Goethals. The reading will be dramaturged by Deborah Parker (parkerburch@comcast.net).
- Wed, Apr 3, 7:30pm at the Tuscaloosa Cultural Arts Center (http://cac.tuscarts.org/contactus.php), a selection of staged readings we’re calling “Early Modern Strangers,” inspired by Shakespeare’s “The Stranger’s Case” from Sir Thomas More (check out Sir Ian McKellen’s reading). The event will include respondents and a Q&A about immigration and crossing borders in the early modern period. Dramaturged by Nic Helms and Cordelia Ross (nrhelms@ua.edu, caross4@ua.edu).
We’ve still got room for participants for all shows, so feel free to reach out to Nic Helms (nrhelms@ua.edu) or any of our directors if you’re interested!
Please mark your calendars for these events, and stay tuned for additional announcements and updates!!!
And, if you aren’t doing so already, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter: “Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies” (FB); @hudstrode (Twitter); and @improbfictions (Twitter).
