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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I attend if I do not register? If there is space
available, you may come the day of the event without prior registration.
Registration is recommended. Space is limited and prior registration
guarantees you a space. Registration on the day of the event will be on a
first-come, first-served basis depending on space availability. Please watch
this Website. We will post the number of spaces available the last two weeks
prior Festival Conference. In the event that we fill to capacity, and cannot
accommodate walk-ins on the day of the event, we will place an announcement
on the Welcome page.
Can I come to just one presentation? Yes, you may attend
any or all sessions during the weekend. Please see our Admission and Registration page for
details. It is still a good idea to register to ensure a space.
Is there public transportation? Yes. The MBTA Commuter
Rail Fitchburg Line stops in Concord.
The Concord Free Public Library and the Masonic
Temple are an easy 10 to 15
minute walk from the station. Please see our Map page and Directions & Parking for walking
directions from the station. Please see the MBTA web site for schedule and fares.
Are the venues handicap accessible? Friday
evening’s event at the Concord Free Public Library is handicap
accessible. There is a wheelchair ramp on the side entrance facing Sudbury
Road. Saturday’s and Sunday’s events
at the Masonic Temple
in Monument Square can be
wheelchair accessible with a ramp we will place over two steps entering the
building. If you let us know ahead of time when you plan to arrive, we will
look for you. Otherwise, when you reach the Masonic
Temple, please ask a volunteer
who will place the ramp over the steps.
- The restrooms
are located on the first floor where our presentations will take place.
We regret that the restrooms are not wheelchair accessible. However,
there is a Visitor Center
near the Masonic Temple
that is wheelchair accessible. Their hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. We apologize for this
inconvenience. If you need any assistance to get to the Visitor
Center, a volunteer will be
happy to assist you.
- Stairs:
The Masonic Temple
is an historic building that does not have an elevator. There is a
lower-level dining area where coffee, tea, and Sunday lunch will be
served. Anyone who cannot take the stairs may exit the front door of the
Mason Hall and follow the driveway to the rear entrance of the building.
The rear door enters the lower-level dining area. We will have a
volunteer available for anyone who may need assistance.
- Handicap accessible parking:
The Masonic Temple does not have parking. Municipal free parking is available
very near the Temple in Concord
Center. However, if you
require a parking space close to the building, please contact us for
information. For details of all parking, please see our Directions
& Parking page.
What ages are appropriate for this Festival Conference?
Many of the presentations will consist of a talk for 40 minutes and some will
have actors performing one or more scenes from the play to illustrate the
speaker’s points. Then there will be a discussion. The talks will be
college-level. High school students interested in Shakespeare will be able to
enjoy the presentations. Use your judgment for younger children.
There are a few presentations that will be more performance oriented, but
most others will require being able to sit quietly during a college-level
talk followed by a discussion. Each of these presentations will be one to one
and one half hours long. Please see the Program page for details of presentations.
Do I need to be familiar with the Shakespeare plays that are being
discussed at the Festival Conference? No, you are not required to
come with any prior knowledge. There will be people of many different
knowledge levels at this event. All are welcome, and we are very pleased to
have newcomers attend.
If you would like to familiarize yourself with any of texts that will be
discussed, please visit your local library, bookstore, or the Web for the
following: William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, As You Like It, The
Winter’s Tale, The Tempest, King John, and Macbeth.
Rudolf Steiner’s The Gate of Initiation will also be
discussed. For more information about Steiner’s work, please visit the Church
of the Ancient Mysteries and the Rudolf
Steiner Archive.
What is the Authorship question? Controversy has been
brewing for many years in Shakespearean circles about the authorship of the
plays. There are some who think William Shakespeare of Stratford
could not have possibly written these works, and others who think there is no
controversy at all. If you would like an overview of the authorship question,
we suggest The Shakespeare Controversy by Warren Hope and Kim
Holston, Who Wrote Shakespeare? by John F. Michell, and, for an
amusing introduction to the authorship question, Chasing Shakespeares
by Sarah Smith.
- What is a
Stratfordian? A Stratfordian is one who believes that William
Shakespeare of Stratford is
the author of the Shakespeare canon. This is also known as the
“traditional” or “orthodox” perspective. We
recommend Shakespeare’s Lives by Samuel Schoenbaum and
Ian Watson's Shakespeare: The Evidence for studies of
Shakespeare written from the Stratfordian position. To read more about
the Stratfordian side of the authorship argument, please see the Shakespeare Authorship Page by David Kathman
and Terry Ross, Hardy Cook's "Shaksper" site,
or Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet.
- What is an
Oxfordian? An “Oxfordian” is one who thinks that
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays attributed to
William Shakespeare. For more information about Edward de Vere, we
suggest "Shakespeare" by Another Name by Mark
Anderson, Shakespeare: Who Was He? The Oxford Challenge to the Bard
of Avon by Richard Whalen, Alias Shakespeare by Joseph Sobran,
Shakespeare Identified
by J. Thomas Looney, and The Mysterious William Shakespeare by
Charlton Ogburn. Please also see the Shakespeare
Fellowship and the Shakespeare
Oxford Society Websites.
- Good reading for
anyone from any point of view: The Meaning of Shakespeare,
Vols. 1 & 2, by Harold C. Goddard.
Is the Festival Conference about the Authorship question?
This is a Shakespeare event that will include presentations from both
traditional Shakespeare scholarship and Oxfordian viewpoints. There will be
about an equal number of presentations that talk about or refer to the
authorship question and Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, as
presentations that are from the traditional Stratfordian viewpoint. There
will also be a few sessions that are “authorship neutral.”
How can I purchase tickets to the Actors’ Shakespeare
Project’s production of King John?
Please visit the Actors’ Shakespeare
Project Web site, or see our King John information page. The ASP
is becoming Boston’s
premiere Shakespearean acting company. We are grateful that Ben Evett,
Founder and Artistic Director of ASP, who will be directing their production
of King John, will be speaking on Sunday, June 1, about his
interpretation of of this rarely performed Shakespeare play.
What should I know about the Masonic
Temple?
It is a historic building. It is not air-conditioned. If the
weather is warm, please dress accordingly.
Food and beverages, except water, are not permitted in the Masonic
Temple’s
meeting space. We will be providing coffee and tea during breaks on
both Saturday and Sunday in the Temple’s
lower-level dining hall. We will be serving sandwiches for lunch on Sunday in
the Masonic Temple’s
lower-level dining hall. Your admission includes Sunday lunch. Attendees can
visit area restaurants on Saturday for lunch and dinner, or pack a picnic.
Please see our dining
page for a listing of local establishments.
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