Eugene Kusterer

Eugene H. A. Kusterer …(born 1/21/33) The H & A are for Harold Aloysius, the name my parents gave me. I was a monk at Belmont Abbey with the name Eugene; I got use to that so I kept it. For the entertainment of fellow monks, I wrote a very silly version of A Christmas Carol for the Christmas party. Much, much later I wrote a "translation" of Midsummer for a middle school student body audience. It worked; and I was hooked. As a high school drama teacher, I staged several of my "translations." A broader mission began to form in my mind and I continued to study, research and "translate" (English to English!). Twelve scripts to date … with an approach other popularizers have not taken, namely, retaining the poetic structures … even restoring some of the intended rhyming. I have stayed away from much of the holy ground of the likes of Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet. But my son-in-law (also a drama teacher) is pushing me to deliver a version of Othello for his very advanced drama students. I should live so long!