Ask Me Anything (About Persuasion): In the Weeds with Resident Experts

The last session of The Holy Theatre's mini conference Open to Persuasion is "Ask Me Anything (About Persuasion): In the Weeds with Resident Experts." From the title, it should be a lively talk for a Sunday morning and a great way to start the day. Get your questions ready and find out what experts David Shapard and Lena Ruth Yasutake have to say.

David Shapard is a frequent speaker on Austen who has edited and annotated all six of her novels for Anchor Books. He graduated with a Ph.D. in European History from the University of California at Berkeley, where he specialized in the eighteenth century. His deeply-researched and popular edition of Persuasion has remained in print continuously since 2010.

Lena Ruth Yasutake is an educator, activist, and community-builder who is currently serving as dramaturg for The Holy Theatre’s workshop production of Persuasion. She presented a talk called Accessibility Through Adaptations of Austen at the JASNA AGM in 2021 and she serves as a member of the JASNA committee for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. She dedicated to bringing the joys of Austen's writings to new, younger, and even more diverse audiences.

Lakshmi Gandhi became enthralled by Jane Austen after her mother bought her a paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice just before a cross-country airline trip. Since then, she's taken every opportunity to write about Austen adaptations and other historical dramas through her work as a freelance journalist and has covered everything from the South Asian representation in Bridgerton to Freida Pinto's influences in Mr. Malcolm's List. Along with her close friend Asha Sundararaman, she also writes and edits The Lakshmi and Asha Show, a popular weekly newsletter that covers books, movies and South Asian identity.

Please click here to register for this event by making a donation of any amount to The Holy Theatre's Persuasion Workshop Fund. Links to the online event will be provided closer to the date.