According to a press release from SHU, this residency will revolve around the work of Keith Hamilton Cobb, who is an actor, playwright and creator of the Untitled Othello Project. It will start over the course of two weeks and will explore the question of the viability of producing this play in the present day.
Cobb developed this project after writing his play “American Moor,” which investigates the role of a Black artist in the white theatre hierarchy and discusses fighting against stereotypes of race and gender.
“The Untitled Othello Project ensemble are not attending the residency at Sacred Heart as actors or any form of theatre makers per se, but as artists with two questions in common,” said Keith Hamilton Cobb. “One, as interrogators of the question, does this play have a performative value in 21st century America? And two, can the redeeming social value of the play be elevated by the elevation of theatre-making practices that center social justice?”
This project allows Sacred Heart to take part in a conversation about how the performing arts can aid people in being able to respond to racism, domestic violence and other issues.
“Starting the Monday after Thanksgiving, 12 actors, scholars and directors will arrive to see whether this play, which has a deep history of racism, sexism and violence, can or should still creditably be performed in America. Or in performing the play do we reinscribe the racist structures and language that contribute to the very racist stereotypes we encounter and reproduce today?” said Prof. Emily Bryan, a professor in the Department of Languages and Literature.
Bryan partnered with Cobb in bringing the residency to Sacred Heart’s campus and strives to create a national conversation about these issues through this production.
The goal of this residency is to start difficult conversations about issues that are portrayed in this play, such as racism and violence.
“This project is part of a national conversation happening around the country on Shakespeare and race, centered by work at the Arizona State Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and the Folger Library in symposiums and conventions on #raceb4race and #shakerace,” said Bryan.
The Untitled Othello Project will have a two-week table reading of the Arden Third Series Revised Edition of “Othello,” and the reading will be streamed live from Sacred Heart’s campus and in conversation with students on campus and at the University of Maryland.
“Our American theatre lacks integrity because it is product, not process-based, and thus it succumbs to all the social ills that American capitalism imposes on everything. If we process Othello the play through a more socially just and creatively altruistic theatre making apparatus, do we end up with a more socially relevant and more socially redeeming Othello?” said Cobb.
According to a press release from SHU, this residency will revolve around the work of Keith Hamilton Cobb, who is an actor, playwright and creator of the Untitled Othello Project. It will start over the course of two weeks and will explore the question of the viability of producing this play in the present day.
Cobb developed this project after writing his play “American Moor,” which investigates the role of a Black artist in the white theatre hierarchy and discusses fighting against stereotypes of race and gender.
“The Untitled Othello Project ensemble are not attending the residency at Sacred Heart as actors or any form of theatre makers per se, but as artists with two questions in common,” said Keith Hamilton Cobb. “One, as interrogators of the question, does this play have a performative value in 21st century America? And two, can the redeeming social value of the play be elevated by the elevation of theatre-making practices that center social justice?”
This project allows Sacred Heart to take part in a conversation about how the performing arts can aid people in being able to respond to racism, domestic violence and other issues.
“Starting the Monday after Thanksgiving, 12 actors, scholars and directors will arrive to see whether this play, which has a deep history of racism, sexism and violence, can or should still creditably be performed in America. Or in performing the play do we reinscribe the racist structures and language that contribute to the very racist stereotypes we encounter and reproduce today?” said Prof. Emily Bryan, a professor in the Department of Languages and Literature.
Bryan partnered with Cobb in bringing the residency to Sacred Heart’s campus and strives to create a national conversation about these issues through this production.
The goal of this residency is to start difficult conversations about issues that are portrayed in this play, such as racism and violence.
“This project is part of a national conversation happening around the country on Shakespeare and race, centered by work at the Arizona State Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and the Folger Library in symposiums and conventions on #raceb4race and #shakerace,” said Bryan.
The Untitled Othello Project will have a two-week table reading of the Arden Third Series Revised Edition of “Othello,” and the reading will be streamed live from Sacred Heart’s campus and in conversation with students on campus and at the University of Maryland.
“Our American theatre lacks integrity because it is product, not process-based, and thus it succumbs to all the social ills that American capitalism imposes on everything. If we process Othello the play through a more socially just and creatively altruistic theatre making apparatus, do we end up with a more socially relevant and more socially redeeming Othello?” said Cobb.
Sacred Heart University is hosting a playwright theatre residency program that explores Shakespeare’s infamous tragedy “Othello.” This residency will take place from Nov. 29 through Dec. 10 and will consist of an in-depth touring interrogation of the play.
According to a press release from SHU, this residency will revolve around the work of Keith Hamilton Cobb, who is an actor, playwright and creator of the Untitled Othello Project. It will start over the course of two weeks and will explore the question of the viability of producing this play in the present day.
Cobb developed this project after writing his play “American Moor,” which investigates the role of a Black artist in the white theatre hierarchy and discusses fighting against stereotypes of race and gender.
“The Untitled Othello Project ensemble are not attending the residency at Sacred Heart as actors or any form of theatre makers per se, but as artists with two questions in common,” said Keith Hamilton Cobb. “One, as interrogators of the question, does this play have a performative value in 21st century America? And two, can the redeeming social value of the play be elevated by the elevation of theatre-making practices that center social justice?”
This project allows Sacred Heart to take part in a conversation about how the performing arts can aid people in being able to respond to racism, domestic violence and other issues.
“Starting the Monday after Thanksgiving, 12 actors, scholars and directors will arrive to see whether this play, which has a deep history of racism, sexism and violence, can or should still creditably be performed in America. Or in performing the play do we reinscribe the racist structures and language that contribute to the very racist stereotypes we encounter and reproduce today?” said Prof. Emily Bryan, a professor in the Department of Languages and Literature.
Bryan partnered with Cobb in bringing the residency to Sacred Heart’s campus and strives to create a national conversation about these issues through this production.
The goal of this residency is to start difficult conversations about issues that are portrayed in this play, such as racism and violence.
“This project is part of a national conversation happening around the country on Shakespeare and race, centered by work at the Arizona State Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and the Folger Library in symposiums and conventions on #raceb4race and #shakerace,” said Bryan.
The Untitled Othello Project will have a two-week table reading of the Arden Third Series Revised Edition of “Othello,” and the reading will be streamed live from Sacred Heart’s campus and in conversation with students on campus and at the University of Maryland.
“Our American theatre lacks integrity because it is product, not process-based, and thus it succumbs to all the social ills that American capitalism imposes on everything. If we process Othello the play through a more socially just and creatively altruistic theatre making apparatus, do we end up with a more socially relevant and more socially redeeming Othello?” said Cobb.
