Tonight!

Please join us for an evening exploring the possibilities of cross-gender casting in expanding opportunities for women, moderated by Rebecca Patterson, Artistic Director of The Queen's Company.
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Female actors who have successfully auditioned for and performed classical roles traditionally filled by men will share what has worked for them, especially in the audition process. Learn how to be empowered to audition for characters not necessarily of your own gender! Light refreshments will be served.

​Rebecca Patterson (Moderator) is a freelance director and founding Artistic Director of The Queen's Company (NYC). She has directed critically acclaimed all-female cast classical productions and is a passionate advocate for gender-blind casting, diversity and equal opportunity for female classical actors.
Kate Konigisor has performed on stages around the country. A few favorites are Over the River and Through the Woods at Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, Akhmatova at BAM with the Ensemble for the Romantic Century, and the title role in the award winning all-female production of Macbeth at Shakespeare in Delaware Park in Buffalo for which she received the Katharine Cornell Award for Outstanding Performance. She is also the Artistic Director of the Killington Shakespeare Retreat and Shakespeare with Benefits, whose January 20, 2017 Bard-Based Variety Show raised over $5,400 for the ACLU. 
Mary E. Hodges is a mom, actor, director, and teacher. She has a MFA in Acting from The University of Connecticut (Storrs Campus) and a BFA in Acting from Virginia Commonwealth University.  Roles in Shakespeare: Macbeth3 (Witch/Banquo/King Duncan/Porter/MacDuff); Othello (Cassio); Julius Caesar (Metellus Cimber); King Lear (The Fool); Double Falsehood (Henriquez); Hamlet (Ophelia & Queen Gertrude); Twelfth Night (Maria); Richard III (King Edward/Richmond); Henry IV, pt2 (Jack Cade) to list some.
It just dawned on Virginia Baeta that she's been cast in men's roles from her first high-school play to today. She has appeared in many productions with The Queen's Company -- almost exclusively as traditionally male characters. Damaged Goods, Virginia's gender-twisting homage to film noir in which she plays Thomas Sparks, a shamus with a secret, runs from March 2-18 as part of the Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT) New Works Festival.
Candace Clift has a passion for Shakespeare, which has afforded her many opportunities to play across gender (and to play with swords!). She has played Mercutio, Dromio, Dogberry, Puck and Trinculo. She's also played male literary figures such as Sherlock Holmes and Victor Frankenstein. Her most recent turn in a male role was the melancholy prince in Hamlet. 

When: 
Tuesday, March 28, 2017 
7 p.m. 

Where: 
Council Room — Actors’ Equity Association 
165 W 46th St, 14th Floor 
Between 7th Avenue and 6th Avenue 
New York, NY 10036
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These events are free and open to the public, and space is limited. Seating for each event is first come, first served. Participants are subject to change based on availability.