UNTangled Shakespeare

Our mission is to unite communities through professional-quality summer Shakespeare productions. These productions provide students with professional experiences, while simultaneously offering educators professional development and students engaging classes.

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Audition for UNTangled Shakespeare Festival

UNTangled Shakespeare for Educators

Join UNT Faculty Sarah Rutan to learn about Shakespeare!

Dates: 3 Weeks, July 1-18th, Monday- Thursday 10 AM- 3 PM

June 1st-4th 10AM-3PM: Unlocking Shakespeare’s Text
June 8th-11th 10AM-3PM: Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, and Romances… Oh My!
June 15th-18th 10AM-3PM: Exploring Shakespeare’s Women

Registration:

Please fill out the registration form and pay the registration fee
The registration fee is $250 per session
Spots are limited to availability
Registration Form

For questions about registration, please contact danceandtheatre@unt.edu

· Week One: Unlocking Shakespeare’s Text

Get ready to help your students break down Shakespeare’s language in five accessible steps. Using tools like poetic rhetoric, iambic pentameter, punctuation, and more, we’ll uncover the clues the Bard left behind—revealing the treasures hidden within his text.

· Week Two: Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, and Romances… Oh My!

Dive into Shakespeare’s genres through the lens of specific plays commonly taught in high school classrooms. We’ll explore what unites these stories, what sets them apart, and how genre shapes meaning, character, and theme.

· Week Three: Exploring Shakespeare’s Women

What makes Shakespeare’s female characters so compelling? This week, we’ll trace their evolution across his works, examining how shifts in monarchy and cultural norms influenced their portrayal. From “Dutiful Daughters” to “Willful Nieces,” join us for a lively look at “Wailing Women and Pants Roles.”

UNTangled Shakespeare Production

Inaugural Season:

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Directed by Nathan Autrey, featuring professional and student performers and crew.
Shakespeare for High School Educators: Continuing Education Credit course taught by Sarah Rutan.
Wit, Wisdom & Words: A community play reading group.
Prelude: A pre-show introduction for audience members.

About the play:

A Midsummer Night's Dream, a celebrated Shakespearean comedy, follows the chaotic and magical misadventures of four young Athenians—Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius. Their romantic entanglements escalate during a night in an enchanted forest inhabited by fairies. The confusion is largely driven by the mischievous fairy Puck, whose errors with a potent love potion cause the lovers to erratically shift their affections. Adding to the absurdity, one of the local workmen, Bottom, is magically given the head of an ass and subsequently falls victim to the love-drugged Fairy Queen's affections. By the dawn, order is miraculously restored, culminating in a joyful triple wedding for the reunited lovers and the Duke.

UNTangeled Shakespeare Festival:

A new theatre company operating under the auspices of the University of North Texas Department of Dance and Theatre, UNTangeled Shakespeare Festival is launching its inaugural season.

Our core mission is to produce professional-quality theatre that champions art, education, and community engagement. We aim to support local professional talent while simultaneously creating valuable opportunities for students to gain professional experience.

Auditions will be held in-person at The University of North Texas RTFP Building (Radio Television Film Performing Arts) 1179 Union Circle Drive, Denton Tx 76203 Sunday March 1 11am - 8pm and Monday March 2 6pm - 10pm, with callbacks Tuesday March 3 6pm - 10pm. You may park in the Union Circle Garage or the lot situated directly behind the RTFP Building.We’re seeking professional actors for roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Both AEA (Equity SPT3 contracts) and non-AEA contracts are available and paid. We are committed to diversity and inclusion. Actors of all races, ethnicities, and gender identities are strongly encouraged to submit.