Join us for a brown bag lunch discussion of Jane Austen and the many ways in which her stories have been adapted in popular culture. Estefanía Fadul, director of the Heritage Theatre Festival’s production of Pride and Prejudice; Susan Fraiman, professor of English at the University of Virginia; and Jane Kulow, director of the Virginia Festival of the Book, will discuss the upcoming production of an eight-person version of Pride and Prejudice along with other examples of Austen’s influence on contemporary works. Bring your own lunch or snack, and tea will be provided by the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. Free and open to the public; no registration required.
Estefanía Fadul is a Colombian-born, New Hampshire-raised, New York City-based stage director and producer. Recent work includes the world premieres of Christina Quintana’s Azul (Southern Rep) and Scissoring (INTAR), Stefan Ivanov’s The Same Day (Sfumato Theatre, Bulgaria), and the Spanish-language musical Óye Oyá by Rebecca Martínez and Rodolfo Ortega (Milagro). Estefanía is a recipient of the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center/NNPN’s National Directors Fellowship, the Foeller Fellowship at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Drama League Directors Project’s Fall Fellowship and TV Directing Fellowship, and the Van Lier Fellowship at Repertorio Español. For more details, visit estefaniafadul.com.
Susan Fraiman teaches and writes about Jane Austen whenever possible. She has published articles on Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, and the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet. She is editor of the Norton Critical edition of Northanger Abbey. Her most recent book is Extreme Domesticity: A View from the Margins.
Jane Kulow is director of the Virginia Center for the Book, program director for the Virginia Festival of the Book, and she serves on the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Board. She read Jane Austen for the first time as a school requirement; subsequent readings and re-readings have been strictly for fun.