The 2013 Alice Horsman Award has enabled alumna Mary Chater (1977, Music) to co-found, together with her husband and an Italian theatre director, Shakespeare in Italy, which stages productions of Shakespeare’s plays in Italian towns and cities, provides workshops for Italian students in schools and universities and offers a Shakespeare summer school in Urbino.
The fund was set up in 1953 by Alice Horsman, a Somerville graduate (1908, Classics) who wanted to provide opportunities for former Somerville students to experience other countries and people, whether through travel, research or further study.
“The Alice Horsman Award enabled me to travel to Massachusetts to canvas support for the creation of an Anglo-American theatre company to perform Shakespeare in Italy,” said Chater. “We plan to start with a production of Romeo and Juliet once we have the requisite sponsorship in place.”
Chater said that she and her husband had already been involved in some Shakespeare performances in Bologna and had been impressed by the warm reception local audiences had given to productions. It had helped to convince them that there was a potential market for Shakespeare in Italy – in English.
Applications for the 2014 Alice Horsman Award will close on 24 April. Awards are made up to a maximum value of £2,000 but rarely exceed £1,000. The award is open to all Somerville finalists and alumni who are in need of financial support for travel, research or further study. Applications will be considered based on the likely impact the award would have on the applicant’s personal and professional development. Full details on this award and on the Somerville College Alumni Scholarship can be found on the Somerville College website.