The Texas at Stratford Study Abroad Program offers six hours of academic credit during Summer Session I.  This intensive study abroad program immerses students in the language and culture of Shakespeare’s plays.  Incorporating a performance-based approach to the study of Shakespeare, the course combines formal academic class work with practical workshops taught by professionals at leading international theatres, including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.  In Stratford, academic lectures are taught by scholars from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.  Through immersion in the cultural environment in which the plays were produced, the students gain insight into the context that shaped Shakespeare’s theatre.

Following two weeks of intensive coursework in residence at Texas State, students travel to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace.  Located on the beautiful River Avon, Stratford is home to both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Shakespeare Centre, headquarters of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.  Students reside in shared guest houses during the two-week stay in Stratford.  Days are filled with lectures, practical workshops, and rehearsals.  Evening hours are devoted to attendance at RSC performances, studying, and further rehearsals.

The program is offered for either graduate or undergraduate credit.  Selective admission is by application and interview.

Curricular Content:

Theatre 4360/5360 Shakespeare Through Performance
•    Analysis of dramatic verse structure as a device for releasing thought & emotion
•    Introduction to vocal and physical performance tools
•    Scene work
•    Attendance at professional performances
•    Critical evaluation of performances
•    Participation in master classes in period dance, voice and fencing
Theatre 4360/5360 Shakespeare: Text and Content
•    Study of Shakespeare’s dramatic literature
•    Investigation of the historical, cultural, and theatrical environments of Shakespearean England

Program Criteria:

Admissible students must:
•    have Junior standing or above (Undergraduate students). 
•    be working towards a Masters degree (Graduate students).
•    be a Theatre Major/Minor
OR
•    have approval by the Academic Program Advisor and the Departmental Chairperson
•    Add applicants complete an interview with the Academic Program Advisor

In addition to a variety of events with guest artists, students have several opportunities to take excursions into the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon.  Famous sites within the town include the Holy Trinity Church, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Shakespeare’s birthplace.

2008 will mark the sixth year of the Texas at Stratford Study Abroad Program.  Every year, numerous guest artists and scholars play an important and exciting part of the course curriculum by teaching master classes and practical workshops. Distinguished past guest artists and scholars have included:

•    Patricia Delorey (Asolo Conversatory for Actor Training)
•    Jane Lapotaire (RSC Associate Artist and Tony Award winner)
•    Stanley Wells (internationally renowned Shakespeare scholar)
•    Paul Edmondson (Director of Education, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust)
•    Jean Marc Perret (British actor and fight choreographer)
•    Lyn Darnley (Head of Voice, RSC)
Dr. Paul Edmondson, Director of Education of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

STRATFORD UPON AVON
Stratford-upon-Avon is a small market town that lies on the River Avon in south Warwickshire, England in the United Kingdom. The town is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace and deathbed of the playwright and poet William Shakespeare.

Texas at Stratford Faculty:
Dr. Debra Charlton, Academic Program Advisor, Texas State University
Debra Charlton is Director of Graduate Studies in Theatre at Texas State University, where she supervises the program in production dramaturgy. She holds a PhD from the University of Texas, where she specialized in Shakespeare studies and dramaturgy. Dr. Charlton has worked professionally as an actor, and has directed numerous productions, including King Lear, TheTaming of the Shrew, and The Winter’sTale. Dr. Charlton is currently at work on her first book, Holistic Shakespeare, which explores the Renaissance concept of embodied emotion and its implications for acting process.

Patricia Delorey, Guest Teacher in Voice and Text
Patricia Delorey is the Resident Voice Director for the Asolo Repertory Theatre and Head of Voice at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. She is a Certified Fitzmaurice Voicework Teacher with her MFA in Voice & Speech from the MXAT/American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University. Ms. Delorey has
worked professionally in the US and internationally, including Phaedra 4.48 directed by Robert Woodruff, Enrico IV directed by Karen Coonrod, Five by Tenn directed by Carl Forsman, and the world premieres of Nocturne, Ohio State Murders, & Stone Cold Dead Serious directed by Marcus Stern.