: See the far-reaching impact of the premier programs and services UofL has created for U.S. military members and veterans.

: UofL collaborates with community arts and cultural partners to put on a city-wide celebration of all things Shakespeare.

: UofL’s Dan Popa and his research team are pioneering robotics technologies that could provide needed assistance for healthcare facilities.

: James Wheeler, 73DMD, has brought the same passion he uses in dentistry to a small museum in his basement dedicated to his father and World War II.

The full issue of UofL Magazine, including alumni and campus news, is also available .  

This unique collaboration gives students the opportunity to learn from each other and from the talented, world-class theatre educators at both organizations.

Baron Kelly, associate professor and head of acting at UofL, will play the role of King Lear.��Kelly is a four-time Fulbright Scholar, critic, historian, scholar and practitioner with numerous international credits in modern and classic productions. His Broadway credits include “Salome” with Al Pacino, “Electra” with the late Colleen Dewhurst, King Arthur in “Camelot,” The King in the 50th anniversary production of “The King and I” and Belize in the World Premiere of “Angels in America.”

“King Lear” is one of the most challenging plays in the classical canon, so much so that it’s often referred to as the Mount Everest of acting.��

Kelly promised the cast and crew has pulled out all the stops to make this version as unforgettable as possible.

“This is the University of Louisville’s version of Broadway’s ‘Hamilton,'” Kelly said.��

Charlie Sexton, artistic director at CTC, will play the Earl of Gloucester. A number of students from UofL and CTC will play supporting roles and Jennifer Pennington, artistic associate at CTC, is directing the production.

Sexton said he met Kelly in 2015 and the two have discussed ways to collaborate ever since. This production is the first such undertaking, but possibly not the last.

“We hope to continue our partnership, perhaps developing a mentorship exchange between UofL and Walden students and giving UofL students the opportunity to appear in productions with the professional company-in-residence at CTC,” Sexton said. “I also hope the experience will broaden the audience for both institutions.” 

The show is an official part of , the city-wide collaboration of more than 45 arts, cultural and educational organizations celebrating all things Shakespeare before the arrival of the national traveling exhibit, “.”

The tragedy depicts King Lear’s gradual descent into madness, after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all.

“I love that it’s such a huge, sweeping tale, but it’s also as suburban as it is universal. The nature of fathers with their sons and daughters hits home for so many people,” Pennington said.��“We have attacked this wonderful story from the perspective of Lear’s mind. As if upon walking into the theater you have stumbled through a doorway that led into his brain, seeing through his eyes, sort of a ‘being King Lear’ approach. The world the audiences sees deteriorates as the King’s mind goes.” 

The Playhouse is on UofL’s Belknap Campus, 1911 S. Third St. “King Lear” runs Nov. 10-14 and 17-20 starting at 8 p.m. with 3 p.m. Sunday matinees. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for faculty, alumni, seniors and non-UofL students and $8 for UofL students. To order tickets or for more information, call the box office at 502-852-6814 or click .

You can find out at a special Nov. 4 concert titled “Music of Shakespeare’s London” by the University of Louisville’s Early Music Ensemble. The show is part of , the city-wide collaboration of more than 45 arts, cultural and educational organizations celebrating all things Shakespeare before the arrival of the national traveling exhibit, “.”

The concert will feature songs, dances and fantasias heard in England’s streets, pubs and common areas, as well as the stately homes of the upper class. Listeners will enjoy sounds of traditional renaissance instruments such as the viola da gamba, recorder, lute and virginal – a type of upright harpsichord – along with the cello and violin, which had just become popular at the time.

, Professor of Music History Emeritus at UofL’s School of Music and resident expert of renaissance music, is directing. There will be three guest performers, all of whom sang with the ensemble in years past and went on to highly successful careers in early music: of San Francisco, of New York City, and of Louisville.��

Ashworth said some of the songs will be the same ones Shakespeare mentioned in his plays.

“He obviously knew them and expected his audience would as well,” Ashworth said.

He also promised attendees will hear street cries – town-criers advertising wares for sale – set to music, just as those in the 17^th century would have heard in the streets of London.����

The music of the night will be fun and accessible to today’s audiences, Ashworth added. After all, it was largely written at the time for entertaining in people’s homes.

“It was a time of amateur involvement in music. Part of a person’s education was to read music and to sing. If you didn’t know how to do that, you weren’t considered sufficiently cultured,” he said. “The chamber music of the time – some of it quite difficult – was all intended for amateur players.”

The concert is 8-10 p.m. Nov. 4 in the School of Music’s Comstock Hall, 105 W. Brandeis Ave. It is free and open to the public.

The events at the Main Library, 301 York St., are part of the Will in the Ville citywide celebration of all things Shakespeare. UofL, Louisville Free Public Library and the Frazier History Museum are the chief sponsors with more than 45 community partners helping to mark the 400^th anniversary of the author’s death. The “First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare” exhibition at the Frazier History Museum will run Nov. 10-Dec. 10.

Here are some featured events:

Oct. 10-Dec. 10 – “Shakespeare in Kentucky,” original exhibition about the history of Shakespeare and Shakespearean performances in the state, including rarely seen photographs and artifacts from UofL Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections, Kentucky Historical Society, The Filson Historical Society and others. The exhibit is produced in collaboration with UofL’s English, history and geography and geosciences departments and will be open at the library’s Bernheim Gallery during regular hours.

Oct. 17 – “Shakespeare in the World,” UofL and Sister Cities of Louisville Inc. present short discussions by UofL professors Matthew Biberman and Hristomir Stanev, English, and Janna Segal, theater arts, and readings of Shakepeare’s “To be, or not to be” soliloquy performed in the various languages of Louisville’s sister cities. The event is free but tickets are required by calling 502-574-1644 or .����

Oct. 18, 25, Nov. 1, 8, 15 –,” UofL English professor Julia Dietrich will teach a five-week, Tuesday night short course on Shakespeare’s “greatest hits,” their eternal themes and lasting impact on modern language and culture. The course is free, but registration is required by calling 502-574-1623. (6:30-8 p.m.)

The full event schedule is .��

The University of Louisville’s English department presents the 2016 Phi Beta Kappa Lecture with support from the Phi Beta Kappa Association of Kentuckiana.

Shapiro’s talk at the Main Library, 301 York St., is part of the . UofL, Louisville Free Public Library and the Frazier History Museum are the chief sponsors, but there are more than 45 community partners helping to mark the 400^th anniversary of the author’s death. The “First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare” exhibition at the Frazier History Museum will run Nov. 10-Dec. 10, and several UofL professors will give gallery talks.

Shapiro will draw from his “Shakespeare in America” anthology, which he edited for the Library of America, to discuss how American writers from all regional, social, ethnic and political sectors have turned to Shakespeare in exploring issues that defined and divided the United States. His other books include “Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?” and “1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare” and “The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606,” expected this fall.

Shapiro is the Larry Miller professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. He serves on the Royal Shakespeare Company and Folger Shakespeare Library boards; the Folger, Cincinnati Museum Center and American Library Association have made the traveling First Folio exhibit possible through a grant.

The event is free but tickets are required. Register at LFPL.org or call 502-574-1644.

“This season capitalizes on the range and diversity of our department’s faculty directors and deepens our relationships with talented colleagues in Louisville’s theater community,” said Nefertiti Burton, chair of the department. “The plays we are offering this season will provide challenging performance opportunities for our students and stimulating, thought-provoking entertainment for our audiences.”

The season kicks off with August Wilson’s “Fences” Sept. 21-25 by UofL’s African American Theatre Program. The drama examines the African American experience in the 1950s and is directed by Baron Kelly, who has acted in half of Wilson’s 10-play cycle in major regional theaters in Oregon, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

“King Lear,” an official event of , Louisville’s year-long celebration of all things William Shakespeare, runs Nov. 10-14 and Nov. 17-20.

The African American Theatre Program also presents “Baltimore” by Kirsten Greenidge Feb. 2-6 and Feb. 9-12. The play, directed by Burton, raises evocative themes of diversity and tolerance within the setting of a college campus.

From March 1-5, Russ Vandenbrouke directs “Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike,” a hit comedy by Christopher Durang derived from the works of Anton Chekhov.

The season wraps up April 19-23 with “Antigone.” Andrew Harris directs Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy about sisters Antigone and Ismene who ask, which is mightier, the laws of God or man? 

All plays are at Thrust Theatre, 2314 South Floyd St., except for “King Lear” and “Antigone” which will run at The Playhouse, 1911 South Third St. All plays start at 8 p.m. with 3 p.m. Saturday or Sunday matinees.

Season tickets are $50, which saves as much as $25 on the purchase of all five plays. Individual tickets are available as well. To order tickets or for more information, call 502-852-6814 or click .��

Summer is the time to don your red shirt, show school spirit and brush up on Shakespeare with free UofL talks and outdoor Kentucky Shakespeare performances June 4, June 19 and July 10 in Louisville’s Central Park.

The College of Arts and Sciences, Alumni Association and Kentucky Shakespeare are encouraging audience members to wear red to The Bard’s Cards evenings at Shakespeare in the Park. People can order Bard’s Cards T-shirts when they register at uofl.me/as-bards-cards-2016.

Talks by theater arts and English professors will begin at 7:15 p.m. on the C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheater stage, where the Kentucky Shakespeare performances will follow at 8 p.m.

Kevin Gawley, resident scenic and lighting designer in theater arts, leads off with his June 4 talk preceding “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”

Before “A Winter’s Tale” June 19, Renaissance drama scholar Hristomir Stanev from the English department will be the speaker.

Zhanna Goldentul, resident costume designer in theater arts, wraps up the series with her July 10 talk before “Romeo and Juliet.”

Seating on benches is first come, first served, but patrons also are allowed to bring chairs and blankets. Food and beverages are available for purchase. The park is at 1340 S. Fourth St.; parking is available along the bordering Fourth, Magnolia, Sixth and Park streets.

The events are presented as part of UofL’s sponsorship of , a communitywide collaboration marking the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with activities surrounding the national First Folio traveling exhibit. Check for more information on related events at UofL and elsewhere.