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News
& Events
Declaration
of Reasonable Doubt Signing event
To
coincide with both the DVS meeting and the performance of
Mark's new play, there will also be the first public signing
in England of the "Declaration of Reasonanble Doubt"
under the auspices of the Shakespeare Authorship Coailition
(SAC) whose chairman, John Shahan, has supplied the following
update:
The
next event offering an opportunity to attract major media
attention is the "Doubters' Day" signing ceremony
in Chichester on September 8, following the matinee performance
of Mark Rylance's new play on the authorship issue, "The
BIG Secret Live -- I am Shakespeare -- Webcam Daytime Chat-room
Show," at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Plans for
this event are on schedule. Sir Derek Jacobi is expecting
to be there. Hopefully the combination of a high-profile play
on the authorship issue, plus the first Declaration signing
event in the U.K, will gain us attention.
Given the absence of new catalysts, the addition of 101 signatories,
for a total of 233 in the three months since the Declaration
was launched, is a respectable showing. More important than
the total number is the quality of our signatories. The proportion
of college and university faculty members is well over 25%,
while the proportion with advanced degrees is holding near
50%. Many others have impressive accomplishments. Certainly
the quality is such that those who hold negative stereotypes
of authorship doubters must be experiencing great cognitive
dissonance.
Perhaps most significant is the fact that no one from any
authorship persuasion has had anything but good things to
say about the Declaration. No fact has been challenged, and
many people have remarked on its quality. Some orthodox scholars
have read it, and are taking it seriously. So despite the
lack of media coverage to date, and despite the fact that
many high profile doubters have yet to come forward and sign
on to it, opinion leaders are likely to feel more comfortable
with it over time when they see that it is capable to withstanding
the scrutiny of the orthodox.
Meanwhile, I encourage all of you to continue to use the Declaration
to convince potential converts that the authorship issue really
is legitimate. The most helpful thing you can do is help recruit
additional signatories, followed by adding links to our website
to increase our Internet visibility. The signing deadline
for the next update is October 14. I look forward to seeing
some of you in Chichester for Doubters' Day on September 8.
Thanks!
Sincerely,
John Shahan
SAC Chairman
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