With Othello Onstage, Darienite Settles Into New Post

Emily Bryan first got hooked on Shakespeare when, at the age of 7, she saw a performance of Richard III in nearby Stratford.

A lot's changed since then, but not her fascination with the Bard. The Darien native went on to study Shakespeare through college and graduate school and to teach his works at institutions ranging from West Point to Brown.

Now, as the newly-minted Managing Director of Shakespeare on the Sound, Bryan finds herself once more fulfilling that calling not far from where it began.

Bryan came into the position, which deals with day-to-day operations, shortly before the company's production of Othello opened last week in Rowayton. Among other responsibilities, she is tasked with coordinating the organization's programs; managing fundraising, budgeting, and payroll; and working with Artistic Director Joanna Settle to chose each summer's play. 

But Bryan still makes sure to learn from and enjoy the shows.

"Shakespeare's plays teach you critical thinking skills," Bryan said. "In Othello, he takes you through how we stereotype other people and how dangerous that can be."

Bryan began working at Shakespeare on the Sound in September when she was added to the company's board of directors. She served on the education committee and on the search committee to find a successor to former Managing Director Mary Osborne. Ultimately, members didn't have to look far.

"Emily brings brains and passion to Shakespeare on the Sound," said Susan Doran, a member of Shakespeare on the Sound's board of directors. "As an added bonus she's a true gentlewoman who is an eloquent spokeswoman for the importance of theatre in our lives."

Bryan was raised in town and graduated from Darien High School. She received a B.A. in English Literature at Harvard University and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham, where she earned a master's degree in Shakespearean Studies. The fellowship allowed her to study within walking distance of Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon.

During her graduate studies, Bryan taught Shakespeare and other literature courses at Brown University and Northwestern University, and again at West Point University and Dominican College after earning her Ph.D.

There's a reason, she said, that Shakespeare still resonates with her and so many others centuries after his plays were first performed. 

"Shakespeare's plays invite many different interpretations," Bryan said. "They're inexhaustible, really, in their richness of thinking."

Bryan has also worked to promote Shakespeare education in the community. While on the board of directors, she crafted a grant to increase awareness of the playwright's works in local public schools. Half of the funds were used to help Artistic Director Joanna Settle spend time at Stamford High School and Westhill High School.

Five or six years ago, Bryan moved back to Darien, believing it was an ideal place to raise her childrean. But with Shakespeare on the Sound nearby, the town also offered easy access to his works.

Ben, 6, and Phoebe, 3, are—like their mother—precocious students of the Bard. "I love 'Thello," Phoebe said on a recent night at Pinkey Park.

"That Othello is the introduction to Shakespeare for my kids and other people is pretty amazing," says Bryan, adding that the directors and actors do a particularly good job of making Shakespeare accessible to a general audience.

Othello runs until June 26 at Pinkney Park in Rowayton and from July 2 to July 11 at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich.  Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. There are no performances on Mondays. For more information about the play, visit Shakespeare on the Sound's website.