Catawba College will offer one final play, Shakespeare's The Tempest, in its series of annual community readings. One act will be read each Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. from January 28 through February 25, with March 3 as a possible snow date. Dr. Bethany Sinnott, retired Catawba Shakespeare professor, will again facilitate the readings and discussion.
Sessions will again be held in the second-floor Rendleman Conference Room of Catawba's Hedrick Administration Building. Copies of the Folger Shakespeare Library paperback edition of The Tempest will be available for use by the participants, who sit in a circle and read each scene aloud before discussing it briefly. Although everyone is encouraged, no one is required to read aloud. Dr. Aaron Butler, Catawba Assistant Professor of English who teaches Shakespeare classes at the College, and former Catawba Theatre Arts faculty member Linda Kesler will assist with the weekly program.
Catawba's Community Shakespeare Readings began with Hamlet in 2016 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Participants requested a continuation of the program, so the following years brought readings of King Lear, The Winter's Tale, and Much Ado About Nothing. This year's reading of The Tempest will conclude the series.
The Tempest, one of Shakespeare's most loved plays as well as his final solo play, has always appealed to audiences and readers with its exotic setting, diverse characters, and profound exploration of such themes as forgiveness and reconciliation. The main character, Prospero, has been seen by some as a possible portrait of Shakespeare himself, giving up his writing of plays just as Prospero gives up his magic powers.
Dr. Sinnott, English Professor Emerita at Catawba, holds a B.A. from Duke, M.A. from Northwestern, and Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill. Recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Award from the South Atlantic Association of Departments of English in 2000, she was the first recipient of the Leona Fleming Herman Endowed Professorship at Catawba. She also served as lecturer for the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival.
For questions about this year's reading of The Tempest, Dr. Sinnott may be reached at bethanysinnott@hotmail.com or (704) 637-0136.
