Thursday, November 6 at 5PM
at the New York Classical Theatre offices
Othello
Presented by Matthieu Chapman, NY Classical Literary Director & Associate Professor and Head of Theatre Studies at SUNY New Paltz
“Haply for I am black, and have not those soft parts of conversation, that chamberers have.” (Othello, 3.3.304-306)
In modern America, Othello's race is a fact--he is a Black man. But, in early modern England, Othello's race was a question.
Somewhere, across centuries and across an ocean, Richard Burbage gave way to James Earl Jones and Laurence Olivier ceded the stage to Denzel Washington, and our modern world provided a simple answer to a complex series of questions surrounding the race of the valiant Moor.
Using the text of William Shakespeare's Othello; the history and performance of blackness in early modern England; and the shifting social, political, and cultural contexts as jumping off points, this evening of Vino and Verse invites the audience to re-open the questions surrounding Othello's race, and explore who, what, when, and where made Othello into the man we know him as today.
Registration:
In-person: Free with a $20 refundable reservation* (space is very limited).
Online via Zoom: FREE
Matthieu Chapman directs New York Classical Theatre’s New Visions play development program and serves as Associate Professor and Head of Theatre Studies at SUNY New Paltz. He holds an MLit in Dramaturgy and an MFA in Acting from Mary Baldwin College’s Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance Program, and a Ph.D. in Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism from UC San Diego. A scholar, dramaturg, director, and actor, his work explores Blackness in the Early Modern world and contemporary performance. He is the author of Antiblack Racism in Early Modern English Drama: The Other Other (Routledge, 2017) and the memoir Shattered: Fragments of a Black Life (WVU Press, 2023), and co-editor of Teaching Race in the Early Modern World: A Classroom Guide (ACMRS Press, 2023). His essays appear in leading journals such as Shakespeare, Theatre Topics, and Early Theatre, and he has presented internationally on topics including Contemporary Black Theatre and cross-cultural adaptations of Shakespeare.
Future Vino & Verse Events
Wednesday, December 3 at 5pm | The Merchant of Venice with Dr. Sophia Murashkovsky Romma
Previous Vino & Verse Events
Shakespeare’s Original Practices
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
How did Shakespeare’s actors bring his plays to life without directors, lighting designers, or weeks of rehearsal? In this session, we’ll explore Shakespeare’s original practices—from cue scripts and costumes to fast-paced rehearsal processes and shared light with the audience—and how these practices gave performances immediacy, spontaneity, and deep connection.
Led by: Sid Ray, PhD, Professor of English and Women’s and Gender Studies, Pace University
Dr. Ray’s research focuses on Shakespeare and early modern drama, dramaturgy, and performance. She has written extensively on Shakespeare, Marlowe, Webster, and early modern women writers, and is a dramaturg, text coach, and longtime Board Member of New York Classical Theatre.