The renowned University of Texas Shakespeare at Winedale program will give a one-time-only performance of Twelfth Night in Dallas on August 12. After a summer of performances in the historic theatre barn near Round Top, Texas, the students of Shakespeare at Winedale will perform on the Heldt/Hall Stage at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary as part of their 40th anniversary tour.

Shakespeare at Winedale is part of the University of Texas English Department. It is designed as a hands-on way for students to study Shakespeare?s plays through performance. The summer class is a course composed of two parts: the first, a month of individual study and group discussion; the second, two months in residence at Winedale in intense study of Shakespeare?s plays through performance.

Twelfth Night, perhaps Shakespeare's greatest comedy, follows the shipwrecked Viola as she makes her way through Illyria disguised as a boy. The play examines gender roles, the destructive force of vanity, and the meaning of love. It includes high-spirited music and dance, with some of Shakespeare?s most beloved songs.

In addition to the performance in Dallas, the summer class will spend their touring residency traveling to both of the existing historical reconstructions of Shakespeare's theatres: the Globe in London and the Blackfriars in Staunton, VA.

For a complete summer schedule and information about other summer activities, please visit our website at www.shakespeare-winedale.org.

For more information contact: Liz Fisher, UT Shakespeare at Winedale program coordinator, at (512) 471-4726, or lfisher@mail.utexas.edu.