October 9, 2018
Friends of Music Room, University Auditorium
A discussion with Actors from a London Stage
Moderated by Jeff Pufahl (Center for Arts in Medicine) and Sophia Acord (Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere)
William Shakespeare is generally seen as the foundation of Western literature and taught in ways that illuminate contemporary social issues such as despotism, social infighting, and questions of citizenship. But, there is also a growing educational movement that seeks to incorporate more diverse authors and texts into educational foundations; this movement argues that a focus on Shakespeare in the educational system obscures the work of other playwrights and authors from diverse traditions. Perhaps as a compromise, far from seeing the Bard’s work as static, contemporary dramatists are envisioning Shakespeare in a variety of ways: transforming traditionally male roles to female actors, updating settings to be contemporary or futuristic, and re-writing his scripts into contemporary dialects. How should we use Shakespeare today in our classrooms and communities? This informal discussion was held on the occasion of a visit with members of the troupe Actors from a London Stage, who are in residency at UF Performing Arts to perform Hamlet October 11-13, 2018.
This event was organized by the UF Imagining America Working Group in collaboration with UF Performing Arts with support from the UF Provost’s Office.