ShakespeareAMERICA will sponsor its first live-streamed virtual event, “African-American Shakespeare: Past Present Future” on February 1, 5:00-6:30 PM. There is no admission charge. The event will consist of a panel discussion involving four prominent African-American Shakespeareans: Jennie Greenberry, a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) acting company: Dawn Monique Williams, one-time Artistic Associate at OSF who directed The Merry Wives of Windsor in 2017; Peter Callender, an acclaimed Bay Area actor and Artistic Director of the African-American Shakespeare Company; and Ayanna Thompson, a celebrated scholar who has written extensively on the subject of Shakespeare and Race. According to David McCandless, Director of Shakespeare Studies at Southern Oregon University (SOU), and organizer of the event, the panel will consider such questions as “How have African-American theatre artists regarded and performed Shakespeare? What kind of unique stamp have they put on his plays? How do audiences perceive race when a racially diverse cast performs Shakespeare?” There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions of the panelists during the event via the chat box in YouTube.