News And Events
Exciting Drey News
News
Sharyn Jontz, member since 2017, is the winner of a Branch scholarship to attend an ESU travel-learning experience called From Page to Stage in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England, July 12-18, 2020. The program will include several performances of The Royal Shakespeare Company, an excursion to the Globe Theater in London, lectures from prominent Shakespearean scholars, behind-the-scenes tours, as well as the museums, sites and shops of Stratford. Sharyn and her husband Jeff will stay at the 15th Century White Swan Inn. This is the first year our Branch has held this blind drawing for members to win this trip. Stay tuned for next year!
Read Full Story
Drey Scholars’ Report Program
News
Our six Drey Scholars entertained an audience of captive ESU members as they reported on their summer adventures. Not only did their travels take them in three different directions, but their presentation styles followed suit as well.
A moment of "Story Swosh" audience participation during the Globe Scholars' Report given by Tara Whitman and Jennifer Bennett
Read Full Story
The Winter ESU Dinner
Event Recap
On January 27th, ESU members gathered together to enjoy delightful company and toe-tap the night away with Orlando Big Band.
From Left: Dr. Ovid Vitas and Michael Kakos
From Left: Michele Levy, Joyce Zeluck, and Barbara Hughes, ESU Branch President
Bennett Harmon and a six piece version of Orlando Big Band
Read Full Story
Save the Date for Shakespeare!
News
We are pleased to announce a change in venue for the 2020 ESU Shakespeare Competition scheduled to be held on Monday, February 24. The event still begins promptly at 4:00P.M., with a check-in for competitors by 3:30P.M. However, we will not be meeting at The University Club.
Please join us instead at:
Orlando Shakes
Address: 812 E Rollins Street, Orlando, FL 32803
Phone: (407) 447-1700
Our competitors will be able to take the stage in the Goldman Theater. Then, as the judges deliberate, please join us in the Patrons' Room for refreshments. This year we have 20 schools representing Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties, with several schools making their debut in the competition this year. Please join us for what promises to be a wonderful presentation of Shakespeare's beloved monologues and sonnets, and discover who will represent our branch at the National Shakespeare Competition in April. In addition to our traditional $1,000.00 First Place prize, and an all-expenses paid trip to perform at the Lincoln Center, Orlando Shakes has generously added to the bounty. Our First Place winner will also be the recipient of a scholarship to join The Young Company during the summer of 2020 (valued at an additional $250.00). Mark your calendars now, noting the change of venue, so that you won't miss out on this wonderful exhibition of talent!
Read Full Story
Veterans Day and War Writing
News
The ESU Veterans Day Program offered nostalgia, history, poetry analysis, and...sentence diagramming. It was a feat to fit these varied elements into 60 minutes of excellence; yet, this feat was flawlessly accomplished by Matthew Forsythe, Assistant Professor at Rollins College and recipient of the Walter E. Barden Distinguished Teacher Award.
Matthew Forsythe
Forsythe opened and closed his lecture with a cherished photograph, a momento which displayed his own daughter surrounded by her Veteran grandfathers. After reeling in the audience with the sheer sentimentality of the scene, Forsythe went about carefully connecting the dots between a time when poetry and war writing idealized battles to the period of time when it served the purpose of enlightening readers and expanding our "collective memories." He offered that especially in matters of conflict, "the challenge of the artist is to close the gap" between the unblemished civilian and the demolished soldier who knows too much. He presented the truth that in war our soldiers live through the realities of a "private life that belongs to the public."
Read Full Story
Facebook
YouTube
LinkedIn
Email
Twitter
Email Sign-Up
Share
Print
