Scholar in Residence

Since its inception, the Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival has created strong linkages between Festival's programs and the higher education mission of the University. A major way in which Festival accomplishes this each year is by bringing nationally and internationally acclaimed scholars, directors, writers and actors to campus where they can interact with students and the public in workshops, performances, and scholarly presentations.

Distinguished visitors to the Festival over the years have included such luminaries as John Russell Brown of Great Britain's National Theatre, Barbara Gaines of the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Tina Packer from Shakespeare and Company in Massachusetts, John Andrews of the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, David Bevington of the University of Chicago, and numerous others.

These men and women are in residence for the major part of a week. They visit General Education and Theatre classes, attend performances and speak informally afterwards with the cast and crew. They also make formal presentations to the campus and local community on the Allendale and Grand Rapids campuses on some of the latest ideas in Shakespeare production, scholarship and staging.


Past Scholars-in-Residence

John Andrews 1993
Jean Howard 1995, 1999
David Bevington 1996
John Russell Brown 1997 
Barbara Gaines 2000
Tina Packer 2001
Louis Zorich 2002
Ralph Cohen 2003
Barbara Mowat 2004
Gerald Freeman 2005
Michael Best 2006
James Shapiro 2007
Stephen Greenblatt 2008
Curt Tofteland 2009
Jim Volz 2010
Dennis Kennedy 2011
Carole Levin 2012
Jeff Watkins 2013
Tony Simotes 2014
Grant Mudge 2015
Phyllis Rackin 2016
John Andrews 2017
Michael LoMonico 2018
John Cox 2019



Page last modified December 13, 2022