Jeremy Dubin, an artistic associate at the downtown-based company, isn’t saying just yet.
“We figured we were just down the street, so why not?” says Dubin. “I think we will see how these first ones go, and likely we will stick with it throughout the season.”
Actors, set and costume designers, and directors will visit the Library's main branch twice in October to chat about their work and how they prepare for the complex productions.
Sara Clark, who plays Juliet in the company’s modern-day interpretation of perhaps the most popular of Shakespeare’s 37 plays,
Romeo and Juliet, will discuss how she prepared for the role.
The company's take of Shakespeare's story of star-crossed lovers is staged in modern-day Italy and starts at a crime scene and features - of course - the warring Capulets and the Montagues.
Dubin says he is planning on attending the second discussion at 7 p.m. on Oct. 23 to talk about Titus Andronicus. That conversation will be in the Huenefeld Tower Room, which is on the library’s third floor of its south building.
Thought to be Shakespeare’s first tragedy, Titus is so bloody and violent that Dubin says he studied crime books to help in its interpretation.
The company turned to Cincinnati’s 150-member
League of Cincinnati Steampunks for research as well. The steampunk look is distinctive – a kind of Victorian-meets-technology – and as such, Dubin says it is unlikely the company will use the costumes and sets again. So, they chose to auction the pieces off on Oct 24.
Dubin says he hopes school groups and others attend the conversations to learn more about Shakespeare.
“I think if we got 50 people or so, it would be a huge success,’’ he says.
Do Good:
•
Buy tickets to
Romeo and Juliet or
Titus Andronicus, which opens Oct. 20. Both performances run through Nov. 11.
•
Support the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.
• Like the Cincinnati Public Library on
Facebook.