Students and faculty from Napa Valley College Performing Arts will share original performances that seek to make sense of what it means to live in today’s world.


Performed in repertory, these pieces live in dialogue with di Rosa’s current exhibition, Be Not Still: Living in Uncertain Times Part 2. The performances were developed under the guidance of Jennifer King, Napa Valley College Performing Arts coordinator and artistic director, and as part of a workshop with Shakespearean actor and author Ben Crystal. Crystal led an ensemble of Napa Valley College students, former students and faculty on an exploration of Shakespeare’s sonnets (44, 118, 60, 40 and 81) with themes of immigration, societal health and solidarity. From the workshop, original work was created and will be performed alongside the works of Be not Still: Living in Uncertain Times Part 2.

On view through December 30, 2018, Be Not Still is the second installment of the two-part exhibition, and blends works from the permanent collection with new projects by a fresh roster of Bay Area artists—Victor Cartagena, Ranu Mukherjee, Lava Thomas, and Lexa Walsh—each exploring a topic of their choice in response to the present sociopolitical climate. Organized by Curator Amy Owen and Assistant Curator Kara Q. Smith, with Andrea Saenz Williams, director of education and civic engagement, Be Not Still is an institution-wide initiative to support the production of new work while bringing new dynamism to di Rosa’s comprehensive collection of Northern California art. Major support for Part 2 is provided by Wanda Kownacki and Nion McEvoy. Additional support is provided by Larry S. Goldfarb, Phil Schlein and di Rosa’s Patrons Circle.

$10 general
Free for members, children 17 and under and Napa Valley College students with ID.

Guests should arrive at least 15 minutes in advance to allow for shuttle service from admissions to Gallery 2. Guests who arrive more than 45 minutes in advance will be asked to pay general admission.

About The Artists

Jennifer King is the Founder and artistic director of Napa Valley Conservatory Theater and Shakespeare Napa Valley. Her teaching and directing credits include work for the California Shakespeare Theater (Associate Artist), Dallas Theater Center, Aurora Theatre Company, Playground, Berkeley Playhouse, Sonoma County Repertory Theater, 6th Street Playhouse, The White Barn, the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, Napa Valley College (Professor of Theater), Richland, Foothill and Solano Colleges, as well as the University of California, Davis.

Ben Crystal is an actor, author, producer and explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production. He was the co-writer of Shakespeare’s Words (Penguin 2002) and The Shakespeare Miscellany (Penguin 2005) with his father David Crystal. His first solo book, Shakespeare on Toast – Getting a Taste for the Bard (Icon 2008) was shortlisted for the 2010 Educational Writer of the Year Award. His 2017 TEDx talk is called Original Practices: Shakespeare’s Craft. Ben collaborates with theatre companies and gives workshops and talks on performing Shakespeare around the world. He is providing a workshop for Napa Valley College Theater in conjunction with this project.