A 2011 student in performance; photo by Jay Yamada

Summer Shakespeare Conservatory performances—abridged plays performed by youth age 8 to 18—are a wonderful, low-cost way to introduce younger theatergoers to Shakespeare.

The schedule for the remainder of the 2012′s performances is below, along with ticketing and other information.

FIVE-WEEK CONSERVATORY PERFORMANCES
Location: Bentley Upper School, 1000 Upper Happy Valley Rd, Lafayette
Tickets: $8 each, or $5 for students and seniors in advance ($2 more day of); you may also purchase an all-day performance pass for $25. To purchase, click here and select your performance from the drop-down menu. Performances are sorted by the number of weeks in the conservatory session.

Friday, July 20
Merry Kinsmen in The Tempest 10am
Noble Knaves in King Lear 11:30am
Riotous Knights in Hamlet 1pm
Fortune Artists  in The Tempest 2:30pm
The Queen’s Own in A Midsummer Night’s Dream 6pm

Saturday, July 21
Merry Kinsmen in The Tempest 10am
Noble Knaves in King Lear 11:30am
Fortune Artists in The Tempest 1pm
Riotous Knights in Hamlet 2:30pm
The Queen’s Own in A Midsummer Night’s Dream 5pm

THREE-WEEK CONSERVATORY PERFORMANCES
Location: Holy Names High School, 4660 Harbord Drive, Oakland
Tickets: $8 each, or $5 for students and seniors in advance ($2 more day of); you may also purchase an all-day performance pass for $15. To purchase, click here and select your performance from the drop-down menu. Performances are sorted by the number of weeks in the conservatory session.

Friday, July 27
Merry Kinsmen in The Comedy of Errors 10am
Riotous Knights in Macbeth 11:30am
The Queen’s Own in A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1:30pm

TWO-WEEK CONSERVATORY PERFORMANCES
Location: Bentley School, 1000 Upper Happy Valley Rd, Lafayette
Tickets: $8 each, or $5 for students and seniors in advance ($2 more day of). To purchase, click here and select your performance from the drop-down menu. Performances are sorted by the number of weeks in the conservatory session.

Friday, August 3
Merry Kinsmen in Romeo and Juliet 10am
Noble Knaves in King Lear 11am
Riotous Knights in The Comedy of Errors 12pm
Fortune Artists  in Hamlet 1pm
The Queen’s Own in Macbeth 2pm

Photo of Philippa Kelly by Jay Yamada.

Our very own Resident Dramaturg Philippa Kelly will be the featured speaker at the Commonwealth Club of California—the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum—on Tuesday, March 13, in conversation with Cal Shakes Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone. The talk is titled “Only Connect—Dramaturgy and Shakespeare’s Living Theater,” and will address The King and I, Dr. Kelly’s 2011 memoir of Australian life as seen through the lens of King Lear, and how theater can connect us to universal themes. ’Love, death, the human will to connect, the failure to do it—these big themes are at the heart of Shakespeare’s plays. How do we make such themes “live” on the stage today?  Kelly considers this question as dramaturg, author, and Australian.

The event will take place at 6pm at the San Francisco Club Office (595 Market St.). Tickets cost $7 for students, $8 for Cal Shakes patrons (using the coupon code “AskPhilippa”) and Commonwealth Club members, and $20 for the general public; they are available via the Commonwealth Club’s website. Check their online schedule for future broadcast times.