Fridays

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm 

Online

4/2, 4/9, 4/16, 4/23 & 4/30 (no class 3/26)

Five Sessions 

This course is offered online via the easy-to-use Zoom program.

In 2020, two Berkshire theatre companies were the first in the nation to safely offer live theatre in the pandemic: Berkshire Theatre Group (scene from their outdoor production of Godspell above) and Barrington Stage Company. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Berkshire County’s performing arts companies to continue to think creatively about how they will present performances this year. Join us for a series of conversations with noted performing arts directors and a final panel of critics. We’ll discuss how they're adapting to producing theatre and more in the age of social distancing, and get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what's to come in the Berkshires this summer.

April 2, 1:30 pm: Barrington Stage Company Artistic Director Julianne Boyd

April 2, 2:15 pm: Berkshire Theatre Group Artistic Director & CEO Kate Maguire

April 9, 1:30 pm: Williamstown Theatre Festival Associate Artistic Director Laura Savia

April 9, 2:15 pm: Shakespeare & Company Artistic Director Allyn Burrows

April 16, 1:30 pm: Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge

April 16, 2:15 pm: Chester Theatre Company Producing Artistic Director Daniel Elihu Kramer

April 23, 1:30 pm: Bridge Street Theatre Artistic and Managing Director John Sowle

April 23, 2:15 pm: Berkshire Opera Festival Executive Director Abigail Rollins and Glory Denied Conductor Geoffrey Larson

April 30, 1:30 pm: Berkshire Critics Panel with Peter Bergman, Jeff Borak, Dan Dwyer, Macey Levin, Gloria Miller and Barbara Waldinger

Moderator Naomi Spatz is the co-founder of New York’s Golden Squirrel Theatre.  She created “Teachers Night on Broadway “and “Kids Day on Broadway.”  The arts run in the family as she is married to playwright and OLLI instructor Steven Somkin.

Moderator Barbara Waldinger holds a Ph.D. in Theatre from City University of New York Graduate Center; taught at Queens College, Hofstra University and Marymount Manhattan;  and has served as theArtistic Director of HRC Showcase Theatre in Hudson, NY for 20 years. She is also a theatre critic and member of the Berkshire Theatre Critics' Association, co-founder of OLLI's Performing Arts Initiative and co-leader of OLLI's Playreading SIG.  

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