Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University

Since 1992, The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival's mission is to enrich, engage, and entertain the widest possible audience through professional productions of classical and contemporary plays with a core commitment to the works of Shakespeare and other master dramatists. They are dedicated to the highest level of artistic excellence and offer a summer season consisting of six full-scale productions and a free outdoor Green Show all of which are performed on the campus of DeSales University. To date, the Festival has produced 24 different Shakespeare plays that have entertained half a million patrons from 50 states. The company has received honors from local, state, and federal bodies, including from the Pennsylvania Senate by distinguishing The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival as the official Shakespeare festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Additionally, their Linny Fowler WillPower Tour inspires, educates, and engages young people with the goal of “turning on” their minds to the power of language. This program helps students gain a better understanding of and appreciation for reading, writing, and the works of the world's most renowned playwright.

As part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival’s Linny Fowler WillPower Tour will present Romeo and Juliet from October 5 to November 11, 2011. The tour will travel to schools within the Lehigh Valley region. Activities will include pre-performance workshops led by the company's teaching artists and post-performance discussions. These workshops will explore Shakespeare's language through imagery, arguments, and ideas embedded in the text; foster spontaneous creativity and artist expression; and improve communication skills. In addition, students from the majority of these schools will be provided free tickets and transportation to attend the company’s mainstage productions during the summer months of 2011.