A Tale of Two Festivals
Dunkirk NY – It’s going to be a very nice day here in western NY. Temperatures will climb to the upper 70s, the sun is out, and the humidity is low. Last night I sat on my back porch, listened to the Yankees drop a game to Tampa Bay, played with a new stargazing app on my iPad, and then went to bed. It’s these kinds of situations that keep me from getting on my computer and writing on this blog. But hey, I don’t do this for a living, and I really don’t have any deadlines to meet, so I figure perhaps you don’t mind so much. Besides, at least in my neck of the woods, nothing much is happening.
Last week, though, while I was on vacation visiting family in Massachusetts, I did manage to squeeze in two days taking in the three Shakespeare offerings at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox MA. In fact, I got to do a fairly quick buzz around the Berkshires, from Lenox down to Stockbridge, then up to North Adams, across to Williamstown and back down through Pittsfield to Lenox. It was interesting. I liked Pittsfield the best, because it seemed to preserve most if its working-class history, and there was much more diversity visible in the community.
Having completed my own Shakespearian stint at my hometown Shakespeare Festival, it was quite interesting to compare the two and see what a difference money and location can make. When we talk about class, culture and the arts in this country, to me it becomes readily apparent that theatre has become the domain of the white and the wealthy. Comparing the way the two festivals go about producing Shakespeare, as well as looking at the eventual product, makes this pretty clear. Continue Reading »
