OTHELLO

AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER PERFORMANCE OF OTHELLO TO BE STAGED

NYS Writers Institute, November 7, 2013
7:30 p.m. Performance | Main Theatre, Performing Arts Center, Uptown Campus

CALENDAR LISTING:
American Shakespeare Center’s production of Othello will be presented in classic Shakespearian style with actors playing multiple roles and surrounded by the audience on three sides, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 7, 2013, in the Main Theatre of the Performing Arts Center on the University at Albany’s uptown campus. The event is sponsored by the Performing Arts Center and the New York State Writers Institute. For tickets contact the PAC Box Office at (518) 442-3997, or online at [email protected].

PROFILE
In a magnificently complex study of extremes, Shakespeare pairs his most loving and trusting leading man with his most conniving and ruthless villain in a dangerous dance of deceit and revenge. The radiant language of love transforms into delirious ravings as his characters descend into jealousy, fear, and rage. American Shakespeare Center’s production is presented in classic Shakespearian style with actors playing multiple roles and surrounded by audience on three sides.

Jim Warren, the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the American Shakespeare Center, directs the production of Othello. Players include Fernando Lamberty (Othello), Stephanie Holladay Earl (Desdemona), Rick Blunt (Iago), and Bridget Rue (Iago’s Wife).

Eric Minton of the Shakespeare “fansite,” Shakespearances.com, took notes on audience reactions to the current touring version of Othello: “[A woman sitting in the audience next to the reviewer] was shedding real tears, her restrained sniffles finally giving way to a flood. Nearby, another woman stared, her face ashen as the blood drained except for the lines of red forming at the edges of her eyes. The rest was silence— in the audience... When a production of William Shakespeare’s Othello attains this level of intensity in the audience, it has succeeded.”

Based in Staunton, Virginia, the American Shakespeare Center recovers the joys and accessibility of Shakespeare’s theatre, language, and humanity by exploring the English Renaissance stage and its practices through performance and education. The Center has become a cultural treasure for Virginia and an international resource for scholars and students of all ages.

Othello is presented by UAlbany’s Performing Arts Center in conjunction with the New York State Writers Institute. Support is also provided by the UAlbany Foundation and University Auxiliary Services.

For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.