Playhouse on Park and Hartford Stage Company Will Host Panel Discussion, JANE AUSTEN: FROM PAGE TO THE STAGE

Playhouse on Park and Hartford Stage Company will collaborate on a panel discussion in conjunction with the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s THEATER WEEK. On Sunday, October 1, 2023 from 11am-1:30pm, join prestigious guests as they discuss Jane Austen's influence in the 21st Century in one of Hartford's most historic and literary homes. The panel discussion will take place at The Mark Twain House & Museum (351 Farmington Ave, Hartford, CT 06105). For tickets, visit www.playhouseonpark.org.

As the panelists discuss their own unique experiences with Jane, they'll also explore why, over 200 years later, we are still reading, adapting, producing, and celebrating the work of Jane Austen. Tickets are $10; each ticket includes a tea/coffee and pastry reception, panel discussion, Q&A, and more! Jane Austen: FROM PAGE TO THE STAGE will be moderated by Amanda Forker. Panelists include Barbara M. Benedict, Charlotte Northeast, and Rachel Ropella. 

The panel will take place during the runs of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE at Hartford Stage (By Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen, Directed by Tatyana-Marie Carlo) and the New England Premiere of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF Jane Austen (ABRIDGED) at Playhouse on Park (By Jessica Bedford, Kathryn MacMillan, Charlotte Northeast, and Meghan Winch, Directed by KC MacMillan). To learn more about these productions, visit www.HartfordStage.org and www.PlayhouseOnPark.org. To learn more about events and performances in conjunction with the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s THEATER WEEK, visit www.LetsGoArts.org. 

Amanda Forker (Panel Moderator) is a proud Jane Austen enthusiast aka ‘Janeite.’ She has been performing at Playhouse on Park since its memorable first season and is a (singing) member of Darlene Zoller’s stop/time Dance Theater. Some favorite POP acting credits include: Mother Superior (NUNSENSE), SAY THINGS FUNNY: A Loving Tribute to Carol Burnett, Host (MAMA D'S OUTRAGEOUS ROMPs) and Heidi [TITLE OF SHOW]. She is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America and earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Western Connecticut State University. 

Barbara M. Benedict (Panelist. Trinity Professor, Published Author). Professor Barbara M. Benedict earned her BA at Harvard University and her PhD. At UC Berkeley. She is the Dana Chair of English at Trinity College, CT, where she has taught for almost 40 years. She has published numerous articles and chapters on Jane Austen and on the literature, culture and book history of the eighteenth century, and three books: Curiosity: A Cultural History of Early Modern Inquiry (Chicago 2001); Making the Modern Reader: Cultural Mediation in Early-Modern Literary Anthologies(Princeton 1996); and Framing Feeling: Sentiment and Style in English Prose Fiction,1745-1800 (AMS 1994). She has also edited Eighteenth-Century English Erotica, 1700-1800, vol. 4: Wilkes and the Late Eighteenth-Century (Pickering and Chatto, 2002), and, most recently, with Deidre LeFaye, Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (Cambridge 2006). She is currently working on a book on literature and material culture.

Charlotte Northeast (Panelist. Actor and Co-Creator of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF Jane Austen (ABRIDGED), on stage at Playhouse on Park through October 22nd)

Charlotte Northeast Playhouse on Park debut! Regional: Philadelphia Artists’ Collective: Jane/Co-Creator JANE EYRE); Lantern: Miss Bates EMMA; InterAct Theatre Ina SKIN IN FLAMES; Walnut Street Theatre Miss Casewell THE MOUSETRAP; Delaware Theatre Company Cratchit/Marley A CHRISTMAS CAROL; Education: Circle in the Square. Recipient of two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Also a director, writer and coach, Charlotte lives with her husband, son and too many cats in Collingswood, NJ. www.charlottenortheast.com

Rachel Ropella (Panelist. Assistant Director of PRIDE & PREJUDICE by Kate Hamill. Adapted from the novel by Jane Austen, on stage at Hartford Stage, October 5th - November 12th). Rachel Rosella (she/her) is a Midwestern director and theater maker. A graduate of St. Olaf College and the National Theater Institute, she was a Directing/Dramaturgy Apprentice at Portland Stage for their '22-'23 Season. Co-founder of the Minneapolis theater company Melancholics Anonymous, she has spent the past four years directing and writing award-winning new works at the Minnesota Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe. @rachel_ropella

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