Jacksonville, AL – Per the Director of Strategic Communications for JSU, Buffy Lockette, JSU shared that if you are you interested in learning more about William Shakespeare, but feel intimidated by the Bard the JSU Department of Theatre and Film will pull back the curtain on the world’s most famous playwright during a free two-part workshop on Sept. 9 in the JSU Stone Center’s Ward Theater.
Organized by Dr. Michael Boynton, a JSU theatre professor and Shakespearean actor, the event will shine a light on how professional actors and theatre artists bring Shakespeare’s more than 400-year-old works to life.
“Many people are a little scared of Shakespeare, sadly, or even worse, they’ve had a bad experience in school that made his work seem boring and unapproachable,” Boynton said. “But nothing could be further from the truth! When you learn about Shakespeare as exciting theatre and actually get him up on his feet and act him out, it’s pretty clear that Shakespeare is great fun for everybody.”
The first part of the workshop, held from 1-4 p.m., will focus on Shakespeare’s background as a theatre artist and his impact then and now. Part two of the event, held from 6-9 p.m., will center on Shakespeare’s First Folio text work, which are the tools professional actors use to perform. Special guest appearances and performances from professional Shakespearean actors will be featured throughout the workshop.
Geared toward high school and college students, as well as adults, up-and-coming actors are invited to participate in professional monologue coaching during the event. If you are interested in this special opportunity, memorize and prepare your favorite Shakespeare monologue and email Dr. Boynton at mboynton@jsu.edu to reserve your space.
Shakespeare fans should mark their calendars for JSU’s production of “As You Like It,” adapted and directed by Boynton, which will be performed on campus Oct. 27-30. More details on this play and the entire 2023-2024 JSU theatre season will be available soon at www.jsu.edu/theatrefilm. For questions, email theatrefilm@jsu.edu on the one-year anniversary of the dedication of Hugh Merrill Hall, the JSU Board of Trustees passed a resolution naming one of the departments housed in the building in honor of fellow trustee and alumnus Greg Brown. The Department of Finance, Economics and Accounting will now be known as the “Greg D. Brown Department of Finance, Economics and Accounting.”
Brown graduated from JSU with a BS in accounting and mathematics in 1979 and spent much of his career as president and CEO of BR Williams Trucking, Inc., a leader in the transportation industry. In 2016, he joined the Board of Trustees, where his contributions have included serving as founding chair of its Audit Committee – improving the university’s financial procedures and strengthening its fiscal accountability.
The trustees also voted to change the name of the Office of Graduate Studies to the “Graduate School” and approved a plan to restructure and rename departments within the College of Education and Professional Studies as follows:
- The Department of Curriculum and Instruction and the Department of Secondary Education are merging into the Department of Teacher Education.
- The Department of Counseling and Instructional Support is being renamed the Department of Professional Counseling and Leadership.
- The Department of Family and Consumer Sciences is being renamed the Department of Career Technical Education and Professional Studies.
The board also approved several namings brought forth by the Advancement Committee to recognize university alumni and donors, as follows:
- The scoreboard in JSU Stadium will now be known as the “Ronnie Watkins Ford Scoreboard,” in recognition of the Ronnie Watkins Ford dealership in Gadsden, Ala., which has supported the university for more than 20 years.
- The team locker room in Jim Case Stadium will be named the “David Boatfield Team Locker Room” in honor of 1983 graduate and former Gamecock baseball player David Boatfield. He and his wife, Cynthia – a 1982 alumna – are longtime supporters of the university. They reside in Allen, Tex.
- An interview room in Merrill Hall will be named the “Guaranteed Labels, Inc. Interview Room” in recognition of the Moody, Ala. business owned by 1990 JSU graduate Scott Noell and his wife, Kathy.
Finally, the trustees voted to move forward with the demolition of Wallace Hall. Built in 1973, the building was home to the School of Nursing in the College of Health Professions and Wellness until the 2018 tornado. The School of Nursing will start the Fall 2023 semester in its updated new home at the JSU South Complex, formerly Jacksonville Hospital. Athletic Training and Respiratory Therapy are also housed at the JSU South Complex. The property was donated to the university by Regional Medical Center in 2018.
