CATA’s Shakespeare’s Players brought down the house in a rousing performance at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre in Lenox. An enthralled audience was treated to dazzling scenes from Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and The Winter’s Tale — selected, prepared, and performed by CATA artists.
“CATA Players wanted to explore the many ways Shakespeare used masks in his plays,” explains CATA Resident Theater Faculty Caroline Calkins. “They chose their roles and we spent weeks digging into the rich emotions within the text.”
Sam Pelletz (Oakdale Residence) and Tyler Baronas (Oak Lodge) had the audience in stitches with their hilarious portrayals of Orlando and Rosalind in As You Like It; Sialia Baizel (Leander House) brought a hush over the crowd as the spooky ghost of Hermione in The Winter’s Tale; and Kiera Nicholls charmed as Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing.
The new Shakespeare Sharing is one of several innovative pilots at CATA, designed to deepen and expand opportunities for artists with disabilities. “This initiative reflects a bold and exciting vision that is at the heart of CATA’s strategic plan,” says Margaret Keller, CATA Executive Director. “People with disabilities are hungry for more opportunities to delve into their talents. We’re excited to pilot new performance programs to give CATA artists the chance to more fully explore an art form they love and give them new platforms to share their talents with the community.”
As always, accessibility was at the core of the performance. CATA artists used an adaptive “Feeding In” technique, receiving prompts for their lines so they can dive into their characters and connect with the audience without having to focus on memorization. CATA actors rehearse every week using this technique, where they explore the meaning and emotion of their lines to bring their characters to life. For the audience, CATA provided a wide range of accessibility tools, including ASL interpretation, open captions, fidget spinners, Braille and large print programs.
Thank you to our CATA supporters who make our work possible. Without your generosity, these life-changing opportunities would not be possible.
Photos by Christina Lane.
