Kent-Trumbull prof pens benefit script

Staff report

WARREN

Peter Byrne, an assistant professor of English at Kent State University at Trumbull, wrote the script for “Heavy Lies the Head,” which was recently performed in Washington, D.C., for the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s annual Will on the Hill benefit.

Each year, volunteers from the government (mostly members of Congress), as well as from local and national media, lobbyists and corporate sponsors, perform an original one-performance play based on Shakespeare and infused with comedic references to contemporary politics. This year’s performance raised more than $500,000 for artistic, education and community outreach programs to bring Shakespeare to schools in the area.

Byrne’s work with the Shakespeare Theatre Company and the Will on the Hill benefit began about 10 years ago, when a friend approached him to write a program essay for the company’s in-house publication, which is sent to subscribers in advance of every new production. Management liked that essay so much that they came back to him the following year to write another piece.

Byrne’s work did not go unnoticed. In 2008, he was asked to write a script for Will on the Hill.

“I was given very strict instructions,” said Byrne, who also began teaching at Kent-Trumbull in 2008. “The script had to be funny and encompass contemporary Washington. It had to involve Shakespeare – every volunteer should be given at least one substantial line of Shakespeare to speak,” Byrne said. “Of course the most important rule is it had to be firmly non-partisan because it is meant to be light-hearted and fun, so the humor could not be offensive or one-sided.”

That script, “A Comedy of Errors,” received great praise. It was so well-written, Byrnes became the first playwright to receive a second invitation. That performance was such a success that Byrne was asked back in every ensuing year, right up to the present.

Byrne wrote the most recent scrip in January, but constantly updated it to take advantage of political developments and the presidential primaries.