Summer Shakespeare Festival Trip Planned

BROKEN ARROW The Northeastern State University College of Liberal Arts Department of Languages and Literature is sponsoring a trip to Ashland, Oregon for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival from Saturday, May 31 to Saturday, June 7.

The trip is being led by Dr. John Mercer, professor of English, who has taught Shakespeare to college students for more than 30 years. He has published articles and edited a book on the stage history of Shakespeares plays, and has seen numerous Shakespeare productions in the U.S., Canada and England.

Some things cant be learned by sitting in a classroom in Oklahoma, said Mercer. This program gives students an opportunity to travel and study Shakespeares work in different settings.

Cost of the trip is $1,018, which includes round-trip airfare, transportation in Oregon, dormitory housing at Southern Oregon University, breakfasts, tickets to all six shows, and educational programs by actors and designers with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The trip, worth three undergraduate or graduate credit hours in English, includes a wide range of activities. Participants will have the chance to see four of Shakespeares plays and attend numerous workshops on the production of the plays.

The plays of Shakespeare, whether read on the page, or better yet, seen on the stage, are without equal in their brilliant use of language, keen understanding of human psychology and sheer dramatic intensity, said Mercer. Thats one reason why after 30 years, I still love teaching Shakespeare.

Two scholarships are available for English teachers at Oklahoma public high schools to attend the festival.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is one of the leading Shakespeare repertory companies in the U.S. Opened in 1935, the festival has received numerous awards. The companys three theaters, the outdoor Elizabethan Theatre, the Angus Bowmer Theatre, and the New Theatre, accommodate a yearly attendance of around 400,000.

For more information, contact Dr. John Mercer at by phone at 918-449-6541 or e-mail mercer@nsuok.edu.

3/6/2008

Published: 2008-03-06 00:00:00