Thinking Cap Theatre's Artistic Director Nicole Stodard talks with Vernon Dickson, Associate Professor of English at Florida International University about Shakespeare's problematic play The Taming of the Shrew.

VERNON'S BIO

Vernon Dickson is Associate Professor of English at Florida International University, where he recently served as Director of the Literature and Film Programs. His monograph, Emulation on the Shakespearean Stage explores theories and practices of imitation and emulation on the early modern stage. He has published articles and chapters related to Shakespeare, adaptation, popular culture, rhetorical theory, and emulation in Renaissance Quarterly, Borrowers and Lenders, Studies in English Literature, The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, and the edited collection Shakespeare and Geek Culture.

Support for this program has been provided by the following Funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: John O. and Victoria C. Kirby Fund, Frederick W. Jaqua Fund, The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation Broward Community Fund. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts, Broward County Cultural Division and a grant from The Our Fund Foundation, an LGBTQ community foundation.

Thinking Cap Theatre's Artistic Director Nicole Stodard talks with Jemma Alix Levy, Theatre Director and Associate Professor of Acting and Directing at Washington and Lee University about Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

JEMMA'S BIO

Jemma Alix Levy is an Associate Professor of Acting and Directing at Washington and Lee University and has directed professionally for over 25 years. She earned degrees from Amherst College, the University of Chicago, and Mary Baldwin University’s program in association with the American Shakespeare Center, and she completed The Juilliard School's now-defunct graduate directing program. Levy’s directing work has won critical acclaim across the US and internationally, including for her own companies, Runamuck (Austin, TX), and Muse of Fire Theatre Company (Evanston, IL). Before her arrival at Washington and Lee University, Jemma taught theatre and directed at Webster University's Conservatory of Theater Arts (MO), Wabash College (IN), Roosevelt University Chicago College for the Performing Arts (IL), Mary Baldwin University (VA), and The Brearley School (NY). Levy has also written adaptations based on the works of Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, and two-time National-Book-Award-nominee Howard Norman. She is a certified Consent-Forward Artist. www.jemmalevy.com

Support for this program has been provided by the following Funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: John O. and Victoria C. Kirby Fund, Frederick W. Jaqua Fund, The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation Broward Community Fund. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts, Broward County Cultural Division and a grant from The Our Fund Foundation, an LGBTQ community foundation.

Thinking Cap Theatre's Artistic Director Nicole Stodard talks with Stephen Burdman, founder of New York Classical Theatre about producing and directing Shakespeare's problematic play The Taming of the Shrew.

STEPHEN'S BIO

Stephen Burdman founded New York Classical Theatre in 2000 and is the vision behind the creation of Panoramic Theatre. Originally from Los Angeles, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and planned to become a doctor. During college, Stephen auditioned for a production of Hamlet, and discovered his passion for Shakespeare. That experience completely changed the course of his life. Stephen founded NY Classical to give all people the chance to discover classical masterpieces as he did.

Stephen has directed nearly half of Shakespeare canon. To date, he has directed 38 productions for NY Classical. Some of his favorites include: Cymbeline (performed by 7 actors), The Importance of Being Earnest (Two-Ways), Romeo & Juliet (6 actors), The Rivals, The Winter’s Tale, Measure for Measure, The Seagull, A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol, Playing Moliere, Henry V (in The Battery and, via ferry boat, Governors Island), Hamlet, King Lear, Misalliance, Mary Stuart, Scapin, and The Triumph of Love.

Stephen attended the National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and later received an MFA in Theatre Directing from the University of California, Irvine. In 1989, he was selected to participate in the first young theatre artist exchange with the (former) Soviet Union and has been a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society since 1994.

Stephen received the 2022 Sidney Berger award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association for outstanding talent and commitment to the works of William Shakespeare. He has also been a panelist with the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.

He lives in Central Harlem with his wife, Adena, and son, Zeke.

Support for this program has been provided by the following Funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: John O. and Victoria C. Kirby Fund, Frederick W. Jaqua Fund, The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation Broward Community Fund. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts, Broward County Cultural Division and a grant from The Our Fund Foundation, an LGBTQ community foundation.