Contact Program Contact The Merchant of Venice, Tickets (765) 455-9259 Media Contact Anne-Marie Damler OCM (765) 455-9468 adamler@iuk.edu Mary Ellen Stephenson OCM (765) 455-9414 mestephe@iuk.edu

Getting more out of Shakespeare

Peter Holland, Ph.D.

KOKOMO, Ind.—Seeing a Shakespeare play performed was never meant to be a passive act, like watching television or film, says Peter Holland, Ph.D. Working with minimal sets and special effects, the first Shakespearean actors had to rely on audiences’ imaginations to “bring a play’s world into being,” Holland said.

The McMeel Family Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Holland will talk about “Shakespeare in Performance” on Tuesday, February 28, at 7 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium at Indiana University Kokomo. Holland’s talk will point out performance techniques the Actors From The London Stage (AFTLS) will use to engage audience members’ imaginations during its performance of The Merchant of Venice at Havens Auditorium Saturday, March 4.

Holland is the academic director for AFTLS, a professional Shakespeare troupe that will present workshops and performances throughout that week at IU Kokomo. The five-member AFTLS troupe works without elaborate costumes, props, or lighting, focusing instead on letting Shakespeare’s rich language and character development “set the scenes” in viewers’ minds, Holland said. “If you share the fun of collaborating with us, then the excitement of the performance will be richly exciting for you,” he said.

Persons without campus parking passes should follow the signs for special event parking for Holland’s lecture.

For ticket information for The Merchant of Venice, call (765) 455-9258.