University Program
University Program
Learn more about Shakespeare at Winedale's college classes!
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"If you're looking for a program that's going to provide you with lifetime friends and experiences you'll always carry with you, this is that program."
- DJ (Winedale Class of 2023)
Spring Class
Learn more about Shakespeare at Winedale's Spring Class and how to apply below!
Mark Metts
Spring 2025 Course Description
This course explores Shakespeare's plays through performance. We will spend every class period looking in detail at Shakespeare's texts, the interpretive challenges they present, and the way performance choices contribute to their meaning. We will consider the original circumstances of their performance, their subsequent history on stage and film, and the critical controversies they have occasioned. Above all we will explore them in action, through our own creative work, both in the classroom and in the theatre barn at Winedale.
Instructor: Madge Darlington
Unique #: 35880
Timeline: TTH 11-12:30p, CAL 419
Mark Metts
Who should apply for the Spring Class?
The course is designed for students interested in Shakespeare and willing to perform in front of others. Previous experience with acting or Shakespeare's texts is not necessary. This semester, the course will explore farce and cover a selection of Shakespeare’s plays, culminating in a performance of The Comedy of Errors at the Winedale Historical Complex. We will also incorporate readings from Shakespeare’s source material, from farces by other playwrights, and Shakespearean texts and criticism.
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Mark Metts
How do I enroll?
This class will require you to spend three weekends at The University of Texas Winedale Historical Complex, an 80 minute drive outside of Austin, on the following weekends. Meals and accommodations will be provided.
Friday February 28 (at 6pm) - Sunday March 2 (at 10am)
Friday March 28 (at 6pm) - Sunday March 30 (at 10am)
Thursday April 24 (at 6pm) - Sunday April 27 (at 10am)
There will also be an on-campus performance on Tuesday April 22 at 7pm.
Because of the unusual demands of this course, instructor permission is required to enroll. You can express interest in the course and receive permission to enroll using the link below. After you have filled out the form, you will be able to enroll when registration opens on November 4.
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If you have any questions or concerns you would like to express before registering for the class, please feel free to reach out to shakespeare@austin.utexas.edu with questions.
Summer Class
Learn more about Shakespeare at Winedale's Summer Class and join us for our 55th Season!
Kari Noser for Lot Five Studios
Summer Course Description
The Shakespeare at Winedale Summer Class is a course dedicated to the study of Shakespeare's plays through performance. This course offers an educational and theatrical experience of great intensity, as well as a unique opportunity for group interaction and self-exploration, to students from any discipline. The first part of the course is an individual study, correspondence, conference course (E678a) preparing the student through reading of the texts, source materials, scholarship, and criticism. The second part of the course (E678b) is taken in residence at the 250-acre University of Texas Winedale Historical Center, near Round Top, Texas.
At Winedale, students live and work in a peaceful pastoral setting and perform in a century-old German hay barn that has been converted into an Elizabethan-style theatre. The isolated wooded landscape provides a special kind of magic and a uniquely focused intensity for the exploration of these supremely demanding plays. Students study Shakespeare 15-18 hours a day, seven days a week, in the 1880 Theatre Barn. The summer concludes with 24 public performances of the plays studied.
Kari Noser for Lot Five Studios
Who should apply for the Summer Class?
Shakespeare at Winedale is intended for students from all disciplines who are prepared to take risks and commit themselves to a creatively and intellectually demanding style of performance. Application is by interview, not audition, and special consideration is given to students who have never performed before.
Students from any college or university will be considered, with some preference given to undergraduates. The keys to success at Winedale are a fertile imagination, an eagerness to learn, a willingness to play, and a high level of dedication and stamina.
Kari Noser for Lot Five Studios
How do I apply?
Please check back in Spring 2025 for more information on how to apply.
In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to shakespeare@austin.utexas.edu with questions.
Photo Credit.
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