Shakespeare & Performance MFA Company Presents Festival of Plays

Sweet Wag Shakespeare, the MFA company of Mary Baldwin’s Shakespeare and Performance (S&P) program, puts on their festival of plays, The Sweet Festival of Wags, March 30 through April 4 during which they re-present performances from their six-show season, including Strange Absence: A Devised Show, Hamlet, War of the Roses, As You Like It, The City Nightcap, and Cymbeline.

Strange Absence rehearsal by Sweet Swag Shakespeare company at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Va., September 3, 2015. (Photo by Norm Shafer).
Strange Absence rehearsal by Sweet Swag Shakespeare company at Mary Baldwin University (Photo by Norm Shafer).

The Sweet Festival of Wags also features free workshops; an encore performance of Quietus (A Performative Provocation) by students in S&P’s MLitt program; a designer’s gallery and free concert; and the first Mad Wag Festival-within-a-Festival, a 24-hour production competition featuring faculty, alumni, and current members of the S&P community. The Mad Wag Festival-within-a-Festival has participants perform 30-minute productions of plays that nearly made it into the company’s six-show season, but didn’t make the final cut.

Most events are open to the public and all are open to donations. For details, see SweetWagShakespeare.com, or visit Facebook for updates.

Sweet Festival of Wags Schedule

March 30

  • 8 pm, Masonic Blue (5th floor Masonic Building): Quietus (A Performative Provocation)

March 31

  • 6 pm, Hunt Gallery at Mary Baldwin University: Reception and Festival Kick-Off Concert

April 1

  • 6 pm, Masonic Blue (5th floor Masonic Building): Strange Absence

*Note: Seating is limited for this performance. To get a seat, send an email to sweetwagshakespeare@gmail.com or get a lottery ticket while attending Quietus or the Kick-Off Concert. Seat winners will be announced at the end of the concert on Thursday night.

April 2

  • Noon, Masonic Blue (5th floor Masonic Building): Hamlet
  • 4:30 pm, Masonic Red (5th floor Masonic Building): Shakespeare’s War of the Roses

April 3

  • All day, Masonic Building: open rehearsals of Mad Wag shows
  • Noon, Masonic Grey (4th floor Masonic Building): “Lunch and Learn” Wordplay Workshop
  • 4:30 pm, Masonic Blue (5th floor Masonic Building): Mad Wag Festival-within-a-Festival

April 4

  • 12:30 pm, Blackfriars Playhouse: The City Nightcap
  • 8 pm, Blackfriars Playhouse: Cymbeline