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Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival facts for kids

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The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival is a fun yearly event at the University of Notre Dame. It brings together professional plays by William Shakespeare with cool activities for the community. The festival is part of a bigger program called "Shakespeare at Notre Dame." This program helps people learn about Shakespeare's important role in education.

In 2014, the festival celebrated its 15th season. 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. (The first Shakespeare scenes were performed there even earlier, in 1847!) That special year, the festival featured Henry IV by the Professional Company. The Young Company performed The Merry Wives of Windsor. And the yearly ShakeScenes shows included actors of all ages from the local area.

Festival History

The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival started from a special class in 1989. Dr. Paul Rathburn, who founded the festival, created this class. It was called "Shakespeare in Performance." The idea was that Shakespeare's plays are both scripts for the stage and important books. You can understand them best by studying them in both theater and the classroom.

The festival officially began in the summer of 2000. Its first play was The Taming of the Shrew. Since then, it has grown a lot! It now includes guest artists and shows. There's also the ShakeScenes community program. And the Young Company production is put on entirely 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, a professor at Notre Dame, has been the lighting designer since the festival began.

The Professional Company

The main part of the festival each year is the professional company production. This is a high-quality performance of one of William Shakespeare's plays. Theater experts direct and design the shows. Many come from the Chicago theater world or are professors at the university. Professional actors perform alongside students from Notre Dame and Saint Mary's. People from the local community also join in.

The Young Company

Since 2003, students in the professional company have had another chance to shine. They get to perform in a show put on entirely by them! This is called the Young Company production. A senior member of the festival directs them. The students take on bigger roles both on and off stage. For example, a student who helps with technical work for the main show might become the Technical Director for the Young Company. A student who plays a small part in the main show 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 also perform "green shows." These are performances where the Young Company travels to local parks. They bring Shakespeare to communities in South Bend and nearby towns.

Past Young Company Plays

ShakeScenes

ShakeScenes is a special program that connects the festival with the community. It invites local theater groups and schools to perform scenes from Shakespeare's plays. Deborah Girasek-Chudzynski led ShakeScenes until 2012. Then, Christy Burgess took over. She is the Shakespeare Outreach Program Director at Notre Dame's Robinson Community Learning Center.

Actors in ShakeScenes can be as young as 7 or as old as 70! Teachers from local schools and directors from community theaters usually direct the scenes. These directors choose their actors and scenes. They also help with costumes, props, and dance moves. Everyone in ShakeScenes gets to attend acting workshops. These workshops are taught by theater artists from the local area and around the country.

Festival Productions

Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival Productions
Season Company Performance Title Location
2000 Professional Company The Taming of the Shrew Notre Dame, IN
2000 Guest Performances Will and I Notre Dame, IN
2001 Professional Company Much Ado About Nothing Notre Dame, IN
2001 Guest Performances The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet Notre Dame, IN
2001 Guest Performances All the World's a Stage Notre Dame, IN
2002 Professional Company The Tempest Notre Dame, IN
2002 Guest Performances Ah, Wilderness! Notre Dame, IN
2003 Professional Company A Midsummer Night's Dream Notre Dame, IN
2003 Student Company Selected Scenes Notre Dame, IN
2003 Guest Performances The Stuff of Dreams Notre Dame, IN
2004 Professional Company Romeo and Juliet Notre Dame, IN
2004 Student Company An Evening With Shakespeare Notre Dame, IN
2004 Young Company ShakeScenes Notre Dame, IN
2004 Student Company Shakespeare on Comedy: A Vaudeville Notre Dame, IN
2004 Guest Performances Othello Notre Dame, IN
2005 Professional Company Henry V Notre Dame, IN
2005 Young Company ShakeScenes Notre Dame, IN
2005 Student Company Falstaff's Dream Notre Dame, IN
2006 Professional Company The Comedy of Errors Notre Dame, IN
2006 Young Company The Brothers Menaechmus Various parks and Notre Dame, IN
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