The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship will hold a free online Shakespeare Authorship Symposium on Friday and Saturday, October 2–3, 2020. The event will be live-streamed on the SOF YouTube channel, replacing the annual conference in Ashland, Oregon, now postponed to Fall 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Symposium is dedicated to the memory of Tom Regnier, past President of the SOF and Oxfordian of the Year 2016, and will continue the Oxfordian Centennial celebrations. It has been designed by the SOF Conference Committee, chaired by Earl Showerman, to maintain our fellowship and momentum amidst all the challenges of this year.
Several leading scholars will deliver presentations. The program will include the announcement and screening of the 2020 Video Contest winners, the presentation of the 2020 Oxfordian of the Year Award, and a celebration of the life of Tom Regnier and his advancement of the Oxfordian cause.
Overview and Registration
The Symposium will convene Friday afternoon and evening, October 2, 4:00–6:00 pm Pacific (7:00–9:00 pm Eastern), and will reconvene Saturday, October 3, 9:00 am–5:00 pm Pacific (12:00–8:00 pm Eastern).
Steven Sabel will serve as the Master of Ceremonies. Sabel, the SOF Director of Public Relations and Marketing — and host of the SOF “Don’t Quill the Messenger” (DQTM) podcast series — proposed and developed the online symposium concept. The event will be produced with the technical assistance of DQTM podcast wizard Jake Lloyd of Dragon Wagon Radio.
While the event will be open to all, free registration is highly recommended so that registrants may receive the official printable program, news and updates on how to access the event, and other materials to enrich their viewing experience. The SOF also encourages voluntary donations in any amount.
Thanking Our Generous Supporters
Generous funding has been donated in memory of Tom Regnier, including by those who waived refunds for the previously scheduled Fall 2020 conference. The SOF expresses deep appreciation in particular, for their timely support, to Paul Arnold, Ben August, Anthony Ellis, Mary Dawn Fallon, Catherine Hatinguais, Charlotte Hughes, Heidi Jannsch, Richard Joyrich, Diane Kallas, Bruce Kohler, Alex McNeil, Lily Parker, David Stritmatter, and Hank Whittemore.
Planned Presentations
The live-streamed presentations from the main production venue in Napa County, California, are expected to include:
- Announcement and screening of the 2020 Video Contest winners
- Presentation of the 2020 Oxfordian of the Year Award
- Ramon Jiménez on “Ten Eyewitnesses Who Saw Nothing”
- Katherine Chiljan on “Lord Prospero in The Tempest and Lord Prospero Visconti”
- Mark André Alexander on “Stratfordian Blind Spots”
- Steven Sabel on “The Mentors to Genius”
In addition to the live-streamed presentations, and the celebration of the life of Tom Regnier, the Symposium will feature several new recorded lectures. These may include:
- James A. Warren, editor of the centenary edition of “Shakespeare” Identified, on “J. Thomas Looney’s Difficult Task” (discussing the unusual challenge of attempting to change people’s minds about an authorship legend most already believed to be true; if Shakespeare’s works had been newly discovered with no author’s name on them, it would have been far easier to convince the world they were written by Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford)
- Cheryl Eagan-Donovan, M.F.A. (2019 Oxfordian of the Year) on “Shakespeare Auteur: Creating Authentic Characters for the Screen”
- Professor Sky Gilbert, Ph.D., on “Shakespeare Beyond Science: When Poetry Was the World”
- Earl Showerman, M.D., on “Shakespeare and Politics from the 16th to the 21st Centuries”
- Professor Bryan H. Wildenthal, J.D., on “Early Authorship Doubts: The Oxfordian Connections”
Returning to Ashland in Fall 2021
Looking ahead to next year, the SOF has secured reservations to hold the postponed annual conference in Ashland, Oregon, during September 30–October 3, 2021. The Ashland Hills Hotel has guaranteed the same room and conference center rates we were offered for 2020. Since 2005, the SOF annual conferences have been held every five years in Ashland, home of the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Unfortunately, Covid-19 disrupted our best-laid plans this year. The OSF, forced in late March by the pandemic to cancel the entire remainder of its 2020 season, is hoping to resume in 2021 the high-quality play productions that have attracted audiences for more than 80 years. The SOF fervently shares the hopes of our friends in Ashland that conditions will allow us to meet in person to continue celebrating the author and the works that bring us together.
