Shakespeare is coming back to Corsicana! This October, the Warehouse Living Arts Center will present A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of Shakespeare's funniest and most famous comedies, directed by John S. Davies. To get ready, we will be hosting a series of four informal workshops as an introduction to Shakespeare. The workshops are open to high-schoolers and adults.

If your only experience with Shakespeare was a boring reading of Julius Caesar in middle school, this workshop will help you understand why he is still considered the greatest writer in the English language. And, if you plan to audition for A Midsummer Night's Dream, this will be a great help.

We will cover a little bit of the history of Shakespeare and his work. We'll talk about why the language (which is not as difficult as you think), still works more than 400 years later. We'll talk about the different ways Shakespeare uses language: prose, poetry, free verse, songs, and even nursery rhymes. Our modern English began with the Elizabethan poets and playwrights, and Shakespeare was at the forefront. We'll also work on some of the dialogue from his plays, and then we'll focus on A Midsummer Night's Dream. Finally, we will present some of our work at the Corsicana Library on August 24 using a piece written by John S. Davies for Shakespeare Dallas called Shakespeare in Bloom.

Shakespeare in Bloom puts the work of Shakespeare in context for a modern audience. Much of what we now take for granted--our use of language (expressions like "pure as the driven snow;" "wild goose chase;" and "break the ice" originated with Shakespeare), the way we tell stories, and our view of human nature--come from Shakespeare. Hamlet is arguably as well-known to the world as Jesus Christ. Romeo and Juliet are still the greatest symbols of romantic love. The world still sees hundreds of productions of Shakespeare's plays every year. Shakespeare in Bloom distills the world of Shakespeare into a funny, moving, stimulating hour of words and ideas, appealing to people whose only experience with Shakespeare was that boring reading of Julius Caesar. Corsicana could use a little Shakespeare!