Lakeland Community College will host Ohio Shakespeare Festival (OSF) performing artists again this spring, allowing students and guests the opportunity to see Shakespeare’s genius on a more personal level. The Shakespeare Festival will take place Wednesday, April 4, 2018, with free interactive workshops in Lakeland’s Center for Learning Innovation (CLI) and a free matinee of “Romeo and Juliet” in the Dr. Wayne L. Rodehorst Performing Arts Center in the D-Building on Lakeland’s main campus at 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland.

The workshops, slated for 9, 10 and 11 a.m. in the CLI, will be hosted by OSF actors who will introduce students and guests to onstage combat, verse/prose, and Shakespeare-specific movements. The matinee performance of “Romeo and Juliet” will follow at 1 p.m.

Ohio Shakespeare Festival is a professional theater company that is based in Akron and performs at Greystone Hall and Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens. Joe Pine, education director and associate producer, explains that “At OSF, we firmly believe that Shakespeare was meant to be seen live. This student performance series is designed to pull Shakespeare off the page for young audiences, who have only ever experienced his plays in the classroom.”Pine says “Through these performances, we strive to show students that Shakespeare’s plays are just as thrilling, engaging, accessible, and relevant as they were 400 years ago.”

Advanced registration is recommended for the workshops at lakelandcc.edu/arts. For more information, contact professor April Mason at 440.525.7564.

By: Jeri Pilarczyk