MCC will bring Bard to local schools

Middlesex Community College’s Theatre Department is excited to introduce The Shakesportable Players — a student performing troupe that brings classic Shakespeare scenes to local schools.

The goal of the troupe is to inspire and teach highschool students who are interested in pursuing theater. In post-performance talkbacks, discussions will center around relevant topics from Shakespeare’s works, including gender, race, sexual identity and violence.

Karen Oster, chair of MCC’S Performing Arts program, selected the actors to perform scenes from Shakespeare’s plays, which will include stage combat and sword-fighting choreography.

“We hope The Shakesportable Players program will be beneficial to teachers because we will bring the work to life,” Oster said. “Watching a scene be performed can bring a better understanding to the work.”

Jade Gordon, an MCC performing-arts student, is thrilled to be participating.

“We as a cast are being forced out of our comfort zones and into the difficult positions of playing characters outside our normal typecasts while still delivering the depths that the roles deserve,” she said.

Gordon is most excited to play Julius Caesar in the Ides of March scene because “this cast is comprised of some of my very good friends and I couldn’t imagine a better group of people to be repeatedly impaled by.”

Performances also include scenes from, but not limited to, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Macbeth” and “Romeo and Juliet,” and can be catered to particular classroom’s needs, including time, place and length — and it’s all free.

For more information or to schedule a performance, contact MCC Theatre Department Outreach Coordinator Amy Myres at myresa@middlesex.mass.edu.

Visit www.middlesex. mass. edu/performingarts/ to learn more about MCC’S Performing Arts programs.