Mock Trial
MAR 17 | 7:30pm
Harman Hall
STC’s 36th Annual Mock Trial is Back
“TEACHING THE CREATURE’S BRAIN—WHO IS THE REAL MONSTER?”: Elizabeth Frankenstein v. Victor Frankenstein
When Dr. Victor Frankenstein disappears to Transylvania to study the mysterious separation between life and death, his wife Elizabeth misses him deeply. What she doesn’t know is that he will emerge having created a living Creature from cadavers, its brain made sentient with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Further, without her knowledge, Dr. Frankenstein has trained his AI model using his wife’s letters and diaries, along with his own perceptions of her nature. Not only is Elizabeth haunted by the use of her private thoughts to bestow empathy upon the Creature, but she is also traumatized by her personal encounters with Dr. Frankenstein’s creation. Dr. Frankenstein explains that he has done the best with scientific standards at the time and his spouse had already published some of her work.
At this Mock Trial, we enter the High Court of Transylvania, where Elizabeth Frankenstein seeks damages for the suffering she experienced at the hands of her estranged husband and his Creature. Was Dr. Frankenstein negligent in creating the Creature? Did he commit AI fraud by imbuing the Creature with intimate aspects of Elizabeth’s persona without her consent? You decide.
Tickets
Bard Association pre-sale begins Monday, FEB 24, 2025 at 12pm
Donor and Subscriber pre-sale begins Wednesday, FEB 26, 2025 at 12pm
Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, FEB 28, 2025 at 12pm
Pre-sale codes and instructions will be sent to your email 24 hours prior to tickets going on sale.
Prices:
$175—Premium seat at the Mock Trial and access to VIP post-show reception
$125—Premium seat at Mock Trial in the Grand Tier Orchestra
$75—One seat in Mezzanine
$25—Student Ticket
$25—Virtual Streaming
Participants
Bench:
Judge Nicole G. Berner, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Justice Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court of the United States (Retired)
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Supreme Court of the United States
Justice Leondra R. Kruger, Supreme Court of California
Judge Amit Mehta, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Advocates:
Doug Jones, former Senator and United States Attorney, Alabama
Andrew E. Lelling, former United States Attorney, District of Massachusetts
Marshal for the Court:
Marshal Pamela Talkin, Former Marshal of the Supreme Court of the United States
Special Guest:
Bruce Reed, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Biden White House
Moderator:
Abbe Lowell, STC Board of Trustees Vice Chair, Chair of the Bard Association
All titles, participants, and dates subject to change.
Mock Trial Scenario Committee
Abbe Lowell: Chair, Winston & Strawn LLP
Medha Gargeya: Co-Chair
Carol Elder Bruce: Law Office of Carol Elder Bruce, PLLC
Joseph Block
Gregory Cooke
Nina Laserson Dunn, Esq.
Burton Fishman: Fortney & Scott LLC
Jeffrey N. Gibbs: Hyman, Phelps and McNamara
Drew Lichtenburg: STC Resident Dramaturg
Lloyd Randolph
Zhanna L. Malekos Smith
John Vogel: Crowell & Moring LLP
Carolyn Wheeler: Katz, Marshall & Banks LLP
About The Bard Association
The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Bard Association offers lawyers and other individuals with legal ties the opportunity to experience classical theatre at its finest while building both personal and professional relationships. This unique affinity group provides a valuable connection between the legal community and the arts through networking opportunities, enriching panel discussions and programs, including the popular Mock Trial Series. The panel discussions and other events conduct in-depth examinations into the roles of lawyers and legal issues in many Shakespeare plays and other classic theatre pieces.
Membership in the Bard Association transforms the individual experience from occasional ticket buyer to dedicated patron of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Members of the Bard Association enjoy exclusive benefits such as advance ticket purchase for the Mock Trial Series and Shakespeare and the Law events, “behind-the-scenes” access to the theatre, and the chance to create a greater awareness of the importance of the arts.
A list of Bard Association membership benefits can be found here.
For information on the Bard Association, please contact SupportSTC@ShakespeareTheatre.org.
View photos from previous Bard Association events.
About The Mock Trial Series
“A Washington wonk’s dream” –The New York Times
Conceived in 1994, the Mock Trial Series explores the connection of classical theatre and modern-day law. Tickets to the event have been known to sell out in minutes due to the prominent law professionals it hosts, such as U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, and the Honourable Suzanne Côté from the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as Chief Judge Merrick B. Garland, Judge David S. Tatel, Judge Thomas B. Griffith, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Judge Patricia A. Millett, Judge Cornelia T.L. Pillard, Judge Robert L. Wilkins, and Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Sponsors
Bloomberg Philanthropies
CYPFER