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Shakespeare might have met Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the white streets of London, or seen the serving-men of rival houses bite their thumbs at each other in the open square; but Hamlet came out of his soul, and Romeo out of his passion. They were elements of his nature to which he gave visible form, impulses that stirred so strongly within him that he had, as it were perforce, to suffer them to realize their energy, not on the lower plane of actual life, where they would have been trammeled and constrained and so made imperfect, but on the imaginative plane of art where Love can indeed find in Death its rich fulfillment, where one can stab the eavesdropper behind the arras, and wrestle in a new-made grave, and make a guilty king drink his own hurt, and see one’s father’s spirit, beneath the glimpses of the moon, stalking in complete steel from wall to wall. Action being limited would have left Shakespeare unsatisfied and unexpressed, and…it is because he never speaks to us of himself in his plays that his plays reveal him to us absolutely, and show us his true nature and temperament far more completely than do those strange and exquisite sonnets….Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

                                                                                                                            Oscar Wilde
“The Critic as Artist,” 1891

Brush up your Shakespeare—and Aristophanes, Wilde, Shaw, Stoppard and (Steve) Martin. In five short weeks, you’ll expand your knowledge of dramatic literature while preparing a way, way off-Broadway showcase production of scenes gathered from an eclectic assortment of plays, familiar and un-, old and new. You’ll also watch and discuss two dozen of the most engaging filmed versions/adaptations of plays ever made—Henry V, The Importance of Being Earnest, Pygmalion, Throne of Blood, Private Lives, A Streetcar Named Desire, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead among them. Offstage you’ll get an insiders introduction to the lore and culture of the theater through readings such as John Lahr’s essay, “Petrified: The Horrors of Stagefright” and Shaw’s preface to Caesar and Cleopatra, “Better than Shakespeare?.” Plus you’ll sample critical perspectives/appreciations from critics including Coleridge, Hazlitt, Auden, Donald Rayfield, and Frank Kermode as well as interviews with/profiles of playwrights and actors by Max Beerbohm, Kenneth Tynan, Lahr and others. Featuring an all-star faculty from the UH School of Theatre and Dance and the Alley Theatre.

This 5-week program of learning by doing is open to students from the Houston metropolitan area who will be entering the 10th, 11th, 12th grades or college. To apply, complete the student section of the PDF form and give it to a teacher who knows you well or a counselor to fill out the recommendation section. Your teacher/counselor should mail the completed form along with an official transcript directly to:

Exploraciónes Dramáticas
Wonderworks
PO Box 667550
Houston, TX 77266-7550
Fax: 713.523.6145

To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by 5 May; early applications are encouraged. All applicants will be notified by 2 June; early applicants will be notified sooner.
If you have any questions or need additional information, call 713.301.4882 or email shakespeareandcompany@wonderworkshouston.org.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from Houston Endowment Inc. and
the Greentree Fund.