William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616.
His words, on the other hand, remain very much alive and well.
Shakespeare fans around the world unite Saturday to celebrate The Bard in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of his death.
The University of Scranton will mark the occasion with “Shakespeare Lives! A Festival,” set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The event takes place in Brennan Hall and other locations throughout the campus.
Admission to the festival is $25 general admission and $5 for high school students and includes a buffet lunch. To register, contact Emily Brees at 570-941-6206 or emily.brees@scranton.edu.
The festival is presented by the English and theater and education departments, the Office of Community and Government Relations and the Schemel Forum at the U of S and the Lackawanna County Arts and Culture Department.
“Shakespeare Lives!” examines The Bard’s timeless words and universal themes explored in his work. Planners have been working on the lineup for the past several months, said Michael Friedman, Ph.D., a professor in the English and theater department at U of S and a Shakespeare specialist.
“We wanted to do something serious. So, we have some real scholars coming in. And we’ll have some people talking about what makes Shakespeare still worth studying 400 years after his death,” Friedman said. “The stuff he wrote about is still relevant today.”
“It’s an important date on the literary calendar,” added U of S English professor and English and theater department chair Rebecca Beal, Ph.D., noting the university hopes to celebrate the works of other great writers in years to come.
The festival opens with a plenary address by noted Shakespearean scholar Cary Mazer, Ph.D., associate professor of English and theater arts at the University of Pennsylvania.
That will be followed by an eclectic assortment of presentations by a group of local scholars, teachers and performers.
The presentations include: “Shakespeare Lives: Past, Present and Future,” by Rosey Hay, co-artistic director of REV Theatre Company; “Will Power: 1616-2016,” by Megan Lloyd, Ph.D., professor of English at King’s College; “ ‘Not of an age, but for all time’: The People’s Shakespeare in the 21st Century,” by Rebecca Steinberger, Ph.D., a U of S alumna and professor of English at Misericordia University; and “Shakespeare and Gender,” a panel discussion with presentations by university students Cailin Potami and Elizabeth Polishan.
Friedman will present “Performing Shakespeare’s Language,” which gives participants the chance to recite The Bard’s iambic pentameter aloud and become more familiar with the language.
Friedman said he was first turned on to Shakespeare when he took a college course on Shakespearean comedies and histories.
“It was just a revelation to me. It was probably the most important course I ever took,” he said. “I just found I understood it in a way the other students didn’t. It made sense to me.”
The festival will also include a luncheon presentation titled “400 and 5: The Scranton Shakespeare Festival” by Michael Bradshaw Flynn, a U of S alum and producing artistic director of Scranton Shakespeare Festival.
In addition, the festival will feature performances of scenes from “Hamlet” by Mollie Dooley and Terry Thompson of New Vintage Ensemble, and Rudy Caporaso and Mark Woodyatt of REV Theatre Company, among others.
Dooley said the festival’s organizers asked the Scranton-based New Vintage to participate after seeing the theater company’s production of “Hamlet” back in January at Scranton Cultural Center at The Masonic Temple.
“It’s really a huge honor,” Dooley said. “It’s a big event all around the world, and we’re very happy to be a part of the celebration of his life and his work.”
The festival, Friedman said, will offer something for everyone, from the Shakespeare connoisseur to someone simply trying to gain a better perspective on his work.
“We’re really hoping members of the community will come out and participate. We would love to have them,” he said. “I think anybody who likes Shakespeare will enjoy it.”