Episode 15 of Through the Gates: IU This Week airs at noon on Sunday, May 1. The episode will be available through SoundCloud or iTunes, or on the Media School website.

This week’s guest is Murray McGibbon, associate professor in IU Bloomington’s Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance. McGibbon joins the podcast to discuss his upcoming project, titled the “New Frontiers Special Production: The King Lear Project.”

McGibbon’s production is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play “King Lear” with a unique twist: all the dialogue will be performed in the original 17th century pronunciation.

The production was made possible by a grant from IU’s New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities program. During development, McMurray also consulted with world-renowned linguist and original pronunciation expert David Crystal.

In this interview, host Jim Shanahan will ask McGibbon about the process of developing a production of this type, how his adaptation differs from what audiences might know of Shakespeare’s works already, and how languages develop and change over time.

IU news highlights this week:

• A man held in prison since 1991 was released on April 25 through the efforts of the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis. Darryl Pinkins was convicted 25 years ago on convictions for rape, sexual deviate conduct and robbery in Lake County, Ind. Last year, he was granted permission by the Indiana Court of Appeals to seek a new trial based on new DNA evidence. Instead, he was released April 25 after the Lake County prosecutor filed a motion to vacate the conviction based on the new evidence, with no intent to retry. The IU project is now working to vacate the conviction of Roosevelt Glenn, a co-defendant in the case who was released for time served in 2009.
• Two IU sophomores have started an organization to provide relief to victims of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador in April. Diego Herrera and Anna Arteaga, who are natives of the country, founded IU for Ecuador’s Earthquake Victims to collect bottled water, blankets, clothes, water filters, flashlights, non-perishable foods and other donations, which they personally transport to a charity in Chicago that delivers relief to people in the South American nation.
• New research from the IU Bloomington Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences has found that infant attention spans may suffer when parents’ eyes wander during playtime. The study, which tracked the effect of caregiver’s focus on children’s attention spans using eye-tracking technology, was recently reported in the journal Current Biology. Attention is a key indicator for other developmental milestones in infants, such as language acquisition and problem-solving ability.
• IU has become the latest new player in the world of cloud computing. The university recently launched Indiana’s Private Cloud, a virtual-server-hosting service for Indiana’s educational institutions and governmental organizations across the state.
• Twelve IU Bloomington students have been awarded sustainability research grants by the IU Office of Sustainability. The awards, totaling $50,000, aid student sustainability research focused on stewardship, mitigation of human activity’s environmental impacts and societal responses to environmental problems. Also in student news, three undergraduates have been named 2016-17 Goldwater Scholars, a national honor that recognizes outstanding college sophomores and juniors who have shown great promise in math, science or engineering.

IU event highlights this week:

• More than 19,000 students at seven IU campuses are set to graduate between May 6 and 13. This year’s graduates come from all 92 counties in Indiana, all 50 states, and 128 countries.
• IU faculty member and former longtime Indiana congressman Lee Hamilton will speak at this year’s Baccalaureate, an interfaith celebration of academic achievement. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. May 6 at Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union. All members of the Class of 2016 and their parents, family and friends are invited to attend.
• IU Bloomington student films projects will be shown at the Spring 2016 Student Film Showcase on Tuesday, May 3 and Wednesday, May 4 at the IU Cinema. Both screenings are scheduled for 7 p.m.
• Students looking for a break from final exams will have a few unique ways to relax this week, including a study break hosted by Mathers Museum of World Culture on May 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. Activities will include board and card games, coloring and finger knitting.
• Finally, the IU Art Museum is offering a special guided tour on Saturday, May 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. Museum docent Helena Walsh will lead the thematic tour, titled “Special Personal Objects.” The tour is free and open to the public.

News and events for this episode will be read by Luqmann Ruth, of Chicago, a senior recording arts major in the Jacobs School of Music and composer of the music for this podcast.

Through the Gates: IU This Week is a collaboration of the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, The Media School in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the IU Newsroom.