Shakespeare Character Workshop

The San Diego Shakespeare Society is offering a unique opportunity for the dedicated student of the Bard to dig most deeply into the humanity of the plays. Rather than be satisfied with rote recitation of text, this guided workshop will enable its participants to explore the characters intimately and to determine to what extent they may identify with them.

Which Shakespeare character are you?

The play Hamlet takes place in Denmark with a specific group of Danes, but the drama of Hamlet is not bounded by time or place—it is universal. There are Hamlets from Shanghai to San Diego. The characters of the canon live in us, and each person realizes these characters in unique and wonderful ways. This workshop will be a chance to share how you have identified with Shakespeare’s characters.

Beforehand, participants will be asked to think back over their lives as to which Shakespeare characters they have strongly empathized with and the reasons therefor. Do certain lines spin in your mind over and over again? Are there passages from Shakespeare you keep returning to? Try to write at least a paragraph about this and bring your “homework” to the workshop. Please copy and paste any memorable Shakespeare passages to your sheet and bring it to the gathering.

How it will work:

We will start with a “speed dating” event: Each person, with their writing in hand, has a few minutes to talk to the person in the opposite row, and then they switch to the next person. At the end, we can leave time for those who feel up to it to read off their personal observations or recite their favored passages for the entire group.

Host or Publisher San Diego Shakespeare Society