This weekend, Sony Pictures releases Anonymous, a drama about the conspiracy theory that questions the authenticity of Shakespeare's work. The debate about the authorship of the manuscripts attributed to William Shakespeare has been festering in literary circles for decades. The majority of historians, however, give the theory little credence. Gregory Magyar, Executive Artistic Director at Katy Visual & Performing Arts Center (KVPAC), says that "scholars have argued that point for years and in the end it doesn't really matter who wrote the works - the fact is they are still great plays."
Twelfth Night, performed by Encore Players, will open at KVPAC on January 13, 2012 and will run for two consecutive weekends. When asked why Shakespeare is still relevant material for today's audiences, Magyar explained, "Shakespeare is the greatest playwright of all time. His plays have all the elements of good story: mystery, drama, life, death, and romance. When students take the time to read and thoroughly digest Shakespeare, they are making connections, not only to literature and language but also history, drama and philosophy. This story is more than a witty comedy about mistaken identity. Twelfth Night has layers and layers of meaning and complexity." Middle and high school students who are currently reading, or have read Shakespeare, will benefit from seeing the words come to life on stage.At age 14, Magyar was asked to participate in scene-work from Romeo and Juliet, he's been hooked on Shakespeare ever since. Magyar, who attended Cypress Creek High School, has embraced the craft of theatre as his life's work. He studied at Santa Fe's Greer Garson Theatre Center, earning a BFA in Acting. In 1995 Magyar went west to Seattle, where he developed an acting résumé with credits from Shakespeare to Pinter, and performed in musicals, film and radio. As a director in the Seattle area, his credits include Gigi, The Glass Menagerie, Jane Eyre, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Proof, Driving Miss Daisy, and Private Lives. Although he was involved in many ground breaking theatrical projects, he found the west coast Shakespearean productions to have a very different approach from what he had grown up with. "Things got a little weird in Seattle," Magyar stated, "when I was asked to do Macbeth nude - that's when I drew the line" he said with a chuckle.His influence has shaped our culture in many other ways as well. The Internet Movie Database lists over 600 films that are adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. Movies such as Ten Things I Hate About You (a remake of The Taming of the Shrew) set in a contemporary high school and starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles and A Midsummer Night's Dream with Kevin Kline and Calista Flockhart, are examples.
For more details about Encore Players complete theatrical season at KVPAC or ticketing information for Twelfth Night, please visit www.kvpac.org or call 281-829-2787.
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