King Lear by William Shakespeare 
Dividing his kingdom among three daughters, an aging monarch makes a catastrophic error in judgment that plunges him and those around him into a terrible abyss of suffering.  This heartrending drama of madness, loss, and reconciliation is widely considered to be Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy—perhaps even the greatest play ever written.
  
Othello by William Shakespeare
The overwhelming and sometimes destructive power of human emotion becomes all too clear when an honourable soldier, misled by treachery and consumed by jealousy, is driven to murderous lengths.  A sinister and vindictive plot plants the seeds of doubt to corrupt a pure and honest love, with devastating consequences.

The Merchant of Veniceby William Shakespeare
Having unwisely agree to forfeit a pound of his flesh should he fail to repay the moneylender Shylock, the merchant Antonio faces the knife when his ships are lost at sea.  It is left to the resourceful heiress-turned-lawyer Portia to avert disaster in the thrilling courtroom conclusion to one of Shakespeare’s most popular—and controversial—plays.

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Who would have guessed that Antipholus’s long-lost identical twin had just arrived in town?  Or that his servant, Dromio, also has a newly landed identical twin?  Sheer confusion and delightful nonsense reign in Shakespeare’s most madcap comedy, culminating in a series of misunderstandings that brings everyone to the brink of hysteria.

A Delicate Balance by Edward Albee
Agnes and Tobias are engaged in a battle of wills with Agnes’s hard-drinking sister, Claire, and their daughter, Julia, who is fleeing a failed marriage.  The delicate balance of this small family is already in jeopardy—will the arrival of another couple, fleeing their own unnamed terror, destroy it completely?

Pentecost by David Edgar
Uncovered in an abandoned eastern European church, a priceless painting ignites a fierce debate about art and ownership in a world rocked by political instability.  When the church is invaded by a group of armed refugees, the debate turns deadly—without art, how will we know who we are?

The Faculty Leader – Alexandra Bennett, Ph.D., is a native Canadian, a Shakespearean, and a classical actress.  She served as lecturer on NIU’s Stratford Festival trips in 2000, 2004, and 2006.  As Associate Professor of English at Northern Illinois University since 1999, she has taught Shakespeare, 16th and 17th century drama, modern British and American drama, and courses on early modern women writers.  In 2005, she completed a month-long fellowship at Yale’s Beineke Library, researching 17th-century women’s manuscripts.  Dr. Bennett is an active member of the Camenae Ensemble Theatre Company of Chicago. 

To Register: (800) 345-9472 or (815) 753-0277