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St. Olaf, Carleton students, faculty learn more about William Shakespeare at recent colloquium

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April 17, 2001

NORTHFIELD, Minn. ? St. Olaf and Carleton college students and professors and other Northfield residents learned how to be better teachers of William Shakespeare works, saw a production of the Shakespeare comedy Twelfth Night and heard papers about Shakespeare at a recent two-day colloquium focusing on history?s most famous playwright.

"I wanted to encourage students to take their work on Shakespeare to an audience outside the classroom ? an audience that included students and professors from different campuses, members of the local community and parents," said St. Olaf English faculty member Karen Sawyer, organizer of the colloquium and avid Shakespeare fan. "Whatever our disciplinary background ?literary critic or director, designer or actor ? we can enrich our own approach to Shakespeare through dialogue with others."

The "Winter Will Power!" colloquium, on the St. Olaf campus, began with a presentation of Twelfth Night, directed by Dona Freeman, communication-theater faculty member. After the play colloquium participants and cast and crew members gathered to discuss the joys and difficulties of producing one of the world?s most whimsical comedies.

St. Olaf and Carleton students also presented papers examining many aspects of Shakespeare?s plays, ranging from the spiritual values of The Merchant of Venice to the role of thunder in The Tempest.

At a workshop called "Teaching Shakespeare to Secondary School Students," St. Olaf education faculty member Martha Harris taught participants how to make Shakespeare more accessible to high school students, explaining the proper way to insult someone in "Shakespearean," and leading a 15-minute performance of Twelfth Night.

Actors from both colleges took part in a master class taught by director-actor Doug Scholz-Carlson of the Guthrie Theater and the Minnesota Shakespeare Project.

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The colloquium ended with a keynote speech, "Shakespeare in Love: Sexuality, Cinema and the Literature Classroom," by Augsburg College faculty member Douglas Green.

The colloquium gave participants the opportunity to experience new perspectives on the Bard?s work, and to have fun. As actor and St. Olaf student Matt Mackenzie said, "I really enjoyed myself and expanded my understanding of one of the most fundamental playwrights in history."

St. Olaf College prepares students to become responsible citizens of the world, fostering development of mind, body and spirit. A four-year, coeducational liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), St. Olaf has a student enrollment of 2,950 and a full-time faculty complement of approximately 300. It is one of Money Guide?s top 100 "elite values in college education today," and it leads the nation?s colleges in percentage of students who study abroad.

Contact Michael Cooper at 507-786-3315 or cooperm@stolaf.edu.