Shenandoah Shakespeare Express coming to Charlottesville June 28

Shakespeare lovers have a rare opportunity in U.Va.’s Summer on the Lawn program this year to study the Bard and explore his works from the page to the stage with the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express.

During the four-day session June 28-July 2, participants will work with actors and directors on scenes from “Hamlet” and discuss how audiences viewed Shakespeare in his time. They will attend performances of “Hamlet,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Ben Jonson’s “The Alchemist” and hear faculty panels critiquing the productions. Attendees may also choose lodging in a Lawn or Range room.

The plays, which are open to the public, will be performed at Piedmont Virginia Community College. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and senior citizens and $8 for children 12 years old and under. For information, call (877) MUCH-ADO or (540) 885-5588 or see http://www.shenandoahshake-speare.com.

The Shenandoah Shakespeare theater company was founded 13 years ago in Staunton, Va., by Ralph Alan Cohen, an English professor at James Madison University, and actor and director Jim Warren. Critics have praised the troupe for “blowing the cobwebs out of Elizabethan drama.” The company presents two tours annually and has performed in 46 states and in five foreign countries.

One of the premier programs developed by the School of Continuing and Professional Studies’ Center for University Programs, the Summer on the Lawn series is in its 21st year. The course costs $775, or $895, with on-Grounds lodging. For information, call (800) 346-3882 or 982-5252 or see the Web site at http://uvace.virginia.edu/cup/.