Patsy at the Stratford Festival, Ontario

Themed Week: Scholars and Experts Week

This week sees two internationally recognized women (Patsy Rodenburg and Dr. Jen Gunter) leaders in their fields visit the Meighen Forum to engage in conversation with the Festival’s own voice and theatre experts.

Friday, September 19: The Woman’s Voice with Patsy Rodenburg
*10:30 a.m.-noon*

Patsy Rodenburg is a world-leading expert on actor training and author of renowned works such as The Right to Speak, Speaking Shakespeare and The Second Circle. Her most recent work, The Woman’s Voice, is a “call to arms for women to reclaim their voices” and “decipher what lies at the heart of female empowerment.” Join us as Rodenburg visits the Forum for an intimate interview with the Stratford Festival’s former long-standing Head of Voice, Janine Pearson, about her work and book with which she “defines the art of accessing the voice within and reclaiming the woman’s right to speak.”

Sunday, September 21: What Does it Take to Train a Great Actor? with Patsy Rodenburg and Guests
*10:30 a.m.-noon*

Director of the Stratford Festival’s Birmingham Conservatory Janine Pearson moderates a panel including renowned expert on voice and Shakespeare, Patsy Rodenburg, as well as Yvette Nolan, playwright of this season’s The Art of War and director of 2023’s Women of the Fur Trade, and Yanna McIntosh, Hecuba and Pauline in this season’s Ransacking Troy and The Winter’s Tale. This esteemed panel will discuss theatre training, examining what has changed and what remains the same.