Formerly called Shakespeare and the Feminine, the Shakespeare and Gender workshop has been newly retooled, informed and inspired by Tina Packer’s work in researching and performing her master-work, Women of Will.
The small number of female roles in Shakespeare’s plays (around 149) to male (around 798) delineates the way in which the social and political structures of the world work and out of this comes a frame to measure the influence of women and Shakespeare’s attitude towards them. What happens when the ‘warrior women’ start negotiating? Does a woman disguised as a man have more power? How does the feminine intuitive side within all of us help us to know the truth?
Tina Packer is one of theater’s leading experts on Shakespeare. She has directed most of the canon and acted in many of his plays and is the creator of the five-part theatrical exploration Women of Will. She has an inimitable style of engaging her listeners through discussion and performance to reveal the passion of the Elizabethan world to modern actors and audiences with insight, humor and dramatic force.
Every participant will arrive with a speech by one male character and one female character and work on them from different points of view as we discuss how each of them feels, not only in the psyche but also in the body.
Take a weekend discovering Shakespeare’s women: who they are, what they do and why—and how they survive and thrive.
TUITION: $400 (room included)
Experience Shakespeare & Company’s 2011 Summer Season! Shakespeare and Gender Participants take advantage of deeply discounted tickets. Ask about staying an extra night! Call the Center for Actor Training at 413.637.1199 ext 114 for details.