GVSU 2008 Shakespeare Festival Events

Now celebrating its 15th season, the Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival -- Michigan's oldest and largest -- attracts thousands of patrons to a variety of activities.

Wednesday, September 24, 7 p.m.
Shakespeare Scholar-in-Residence and GVSU Fall Arts Celebration Distinguished Academic Lecturer

Stephen Greenblatt, Ph.D., presents "Cultural Mobility: The Strange Case of Shakespeare's Cardenio." One of the world's leading Shakespeare scholars brings a humorous and insightful exploration of the 400-year-old mystery surrounding Shakespeare’s lost play.

GVSU Eberhard Center, 2nd floor, 301 W. Fulton, Pew Grand Rapids Campus. Free Admission. For more information contact Jo Miller in the Department of English, at (616) 331-3405, or visit www.gvsu.edu/shakes.

Friday, September 26, 7:30 p.m.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Opening Night
Bollywood meets the Bard in the GVSU Shakespeare Festival's 15th Anniversary mainstage production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The brilliant colors, exciting music and visual comedy combine to create a mesmerizingly beautiful production. The bewildered young lovers, supernatural sprites, and bumbling tradesmen of Shakespeare's comedy romp though a series of social collisions that will send audiences home spellbound.

Additional performances:
September 27 and October 2, 3, 4 at 7:30 pm.
Matinees September 27, 28 and October 4, 5 at 2 pm.

All performances are in the Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center, on the Allendale Campus. Tickets: General admission $14, alumni, faculty, staff and seniors $12, all students $6 available at the Box Office from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A special 15th Season Anniversary Reception will be held in 2263 Kirkhof Center after the opening night performance on September 26. Tickets for the reception are $10 or two for $15. Call (616) 331-2300 for more ticket information, or visit www.gvsu.edu/shakes.

Monday, October 6, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, October 7, 2:30 p.m.
“Who Killed the King?: A Chinese Hamlet”
Join GVSU's special guest drama students from Shanghai, China, as they perform their version of “Hamlet.” Free admission.
October 6 performance at Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center, 401 W. Fulton, Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
October 7 performance at Cook-DeWitt Center, Allendale Campus. For more information visit, www.gvsu.edu/shakes.

October 11-12
Renaissance Faire
The fun begins at 10 a.m., near the Cook Carillon Tower on Grand Valley’s Allendale Campus and continues all day, rain or shine. Many free activities, visitors and participants in medieval or Renaissance costumes, food and beverages available for purchase. For more information visit, www.GVRen.org.

Saturday, November 1, 1 p.m.
Bard to Go and Shakespeare Festival Student Competition Awards Ceremony and Reception
This is the only public performance of the award-winning Bard to Go Shakespeare Festival Outreach production of "Kissing and Courting!" The 50-minute theatrical collage includes excerpts from "As You Like It," "Romeo & Juliet," "Richard III," "Twelfth Night" and "The Tempest," and is a rollicking and engaging introduction to Shakespeare for 21st century audiences.

Loosemore Auditorium, in the DeVos Center, 401 W. Fulton St., on the Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus. The Student Award Ceremony will be held immediately preceding the performance. Admission is free to both events. For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/shakes.