Join us for a lively conversation with Dr. Ayanna Thompson, the leading scholar on how race is handled in past and contemporary performances of Renaissance plays, including Shakespeare’s Othello. Her research areas include colorblind casting. She has written the new introduction to The Arden Shakespeare’s Othello, second edition/revised, just published in April 2016. She has also written about Ira Aldridge, the African-American actor who earned acclaim on European stages in the early 1800s. Dr. Thompson is a Professor of English at George Washington University, and a Marylander. The pre-show conversation is free, RSVP recommended. Combine the talk with our 8pm ticketed performance of Othello (Adult tickets are $19 - $49. Student tickets are $15 - $25); reserve seats at ChesapeakeShakespeare.com/tickets. To RSVP for the talk only, visit ChesapeakeShakespeare.com/AyannaThompsonRSVP.