Ben Crystal Comes To Santa Fe

Upstart Crows of Santa Fe in association with the International Shakespeare Center is excited to welcome actor, author, producer and explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production, Ben Crystal to Santa Fe for three days of talks and workshops. We are also delighted to announce that Ben is the 2018 visiting artist for the annual Youth Shakespeare Festival Santa Fe.

The author of Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard, Ben has also co-authored four books with his father, scholar David Crystal, including Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion and the Oxford Illustrated Dictionary of Shakespeare. He appeared in the 2006 season at The Globe Theatre in London. In 2014 he and his theatre company (Passion in Practice) were awarded one of the inaugural Owls Schreame Awards for innovation in historical theatre, specifically for their work on Original Shakespearean Pronunciation in performance. That year he produced an original pronunciation production of Macbeth at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe. In 2015 he produced OP shows of Pericles and Henry V.

Upstart Crows of Santa Fe and the ISC present An Evening with Ben Crystal at El Museo Cultural, 555 Camino de la Familia (at the Santa Fe Railyard) Friday, October 26, 7 p.m.

Tickets $15, students $10

Ben will do a talk and demonstration of Shakespeare's Original Pronunciation. What did Shakespeare's accent - and that of his actors and audience - sound like? What can we learn from hearing and speaking his works in that accent? And with no recordings or transcriptions available to us, how do we know? Actor and author Ben Crystal (Shakespeare's Words, Shakespeare on Toast) explores the fascinating 400 year old sound of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets, Original Pronunciation, showing a world hidden beneath our modern accent readings full of rhyme, rhythm, and a very subtle humour. And a not-so-subtle one too.

For actors: Shakespearean Ensemble: Friday, October 26, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. . at the Upstart Crows rehearsal space, 7 Caliente Road, in Eldorado. The workshop explores the original practice of the theatre company Shakespeare worked in - how well did they know each other, their performance space, and their writer? How did they turn their little rehearsal time to their advantage? Workshopping the nature and tempo of Ensemble for a Shakespeare Company, leaving participants with takeaway tools. The three hour workshop includes refreshments. Registration is $30, $20 for students 15-18.

While in Santa Fe, Ben will provide workshops to students from ten Santa Fe and Espanola schools as the 2018 Youth Shakespeare Festival Visiting Artist. These students will be performing on December 1, at Meow Wolf.

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