Explore the wit, resilience, and power of Shakespeare’s women with the author of Performing Shakespeare’s Women: Playing Dead – noted Shakespeare scholar, Dr. Paige Martin Reynolds.
In this engaging conversation, Reynolds examines comic heroines and tragic visionaries and how these classic characters navigate performance, silence, agency, and identity. Live performances of iconic scenes by local and SHAKE Theatre actors will illuminate the discussion.
The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Pilar McKay, Managing Director of SHAKE Theatre of New York and a seasoned theatre leader, entrepreneur, artist, and strategist.
AMFA Members receive a complimentary drink at this event, with additional refreshments available for purchase.
Paige Martin Reynolds (she/her) is a performer, writer, and professor.
An award-winning interdisciplinary theatre artist, she holds a PhD and is a Professor of English at the University of Central Arkansas, where she specializes in Shakespeare studies. She is the author of Performing Shakespeare’s Women: Playing Dead (Bloomsbury Arden, 2019), along with other academic publications and an essay in the “Modern Love” column of The New York Times.
As an actor and dramaturg, Paige has worked with numerous local and regional theatres, in addition to her credits in film, television, and voiceover. Her investment in artistic outreach includes theatre projects empowering children and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Currently, Paige’s interdisciplinary work focuses on the experiences of women, both on stage and off.
Pilar McKay is an arts administrator and theater producer based in Upstate New York.
In 2012, Pilar co-founded Shake on the Lake with Josh Rice (Producing Artistic Director/Co-Founder) to bring professional theater to their hometown. The organization now tours throughout Western New York and Arkansas and produces the New York State Puppet Festival. As the Managing Director of Shake on the Lake for over ten years, she manages marketing, public relations, and communications. She collaborates with leadership on all manner of problem-solving involved with producing theater.
She studied Rural Sociology and Applied Economics & Management at Cornell University (B.S) and Social Research Methodology at the University of California, Los Angeles (M.A. and Ph.D.). She taught public and strategic communication at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, American University, and the College at Brockport.
She has spoken about her community development through rural arts work at the Smithsonian Institution, National Rural Assembly, and the New York Statewide Preservation Conference.
Paige Martin Reynolds (she/her) is a performer, writer, and professor.
Pilar McKay is an arts administrator and theater producer based in Upstate New York.
