About

Shakespeare at Notre Dame, chiefly composed of the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival (NDSF), Actors From The London Stage (AFTLS), and the Shakespeare in Prisons Network (SiPN), is a special program of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame that champions a 21st century approach to the production and scholarship of the works of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare at Notre Dame provides Notre Dame students and the wider Michiana region with a culture steeped in the works of Shakespeare, engages academic communities across the nation as the American base for AFTLS, and serves as a global laboratory where community, research, and practice unite to advance new pedagogical and performance models which redefine the possibility of Shakespeare’s impact on contemporary society. Woven into the core of our work is a commitment to serving as a force for good in our communities, in our work with world-class collaborators, and in the wider field of Shakespeare studies and performance.

OUR MISSION:

Shakespeare at Notre Dame is dedicated to advancing the study and performance of William Shakespeare for the audiences, students, and scholars of today and tomorrow. By producing programming that aligns contemporary societal values with the versatile worlds created within Shakespeare’s canon, we seek to “hold the mirror up to nature” and imagine bold, new realities—both onstage and off—which champion a diversity of thought and identity; reinvent models of engagement toward greater access, inclusion, and equity; and contribute to the global dialogue of Shakespeare’s possibility in the here and now.

OUR VISION:

Theatre reflects the world in which we live, imagines solutions to complex problems by exploring alternate realities, and functions as a social utility for the illumination of the mind, body, and spirit. As theatremakers, we have a special obligation to celebrate the multi-faceted prism of human experience that is the hallmark of a truly democratic society. In doing so, Shakespeare at Notre Dame commits itself to functioning as a force for positive social change by leading our field toward responsible and equitable production practices, centering the needs and voices of our many constituent communities in our work, and creating world-class productions and education programs rooted in the Catholic tradition of service. We endeavor to become the preeminent venue for the performance and study of Shakespeare between the coasts and currently serve as a global leader in the emerging Applied Shakespeare movement.

OUR VALUES:

• Service: To our students, our communities, our artists and staff, and to the advancement of the field of Shakespeare.

• Equity: Dismantling harmful and unjust systems by uplifting the plurality of lived identities that breathe relevance and fresh insights into the study and production of Shakespeare’s works.

• Research: Innovating our approach to the works of William Shakespeare by connecting tradition with contemporary research and application.

• Collaboration: Creating interdisciplinary opportunities for academic and performance communities to discover new methods of working as one.

• Global: Bringing the world to Notre Dame and Notre Dame to the world.

• Possibility: Embracing risk and daring to fail as we traverse uncharted ground.

• Joy: Redefining the marker of true artistic excellence for both artist and audience.

Shakespeare at Notre Dame Advisory Board

The Shakespeare at Notre Dame Advisory Board serves as the advisory board for the entire Shakespeare at Notre Dame program, which encompasses not only the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival but also the McMeel Family Chair in Shakespeare Studies and Actors From The London Stage.

Officers:

Dr. Eileen Ryan, Chair, Advisory Board
Andrew T. Blum, Chair, Executive Committee

Members:

Elizabeth Naquin Borger
Jeannelle Brady
James Collins
Kevin C. Dreyer
Peter Holland
Toni Johnson
Ginger Lake
Molly Murtagh Meyers
James H. Powell
Kurt Schreyer, Honorary
Amanda Abdo Sheahan
Bill Sheahan
Laura D. Arauz Smith

Ex-Officio:

Gary Graham

Emeritus:

Kathy Malone Beeler
Jack Cullen
John A. Haynes
Brian O’Donaghue

Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival Founder:

Dr. Paul A. Rathburn