Acclaimed theater actor John Douglas Thompson is visiting Deerfield for two days, talking about his acting career and working with English classes. On Sunday, January 13, Mr. Thompson gave a talk about his experience developing and performing some of Shakespeare’s most challenging protagonists, with an emphasis on the Theater For A New Audience production of Macbeth. On Monday, January 14, Mr. Thompson will be working with all sophomore English classes on selected scenes from Macbeth.
Mr. Thompson is considered one of America’s best classical actors; his director Arin Arbus told the New Yorker that Mr. Thompson understands “what honor means in Shakespeare. I also think he understands the size of the love, and the kind, in Shakespeare’s plays. Those qualities are essential for Macbeth and Othello, and they’re not something you can explain to an actor.”
This is the third year that Mr. Thompson has visited Deerfield and worked with sophomores.
