STA 2021: Virtual Conference Pros and Cons

Having survived my first virtual conference, I have to say there were more pros than I thought, although the cons were very substantial. Particularly the doom-scrolling one. I tell you, there is nothing more liable to distract you from an online conference session than watching a bunch of white-supremacist fascist terrorists storming your country’s seat of government in another window.

Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt

Consulting pocket dramaturg: Kate Pitt

Regular programming (whatever the hell that is) resumes next week! Stay safe, loyal readers.

STA 2021: Virtual Conference F.A.Q.

Hey all! A slight deviation from our usual programming today. I don’t know why I’m telling you that: I’m literally the only person in the world who knows what my usual programming is supposed to be, BUT ANYWAYS. MOVING ON.

Ahem. I’ve been wonderfully busy the last two weeks attending the Shakespeare Theatre Association’s annual conference. The STA conference is always a highlight of my year, as it’s a chance for me to see some of my very favorite people and to learn from them, but I was oddly unexcited about this year’s conference, which, due to THE THING, was going to be all virtual. Being on Zoom for seven days just didn’t seem very appealing to me.

Of course I was wrong, and it turned out to be a wonderfully inspiring, engaging, and fun experience. As usual, I drew lots of comics documenting my conference experience and, as I struggle to get back to my aforementioned usual programming, I thought I’d share a couple with you here this week.

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2019 Blackfriars Conference Report

Hey! If, like my parents, you’re not on Twitter but are interested in reliving my experience at the Blackfriars Conference last week, I’ve collected my main tweets on the subject here for your convenience. You’ll notice I had a strong focus on bears, as opposed to, you know, scholarly insight. If you want to read more about all the fantastic scholars and practitioners who presented at the conference, check out the American Shakespeare Center blog coverage.

For a quick overview of the conference (and a sneaky photo of yours truly checking her phone like a boss), check out this article: Blackfriars Conference brings hundreds of Shakespearians to Staunton.

And now! On to business! Or should I said… on to bearsness? (No, I definitely should not say that…)

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Disguise

You know the classic Shakespearean trope where one character (usually a girl disguising herself as a boy) changes her hairstyle or puts on a hat and is suddenly TOTALLY UNRECOGNIZABLE to even her closest friends and family?

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Apparently we shouldn’t dismiss it that quickly, based on the real life experiences of my Shakespearean BFF, Kate Pitt.