The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), The World's Foremost Interpreters Of Shakespeare, Teaches U.S. College Students About Performing Classic Theatre --
Only RSC Stop In The U.S.

Students Are Given An Unparalleled Opportunity By Fifty Actors, Educators, And Technicians From The Royal Shakespeare Company To Learn The Timeless Lessons Of Shakespeare, The World's Foremost Playwright

Story Summary:

Davidson, NC -- February 28, 2002 -- The RSC, Royal Shakespeare Company, is producing its 2001-2002 world tour of Merchant of Venice in association with Davidson College, a small top-ten national liberal arts college in the South, in a unique venture that includes a two-week performance and educational residency on the Davidson campus. It is the famed company's only announced appearance in North America this year, and only their second-ever residency at an American college or university.

The residency has presented Davidson students, professors, and the general public throughout the area with unparalleled educational opportunities. Actors, educational staff, and technicians from the troupe are presenting more than 50 workshops during the residency. They are making presentations to Davidson College classes in literature, drama, psychology, and even chemistry. They are also teaching public school teachers, young school children, and senior citizens about Shakespeare and dramatic technique. There are sessions on voice and movement, lighting and design, panel discussions of Semitism and feminism, and master classes on Shakespeare's sonnets by renowned scholar John Barton.

Davidson attracted these foremost interpreters of Shakespeare to its campus by proposing an educational program that would allow actors to be teachers as well, and help fulfill the Royal Shakespeare Company's increasing emphasis on public outreach. The company was also lured by the opportunity to inaugurate the stage of Davidson's brand-new Duke Family Performance Hall, a 625-seat, state of the art performing arts facility which is the finest venue of its kind in the rapidly growing area north of Charlotte. Funded by The Duke Endowment, it includes a 60-foot wide by 60-foot deep stage, full height stagehouse, retractable orchestra pit, state-of-the-art sound and light technology, and three levels of seating.

The RSC performed "The Merchant of Venice" in its London and Stratford-upon-Avon home theaters, and in smaller towns throughout England, before coming to Davidson. Following its concluding performance at Davidson College on March 2, the play will travel back to England, and then on to Japan, China, Shanghai, and Malaysia.

THIS NEWS PACKAGE CONTAINS

· Performance footage of the RSC and college students; Community teacher workshops; Cast and crew of the RSC working side-by-side with students; Footage of Davidson College.

· Soundbites: Bill Neville; Cynthia Lewis; Clare Venables;
Ian Bartholomew, 3rd grader Lance Bracey.

VIDEO PROVIDED BY: Davidson College

FOR STORY INFORMATION CONTACT: Meg Boykin Kimmel, 704-894-2242

FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION OR HARD COPY REQUESTS:
Maria McCarthy, 212-375-0021