Mission Statement
The Actors’ Shakespeare Project believes Shakespeare’s words are urgently relevant to our times. Working as an ensemble of resident company members, we bring these words into the voices, bodies, and imaginations of our actors, audiences and neighborhoods. We do this through creative projects, including intimate productions and outreach programs that are informed by the spaces in which they happen. These projects inspire civic dialogue, build relationships between people, strengthen communities, and reveal something about what it means to be human here and now.
A Letter from the Founding Artistic Director
When I was 13 years old, I was lucky enough
to see a production of Macbeth by the RSC at the Warehouse in London,
starring the not-yet famous Ian McKellen and Judi Dench. The theater
was tiny, a converted warehouse with 5 or so rows of seats set on
three sides of a wooden floor with a circle painted on it. The actors
wore simple costumes; the lighting was simple but effective. And I
was 3 feet from the stage.
As soon as the actors began to speak, unimpeded
by distance, production tricks, or elaborate concepts, I knew that
I was experiencing something very special. It was so simple: Gifted
actors telling an incredibly powerful story right to me, personally.
The play took my breath away and never gave it back until the final,
shattering line. It changed my life, and I have never forgotten it.
Shakespeare needs this kind of direct and honest
production. And so does Boston. Hence the Actors' Shakespeare
Project.
Our goal is to make Shakespeare not just accessible
and relevant to modern audiences but essential to them. Shakespeare's
dramas are often mistaken for large-scale pageants, but in truth,
they are intimate struggles among very human people for love, influence
and power. Stripped of all that is extraneous, our productions focus
on language, acting and the simple power of the story. Our actors
are free to express the full depth and breadth of these timeless plays
as simply, clearly, and movingly as possible. And our actors are the
best in the business.
We will present our productions in intimate
venues around the metropolitan area. By presenting the plays in smaller
venues, we can draw viewers into the middle of the action, where a
clear, vigorous approach to the verse and vivid characterizations
witnessed up close will make them part of the events they witness;
where they can feel the rhythm of the verse in their hearts, not just
appreciate it in their heads.
Most of our work will take place in non-traditional
spaces, such as art galleries, museums, warehouses, studios, churches,
meeting halls, places that have qualities of architecture and ambience
that will complement the productions and allow the audience to become
truly involved in the event. Moving around the city from one exciting
location to another will keep our productions interesting and will
help us attract a wide variety of audiences. In addition, we are seeking
partnerships with educational institutions around the city to help
to educate and inspire a new audience.
With work of this importance, education is
a central pillar of our mission. We will be offering discussions of
the plays, their themes and structures. We will be working with the
high schools and colleges of New England to help young people understand
how meaningful these plays are to them and to give them firsthand
experience of the way plays are made and brought to life. And we will
be offering training to young actors interested in acquiring the skills
necessary to reap the rewards of working with the greatest plays of
the English language.
Shakespeare's plays have been at the
pinnacle of English literature for 400 years, but not because of their
pomp, nor their brilliant language, nor even their great themes. Their
extraordinary understanding of human nature makes them eternal. The
incredible depth and truth of this understanding also compels each
generation to try to perform them. That is the point. Though they
are great documents of culture, they are first and foremost plays,
meant to be shared by actors and audience in an immediate and intimate
relationship that keeps them fresh and alive.
Herein lies the ultimate goal of the Actors'
Shakespeare Project: To make these plays, with you.
Benjamin Evett
Founding Artistic Director
Actors' Shakespeare Project
