March 12, 19, and 26, 2012

Presented in conjunction with Romeo and Juliet, this three-part series will explore the play's striking modern-day relevance as experts in neuroscience, conflict theory, and literature join Lantern artists for conversations about teenagers, feuds, and plot twists.

Tickets: $10    Subscribers, Seniors, Students: $8
Discounts also available for groups of 10 or more.

Monday, March 12 at 7pm

Panelists Beatriz Luna (University of Pittsburgh), one of the country's foremost researchers on the teenage brain, and Charles McMahon, Shakespeare scholar, Lantern Artistic Director, and Romeo and Juliet director, will take an in-depth look at the tragic behavior of Romeo and Juliet through the lens of recent breakthrough studies of the teenage brain. The discussion will compare Shakespeare's surprising intuition about teen behavior, some 400 years before studies revealed that the frontal cortex of the teenage brain is still in development, and hypotheses of how this may affect the behavior and judgment of teens.

Monday, March 19 at 7pm

This discussion will bring together two scholars at the top of their respective fields to discuss the relationship between the family feud at the heart of Romeo and Juliet and its relationship to modern political, cultural, and familial warfare. Randall Collins of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the leading conflict theorists in the United States, says, "I often refer to Romeo and Juliet in sociology classes to indicate what a patrimonial household society was like, before the rise of the state." Adds Patricia Denison, a Literature professor at Barnard College, "Cultural and tribal, as well as generational and familial, the play invites us to explore these complicated issues. The conversation continues today as we investigate the ways in which inherited, and often unexamined, perspectives partially shape us and the world in which we live."

Monday, March 26 at 7pm

Noted local Shakespearean scholar John-Paul Spiro (Villanova University) and Romeo and Juliet actors Frank X (Friar Lawrence) and Charlie DelMarcelle (Mercutio) will close the series with a conversation about the important roles that supporting characters play in Romeo and Juliet. Says Spiro, "It's crucial to understand how the play is very much about generational conflict. From this perspective, the characters of the Friar and Mercutio are among the most important. The play espouses two different views of life – Mercutio's and the Friar's – and one can view all the action within that dynamic."