“Reproductive freedom.”
“Coerced consent.”
“My chastity is my agency.”
“Sex work and queer survival.”
These are just some of the perspectives that discussants brought to Measure for Measure, in a lively and learned seminar led by Neah Lekan, New Swan’s assistant dramaturg as part of Shakespeare Weekend 2024.
Beth Lopes (director), Abel Garcia (Angelo) and Heather Lee Echeverria (Isabella) worked through the play’s turning point, when the magistrate propositions the nun. Is Angelo already a predator when the scene begins, or is he trying to figure out the morality of his desires with an intelligent and rigorous theologian, Isabella?
Our session on Twelfth Night featured a “cakes and ale” bundt, baked by New Swan co-director Julia Lupton. Twelfth Night, or the Feast of the Epiphany, is often celebrated with a three kings cake, with a bean or figurine baked into its center. The person with the lucky slice is king for the day.
Just as the baby Jesus remains hidden in a manger until the Three Kings visit him on January 6, so too, the twins in Shakespeare’s play are violently born at sea and mask their identities until the glorious revelations of Act Five.
Eli Simon (director), Adam Koda (Orsino), and Annelise Hermsen (Viola/Cesario) showed how they incorporated sword play into the emotional dynamics of their first scene together.
Thirty guests, including students, staff, and community members, enjoyed the cake and reveled in the conversation. Participants left with keen insights into the plays and a new understanding of the artistic process. They were already asking about next year.
--Jessica Rosenow, New Swan intern