ESU National Annual General Conference to be held in Cleveland

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OCTOBER 18-20 

CLEVELAND WILL HOST ESU NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL MEETINGS REPRESENTING OVER 100 BRANCHES AROUND THE WORLD.

About 100 people expected to attend.

To RSVP and volunteer for events, contact Cleveland President Bill Kennedy, billkennedy@windstream.net or 216-543-3953

Friday, 18th: Help needed at the Registration table with a National representative, starting about 10 am. 

Happy Hour at Flannery's Pub, 323 Prospect Avenue and then participate in the free Reception and Welcome Dinner minutes away at the newly remodeled Hotel Cleveland in the Terminal Tower. Must RSVP for free access.

Saturday, 19th: Help needed at the Registration table with a National representative, starting about 10 am. 

A volunteer guide may be needed to escort visitors to the West Side Market for about 2 hours. (National will handle tours to the Rock Hall and Playhouse Square.) 

Cleveland is not involved in the evening National Patron Reception at Case Western Reserve University.

Sunday, 20th:  Morning meeting of the General Conference of the Branches. About three Cleveland members may attend, voice new ideas and vote on issues.

All Cleveland members may attend the free Luncheon but must RSVP. The speaker will be Cleveland's Matt Weinkam, Director of Literary Cleveland, a prominent creative writing center. He will review the area's cultural landscape and the power of words to connect everyone.    

Incidentally this is the same weekend as the Induction Ceremony into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame so the city will be lively!

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Welcome to Hotel Cleveland

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Welcome to Hotel Cleveland

The ESU National and International meetings will be held in the historic Hotel Cleveland, which is among Marriott's elite hotels. It stands proudly at Cleveland's beautiful Public Square. Across the avenue is the new international headquarters building of the Sherwin Williams company. 

   Famous guests from Charles Lindberg to The Beatles have stayed here. Modern near field technology allows guests to stand before some of those images and be transported to some of the historic moments.

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IF SHAKESPEARE DID IT AGAIN?

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Stagecraft has vastly improved since Shakespeare's plays, 400 years ago. What tools might he and his students use today? 

A handout at the Shakespeare Competition, authored by Paul Rampe, offered many options including:

• Actors who might appear as animals, avatars, holograms, cyborgs and more
• Scripts co-written by artificial intelligence
• Stage lighting, lasers and projections 
• Surround sound from electronic instruments 
• Drones as performers and cameras
• 3-D printed props 
• Cameras with many lenses 
• Electronic costumes, not fabric 
• Special effects of many types 
• Facial recognition data from live audiences 
• Streaming to widespread audiences 
• 360 degree views  

Imagine stagecraft 400 years from now! Interplanetary and so much more. Shakespeare and his friends would love it! 

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Digital Actors on Shakespeare’s Stage

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"Digital actors" - people, animals, monsters - are common in Hollywood movies. Now they are on stage at the Royal Shakespeare Company. In "The Tempest", human actors are on stage when a huge digital tidal wave crashes across stage, sinking a ship. It looks and sounds like the real thing. Then Ariel, a digital sprite, appears and manipulates the storyline while changing size and appearance from time to time.

Thus the traditional performance of Shakespeare is changing with technology - virtual reality, augmented reality, digital effects, 360 degree environments, 3-D, holography and interactivity.

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