Jan 28, 2005 By Frances Borsodi Zajac 7 min read

Dr. Dennis Brestensky is excited that the 2005 Shakespeare Festival, which takes place Jan. 31-Feb. 4, at Penn State Fayette, Eberly Campus will be held at the Maggie Hardy Magerko Auditorium in the new Community Center because it means there are twice as many seats available as before. “I’m looking forward to it. I hope we get the people out,’ said Brestensky, noting the festival is free and open to everybody who loves Shakespeare and those who want to learn more about him.

Brestensky is also hoping that more seats means more schools will participate, exposing more students to live productions of Shakespeare.

“You talk about it, see it live and it makes more sense. Shakespeare is meant to be seen, not read,’ he said.

The new auditorium has 450 seats as compared to 210 that were available in Swimmer Hall in the Williams Building where productions formerly were staged.

In the past, schools were invited to come but had a limit of 12 to 15 tickets.

“They couldn’t bring a whole class,’ Brestensky said. “But now they can bring 30 to 40 students.’

And that means more opportunities for students of all ages to see the performances and demonstrations that are an integral part of the Shakespeare Festival, which Brestensky created in 1972 as an opportunity to make the bard come to life for those who had only read his work.

The festival, which is funded through the Office of Student Affairs and the Cultural Events Committee, requires a lot of effort and Brestensky offers credit to Dr. Sandy Smith, director of student affairs; Chad Long, assistant director of student affairs; and staff assistants Joy Fike, who handles all special arrangements, and Janet Kowalczyk, who handles the tickets; as well as resource librarian Gerry Dorobish, who coordinates the library exhibit.

Once again, the festival will feature two performances – a full-length nighttime production and one that is abridged for daytime. Tickets are required for the performances, but there is no charge for them. They can be obtained by calling 724-430-4125 or 724-430-4123.

This year’s full-length production is “Romeo and Juliet,’ performed on Thursday, Feb. 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. by the National Players from the University of Maryland, known as America’s longest-running classical touring company.

Shakespeare-in-the-Schools of the University of Pittsburgh will also perform a 55-minute version of “Hamlet’ done by only two performers on Friday, Feb. 4, from 12:10 to 1:15 p.m. A talk back session will follow.

“The two people doing ‘Hamlet’ are unbelievable. What they’re doing is so incredible that we’re bringing them back,’ Brestensky said.

“It’s the same performance that they did last year but some people didn’t see it and everybody who saw it raved and a lot of them said they wanted to see it again.’

In addition, the National Players will offer a stage combat demonstration and The Actors Journey Through Shakespeare Workshop from 12:10 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2. Brestensky said it’s been a while since the festival has included a combat demonstration.

“It’s action – it shows how to fight with the weapons and how to make it look real,’ he said. “The Actor’s Journey is also good for students because it goes from giving them a part to staging it to what an actor does with the part. It’s an extra-special day.’

Brestensky also had kind words for the National Players, which like Shakespeare-in-the-Schools, has been coming to the Penn State festival for years.

“They really relate to young people,” he said. “They’re so energetic and enthusiastic and upbeat about what they’re doing.’

Shakespeare-in-the-Schools will also offer a demonstration from 12:10 to 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, called “Taking Shakespeare From Page to Stage,” which also shows students how to perform Shakespeare.

The demonstrations are free to the public, and no tickets are required for them.

Meanwhile, the public will be able to view a special Shakespeare exhibition at the Penn State library throughout the festival during regular library hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.

The exhibition includes Brestensky’s own photographs of “Shakespeare’s Stratford,’ from a 1993 trip he took to England for a conference on teaching Shakespeare as well as projects created during the past 40 years by Brestensky’s students for his “Introduction to Shakespeare’ class. They include a model of The Globe theater, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, collages and sketches.

All this makes the Shakespeare Festival a golden opportunity for students and those who are always students at heart.

Asked the importance of Shakespeare, Candy Jordan, principal of Smithfield Elementary in the Albert Gallatin School District, said, “I think every child should be exposed to Shakespeare. He’s one of the greatest artists the world has ever known. …I think there are so many morals to be taught and the language is beautiful. I think there are times that people are afraid of Shakespeare because of the language, but it’s wonderful to be exposed to all types of literature. I find that when people are exposed to Shakespeare, they appreciate it.’

Jordan, who has been attending Penn State’s Shakespeare Festival for many years, first exposed students to Shakespeare as a teacher in Albert Gallatin’s gifted program. She began taking students to the festival about seven years ago. They also read Shakespeare to prepare for the performances.

“And we took it one step further, for two years, they also performed as part of the festival,’ she said.

Jordan became principal at Smithfield Elementary four years ago and began looking at ways she could expose more students to Shakespeare. Smithfield began an after-school program – now in its second year – where students could read Shakespeare and attend the festival.

Last year, the Smithfield students not only attended the festival but also later had a member of The Lion Players come and talk to them. The Lion Players is a student organization at Penn State Fayette, which performs Shakespeare each spring. Last year, they performed “The Tempest.’ This year, they are doing “Measure for Measure’ April 7-9.

The Smithfield students also read the play the Lion Players were doing and went to see that production last year.

While the language may be difficult, Jordan said she has all of Shakespeare’s plays written on a child’s level – about a third-grade level – that she uses with the students to help them understand.

With this exposure, the students’ interest in Shakespeare has grown. In fact, Jordan noted that one of her fifth-grade students proudly showed her several of Shakespeare’s plays that he had received as presents for Christmas or his birthday.

Jordan enjoys the Shakespeare festival not only for the plays but also for the wonderful exhibition on Shakespeare in the Penn State library.

“We try to talk about Shakespeare and his life, and that all the roles were first played by males. He wrote comedies, tragedies. They see a representation of his plays, and we look for things that we’ve discussed,’ she said.

Filled with drama, art and education, the Shakespeare Festival appeals to all ages and backgrounds.

Whether you are a student or just a lifelong learner, the Shakespeare Festival has something to offer.

“Our goal is to bring first-rate, classical drama to the region and make it free of charge and relevant to the community,” Brestensky said.

“If you see Shakespeare performed rather than reading it, you have a greater chance to understand, appreciate and enjoy Shakespeare,” he added.