Shakespeare In-Depth with Philippa Kelly
Shakespeare In-Depth coming back in April 2023!
Resident Dramaturg Dr. Philippa Kelly has returned with a new round of Shakespeare In-Depth!
Approaching each text with the same rich, immersive knowledge she brings to her beloved Grove Talks, In the six session series titled “Such Seething Brains: Shakespeare and the Modern Mind” Philippa will explore the vital question: what makes Shakespeare’s words so potent for the moment we are living in right now
The lecture will be pre-recorded and the study Group Classes will be live streamed on Zoom.
Such Seething Brains: Shakespeare and the Modern Mind

Join scholar/dramaturg/author Dr. Philippa Kelly, Cal Shakes’ Resident Dramaturg, to explore Shakespeare and the Modern Mind – a six week “In Depth” series that explores Shakespeare’s relationship to, and impetus for, contemporary theories of psychology and ecology.
For just $60 a session, or $360 for the full six episode series, 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 all the intricacies of each topic while giving you the opportunity to connect with Philippa in an intimate setting.
Schedule
WEEK 1 – “TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE”
Lecture (pre-recorded)
Study Group (pre-recorded)
Focus #1: Hamlet
Focus #2: King Lear
WEEK 2 – MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE IN SHAKESPEARE’S TIME
Lecture (pre-recorded)
Study Group (pre-recorded)
Galen vs. Vessalius – where and what are the faculties of the mind, heart and soul?
Focus #1: The Taming of the Shrew
Focus #2: Titus Andronicus
Week 3 – OPHELIA and the gendering of madness at the turn of the century
Lecture (pre-recorded)
Study Group(pre-recorded)
Focus: Hamlet
WEEK 4 – “BEING HUMANS” IN SHAKESPEARE’S WORLD
Lecture (pre-recorded)
Study Group (pre-recorded)
Focus #1: “seeing yourself” – reflections, mirrors, motifs
Focus #2: “seeing yourself” – friendship, love
Henry VIII, Julius Ceasar
WEEK 5 – SHAKESPEARE BEFORE THE TALKING CURE
Lecture (pre-recorded)
Study Group (pre-recorded)
Focus #1: Are we born to be what we become? Richard III
Focus #2: “I wasn’t always like this” Macbeth, Coriolanus
Focus #3: Fettered queens: Margaret of Anjou, Lady Macbeth
Focus #4 The cost of selfhood: Coriolanus
Focus #5 Stoicism and Virtue: As you Like It
Focus #6 Utopianism: The Tempest
WEEK 6 – SHAKESPEARE THE ECOLOGIST
Lecture (live-streamed)
Saturday May 13, 11:00am Study Group (live-streamed)
Lecture: Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30 PM
Study Group: Saturdays, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
Focus #1 the climate as an expression of identity
Focus #2 climate change
Focus #3 the human animal
Focus #4 the seas of change
A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Twelfth Night
The full six session series costs $360, or pick individual sessions for $60 for each (includes one-hour classes and one one-hour study group)
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.