On Wednesday, Oct. 5, Colorado Shakespeare Festival actors will perform a 17th Century play that will set the stage for a modern-day discussion about bullying prevention as part of a collaboration between the festival and the University of Colorado Boulder Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
“Twelfth Night: Shakespeare and Anti-Bullying” will begin at 7 p.m. at the Massari Theatre at Trinidad State Junior College (TSJC). The public performance is part of the series called CU in the Community, which is jointly sponsored by TSJC, Trinidad Community Foundation, Trinidad & Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce, Trinidad Times Independent, and the CU-Boulder Office for University Outreach.
The three-person Colorado Shakespeare Festival theatre troupe will perform a 50-minute abridged version of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” followed by a post-show talk with the actors centered on the play’s contemporary relevance and research-informed bullying information and interventions from the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
In “Twelfth Night,” a character named Malvolio treats his fellow servants poorly so several characters play a trick on him. They forge a letter in the heroine’s handwriting suggesting she is in love with Malvolio. As a result, Malvolio begins to behave in a crazed manner and becomes the laughing stock of the household. When he has hit bottom, the other characters end the cruel joke, but Malvolio’s final line of the play is: “I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you.”
“The Malvolio storyline, along with the letter the characters plant for him to find, give us great ways to talk about contemporary issues like cyber bullying,” said Amanda Giguere, PhD, literary manager for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. "Kids and teens will relate to this story because they’ve probably witnessed something similar in school.”
According to the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, nearly 15 percent of students in grades 9-12 are involved in a physical fight on school property nationwide and, like Malvolio, many attackers feel bullied, persecuted, or injured prior to their attacks.
“Making children and teachers aware is the first step in preventing bullying, and this play is an exciting, innovative way to accomplish this,” said Delbert Elliott, PhD, distinguished professor emeritus and director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence. “The workshop provides practical, evidence-based resources for addressing this serious problem.”
Tickets for the show are $4 for adults and $3 for seniors and children. They can be purchased at the door the evening of event or in advance at the Trinidad Community Foundation, 134 West Main Street in Suite 24, or Curiosities, 305 West Main Street. TSJC students and faculty may attend for free with a school identification card. All proceeds will benefit the Holy Trinity Academy Scholarship Fund.
-CU-Boulder Office for University Outreach-