|
What is the UCLA Shakespeare Reading and Performance Group? |
|
The UCLA Shakespeare Reading and Performance Group was founded in 1993 by two students
interested in exploring the works of William Shakespeare through study and performance. Since
then the Shakespeare Group has grown dramatically and includes students with a wide variety of
backgrounds, from graduate students in physics to professional actors.
We are sponsored by the
UCLA Department of English and the
UCLA Center for Student Programming (CSP).
Our WebPage is hosted by private alumni donnations with the cooperation of the UCLA Student Group Web Service
|
|
| |
The Fall Quarter 1996 UCLA Shakespeare Group / Photo:Matt Bibb
|
|
What does the Shakespeare Group do? |
|
The Shakespeare Group engages in a variety of activities designed to foster an active study of
Shakespeare's plays and bring his work to an audience that perhaps would not ordinarily be
interested in Shakespearean drama. The unique makeup of our membership results in similarly
unique performances. We strive to produce scenes and plays that are not bound by traditional
interpretations or casting choices. We have had a Caucasian Othello, a thin Falstaff, a young
Lear, a male Juliet, a female Caesar, and many Asian, African-American, and Latino actors and
actresses in roles written for white men. We have played "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as a story
about drug-addled 70's stoners, "Hamlet" as the ultimate meta-theatrical nightmare (with
audience members asked for suggestions as to how the scene should proceed), and "Julius Caesar"
as a love story between Brutus and Cassius. These interpretations not only allow the audience to
gain access to what can be a daunting language barrier, they also give the performers and
directors new ways of approaching these oft-performed works.
|
|
Who can join? |
|
As a theatrical endeavor, we occupy a unique place on campus. We are the only ongoing theater
company at UCLA that is committed to inclusion and diversity. Since our inception it has been our
policy that any student interested in participating, regardless of experience, would be given the
opportunity. Our only requirement is enthusiasm. For three years we have found roles for everyone
who has wanted to participate. For many of our members, the Shakespeare Group is their only
opportunity to act or direct. Even those members who are affiliated with UCLA's Theater Department
consider the Shakespeare Group a unique environment. While the Department teaches them necessary
skills for professional success, it is also a competitive and threatening environment. The
Shakespeare Group's philosophy is that theater should be fun. As a result, our performances, while
occasionally uneven, are filled with an energy and excitement that is rarely found in more
professional theater. This energy is what our audiences come to see. We have often received the
highest possible compliment from our audience members
they have joined the Shakespeare Group themselves.
The UCLA Shakespeare Reading and Performance Group welcomes UCLA students from any and all
parts of campus. If you like Shakespeare, theater (acting, directing, technical stuff), or reading
plays aloud, come join us!
|
|