Babson College & Commonwealth Shakespeare Company to Continue Partnership

Babson College and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) today announced an extension of their partnership. For the next three years, CSC will continue to serve as the resident theater company of Babson, the recognized world leader in entrepreneurship education and the only school dedicated to advancing Entrepreneurship of All Kinds®.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company became Babson College's theatre in residence in the fall of 2013. This move was unusual for a college with a business focus. While many - even most - universities have an active arts presence on their campuses, it does not appear that the connection between business programs and the arts has been a focus of exploration at other colleges.

"Babson's partnership with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is a valued undertaking that allows our community to understand and benefit from the intersection of arts, creativity, innovation, management, and entrepreneurship," said Babson President Kerry Healey.

"This partnership is a way to enhance the student experience and create programming that augments the academic programs and allows the Babson community the opportunity to explore the connection between entrepreneurship and the creativity that business leaders need to excel," said Steven Maler, Director of the Sorenson Center for the Arts and Founding Artistic Director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company.

As a part of renewing the partnership, Babson and CSC are pleased to announce their spring initiatives, including:

Shakespeare & Leadership: Othello with Faran Tahir as the title character

March 9, 2016

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's fourth annual Shakespeare & Leadership on March 9 focuses on Othello. Jealousy rules the motives of nearly every character in Othello, and creates a world where what people are and what they seem to be become indistinguishable. Shakespeare & Leadership features a staged reading of excerpts from the play performed by leaders (Josh Kraft, Kerry Healey) from the business community alongside professional actors. A panel discussion follows the reading, where the participants address leadership questions and themes raised in the text. Wednesday, March 9. 7:00 P.M. Carling-Sorenson Theater. Free; registration required.

Theatre in the Rough: Death and the Maiden featuring Pedro Pascal and Cote de Pablo

April 25, 2016

Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company on April 25, Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden is the next installment of CSC's Theatre in the Rough, a script-in-hand reading series presented without theatrical elements like sets or costumes. Starring Chilean actor Pedro Pascal (HBO's Game of Thrones, Netflix's Narcos) and newly added to the cast Cote de Pablo (NCIS, "The 33")), the play takes place after the fall of a totalitarian regime, when a former political prisoner finds herself face-to-face with the man she believes was her captor. Is he guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, or is her paranoia getting the better of her? Monday, April 25, 8:00 P.M. Carling-Sorenson Theater. Free; registration required. he script-in-hand reading of Death and the Maiden is FREE and open to the public. Seating is limited, so reservations are strongly recommended! By making a $95 donation to CSC you will receive preferred seating at the reading and be invited to attend a special post-show reception with Pedro, Cote, and the rest of the cast.

CSC2 A Midsummer Night's Dream

Directed by Adam Sanders

May 4 -10 2016

CSC2, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's acting company for early-career actors, will perform Shakespeare's romping comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the city of Athens, growing up means fitting in with the traditions of how people "should" and "must" feel. Four young people, fleeing these expectations, discover in the woods that transformation awaits for those who dare to leave the beaten path. From May 4 -10, there will be five weekday performances for students from local schools, and two public performances Friday, May 6 at 7:30 P.M. and Saturday, May 7, 3:00 P.M. at Carling-Sorenson Theater. Tickets $20.

Babson's partnership with CSC has been responsible for a range of programs and activities during the past three years.

CSC has twice brought its signature "Shakespeare and Leadership" series, in which area business executives perform a staged reading of a Shakespeare play and then discuss the leadership issues raised by the work. "Theatre in the Rough" staged readings have included guest actors such as Jeffrey Donovan and Seth Gilliam; CSC brought in a fully-staged and critically acclaimed production of Samuel Beckett's play Happy Days with Brooke Adams and Tony Shalhoub and Anthony Rapp's Without You. CSC conducted rehearsals on campus for the Boston Common productions of Twelfth Night and King Lear that featured the top actors from the local theater community.

BabsonARTS has established itself as a presenter of high-quality performances that fill out the schedule of arts offerings on campus, attracting audiences from both inside and outside the Babson community. Examples include multimedia events such as Basetrack Live and ETHEL's Documerica; guest artists such as the Israeli Stage Company and Doug Elkins Choreography; musicians Jeremy Jordan, Jamie Kent, Charles Busch and others. BabsonARTS has also introduced the Arts & Business Conversations series featuring executives from prominent arts organizations such as American Ballet Theater, the Institute for Contemporary Art, the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and Sotheby's.

Many faculty members have long been involved in the arts on campus, and BabsonARTS has been able support these efforts, including TEST (The Empty Space Theater), the Thompson Visiting Poet series, the Global Film Series, and visual arts exhibitions at the Hollister Gallery.

CSC artists and teachers have offered workshops in voice, movement, improvisation, and public speaking in addition to the already-existing visual arts workshops in ceramics, sculpture, and drawing. All of these workshops build skills that will be directly useful in students' future business careers.