Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival facts for kids
The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival is an exciting yearly event at the University of Notre Dame. It brings together professional actors and community members to perform plays by the famous writer William Shakespeare. The festival also offers fun learning programs for everyone.
This festival is a big part of the "Shakespeare at Notre Dame" program. This program helps students learn about Shakespeare's works in a deep and interesting way. In 2014, the festival celebrated its 15th year. It also marked Shakespeare's 450th birthday. Plus, it was 150 years since the first full Shakespeare play was performed at the university in 1864.
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How the Festival Started
The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival began from a special class in 1989. Dr. Paul Rathburn created this class called "Shakespeare in Performance." He believed that Shakespeare's plays are both scripts for the stage and important books to read. He thought people could understand them best by acting them out and studying them.
The first official festival production was The Taming of the Shrew in the summer of 2000. Since then, the festival has grown a lot. It now includes guest artists and shows. It also has the "ShakeScenes" program for the community. And there's a "Young Company" show, put on by students from Notre Dame and Saint Mary's.
Dr. Paul Rathburn retired in 2005. Jay Paul Skelton was the Artistic Director from 2006 to 2012. Today, Grant Mudge is the Ryan Producing Artistic Director. Kevin Dreyer has been the lighting designer for the festival since it began.
The Main Professional Show
The most important part of the festival each year is the professional company production. This is a high-quality performance of one of Shakespeare's plays. Professional directors and designers create the show. Many of them come from the Chicago theater world. Some are also teachers and staff from the university.
Professional actors perform in these shows. Students from Notre Dame and Saint Mary's also join in. And people from the local South Bend community often act too.
The Young Company
Since 2003, students have had a special chance to shine. The Young Company lets student actors and technicians create their own show. A senior member of the festival directs them.
In the Young Company, students get bigger roles. For example, a student who helped backstage for the main show might become the technical director for the Young Company. Or a student with a small part in the main play might get to play a big role like King Richard III.
In the past, the Young Company used the same stage as the professional show. But since 2006, they started "green shows." These are performances where the Young Company travels to local parks. They perform in places like South Bend and nearby towns.
Past Young Company Plays
The Young Company has performed many interesting plays:
- Shakespeare on Love (2003)
- Shakespeare on Comedy: A Vaudeville (2004)
- Falstaff's Dream (2005)
- The Brothers Menaechmus by Plautus (2006)
- The Learned Ladies by Molière (2007)
- The Witch by Thomas Middleton (2008)
- The Deceived or Gl'ingannati (2009)
- The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (2010)
- As You Like It by William Shakespeare (2011)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (2012)
- The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare (2013)
ShakeScenes: Community Fun
ShakeScenes is a special program that connects the festival with the local community. It invites local theater groups and schools to perform short scenes from Shakespeare's plays.
Deborah Girasek-Chudzynski led ShakeScenes until 2012. Then, Christy Burgess took over. She is the Shakespeare outreach director at Notre Dame's Robinson Community Learning Center. People of all ages, from 7 to 70, can take part.
Teachers from local schools and directors from community theaters usually direct these scenes. They choose the actors, direct the scenes, and help with costumes and props. Everyone in ShakeScenes also gets to attend acting workshops. These workshops are taught by talented theater artists from the area and around the country.
