BEREA, OHIO (May 29, 2024) — Alex Minyard of Milan, Illinois (61264), was part of the outstanding cast and crew from Baldwin Wallace University that staged William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure under the direction of assistant professor of acting and directing Laura Welsh Berg during the spring 2024 semester. Minyard, a graduate of Rockridge High School, played the part of Mistress Overdone in the production.
According to Welsh Berg, the production put a modern spin on Shakespearean-era themes. "Josie Rourke created this adaptation in 2018, at the height of the #MeToo Movement. This adaptation deals specifically with the exploration of power dynamics (sexual and otherwise) through the lens of gender. In some ways, this text already feels dated: Its examination is grounded in the gender binary. But within that grounding, I have found myself continually confronted with my own biases, some known and some unknown."
The play also brings to mind other contemporary issues. "When governmental attempts at policing morality limit personal autonomy, when those in power are rife with hypocrisy, when the systems that are built harm the very people they are designed to protect. . . To whom should we complain? And how complicit are we in those systems? Perhaps in the ambivalence of Measure for Measure, we can find the freedom to examine our own biases. . . and decide whether or not they continue to serve us," Welsh Berg said.
Measure for Measure is one of an extensive number of performance experiences providing real-world opportunities for students at Baldwin Wallace University. Productions include plays, musicals, operas, music concerts, and dance concerts. Details at bw.edu/events.
Baldwin Wallace University, founded in 1845, was one of the first colleges to admit students without regard to race or gender. An independent, coeducational university of 3,500 students, BW offers coursework in the liberal-arts tradition in more than eighty academic areas. Located in Berea, twelve miles from downtown Cleveland, BW offers students the cultural, educational, and business advantages of a major metropolitan area.
