Dear supporter,

Re: Authorship doubters do it again! Declaration signing in Oregon; SAT annual gathering in London November 28

Theater professionals sign Declaration of Reasonable Doubt in Ashland, Oregon

In a public ceremony in Ashland, Oregon, home of the prestigious Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), several prominent theater professionals recently signed a hard copy poster of the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt About the Identity of William Shakespeare . This is the fourth Declaration signing event featuring prominent authorship doubters since April of 2007. Nearly 1,850 people have now signed online at the website of the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition, founded to legitimize the Authorship Question.

The September 18th event featured Paul Nicholson, Executive Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and one of the most prominent Shakespeare festival directors in America, plus James Newcomb, long-time actor with the OSF Company. (See photos)

Addressing an audience of more than 100 doubters, Nicholson said that “The Shakespeare authorship question is a great mystery, and I love great mysteries…” He then added that he is “proud to have the opportunity to sign the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt.”

Newcomb, now in his fourteenth season with the OSF, in addition to many other Shakespearean venues, said that he, too, is proud to be signing the Declaration, and that “the works themselves defy the story — the myth that the Stratford man was the author.”

Signing ceremony organizer Earl Showerman, a former SAC board member and long-time supporter of the OSF, in presenting the beautifully-framed poster of the Declaration to Nicholson, said that “While the academy remains prejudicial against any serious consideration of the Shakespeare authorship question, the theater arts community has proven far more open-minded, and has demonstrated courage, leadership and creativity in pursuing what is arguably one of the great literary mysteries of our time.”

The other signatories to this copy of the Declaration are Chris Coleman, Artistic Director, Portland Center Stage; Canadian actor and playwright Keir Cutler, Ph.D.; Christopher DuVal, Assistant Professor of Performance, University of Idaho; Livia Genise, Artistic Director, Camelot Theatre, Talent, Oregon; Felicia Londré, Ph.D., Professor of Theatre, University of Missouri at Kansas City; Stephen Moorer, Artistic Director, Pacific Repertory Theatre, Carmel, California; Mary Tooze, music, theatre arts and library patron, Portland, Oregon; and Hank Whittemore, award-winning actor, author and playwright.

A total of 1,847 people have now signed the Declaration – an increase of 100 since April. The great majority (79%) are college graduates, and 655 (35%) have advanced degrees. Current and former college/university faculty members now total 330 (18%). The largest number of faculty by field is those in English literature (71, 22%), followed by those in theater arts (40, 12%), the arts (30, 9%), natural sciences (25, 8%), math, engineering & computers (22, 7%), other humanities (20, 6%), medicine & health care (19, 6%), social sciences (19, 6%), education (18, 5%), management (15, 5%), history (14, 4%), law (13, 4%), psychology (10, 3%).

Nicholson and Newcomb have both been added to the list of "Notable signatories" at the SAC website, along with Professor James Fisher, Head of the Department of Theatre at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, for a total of twenty-three notables.

SAT Annual Gathering at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London, November 28

Booking opens today, 11 October, at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Box Office (020 7401 9919) for the Shakespearean Authorship Trust Annual Fall Gathering 2010:  Shakinomics: Building Bridges in Shakespeare Studies

Presented by the Shakespearean Authorship Trust in collaboration with Brunel University, the day will feature presentations, discussions and debate by academics, independent scholars, biographers and actors and will concentrate on the issue of current themes in Shakespeare biography.

Date: Sunday 28 November
Time: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm (Coffee from 10.30am)
Venue: Shakespeare's Globe, Bankside, London SE1 9DT
Tickets: £35 (Tea and coffee included)
Booking: Booking opens 11 October.
Contact Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Box Office, 020 7401 9919.

For additional information, visit this page at the SAT website: http://www.shakespeareanauthorshiptrust.org.uk/pages/conf.htm

Please make a donation to help support the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition!

Finally, please make a tax-deductible donation to the SAC to help us contnue to promote the Declaration. Your donation will help us achieve our goal of legitimizing the Shakespeare Authorship Question by April 2016. The SAC is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charity. You can either make an online donation using PayPal , or send a check made out to "Shakespeare Authorship Coalition" to:

Shakespeare Authorship Coalition, 310 North Indian Hill Blvd. #200, Claremont, CA 91711 U.S.A

Thanks for supporting the SAC!

John Shahan, SAC Chairman