STA 2015 - Of Imagination All Compact: Innovation, Creativity, and Relevance in Shakespeare
Conference Session Descriptions
As of 11/8/14 - Subject to Change
Pre-conference Practicum - January 5-7
Session description forthcoming; schedule to include welcome gathering the evening of Sunday, January 5; sessions onsite at the Fairmont Hotel Monday, January 6; sessions offsite with author and actor Ben Crystal at Djerassi Ranch in Woodside, CA (1 hour south of San Francisco, round-trip shuttle from Fairmont Hotel provided); sessions onsite at the Fairmont Hotel on Wednesday, January 7.
Conference Day 1: Thursday, January 8
9:00 - 9:45 Warm-Ups (Venetian Room)
Join STA Associate Artist and certified Linklater teacher Rebecca Kemper in an energizing Linklater-based warm-up for the voice and body.
9:45 – 10:00 Break
10:00 – 12:30 Plenary Session: Welcome and Member Updates (Venetian Room)
• Member Theatre Updates (1 minute each)
• Associate Members (1 sentence each)
• New Member Organizations (1 sentence each, and invitation to connect with current member)
• Additional Introductory Exercises
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch (Pavilion Room)
Suggested tables – International Shakespeare, Free Shakespeare, other (Cirque Room)
1:30 – 2:45 Plenary Session: Why Free? Why Shakespeare? Why in the Park? (Venetian Room)
Cindy Melby Phaneuf moderates a discussion among member companies about why they produce Shakespeare in a Free Shakespeare in the Park setting and how this setting impacts audience, art, and community.
2:45 – 3:00 Break
3:00 – 5:00 Break Out Sessions
He Got Rhythm: The Shakespeare Variations (Fountain Room)
Neil Freeman (Associate Professor, University of Columbia) shares his simple, theatre-friendly methodology for working with verse. His terminology sets up Shakespeare’s wonderful textual rhythms as a practical tool for rehearsals and classrooms, replacing intellectual scansion terminology with a downright human approach. Jeff Watkins will moderate the discussion, and share how he has incorporated Professor Freeman’s methodology into his artistic practice.
Organizing the Creative Community for Change (Crystal Room)
Sara Stackhouse leads a discussion about how artists and arts organizations are organizing to advocate and campaign for change, and succeeding! Come explore what is possible when we organize, flex our collective creative muscles, and whether it is possible to shift our energy from navigating our environment to CHANGING our environment to a healthier one in which arts and culture can thrive.
Shakespeare in Prisons (French Room)
Many STA companies are now building on the groundbreaking prison work of Curt Toftland, formerly of Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. Lesley Currier, Scott Jackson, Matt Wallace, and Kate Powers share their experiences working with incarcerated men and women – the challenges and rewards, and why Shakespeare is particularly well-suited to this work. Moderated by California Arts Council officer.
5:00 – 7:00 Dinner on your own
Tonga Room happy hour
Walking Tour – complementary, sign-up details to follow
7:00 – 10:00 Theater Outing - SF Playhouse’s Promises, Promises
Details regarding ticket purchase to follow
10:00 – 2:00 Drinks’cussions
Laurel Court Bar – 11:30 last call
Location TBA 12 – 1 am
Conference Day 2: Friday, January 9
9:00 - 9:45 Warm-Ups (Venetian Room)
Michael Cavanaugh (SF Shakes Resident Artist) leads a clown- and movement-based warm-up. Bring your red noses!
9:45 – 10:00 Break
10:00 – 11:15 Plenary Session: Capitalization & Sustainability (Venetian Room)
Susan Nelson (Principal, TDC) will focus her presentation on the complex challenge of aligning an organization's strategy, implementation plan and financial sustainability. Her deep financial analysis skills and hands-on operational experience has given her a special expertise in how to scale an organization to an appropriate size while creating a sustainable financial capitalization plan.
11:15 – 11:30 Break
11:30 – 12:30 Break Out Session (by Budget Size)
Groups discuss issues specific to budget size. Plenary speaker Susan Nelson will visit each of the break-out sessions to address additional questions from her presentation. Moderators TBD.
• Over $2 million (French Room)
• $500K - $2 million (Crystal Room)
• $150K - $499K (Fountain Room)
• Under $150K (Venetian Room)
Shakespeare in Prisons: Part 2 (depart from lobby)
11:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Lesley Currier leads a field trip for a select few members to San Quentin State Prison in Marin, to participate in a Shakespeare at San Quentin class. Advance registration, background check required, details to follow
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch (Pavilion Room)
Suggested tables by budget size (Cirque Room)
1:30 – 2:45 Plenary Session: Get You Home: New Spaces for Shakespeare (Venetian Room)
It’s a major achievement for a company to open a new space. Patrick Spottiswoode moderates a discussion between Clark Nicholson, Lesley Malin, and Fred Adams on their companies’ new spaces.
2:45 – 3:00 Break
3:00 – 4:00 Break Out Sessions
Single-play Focus (Fountain Room)
Panelists take a single play – Much Ado About Nothing – and discuss their different approaches, affected by venue, period concept, choice of text, etc. Featuring Lisa Tromovitch, Chris Edwards and others.
Shakespeare and Accessibility (French Room)
Building on the popular session from 2014, Dr. Luane Haggerty will lead a discussion about the incorporation of actors with disabilities, drawing on her research and recent experience directing a production of Romeo and Juliet featuring deaf and hearing actors. Additional speakers are sought.
Working with First-time Actors (Crystal Room)
New York’s Public Theatre has led the way with its Public Works program, featuring community members in huge casts for lively productions of The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale. STA members share their experiences working with non-professionals and how including the audience in art-making can bring new insights and inspirations. Specific speakers TBD.
4:00 – 5:00 Plenary Session: Shakespeare 400: 2016 Celebration Activities (Venetian Room)
STA shares its plans to celebrate Shakespeare 400.
5:00 – 7:00 Dinner on your own
Tonga Room happy hour
Walking Tour – complementary, sign-up details to follow
7:00 – 8:00 Movie Night – Shakespeare on the Road (Venetian Room)
Paul Edmonson, Paul Prescott and Susan Brock share the results of their “Shakespeare on the Road” project
8:00 – 9:00 Evening Discussion (Venetian Room)
STA past president Richard Garner will share experiences, insights, and lessons learned during his celebrated tenure at Georgia Shakespeare.
9:00 – 1:00 Drinks’cussions
Laurel Court Bar – – 12:30 last call
Conference Day 3: Saturday, January 10
9:00 - 9:45 Warm-Ups (Venetian Room)
Emily Jordan (SF Shakes Resident Artist)leads an enjoyable vocal and physical warm-up including a period dance.
9:45 – 10:00 Break
10:00 – 11:15 Plenary Session: Shakespeare and New Work (Venetian Room)
Several playwrights discuss how Shakespeare inspired them to write new plays, while a director of classics argues for approaching them as if they are new work – and for producing other plays of the Early Modern period. Specific speakers to be announced.
11:15 – 11:30 Break
11:30 – 12:30 Focus Groups
• Education (Crystal Room) - Moderated by Sean Hagerty
• Artistic (Fountain Room) - Moderated by Stephen Burdman
• Management (French Room) - Moderated by Sara Young
• Board (Venetian Room) - Moderated by Pam Sogge (SF Shakespeare Festival Board Chair)
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch (Pavilion Room)
Suggested tables by focus group (Cirque Room)
1:30 – 2:45 Plenary Session: Opening up the Canon: Cross-gender and Non-traditional Casting (Venetian Room)
Building on the popular breakout from 2014, Lisa Wolpe and Rebecca J. Ennals present the case for non-traditional casting practices as a tool to keep Shakespeare relevant and accessible for modern audiences. Using different casts for the same scene, they’ll ask the questions “How can cross-gender casting help us find new and deeper meaning in the plays?” and “Are there scenes for which this practice doesn’t work, and why?”
2:45 – 3:00 Break
3:00 – 4:30 Break Out Sessions
Race & Shakespeare (Crystal Room)
Shakespeare theatres often capitalize on the common assumption that Shakespeare is the world’s greatest playwright and universal in his appeal. Dr. Ayanna Thompson, a leading scholar on the subject, explores the privileges and challenges inherent in this assumption, and addresses practical approaches to producing Shakespeare for everyone.
Artists as Leaders (Fountain Room)
Artistic leadership is essential for any Shakespeare theater. Ian Farthing and Rona Waddington will discuss their company’s succession planning and leadership transition. James Andreassi will discuss how the recent addition of an Associate Artistic Director strengthened artistic leadership. Moderator TBA.
Where the Fish Are: Swimming in Social Media (French Room)
Jenn Deon and Jim Helsinger team up to share where the fish are swimming on social media, how best to bait and hook them through social media strategy development, and success in creating huge schools of fish at flash mobs.
4:30 – 5:30 Plenary Session: Closing Exercises (Venetian Room)
Quarto strategic planning, S.T.A Business Meeting, and additional closing exercises.
5:30 - 6:00 S.T.A Officers’ Meeting (Venetian Room)
Executive Committee and past presidents only
7:00 – 10:00 Closing Banquet
Location to be announced.
10:00 – 1:00 Drinks’cussions
Laurel Court Bar – – 12:30 last call