Week 1: London

The course begins in London where students will spend a week engaged in Shakespeare's theatre, past and present. They will visit the Globe, a replica of the open air stage where many of Shakespeare's plays were first produced, and the Middle Temple Hall, the indoor space where Twelfth Night was performed by Shakespeare's company in 1602. They will attend three performances, one of which will be staged at the Globe.

Students will also attend classes taught by Professor Michael Collins and participate in discussions centering on these performances. They will meet with a London actor or director to discuss Shakespeare in performance. Students will have an opportunity to visit other important sites in and around London on their own or in a group with the instructor. The week in London is focused on three of Shakespeare's most popular comedies. Students will attend productions of The Tempest and As You Like It at the historic Old Vic Theatre and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe Theatre. The performance of As You Like It will be followed by a discussion with the actors.

Week 2: Stratford-upon-Avon

The second week of the course will take place in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. This week will focus on three of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies. Students will attend productions of King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and Antony and Cleopatra by the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company as well as a new play based on Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur. Classes in Stratford will be taught by Professor Mary Jane Barnett and Shakespeare scholars in association with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Students will also meet with at least one actor from the Royal Shakespeare Company for a post performance discussion.

Students will also get a taste of some more practical performance skills, either through a master acting class or an afternoon's instruction in stage combat. And finally, Professor Barnett will take students on a tour of Shakespeare's Stratford, with stops at the house in which Shakespeare was born; Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried; Anne Hathaway's Cottage, the Elizabethan farmhouse where Shakespeare wooed his wife-to-be; and King Edward VI School, the school that Shakespeare attended as a boy.