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Our Speakers and Performers on Shakespeare at Sea 2 are:
Christine Albright, Claudia Alick, Michael J. Hume, and Robin Williams.

Our Program at a Glance

Friday, November 7
(7pm)

Bon Voyage Cocktail Party

Pick up our latest Program Guide, allow our illustrious staff to introduce themselves to you, and meet your fellow Shakespeare at Sea attendees. Open bar and hot hor d’oeuvres served!

Saturday, November 8
(10am–11am)

Why Read Shakespeare?
Speaker: Robin Williams

Yes, the plays were written for performance, but there are indications that the playwright considered them to be works of literature as well. Learn a number of reasons why you might want to start reading (and re-reading) the plays for yourself. If you feel Shakespeare was gifted, you don’t know the half of it until you spend time with his written word. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation of this playwright’s narrative art.

Saturday, November 8
(5pm–6pm)

“Over-protective Fathers, Know-it-All Servants,
Cowardly Generals ...”
Speaker: Michael J. Hume

Times may change, but people, apparently, do not. Shakespeare went right to the source and redefined the comic tradition: drawing from bawdy Roman Comedies to the outrageous Commedia Dell’ Arte, even the Mystery Plays of the medieval Church. Be prepared to read aloud and compare the Bard’s texts alongside his “borrowed” inspirations. And while exploring the birth of clowns and clowning, you just may be asked to reveal what’s behind the mask of the greatest clown of all...yourself! (Text will include excerpts from the 2009 Season.)

Sunday, November 9
(9:30am–11am)

Shakespeare at OSF 2009:
Macbeth: Nothing Is But What Is Not
Speaker: Robin Williams

What bloody man is that? And what’s up with the Porter and his blathering on about “equivocation”? How can a day be both foul and fair? Why three? What’s up with horses eating each other? Why is everyone getting unsexed? Why do they keep talking about clothes? What’s with those doctors? And what’s a “Thane” anyway? You already know the plot of Macbeth, so let’s gain a richer understanding of this brilliant work by looking at these and other motifs that run through the play and unify the themes.

Sunday, November 9
(5pm–6pm)

PERFORMANCE: Macbeth
Performers: Christine Albright and Michael J. Hume

Join us for a dark and winding trip into a world of witches, kings, power, murder, and marriage. What can three actors do with a trunk of costumes and props, themselves, and Macbeth? Watch as Michael and Christine take on this Shakespearian tragedy.

Sunday, November 9
(6pm–6:30pm)

Macbeth: Post-performance Q&A with the Actors
Speakers: Christine Albright and Michael J. Hume

After their performance, the actors will return to the stage to take questions from the audience. Fire away with questions about the production, interpretation, staging, or anything you’d like to know!

Monday, November 10
(5pm–6pm)

Bringing Shakespeare’s Words to Life —
The Actor’s Process
Speaker: Christine Albright

You usually only get to see the final product in our OSF productions, but here’s your chance to be an actor or at least learn more about the actor’s process! Together with Chris, you will explore Much Ado About Nothing’s famous bickering lovers, Beatrice and Benedick, in two of their most famous scenes. You’ll start with some “table work,” and together with Chris, you will delve into the poetry of Shakespeare’s text, mining the language for meaning, and the intentions of the characters. Then you’ll move from your seat to your feet, to try your hand at staging a scene. It’s your chance to breathe life into the beautiful words you know and love.

Monday, November 10
(6pm–6:30pm)

Bringing Shakespeare’s Words to Life —
The Actor’s Process: Q&A

Our Program (continued)

Tuesday, November 11
(3pm–5pm)

Was Shakespeare “Shakespeare”?
The Question of Authorship
Speaker: Robin Williams

The question of the authorship of the Shakespearean works has been raging for more than two hundred years and shows no signs of abating. We’ll take a calm, candid look at why the documented evidence leaves this question open. Bring your thoughts (and documented evidence) about who you think wrote these plays. At the end of the discussion you might not change your mind, but you will be better informed about the real issues around this charged question.

Tuesday, November 11
(5:30pm–7pm)

Q&A with all presenters.
Speakers: Christine Albright, Claudia Alick, Michael J. Hume,
and Robin Williams

Join our presenters for an informal conversation about their work in the theatre. No question will go unanswered!

Wednesday, November 12
(5:45pm–6:45pm)

PERFORMANCE: It’s a Family Thing
Performers: Christine Albright and Michael J. Hume

Fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, childless spouses, cousins, and foster families ... next season is full of these sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always passionate relationships. Come and enjoy this original performance compiled and directed by Christine Albright and Michael J. Hume.

Wednesday, November 12
(6:45pm–7pm)

It’s a Family Thing:
Post-performance Q&A with the Actors
Speakers: Christine Albright and Michael J. Hume

After their performance, the actors will return to the stage to take questions from the audience. Fire away with questions about the production, interpretation, staging, or anything you’d like to know!

Thursday, November 13
(3pm–4:30pm)

Insider’s Guide to Designing a Season
Speaker: Claudia Alick

Associate Producer Claudia Alick walks you through the challenges and rewards of producing in rotating repertory. She’ll give you the scoop on how and why the plays selected for the 2009 Season made the final cut. Then you’ll get to try your hand at playing Artistic Director as you juggle the diverse requirements to design your own Perfect Season.

Thursday, November 13
(5pm–6:30pm)

Shakespeare at OSF 2009:
All’s Well, or Is It? Crushed with a Plot
Speaker: Robin Williams

All’s Well That Ends Well is a rarely performed play, so you have an exceptional opportunity in this upcoming season. To make sure you get the most out of the OSF performance in 2009, we’ll take a careful look at this piece with its intriguing parallel scenes, strong women, slippery men, word play, and situations that can make the audience a bit uncomfortable.

Thursday, November 13
(6:45pm–7:30pm)

Cocktail Party
(Crow's Nest)

Friday, November 14
(5:30pm–6:30pm)

That’s the Humour of It
Speaker: Robin Williams

Although Shakespeare uses the word “humour” 136 times, not once does it refer to something being funny. The humours are four bodily fluids that to the Elizabethans influenced the psyche. Too much or too little of one or the other humours puts you out of whack and affects your personality. Take a quiz to discover how well your humours, and those of your friends, balance and and which Shakespearean characters you most resemble!

Saturday, November 15
(9:30am–10:30am)

Death: The Undiscovered Country
Speaker: Robin Williams

In the fifteenth century, the Black Death wiped out a huge number of clergy, so people needed to learn the proper way to die if there were no churchmen around. Thus developed Ars Moriendi, the Art of Dying. By Shakespeare’s time, ars moriendi was a way of life, which might be why we see death, near death, attempted death, or a semblance of death in every play. Explore Shakespeare’s apparent thoughts on life endings and gain an understanding of his perspective on death.

Saturday, November 15
(2pm–3:30pm)

Exciting New Initiatives
Speaker: Claudia Alick

Find out about OSF’s exciting new initiatives including American Revolutions: The U.S. History Cycle, a 10-year initiative to create up to 50 new plays; the new Green Show highlighting a vibrant and diverse community of national and local performance artists including old favorites; and New Play Development which Bill Rauch views as a profound responsibility of this acting company. There will be ample time for your questions.

Saturday, November 15
(5:45pm–6:45pm)

PERFORMANCE: We Three Fools
Performers: Christine Albright and Michael J. Hume

From small town America, through colonial Africa, all the way to the Spain of Cervantes ... you scratch a tragedy and comic gold will gleam from within!

Three Fools — Wise, Holy, and Idiotic — examine the plays of the 2009 OSF Season and discover a treasure-trove of humor in the unlikeliest of places: politics, class systems, religion, families, and that great equalizer ... sex! Join us for some rollicking good times, and we’ll all let our masks slip ... but just a little!

Saturday, November 15
(6:45pm–7pm)

Three Fools: Post-performance Q&A with the Actors
Speakers: Christine Albright and Michael J. Hume

After their performance, the actors will return to the stage to take questions from the audience. Fire away with questions about the production, interpretation, staging, or anything you’d like to know!

Sunday, November 16
(6pm–7pm)

Farewell Party