Dig deeply into this season’s Shakespeare productions with a special weekend of lectures, discussions and hands-on activities. In partnership with UCSC’s Shakespeare Workshop and The Humanities Institute, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about each play during the day and then enjoy the production that same evening.

This year, Weekend with Shakespeare will be held at the Audrey Stanley Grove in DeLaveaga Park on August 8th (Much Ado About Nothing) and August 9th (Macbeth).

Admission is free to all, but seating is limited. Please register below to reserve your seats.

Schedule for Weekend with Shakespeare

Saturday, 8/8 – Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

• 11:00 a.m. – Welcome (Sean Keilen, UCSC)
• 11:15 a.m. – Actor Panel (Charles Pasternak and members of the company, SCS)
• 12:15 p.m. – Boxed lunch (courtesy of Shakespeare Workshop)
• 1:00 p.m. – Visiting Scholar (Eli Simon, UC Irvine)
• 2:00 – End of program

Sunday, 8/9 – Macbeth by William Shakespeare

• 1:00 a.m. – Welcome (Sean Keilen, UCSC)
• 11:15 a.m. – Actor Panel (Charles Pasternak and members of the company, SCS)
• 12:15 p.m. – Boxed lunch (courtesy of Shakespeare Workshop)
• 1:00 p.m. – Visiting Scholar (Eli Simon, UC Irvine)
• 2:00 – End of program

Sean Keilen is Professor of Literature and UC Santa Cruz, the founder of Shakespeare Workshop, and Head of Dramaturgy at Santa Cruz Shakespeare.

Charles Pasternak is Artistic Director at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, before which served as Artistic Director of The Porters of Hellsgate Theatre Co in Los Angeles for over fifteen years. He has had a wide-ranging career as an actor and director at theatres across this country including American Players Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, three seasons with The Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis and four with Shakespeare Santa Cruz.

Eli Simon is a Chancellor’s Professor of Drama at UC Irvine, where he has served as chair and head of acting. He is the founding artistic director and managing producer of the New Swan Shakespeare Festival, UCI’s professional summer theater in residence, which presents two of Shakespeare’s plays in rotating repertory each summer. Designed and built on campus, the intimate 135-seat New Swan Theater has become a celebrated Orange County cultural destination, winning acclaim from audiences, critics and the community. In 2017, the Los Angeles Times/Daily Pilot named New Swan the premier theater company in Orange County. Simon also co-directs the New Swan Shakespeare Center, a UCI research initiative supporting scholarly and public engagement with Shakespeare.