Monmouth to Launch Classics in Context Scholar Dialogues

On Friday, July 8 and Friday, July 22 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. before the Opening Night performances of Love's Labour's Lost and Henry V, Theater at Monmouth will launch a new humanities-based initiative, Classics in Context. Classics in Context will offer audiences a guide to the season through the critical, historical, artistic, and cultural perspectives wound into the words of each individual play. Classics in Context is made possible by the generous support of the Maine Arts Commission and Maine Humanities Council.

This series will feature a pre-season article written by Project Scholar Benjamin Bertram and two panel discussions aimed at increasing audience engagement with classic theatre by providing a window into its origins, critical response, as well as scholarly and artistic perspectives. The pre-season article will focus on all six productions providing background information on the cultural, economic, and historical context of the plays. The discussions will feature a panel of scholars and artists selected by the project scholar and project director, focusing on two or three of the season's offering.

"Audience members can read the pre-season article, attend the pre-show discussion and, after a quick tailgate dinner overlooking the lake or in the shade of the cemetery trees, attend one of the productions that the scholars and artists have just discussed." Said producing artistic director, Dawn McAndrews. "I've long wanted to provide this opportunity for our audience and am grateful for the participation of Professor Bertram and the support of the Maine Arts Commission and Maine Humanities Council.

2016 Classics and Context Preshow Discussion Topics, Schedule, and Panelists:

Friday, July 8, 5:30-6:30 in Cumston Hall

"Jack hath not Jill": The Comedy of Love in Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, Beaumarchais' The Barber of Seville, and Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost

Charlotte Daniels, Professor Romance Languages & Literature, Bowdoin College

Dawn McAndrews, Producing Artistic Director and Director of Love's Labour's Lost

Steve Urkowitz, Shakespeare scholar and director

Friday, July 22, 5:30-6:30 in Cumston Hall

"Les langues des hommes sont pleines de tromperies": War, Love, and the Magic of Theater in Shakespeare's Henry V and Kushner's The Illusion

Benjamin Bertram, English Professor, University of Southern Maine

Christina Malcolmson, English Professor, Bates College

Mark Mineart, Associate Professor of Theater at Otterbein University and Director of Henry V

Classics in Context Preshow Discussions are free, open to the public, and require no reservations. Theater at Monmouth's complete Vive la France season features Cyrano by Edmond Rostand and adapted by Jo Roets runs from June 25-August 19; Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare runs from July 7-August 20; The Barber of Seville by Pierre Beaumarchais and translated by ElizaBeth Griffith runs from July 14-August 21; Henry V by William Shakespeare runs from July 21-August 20; The Illusion by Pierre Corneille and adapted by Tony Kushner runs from July 28-August 19; Puss in Boots written by Dawn McAndrews runs from July 2-August 18; Boeing, Boeing written by Marc Camoletti runs from September 15-September 25. For more information on the Classics in Context Preshow Discussions, the rest of the season, or to buy tickets, call the box office at 207-933-9999 or visit www.theateratmonmouth.org.