ESU 2024 Patron Trip: A Private View of Italy

Founded by art historian Count Stefano Aluffi-Pentini in 1996, A Private View of Italy encourages guests to appreciate the life of historic palaces and villas, and allows them to discover the inaccessible treasures that are hidden behind closed doors. Through the centuries the Italian aristocracy has preserved their residences, which were designed by architects such as Raphael, Palladio, and Bernini.

Happy Hour: The Life and Times of Margaret (Molly) Brown

Livestream , United States

An overview of the life and legacy of Margaret Tobin Brown, activist, WWI volunteer in France, philanthropist, and suffragist whose 1889 home, shown above, is an historic museum in downtown Denver, CO.

Happy Hour: Courting the Virgin Queen: Queen Elizabeth I and Her Suitors

Livestream , United States

Her birth in 1533 came as a result of one of the most controversial marriages in royal history, that of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Little Princess Elizabeth lost her status as legitimate heir to the throne before she was three years old when her father moved on to another wife. When Elizabeth became Queen of England at age 25, public debate immediately turned to the prospect of her own marriage. From Parliament to the Privy Council in England, and from monarchs and ministers throughout Europe, many lobbied for their choice as the world waited for the queen to make a decision. Enter the world of royal romance, where the personal is political and marriage is a matter of public debate. While Elizabeth I had many eager prospects, in the end she was the only English monarch to rule as an adult and never marry.

Happy Hour: Four Award-Winning Poets Share Their Love of Poetry

Livestream , United States

Poetry tugs at our emotions and affects each of us differently. Listening to versus reading poetry can create different images and thoughts even for the same poem. Join this special ESU Happy Hour when we bring four award-winning poets together to share their love of poetry—Karen Karpowich, Susana Case, Meredith Trede, and Peter Nickowitz. Our poets will be reading their own poems in a round-robin program covering topics such as love, aging, film, travel, art, family, food, and elegy. These poems will inspire us, give us emotional strength and perspectives on our lives. This is a Happy Hour you will want to share with the whole family. Invite your friends to this extraordinary ESU Happy Hour program.

Online Professional Development Workshop for Educators: “Bringing Shakespeare to Life in Your Classroom with Dr. Nick Walton”

Livestream , United States

Are you a New York City educator looking to bring the Bard to life in your classroom? The ESU is thrilled to announce this professional development workshop open to teachers participating in the National Shakespeare Competition, TLab, or any of the ESU's education programs. Led by renowned Shakespeare scholar Dr. Nick Walton live via Zoom from Stratford-upon-Avon, this online session will help educators find fresh, engaging ways to introduce Shakespeare to students. 

Happy Hour: History of Christmas Carols

Livestream , United States

During this Christmas season, Christmas carolers bring the holiday season to life. Join this special Happy Hour and learn how this Christmas tradition began and changed over time. Beginning with Roman times, carols emerged from songs sung during the four seasons. During the Middle Ages, minstrels played carols. The Tudor period, brings a rich Tudor feast described in one carol. Carols were suppressed during the Cromwellian period. The eighteenth century saw many more carols written and composed. In the nineteenth century, many carols came to England from the continent. Our guest speaker, Adrienne Hesketh, will perform her own carol with the Baptist Church band. 

Happy Hour: Churchill’s Citadel

Livestream , United States

Katherine Carter, longstanding curator of the Churchill family's country home, will present her pivotal new account of Churchill’s activities during the 1930s, highlighting how Chartwell, his rural residence, became the epicenter of his anti-Nazi endeavors. During the 1930s, as Europe edged closer to conflict, Winston Churchill was politically sidelined. However, it was during this period that his home, Chartwell, in Kent, transformed into the command center for his crusade against the rise of Nazi Germany. He convened with esteemed colleagues and sources, such as Albert Einstein and T.E. Lawrence, who bolstered his efforts while he diligently warned of the looming war.

Happy Hour: I Stole a Monet for My Client

Join this fascinating Happy Hour with guest speaker Debra Rhodes Smith who has written a memoir of anecdotes during her 34-year career as a certified arts appraiser and Fine Art Advisor. Many experiences are shared while amassing the art collections for some of the largest corporations and luxury hotels worldwide. In her book, “Tales of Art Beyond the Frame,” Smith describes one of her most interesting assignments involving the acquisition of a Monet for a client and through some quirky circumstances at a Sotheby’s auction, she was able to obtain a million-dollar Monet for well under the valued price. All of Smith’s tales are true, witty, poignant, intelligent, informative, sophisticated, and a fresh perspective of the often-mysterious world of art.

Online Professional Development Workshop for Educators: “The Art of the Sonnet: Teaching Shakespeare’s Poetry for Performance” with Bada’s Eunice Roberts

Are you a high school educator eager to make Shakespeare’s sonnets more accessible and engaging for your students?

The ESU is excited to invite you to an exclusive professional development workshop, designed for teachers involved in the National Shakespeare Competition, TLab, or any of the ESU’s education programs.

Happy Hour: Why I Started World Elephant Day

Sponsored by the ESU Kansas City Branch.

Filmmaker and conservationist, Patricia Sims, talks about her journey to create the annual global awareness campaign, World Elephant Day, which she founded in 2012. Through her photography of Asian and African elephants, Patricia portrays her conservation work with elephants, her documentaries about elephants, and her recent trip to Kenya to see how the impact of World Elephant Day has helped numerous conservation organizations protect these animals for more than a decade by creating a global movement to save elephants. 

ESU’s Showtime Shindig

The ESU is hosting another Showtime Shindig which is part of the ESU Theatre Club.  We will be seeing Andrew Lloyd's Sunset Boulevard starring Grammy-nominated singer and Laurence Olivier-Award winning […]

$89 – $199