The 14th annual Newman University Literary Festival will take place Thursday, April 4 through Saturday, April 6 on the campus of Newman University. This year’s festival will focus on the works of William Shakespeare, with the theme “Teach the Torches to Burn Bright: Acting and Reacting to Shakespeare Today.”
The Literary Festival is hosted by the English and Theatre Departments at Newman University. The festival is free and open to the public.
The festival will feature noted Shakespearean scholars David Bevington, Ph.D. of the University of Chicago, and Tiffany Stern, Ph.D. of Oxford University, who will appear:
April 4 – Presentation by David Bevington, Ph.D., University of Chicago
7 p.m., Jabara Flexible Theatre
April 5 – Presentation by Tiffany Stern, Ph.D., Oxford University
7 p.m., Jabara Flexible Theatre
In conjunction with the Literary Festival, Newman will stage the third annual Scholarship Day, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 5, in the Dugan Library Foyer. The Scholarship Day conference provides a forum for presenting student and faculty research or other scholarly projects conducted across various fields of study outside of the traditional literature landscape, such as math, science and health care.
Scholar’s Day is presented by the Newman English Department and the Math and Writing center. It is also free and open to the public.
David Bevington, Ph.D.
Bevington is a widely respected literary scholar and Professor Emeritus of Humanities, English Language and Literature, and Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago. He currently serves as the Chair of Theatre and Performance Studies.
Bevington has been lauded as “One of the most learned and devoted of Shakespeareans” by his colleagues, and he specializes in British Renaissance drama. Bevington plays many roles: He is not only a prolific scholar, author, and editor, but also an award-winning teacher. Bevington has published and edited many works on Shakespeare. His more recent books are Shakespeare and Biography, a study of the history of Shakespearean biography, and Murder Most Foul: Hamlet through the Ages.
Bevington will present “Rigorous Justice, Mercy and Equity: Three Rival Theories of Law in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure” at 7 p.m. April 4, in the Jabara Flexible Theatre, inside the De Mattias Fine Arts Center.
Tiffany Stern, Ph.D.
Stern is Professor of Early Modern Drama at Oxford University. Specializing in Shakespeare and theatre history from the 16th to the 18th centuries, her work involves the contexts that informed the ways playwrights wrote and actors performed. She is the author of Rehearsal from Shakespeare to Sheridan and Making Shakespeare, a book which focuses on Shakespeare’s London, actors, theatres, props and music. In addition, Stern is the co-author of Shakespeare in Parts.
Stern will present “Shakespeare on Page and Stage” at 7 p.m. April 5, in the Jabara Flexible Theatre.
Sponsors for Newman University’s Literary Festival and Scholar’s Day are Eighth Day Books, Scooter’s Coffeehouse and the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. Additional activities are still being planned. Check www.newmanu.edu/literaryfestival for the latest information and details, or contact Newman Professor of English Bryan Dietrich, Ph.D. at 316-942-4291, ext. 2341 or email [email protected].
Celebrating the work of Shakespeare doesn’t end with the Literary Festival. The Newman University Theatre Department will present a production of Measure for Measure at 8 p.m. April 11-13, and at 2 p.m. April 14 in the Jabara Flexible Theatre.
