Shakespeare Troupe Returns to Wellesley to Perform “Hamlet”
Actors From The London Stage (AFTLS), a residency program that has toured American colleges and universities since 1975, will continue a 13-year tradition at Wellesley with free performances of Shakespeare’s Hamlet on October 18, 19, and 20 at the Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall Auditorium. The five-actor troupe features a rotating cast of classically trained British actors.
AFTLS is a national outreach program of Shakespeare at Notre Dame, whose mission is to serve as a pre-eminent venue for the study and performance of the works of Shakespeare. In addition to performing, AFTLS began a weeklong residency at Wellesley on October 15 that ends October 20 during which they are teaching workshops for Wellesley’s students (pictured above).
Marta Rainer ’98, current chair of the Theatre Studies Program, director of Wellesley College Theatre, and lecturer in theatre studies, said students looked forward to the group’s return. “They visit numerous classes to offer techniques on rhetorical and textual analysis, offer free open workshops which give the community insight into their creative processes, and through their free performances give the campus an opportunity to consider what is (to many) familiar language in new and exciting and muscular ways,” she said.
David Teng Olsen, associate professor of art, said the workshop is helpful for his Advanced New Media students who “are working on animated films and video games that include character animation and narrative elements. Not many of them have any experience acting, performing, or directing, which are just as important in the virtual space as in real space.”
Free parking for the performances is available in the Davis Parking Facility. Find directions and a map of the College here. The theatre is wheelchair accessible. For disability services, contact Jim Wice at jwice@wellesley.edu.
The performances and the residency are sponsored by the Wellesley College Theatre Studies Program and the Department of English, with the generous support of the Committee on Lectures and Cultural Events, the Frye Martinson Fund, the Edwards Lecture Fund, the Harman Cain Family Foundation, and the Ruth Nagel Jones Fund. For more information, visit wellesley.edu/events or call 781-283-2000.
