Biggs and Othello at the Osborn

Murray Biggs (above), now retired from Yale, will present a scene from Othello with Yale alumni actors at the Osborn in Rye, Sept. 15

Murray Biggs, Yale's Shakespeare expert and retired professor of Theater Studies and English, will be joined by two Yale alumni, Nathaniel Janis '14 and Patrick Knighton '06, for a one-hour master class, "Actors at Work," at the Osborn in Rye Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7:30 pm.

The three will present a rehearsal from a scene from Shakespeare's Othello.  Biggs will guide Janis and Knighton through the scene, and audience members will watch how Shakespeare progresses from a script to a polished scene. The professor will explain to the actors and the audience his vision or interpretation, while the actors perform (and re-perform) their roles.

Biggs has conducted such workshops at AYA Assemblies and alumni gatherings in the past. Janis is a New York-based singer and actor who sang with the Duke's Men a cappella group while at Yale. He performed the role of Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at the White Plains Performing Arts Center. Knighton has appeared in the CBS television production Madam Secretary. 

Now retired from Yale, Biggs has directed 15 Shakespeare plays and continues to lecture around the country and annually at YWAA's Boscobel outing with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

There will be no charge for the Sept. 15 performance.  Yale alumni, guests, and friends who wish to attend should make a reservation by contacting YWAA board member Bill Nightingale '53 (at 212-856-9100).