Shakespeare In Depth with Dr. Philippa Kelly
Join scholar/dramaturg/author Dr. Philippa Kelly, Cal Shakes’ Resident Dramaturg, to explore Shakespeare in an eight week “In Depth” series. Philippa will bring the same depth of insight and relevance found in her beloved Grove Talks!
Dates: July 23—Sep 14, 2024
Lecture: Tuesdays, 5:30—6:30 PM
Study Group: Saturdays, 11:00 AM—12:00 PM
Total # sessions: 8
Classes will take place on Zoom
(and in-person for a few repeat options – so if you can’t make it to the Bruns, you certainly will not miss any of the classes/recordings)
For just $60 a session, attend a one-hour class on Tuesday evenings and an additional one-hour informal study group on Saturday morning (for a total of 2 hours of learning) to unpack the intricacies of each topic while giving you the opportunity to connect with Philippa in an intimate setting. Your participation in these sessions will enrich your own lives while directly supporting our production of As You Like It.
Zoom links will be sent out the Monday before each class from learn@calshakes.org. If you have questions about Zoom or register after 4pm the Monday prior to the first session, please reach out to learn@calshakes.org.
Schedule
Click on a class title to register ($60 each), or Click Here to sign up for the whole series ($480)
All funds go to support Cal Shakes’ 50th Anniversary production of As You Like It
WEEK 1: PRACTICALITIES AND PHILOSOPHIES
Focus 1: How and why did Shakespeare write As You Like It, and how was it first performed? What kind of actors did he have for this play? What was the budget for costumes? What was the set comprised of? How did actors rehearse and perform? How did the play shift in public perceptions through the ages?
Focus 2: The emotional world of As You Like It, Aristotle’s Of the Soul, and the sense of touch.
Tuesday, July 23rd @ 5:30pm
Saturday, July 27th @11am
WEEK 2: FORTUNE AND NATURE IN AS YOU LIKE IT: SHAKESPEARE AND THE HUMAN QUEST FOR SELF-KNOWLEDGE
Focus: The twin gods of Fortune and Nature: what they give, what they require. We’ll compare this theme in As You Like It with Shakespeare’s earlier and later plays.
Tuesday, July 30th @ 5:30pm
Saturday, August 3rd @11am
WEEK 3: WHAT IS DRAMATURGY AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
Focus: Have you ever wondered about what a dramaturg does and how we apply our resources? Jump into Week 3 to learn about the purposes and practices of Dramaturgy, and how we worked specifically on dramaturgy to create our upcoming production of As You Like It. How does a dramaturg work with the director and designers? How about the actors? The class will include a practical exercise in Study Group so that you can learn how to practice the art of dramaturgy.
Tuesday, August 6th @ 5:30pm
Saturday, August 10th @11am
WEEK 4 – SHAKESPEARE’S ECOLOGIES
Focus 1: The natural world as the source of both fear and salvation in As You Like It
Focus 2: As You Like It and climate change
Special guest: Producer/Artist/Author Katie Brokaw
Tuesday, August 13th @ 5:30pn
Saturday, August 17th @11am
WEEK 5 – WHERE ARE THE WOMEN IN SHAKESPEARE’s PSYCHIC WORLD?
Focus: In As You Like It the playwright associates women with male transgression, penitence, discovery and recovery of self. But as Harold Bloom suggests, Rosalind is one of the most powerful characters in the whole of Shakespeare’s oeuvre. Where did this character come from? What do we know or infer about her relationship to women in Shakespeare’s day, and to Shakespeare’s life and psychological world? And what movements, themes and social changes over the centuries is she connected to?
Tuesday, August 20th @ 5:30pm
Saturday, August 24th @11am
WEEK 6 – SHAKESPEARE, AS YOU LIKE IT, SECOND CHANCES
Focus: How do we begin again? Interview with winner of National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize, Stephen Greenblatt, who has changed and re-framed the way Shakespeare occupies the modern world stage.
Tuesday, August 27th @ 5:30pm
Saturday, August 31st @11am
WEEK 7 – AS YOU LIKE IT AND THE ARTIST’S LENS PART 1
Focus: Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Somerset Maugham: connected worlds for self-reflection
Tuesday, September 3rd @ 5:30pm
Saturday, September 7th @11am
WEEK 8 – AS YOU LIKE IT AND THE ARTIST’S LENS PART 2
Focus: Shakespeare and August Wilson: connected worlds for self-reflection
Interview with award-winning star of both Shakespeare and August Wilson productions, James Williams
Tuesday, September 10th @ 5:30pm
Saturday, September 14th @11am
If you have issues signing up please reach out to the Cal Shakes Box Office at
(510) 548-9666 or boxoffice@calshakes.org.
Zoom links will be sent out the Monday before each class from learn@calshakes.org. If you have questions about Zoom or register after 4pm the Monday prior to the first session, please reach out to learn@calshakes.org.