Patricia Akhimie of Rutgers University, one of eight presenters at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ New Approaches to Early Modern Literature and Culture symposium, listens to a presentation on Sept. 26. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

“I don’t want to be accused of having an ax to grind” by bringing current political or social-justice issues into discussions of early modern literature, a Shakespearean scholar told a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ symposium the other day.

Which was not to say that David Sterling Brown, assistant professor of English at the University of Arizona, wants to bar those issues from the classroom or his students’ awareness. Quite the opposite, said Brown — an African American man who, earlier that morning, had presented a paper subtitled “Black Life Matters in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus.”

“I want the students to come to these issues on their own. I don’t want to force-feed them. I don’t want to make them think that I am just depositing my ideas” into those discussions, Brown said.

At the lectern, Aileen Liu of UC Berkeley gives a presentation on storytelling in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. Fellow presenters are (from left) Kirsten Mendoza, Vanderbilt University; Jennifer Park, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Jose Villagrana, also of Berkeley. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

The role of contemporary concerns in the teaching of centuries-old literature was one of the fresh concepts explored during the symposium New Approaches to Early Modern Literature and Culture on Sept. 26. Brown was one of eight young scholars of early-modern literature, all from backgrounds underrepresented in the field, who shared research and professional insights at the symposium presented by the Department of English at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.

Another presenter was Madiha Hannachi, a native of Tunisia and a doctoral candidate at the University of Montreal. She studies Shakespeare’s presence in the Arab world, an unusual topic in early modern studies. “This kind of symposium is empowering for young scholars coming from underrepresented groups, and who have interesting views and refreshing research,” she said.

When Hannachi heard about the symposium, “I felt like it represents me. I’m part of an underrepresented group in North America and I work in a field that is also underrepresented,” Arab perspectives on Shakespeare. “This event really spoke to me.”

A mix of faculty and graduate students, the presenters came from across the U.S. as well as Canada. In their formal presentations, six of the eight dealt in some way with Shakespeare. (Playwright Christopher Marlowe and poet Philip Sidney also got their due.)

Patricia Akhimie of Rutgers University–Newark revealed a surprising equivalency between racial ideology and the roles of the abused, bruised twins both named Dromio in The Comedy of Errors. “Racialist logic can rationally tie any somatic mark,” like a bruise, “to any social meaning, even a meaning as complex as identity,” Akhimie said.

Jeremy Glover ’17 of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, takes notes during the New Approaches to Early Modern Literature and Culture symposium held at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ on Sept. 26. In the background are Senior Lecturer in English Rob Farnsworth and Roya Biggie of Grinnell College. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

Hannachi took a macro view of the Bard. She explained why productions of Shakespeare in Arab countries involve much more than just text translation — it’s a transcultural process as much as a translinguistic one. Especially fascinating was her description of Sulayman Al-Bassam’s award-winning The Al-Hamlet Summit, a 2002 adaptation of Hamlet that represented the title character’s “complete immersion into Arab culture” and the present day.

In contrast to the tightly structured research presentations, morning and afternoon roundtable discussions generated dynamic examinations of the context in which early modern literature scholars — especially those who are bringing needed diversity to the field — do their work.

Topics arising during the afternoon roundtable included the legacy of old literary categories that continue to shape the profession — even through such factors as the names of professional journals — while failing to accommodate today’s breadth of perspectives on race and gender; student interest in English literature and in humanities broadly; and the point during the course of a semester when rising student engagement brings joy to the work.

A theme that arose in both roundtables (and, in the morning, led to David Brown’s remark about grinding axes) was anachronism and “presentism” — the introduction (or intrusion, as some old-school academics see it) of contemporary concerns into examinations of old literature.

“I’ve noticed with our papers today that many of the period-specific questions we’re asking are motivated by our own concerns about this current historical moment,” said Roya Biggie, a doctoral candidate at the City University of New York Graduate Center. (Her research focuses on early modern treatments of ecological and interspecies relationships.)

“At least in my experience, when I try to make those connections explicit, I’ve been criticized for being anachronistic,” Biggie said. “And there is a certain anachronism that goes with that.

“But at the same time, I personally think it’s worth it because, why ask irrelevant questions?”

With Shakespeare dominating the presentations at the New Approaches to Early Modern Literature and Culture symposium, it was wise to come prepared. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

The symposium came about because ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ English department “wanted to educate itself about new scholarship in the field,” said Therí Pickens, associate professor of English, who organized the symposium with English faculty colleagues Eden Osucha and Sylvia Federico.

The presenters’ “new approaches were wide-ranging,” said Pickens. “One of the takeaways was definitely an expansion of the categories with which most scholars frequently work — race, gender, sexuality, etc.”

The symposium, she said, “was an amazing opportunity for professional development, research collaboration, and pedagogy for both the presenters and the department.”

The presenters were selected through a competitive process. “We tried to create a conversation among them that was exciting and groundbreaking,” Pickens says.

“We also paid attention to scholars who are underrepresented in the field. It was important to us to get voices who were embodying and researching new perspectives.”

Support for the symposium came from the New Scholars Series, an Office of Equity and Diversity initiative that brings scholars from historically underrepresented backgrounds to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.

Postell Pringle ’98 (left, as Othello) and GQ (Iago) face off as Iago’s plot unfolds in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s production of “Othello: The Remix.” Photograph by Michael Brosilow.

Rapper, writer, actor and director Postell Pringle ’98 is winning rave reviews for his star turn this spring in the title role of Othello: The Remix at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

In March, Time Out Chicago named Pringle its Performer of the Week. In a Time Out Q-and-A , he discussed how working in theater at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ sharpened his delivery as a rapper:

“My approach to the actual attack of the line and getting punchlines and the arc of the storytelling within the song was all different. I realized that it had to do with the fact that I had just been working on acting, working on playing characters. … I wouldn’t be as good of a rapper if I hadn’t spent all that time working on just acting and just theater.”

Othello: The Remix was adapted from Shakespeare’s tragedy by the Q Brothers — aka GQ and JQ, who with Pringle and a fourth member are also members of the rap group the Retar Crew. The entire Crew performs in The Remix.

The Q’s modus operandi, previously exercised on such works as The Bomb-itty of Errors, is to render Shakespeare’s entire text as rhyming couplets suitable for rap delivery. The Remix re-imagines the title character as “a hip-hop mogul whose life falls apart when he makes Iago the opener’s opener on a new tour,” writes Time Out blogger Oliver Sava.

“To cut to the chase: Othello: The Remix — the 90-minute, lightning-fast, hip-hop version of Shakespeare’s tragic tale of jealousy and self-doubt — is absolutely brilliant, and immense fun,” wrote Chicago Sun-Times theater critic Hedy Weiss.

With ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ classmate Erin Gottwald, a dancer and choreographer, Pringle returns to campus this spring to lead the longstanding Short Term unit Tour Teach Perform, in which students create a dance piece and teach it to pupils in local schools.

• .

Nikhil Krishna ’13 as Proteus hears a mouthful from a Sam Metzger ’14 as Valentine. Photographs by Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ presents The Two Gentlemen of Verona, a romantic comedy considered by some to be Shakespeare’s first play, in performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 7-9; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10; and 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 11, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

Admission is $6, and $3 for seniors and students. Tickets are available at or by calling the box office at 207-786-6161.

The Two Gentlemen, believed to have been written in the early 1590s, “just captures the spirit of youthful energy,” says director Martin Andrucki, Dana Professor of Theater. “It’s a love story, a friendship story and a betrayal story.”

He says, “Audiences can expect a lively and fast-paced play, and one that’s sometimes very funny and sometimes moving.”

Silvia is played by Singha Hon ’14.

The storyline is driven by the romantic impulses of two young couples: Julia and Proteus, and Silvia and Valentine, who is Proteus’ best friend. The fickle Proteus and coy Julia stir up a colorful plot — involving cross-dressing, a scene-stealing dog and a band of woodland outlaws — that works out happily for all in the end.

The themes of romantic love and friendship found here are ones that Shakespeare would return to later in such works at Twelfth Night and As You Like It, says Andrucki.

“From my perspective as a student of Shakespeare and as a director, I’m finding it really informative to see how Shakespeare’s mind was cooking when he was still learning how to cook,” he says. “It gives me a deeper appreciation of his later work.”

Sixteen students will perform in the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ production. Portraying Proteus is Nikhil Krishna, a senior from Concord, Mass., who is performing as part of a senior thesis. Sam Metzger, a junior from Wellesley Hills, Mass., plays Valentine; Allie Freed, a first-year student from Magnolia, Mass., is Julia; and Silvia is played by Singha Hon, a junior from New York City.

The production features original music by Vonetta Trotter, a senior from New York City, who composed a setting for Shakespeare’s famous lyric “Who is Silvia?” Krishna will sing the piece.

Andrucki notes that his production is transposed to the late 1960s, an era marked by social upheaval that meshes with the setting of the play.

Wearing costumes designed by Carol Farrell, the cast takes a bow during a dress rehearsal.

Unlike other plays by Shakespeare, he adds, The Two Gentlemen meets college students where they are in terms of life experience and outlook.

“The characters are the same age as our students,” Andrucki says. “The kinds of emotional experiences they go through will be familiar to students — intense friendship, intense infatuation or love, and betrayal of friendship through love.

“So it’s all very accessible, and the actors can sink their teeth into it in a way that enables them to do justice to the play.”

Martin Andrucki, Dana Professor of Theater at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, directs the college theater department production of “Measure for Measure,” William Shakespeare’s dark comedy about sex, public morality and private hypocrisy.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 7, 8, 14 and 15; and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 10 and 16, in Gannett Theater, Pettigrew Hall, 2 Andrews Road.

Admission is $6 general admission, and $3 for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty and staff, senior citizens and non-ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students. For more information, please call 207-786-6161 or visit the online box office at www.bates.edu/boxoffice.

“Measure for Measure” is believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. Though known as a comedy, it’s also one of three Shakespeare plays that scholars term “problem plays” — meaning they address, but reach no conclusions about, problematic social issues such as the need for mercy in justice, the definition of gender roles in human sexuality, and, in particular, questions of sexual morality.

“Measure for Measure,” says Andrucki, “raises more questions than it answers, leaving the audience without any final or settled sense of the moral stature of the major characters.”

In the story, the Duke of Vienna has left the city in the hands of Angelo, a strict and austere judge. Though the Duke has rarely enforced the city’s laws against fornication, Angelo is an outspoken supporter of them, and his control of the city spells trouble for young lovers.

When one Claudio gets Juliet, his betrothed, pregnant, Angelo sentences him to death. But when Isabella, Claudio’s distraught sister, pleads for mercy for her brother, Angelo tells her he will spare her brother’s life only if she has sex with him.

Thus begins the commentary on the hypocrisy of public figures, and how social morality does not necessarily correlate with private morality. When it turns out that the Duke has not gone away at all, but stayed in Vienna incognito to observe the happenings without him, chaos reigns as the theme of secret identity prevails throughout the play.

Andrucki edited the play slightly, cutting a number of scenes, but is presenting the play essentially as it appears in standard editions of Shakespeare. But he has moved the action from Renaissance Vienna to New York in the 1970s, a setting for an urban breakdown parallel to that depicted in the Duke’s Vienna .

Two ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ seniors feature prominently in the production. Stephen Lattanzi of Winchester, Mass., plays Angelo and Sam Leichter of Wallingford, Pa., portrays the Duke. Both students are using the play as their senior acting thesis production.

“I knew I had two strong actors to play the male leads,” Andrucki says. “Then, I like the fact that the play has a lot of colorful and challenging cameo roles, which would allow a large number of students to get involved.”

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College student theater group performs the Maine radio premiere of Shakespeare’s King Lear in a broadcast from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11, on the college radio station, .

Recorded in March by a cast of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty and students, the Robinson Players’ Lear was directed by Matteo A. Pangallo, a junior from Salem, Mass.

Key players include Sanford Freedman, professor of English, as Lear; first-year student Matt Heffernan, of Cranston, R.I., as the Earl of Kent; sophomores Nathan Holt, of Plainfield, N.J., as the Earl of Gloucester and Jamal Smith, of Corona, Calif., as Edgar; seniors Colin Simmons, of Litchfield, Conn., as Edmund and Sarah Wilson, of Mediapolis, Iowa, in the role of Cordelia.

Pangallo has aspired to produce Lear for radio since last year. He attributes the idea to a Lear recording by the Renaissance Shakespeare Company, with an all-star British cast including Dame Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. Pangallo believes that a sound-only version of this drama set in pre-Christian Britain will “force the audience to listen and imagine the world of the play.”

The play follows events leading up to the legendary king’s tragic demise. When the action begins, Lear has decided to retire as King of England. He would like to divide his land among his three daughters, Regan, Goneril and Cordelia, but must first decide which will get the best land. He holds a contest to determine which daughter loves him the most, with an outcome more costly than he could ever have imagined.

A subplot involves the Earl of Gloucester, who like Lear makes a costly decision regarding the loyalty of his sons, the bastard Edmund and the legitimate son Edgar.

This is the first theatrical piece for radio the Robinson Players have produced in their 80-year history. The company recorded the performance in Schaeffer Theater at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and did post-production editing and mixing in the WRBC production studio.

“Our decision not to broadcast live,” Pangallo says, “will enable us to edit in music for atmospheric and scene-change purposes, as well as sound effects, such as sword fights and thunderstorms.”

The play airs only on WRBC, whose signal extends about 15 miles from the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ campus.

Recorded in March, the Robinson Players’ Lear will be broadcast from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11, on the college radio station, . Matteo A. Pangallo, a junior from Salem, Mass., directed the cast of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty and students.

Key players include Sanford Freedman, professor of English, as Lear; first-year student Matt Heffernan, of Cranston, R.I., as the Earl of Kent; sophomores Nathan Holt, of Plainfield, N.J., as the Earl of Gloucester and Jamal Smith, of Corona, Calif., as Edgar; seniors Colin Simmons, of Litchfield, Conn., as Edmund and Sarah Wilson, of Mediapolis, Iowa, in the role of Cordelia.

Pangallo has aspired to produce “Lear” for radio since last year. He attributes the idea to a Lear recording by the Renaissance Shakespeare Company, with an all-star British cast including Dame Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. Pangallo believes that a sound-only version of this drama set in pre-Christian Britain will “force the audience to listen and imagine the world of the play.”

The play follows events leading up to the legendary king’s tragic demise. When the action begins, Lear has decided to retire as King of England. He would like to divide his land among his three daughters, Regan, Goneril and Cordelia, but must first decide which will get the best land. He holds a contest to determine which daughter loves him the most, with an outcome more costly than he could ever have imagined.

A subplot involves the Earl of Gloucester, who like Lear makes a costly decision regarding the loyalty of his sons, the bastard Edmund and the legitimate son Edgar.

This is the first theatrical piece for radio the Robinson Players have produced in their 80-year history. The company recorded the performance in Schaeffer Theater at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and did post-production editing and mixing in the WRBC production studio.

“Our decision not to broadcast live,” Pangallo says, “will enable us to edit in music for atmospheric and scene-change purposes, as well as sound effects, such as sword fights and thunderstorms.”

The play airs only on WRBC, whose signal extends about 15 miles from the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ campus.

“Bingo,” written in 1974 by British playwright Edward Bond, speculates on how the great Bard’s wealth and fame prevented him from fully loving both family members and humanity. Directed by William Pope.L of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ theater department, the production portrays Shakespeare, a wealthy landowner, as an absentee father engaged in a difficult relationship with his daughter, Judith.

“Bond has taken a revered superstar of the 17th century and imaginatively re-examined his life as a lesson to all of us today,” Pope.L said. “The story is not about Shakespeare but about us and how we must not lose sight of what is really important: people, not profits; children, not obedience; love, not security.”

Pope.L has set Bond’s play between the 17th and 20th centuries. The director considers Shakespeare “a 17th century Elvis, a successful superstar who wakes up one day to find himself all dressed up with no place to go,” Pope.L said.

The production will be set predominantly in Shakespeare’s time with resonant references to the 20th century, including a peasant rock ‘n roll jam about medieval Christianity and death.

The play features three senior theater majors at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½: Gregory T. Arata of Bangor as Old Man/Ben Jonson, Margaret Hopper of Brielle, N.J. as Judith and Steven Young of Concord, Mass. as Shakespeare.

As a tribute to Lewiston’s working class culture, Pope.L has re-worked and included French-Canadian step-dance routines as an integral part of the play’s peasant culture. “I hope to provide the audience with an entertaining theater experience which is adventurous, multi-cultural, timely and fun,” he said.

William Matthews, of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ music department, has composed original music for the production. Marcy Plavin, of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ theater department, provides the choreography. Josh Williamson and Barbara Rodgers, both of the theater department, provide the lighting and set design respectively. Jennifer Moore ’96 of Rindge, N.H. has designed the costumes.

For further information , call the box office at 207-786-6161.