Extra Fun
ShakespeareFest
ShakespeareFest took place at Auburn University in April, 2014, to celebrate William Shakespeare's 450th birthday. ShakespeareFest culminated in a week-long interdisciplinary celebration of the life, work, and art of the Bard. Among the events during ShakespeareFest were performances of scenes and songs from his plays, readings of sonnets, Flashspeare: 24-Hour Theater Festival, and much more.
Events were held at the Arboretum, Plant Research Center, Haley Center, St. Dunstan's Episcopalian Church, and the Amphitheater.
Click on the button below to see the schedule of events--and look for more pictures on our Facebook page.
About 150 people participated, including undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, faculty, and stuff from various departments, such as English, Theater, Music, the Library, and many more. The Wiley Women Weed Club gave fascinating presentations on the herb lore in Shakespeare's England and demonstrated the making of Four Thieves Vinegar, a potion thought to protect one against the plague. About 80 people stopped by to read a sonnet (or a whole bunch of sonnets) during the Sonnet Project in front of Cater Hall, and passers-by were taking selfies with the Bard on the Concourse at the Bard's Birthday Booth staffed by the English Club. There were two book exhibits at the Library and a screening of Hamlet. Outdoors and indoors, we had performances of the entire Winter's Tale, scenes from a few plays from Shakespeare and his contemporaries as well as mini-plays written and rehearsed by the students within 24 hours, and wonderful songs from Shakespeare's plays were heard within the beautiful walls of St. Dunstan's. The weather was glorious, and the week of ShakespeareFest was full of memorable events that allowed us to have fun with the Bard while cherishing his legacy. We are grateful especially to the English Department and College of Liberal Arts for supporting this festival.
Newly discovered portrait of Queen Elizabeth I
In 2008, I gave a talk at a conference Raleigh and the Atlantic World at East Carolina University about this unusual portrait of Elizabeth I. In the next few years, I was interviewed for three newspaper articles that addressed this "new" discovery. Here is one of the articles.
Performance as Jane Seymour in Carole Levin's The King Dreams of Marriage (Newberry Library, 2003)
As a graduate student, I served as a Curatorial Assistant for an exhibit Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend at the Newberry Library, Chicago. My job was to research the items in the exhibit and write annotations for the display. The opening of the exhibit was celebrated by a Gala and performance of Carole Levin's whimsical play about Henry VIII and his six wives.