Summer 2020 saw ASC return to its roots, producing, much as Shakespeare’s company did, a single, versatile troupe of actors performing in repertory both at our Blackfriars Playhouse home and around the region, including outdoors in an exciting new partnership with our friends at the Blackburn Inn.
It sounds pretty amazing. But how did we get here?
Together, the articles and letters below document the arc of a micropoliton classical theatre surviving and thriving in the time of the novel coronavirus. We’ve placed them all here for you to read & understand just exactly how American Shakespeare Center made it to our 2020 SafeStart Season.
March 16, 2020
“We’LL SEE YOU AT THE PLAYHOUSE,”
ASC ANNOUNCES BUSINESS CHANGES DUE TO COVID-19
BY ETHAN MCSWEENY
“We do what performing arts organizations do throughout America: we build community…And as a nation we need community right now, perhaps more than any time in the last 50 years…We usually sign off with a cheery ‘we’ll see you at the Playhouse.’ This time that salutation is perhaps a little more hopeful, a little less certain, and a little more significant.”
MARCH 17, 2020
“The virus is already pushing small theaters to the brink. One Shakespeare theater hopes it can make it back.”
— The Washington Post
“Suddenly, a virus barely touching a bucolic slice of the Shenandoah Valley amounted to a potential theatrical extinction event…”
APRIL 23, 2020
“To survive, this Shakespeare troupe is offering online classes and videos. Are branded masks next?”
— The Washington Post
“What does a theater company do when it can’t do what it was created for?
Anything it can think of.”
June 5, 2020
A LETTER FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: ASC SAFESTART
BY ETHAN MCSWEENY
“Into this big experience, enter a small but determined theatre in the Shenandoah Valley. A place that believes and affirms that words are important, that all people are valued, and that art is a central pillar of community…
ASC invites you to begin again.
I’ll see you at the Playhouse, no matter what form that takes.”
ASC ANNOUNCES
THE SUMMER 2020 SAFESTART INITIATIVE
ON JUNE 12, 2020
JULY 8, 2020
“Once more unto the breach: Shakespeare returns to the Shenandoah Valley”
— The Washington Post
“What American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va., is doing would have been considered unremarkable a few short months ago. Now, to some people, it will seem unthinkable.
It is putting on a big play. On a stage. For an audience. In person.”
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020
‘Othello’ Review: A Work of Fitting Gravity’
— The WaLL STREET JOURNAL
“One of the first American companies to resume live performances…American Shakespeare Center’s production is an unflinching rendering of the tragic play…a work of fitting gravity…one of the first American companies to resume live performances…I’ve been impressed by all of ASC’s webcasts to date, but this one stands out boldly from its predecessors…“
‘SHE GAVE UP A LOT TO PLAY OTHELLO’
— The NEW YORK TIMES
“How do you play this beautiful person and not fall into the trap of perpetuating the idea that Black people are overemotional, monstrous, barbarous creatures? As a woman, I feel like I was able to get around the fear of that, because it didn’t have to do with being a man, it just had to do with being a human being. Also, it’s just really great to hand a female a role of this size — we’ve seen female Hamlets, female Richard IIs, we just recently saw a female Lear — and I think that’s important that women can tackle these epic roles,” Jessika D. Williams tells Michael Paulson.
And that’s where we are now.
More to come soon.
Stay tuned.
