Carling-Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College
Wednesday, April 5 at 7:00P
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler, is pleased to present its annual Shakespeare and Leadership series, focusing this spring on the historical drama Richard II. The event will take place at the Carling-Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.
The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are recommended since space is limited. To reserve a seat log onto https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/967285
The series features a script-in-hand reading of one of Shakespeare’s plays performed by renowned business, government, and community leaders alongside actors. The plays are cut down to run about 60 minutes. The reading is followed by a panel discussion by the participants addressing leadership questions and themes raised in the text. This year, the title will be Richard II, Shakespeare’s history play that focuses on disruption and the transition of leadership. Although the struggle for England’s throne was never simple, the kingdom lasted for over three hundred years before the sovereignty passed outside a direct familial line. But when an inept ruler – indecisive, frivolous and vain – angered the established nobility, one man interceded and cast doubt over the legitimacy of England’s leadership for generations to come.
Participants in the reading and discussion of Richard II will include Dr. Kerry Healey, President of Babson College; Jeff Gonneville, Chief Operating Officer of MBTA; Jon Abbott, President and CEO of WGBH; Harriet Cross, British Consul General in Boston; Donna Latson Gittens, CEO and Founder of MORE Advertising, Dennis Hong, Founder and CEO of ShawSpring Partners, and Yehuda Yakoov, Consul General of Israel. The event will be directed by CSC Associate Artistic Director Adam Sanders, and moderated by CSC Artistic Director Steven Maler.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC), best known for its annual free performances on Boston Common, is a non-profit theater organization founded in 1996, dedicated to presenting vital and contemporary productions of William Shakespeare and other dramatic works to the people of Greater Boston, and to exploring Shakespeare’s work with youth in innovative and creative ways. CSC’s Free Shakespeare on the Common has served over one million audience members over its 22-year history, and has become a beloved summer tradition enjoyed by nearly 75,000 people annually. In 2013, CSC became the Theatre-in-Residence at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and has been able to expand its offerings beyond the annual Boston Common production. Starting this season, CSC will present fully staged productions in Babson’s Sorenson Center, as well as readings and other events. CSC fulfills its educational mission with actor-training programs for pre-professional and professional actors through the summer Apprentice program and CSC2.
To learn more about these programs, visit commshakes.org.