Barry Kraft, longtime Shakespearean actor and dramaturg, will lead fans of the Bard on an exploration of two plays now on stage at OSF

By Jim Flint

Shakespeare enthusiasts will have a rare opportunity to dive deep into the worlds of “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Macbeth” with Barry Kraft Sept. 14-15 in Ashland.

Whether in person, via Zoom, or through a video recording, attendees will uncover fresh insights into the iconic plays during two engaging morning sessions.

Kraft, with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 30 seasons as an actor and dramaturg, has acted in 88 full productions of all Shakespeare’s 38 plays, performing more than 100 roles, four times in “Much Ado” and three in “Macbeth.”

He’s been presenting his workshops for Rogue Theater Company since 2021.

“I align my talks with plays that OSF is presenting each year,” he said. “But my focus is on the actual words we find in the first printings of Shakespeare’s plays, not an interpretive concept or rewriting of his works.”

The sessions will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. both days. The live sessions will be held in a private home in Ashland. Interested persons can email [email protected] for more information and to sign up.

Video recording included

All participants, even those who attend in person or via Zoom, will receive a video recording of the sessions. Tickets are $100 per person for the two days.

The home for the in-person sessions can accommodate 30 participants. After those seats are sold out, subsequent enrollees can participate via Zoom or by watching a video recording.

Kraft particularly takes pleasure in the live sessions.

“The setting creates an intimate and focused environment conducive to deep discussion and interaction,” he said. “I vastly prefer in-person because I enjoy seeing participants’ faces in three dimensions and hearing from them in the moment.”

The Zoom sessions started during the COVID pandemic. The format allows participants to listen and ask questions.

Kraft’s approach to Shakespeare is informed by a blend of academic readings and practical stage experience from his life in the theater.

He balances the academic and performative aspects of the plays he workshops by integrating textual analysis with dramatic understandings.

“We might discuss a play’s themes, language, and historical context; then, I might bring the scene to life with a dramatic reading, experimenting with different interpretations and exploring how choices in delivery, tone and staging can alter its meaning,” he said.

An epiphany

An epiphany about this year’s two plays has intrigued him as of late. “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Macbeth” — a comedy and a tragedy — both begin after recently completed acts of warfare.

“That linked perspective had never struck me before,” Kraft said.

He believes both plays have an enduring importance.

“’Much Ado About Nothing’ remains significant for its deep examination of the complexities of love, honor, trust, and deception,” he said. “’Macbeth,’ on the other hand, endures as a powerful examination of ambition, unchecked power, and moral disintegration. Its depiction of the psychological effects of guilt continues to resonate with readers and audiences today.”

Kraft got his first Shakespeare role by answering a cattle call for “Hamlet” at the Laguna Playhouse in his home town of Laguna Beach, California. It wasn’t the title role. He was 12 years old.

“Mom said, ‘Go down and audition,’” Kraft said. “Mom and Dad were good about encouraging us to follow our interests.”

He had only three lines, but was thrilled to be in a play starring John Carradine, one of the most prolific and famed Hollywood actors of his time.

Today, Kraft has a resume that would stuff a suitcase.

The list of theaters where he’s worked as an actor or dramaturg includes Berkeley Repertory, Marin Shakespeare Company, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and Seattle, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Shakespeare Festival and Southern Oregon University, among others.

He also has taught at several universities and done numerous guest lectureships.

Kraft didn’t study theater or acting in college, instead majoring in literature.

Another epiphany

“Then it dawned on me that all my checks were coming from theater work,” he said.

OSF was on his radar long before he secured a spot in the company.

“I had always known about OSF as the Mount Everest of Shakespeare festivals,” he said.

In 1977, James Edmondson, an actor and director for OSF for 38 seasons, invited Kraft to audition.

“I had been with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival for five years and then at the Old Globe,” Kraft said. “I had a good resume, but I didn’t get the part.”

Two years later, after getting good reviews for “Pericles,” he sent a copy of a review to OSF to see if there was any interest in auditioning him again. OSF Artistic Director Jerry Turner did better than that. He offered Kraft a role as John of Gaunt in “Richard II.”

Reach writer Jim Flint at [email protected].