The sixth annual Shakespeare on the Fox initiative is taking a homegrown approach to its 2009-10 season, with a focus on Fox Valley performances of the Bard’s works.
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During past seasons Shakespeare on the Fox — a collaborative effort of universities, community theater groups and others who seek to keep Shakespeare’s words alive on stage and show their relevance to modern life — brought in traveling performers for community performances. Visiting artists included the American Players Theatre from Spring Green and Britain’s A&BC Theatre Company.
The initiative — both a promotional champion and clearinghouse for events already under way, and a catalyst for additional activities — has two main components this season. Shakespeare performances are taking place on various community stages: “Romeo and Juliet” at Lawrence University, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and “The Taming of the Shrew” by Rebel Alliance Theatre in Omro. A Shakespeare on the Screen film series runs the third Wednesday of each month from now through February at the Neenah Public Library.
“We’re still going strong, although this year we don’t have that anchor touring production of Shakespeare that we typically had,” said Shakespeare on the Fox co-organizer Amy Gosz. “There just wasn’t a quality production that we felt was the right fit that we could find that was touring for this season. We’re highlighting our local theater groups with their productions. These types of things would still go on without ‘Shakespeare on the Fox,’ but we like to call attention to what’s happening out there and organize some new things and celebrate Shakespeare and Shakespeare-inspired works.”
In February the Guthrie Theater and The Acting Company are coming to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center to perform “Romeo and Juliet” for school groups, but there is no public performance scheduled.
Gosz, the PAC’s director of programming and community engagement, is spearheading Shakespeare on the Fox 2009-10 with Franca Barricelli, a history faculty member at UW-Oshkosh.
Two former UW-Oshkosh faculty members, who have since retired, founded Shakespeare on the Fox. The initiative’s core team has included UW-Oshkosh, Lawrence, the PAC, Grand Opera House, American Players Theatre, Fox Valley Symphony, Fond du Lac Arts Council and Oneida Nation Arts Program. Other organizations help plan events on a year-to-year basis.
Gosz said Shakespeare’s literature has a place in modern society.
“You can see that with films still coming out today that are adaptations of Shakespeare’s classic stories,” she said.
Timothy X. Troy, Hurvis Professor of Theatre and Drama at Lawrence, is directing Lawrence’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” with a twist. The 80-minute version, which Troy created with 1994 Lawrence graduate John Maclay, takes place in 1980 on the New Jersey Shore.
“You put the Montagues as denim-wearing, Chevy-driving, and the Capulets are the yuppy preppies vacationing,” Troy said. “It’s just a particular way of looking at the story. And because it moves so fast, you just get a sense of how quickly lives change and how the consequences of spontaneous choices can have lifelong ramifications.”
Lawrence’s production preserves Shakespeare’s dialogue, but translates what’s happening into the modern era. Action unfolds on the boardwalk, fights take place with golf clubs and crowbars, and Romeo pulls over a lifeguard stand from the beach to get to Juliet, who’s hiding out from her family on a beachside house’s fire escape.
“We’ve also done a lot of work on the verse as a cast, making sure we know what we’re saying and thereby finding a way to say it so that people will understand,” said Lawrence senior Caroline Mandler, a 21-year-old French and linguistics major from Bristol, Rhode Island, who plays Juliet in the show’s principal cast.
The modern touches may help audiences better connect with Shakespeare, said Kelsey Cavanagh-Strong, a 20-year-old Lawrence junior and English major who plays Lady Montague, Romeo’s mother, in the principal cast.
“I think one thing that’s really great about our production is we are putting it on for high schools around the area,” Cavanagh-Strong said. “In terms of relevancy to our community, I would say that hits the spot the most. I think modernizing it also puts it in a place where people can really relate it to themselves more. The main storyline is that there are these two families that have constantly been at battle with each other and they can’t come to a point of agreement and peace. It could be relevant today in terms of common world issues that are going on within a regular family.”
The Shakespeare on the Fox team already is planning for the seventh annual event.
“We are searching for touring companies to see if we can hopefully bring a touring company back for 2010-11,” Gosz said.
If you go
What: Lawrence University Theatre Arts Department's production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
When: Thursday, Friday and Sunday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m.
Where: Cloak Theatre, Lawrence University, downtown Appleton
Details: “Romeo and Juliet,” a Shakespeare on the Fox 2009-10 event, is the first production of Lawrence’s 2009-10 theater season. Lawrence’s 80-minute production by director Timothy X. Troy and 1994 Lawrence graduate John Maclay sets the scene in 1980 on the New Jersey Shore.
Tickets: $10 adults, $5 students and senior citizens. Available in advance and at the door.
Contact: 920-832-6749; for a look at the rest of Lawrence’s theater season, go online at www.lawrence.edu/dept/theatre
More Shakespeare
Also on the 2009-10 Shakespeare on the Fox calendar:
æ UW-Oshkosh Theatre Department presents “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2-5 and 2 p.m. Dec. 6, Fredric March Theatre at UW-Oshkosh
æ Rebel Alliance Theatre presents “The Taming of the Shrew,” 7 p.m. Feb. 18-20 and Feb. 25-27, 205 Adams St., Omro
æ Shakespeare on the Screen film series: All films start at 6 p.m. at the Neenah Public Library, 240 E. Wisconsin Ave., Neenah. The film series is free, and includes free popcorn and soda. “West Side Story,” based on “Romeo and Juliet,” Nov. 18; “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline, Dec. 16; “The Taming of the Shrew,” directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Jan. 20; “10 Things I Hate About You,” with Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles, based on “The Taming of the Shrew,” Feb. 17.
For more information about Shakespeare on the Fox or to check the calendar of events for updates, go online a www.uwosh.edu/shakespeare.
