The Shakespeare Project
The Shakespeare Project was a week-long residency in October 1983, organized by the Riverside Shakespeare Company in New York City. It brought actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company to conduct workshops, panel discussions, seminars, and performances focused on making Shakespeare more accessible. Over 1,000 participants, including actors, students, and teachers, attended. The project featured a "five-hander" performance of The Merchant of Venice, Under Milk Wood, and The Tarnished Phoenix. It was praised for its educational value and helped bridge the gap between American and British Shakespearean acting techniques.
History
In October 1983, the Riverside Shakespeare Company inaugurated The Shakespeare Project, based at the theatre company's home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, The Shakespeare Center for a week of public workshops, panel discussions, seminars and performances at the company's Upper West Side theatre, The Shakespeare Center. According to The New York Times, over one thousand actors, students, teachers and stage directors attended various workshops and classes.Media coverage
According to The New York Times, until the launching of The Shakespeare Project in 1983, "the Royal Shakespeare Company's actors had never conducted their workshops in New York City and never been open to actors in addition to students."Samuel G. Freedman wrote in The New York Times on October 24, 1983: