(Re)casting Shakespeare in Canada: A Symposium
Sunday, April 30 - Monday, May 1, 2023
Joseph G. Green Theatre, York University
This two-day symposium seeks to challenge and engage professional theatre artists, scholars, educators, students, and the wider public in critical conversations about the history, legacy, and future of Shakespeare in Canada, with a specific emphasis on inclusive, intersectional casting practices modeled by IBPOC Canadian theatre artists.
Participants include: Patricia Allison, Reneltta Arluk, Keith Barker, Dawn Jani Birley, Walter Borden, Alex Bulmer, Lisa Karen Cox, Jessica B. Hill, Jeff Ho, Christine Horne, Ravi Jain, Naila Keleta-Mae, Keira Loughran, Peter Pasyk, Debbie Patterson, Joseph Jomo Pierre, PJ Prudat, Anand Rajaram, Sepehr Reybod, Kaitlyn Riordan, Jamie Robinson, Djanet Sears, Erin Shields, Kim Solga, and Jeff Yung
This event is free (registration required, register here) and open to artists, scholars, undergraduate and graduate students, members of the Deaf community, and the wider public. Livestream option also available. ASL interpretation will be provided throughout and a Quiet Room will be available. Please email accessingrecastingshakespeare@
The event has been curated by Keira Loughran, Jamie Robinson, Marlis Schweitzer, Jeff Ho, Liam Lockhart-Rush, and Hope Van Der Merwe with accessibility support by Rachel Hannah Arnold.Â
Click below for the full symposium schedule or access a PDF version here.
Schedule:
9:00 – 9:30: Welcome
9:30 – 11:00: Recasting the Canon in Canadian Theatres and Classrooms:
- Panelists: Kim Solga, Lisa Karen Cox
- Moderator: Jeff Yung
11:00 – 11:15: Break
11:15 – 12:45: Intersectional Approaches to Staging Shakespeare
- Panelists: Dawn Jani Birley, Ravi Jain, Alex Bulmer, Debbie Patterson
- Moderator:Â Christine Horne
12:45 – 2:00: Lunch
2:00 – 3:30: Roundtable:Â Recasting Shakespeare Through Adaptation
- Panelists: Reneltta Arluk (Pawâkan Macbeth),  Kaitlyn Riordan (Portia’s Julius Caesar), Erin Shields (Queen Goneril)
- Moderator: Jeff Ho
3:30 – 3:45: Break
3:45 – 5:00: Roundtable: Grappling with Shakespeare’s Colonial Legacy
- Panelists: Joseph Jomo Pierre (Shakespeare’s N****), Kaitlyn Riordan (1939), Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho), cockroach
- Moderator: Keira Loughran
5:00 – 5:30: Canadian Theatre Review 193: Casting and Race Launch
- Members of the (Re)casting Shakspeare curatorial team Jamie Robinson, Marlis Schweitzer, and Liam Lockhart-Rush also worked on the editorial team for CTR 193: Casting and Race alongside Mariló Núñez, Yasmine Amirkhani, and Zoe Marin.
- (Re)casting Shakespeare panelists who also contributed to this issue of Canadian Theatre Review include: Anand Rajaram, Jamie Robinson, and Walter Borden (through an edited transcript from the (Re)Setting the Stage Panels in May-June 2021)
9:00 – 9:30: Welcome
9:30 – 11:00: Keynote Conversation
- Speakers: Walter Borden, Djanet Sears
- Moderator:Â Jamie Robinson
11:00 – 11:15:Â Break
11:15 – 12:00: Shaking Up Shakespeare, Part 1: Roundtable Conversation with Actors
- Panelists: Sepehr Reybod, Christine Horne, Jessica B. Hill, PJ Prudat
- Moderator: Patricia Allison
12:00 – 12:45: Shaking Up Shakespeare, Part 2: Roundtable Conversation with Directors
- Panelists: Anand Rajaram, Keira Loughran, Ravi Jain, Peter Pasyk, Jamie Robinson
- Moderator: Naila Keleta-Mae
12:45 – 2:00: Lunch
2:00 – 3:30: Shaking Up Shakespeare, Part 3 –Â Actors and Directors Together
- Panelists: See above
- Moderator: Keith Barker
3:30 – 3:45:Â Break
3:45 – 4:30: Long Table: Future of Inclusive Casting Practices & Intersectional ShakespeareÂ
- Panelists: All present
4:30:Â Concluding Thoughts
