Play(s), Not Work(s)

Mary Hartman, the director of education at Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival in Vancouver, BC, Canada, shares her philosophy for Shakespeare education and its emphasis on play. Mary reveals why threads is a better term than themes; how Shakespeare’s plays should not be poetry readings; how she's developed the Discovery Zone, an extensive free resource for both students and educators; and how so much of Shakespeare’s power is not just in his words, but in the relationship of actors to each other and to the audience. NOTE: This conversation was recorded the night before we learned Tina Packer, the Founding Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts and an acclaimed director, actor, writer, and teacher, died at the age of 87. Tina was a mentor to generations of artists, scholars, and educators, including Mary, and so this conversation is an unintentionally timely tribute to and celebration of the legacy of Tina Packer. (Length 19:30)

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