Shakesperience is an experiential learning program that transforms the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, into our classroom. This intensive field study course invites students to explore the artistry and inner workings of North America’s largest repertory theatre.
​
Shakesperience 2026 will take place from June 29 through July 4. The course will begin online with readings and prerecorded short lectures to prepare for our time together. Then we will gather for a week of communal learning: watching five plays, engaging in post-show conversations with actors, and meeting with directors, dramaturges, and visiting scholars.
​
The experience is hands-on and collaborative. Our learners participate in engaging workshops of stage combat, song, dance, and Shakespearean performance, then watch those skills brought to life on stage. With backstage tours, access to the costume warehouse, and a chance to step into Stratford’s storied costumes, students gain rare insight into the craft of twenty-first century theatre-making.
​
At its heart, Shakesperience is a course about transformation. In 2025, thirty participants aged 18–80 described the program as a space of connection and discovery — what we call building hope circuits: practices that foster empathy, spark curiosity, and open up new possibilities for post-secondary learning.
Shakesperience offers more than a glimpse behind the curtain. It is a community of learners coming together to experience theatre deeply and to carry its lessons into the wider world.
​
In 2026, we will watch five plays:
Othello
The Tempest
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
And two other shows to be announced!
... And that's not all! Participants will engage in immersive workshops, learning a song and dance, stage combat, and gaining insights from directors, dramaturges, and visiting scholars. They will enjoy full access to the festival, including backstage tours of the costume and archives warehouse and private set-change viewings. In addition, students will meet with the creative and business teams—directors, actors, costume designers, and dramaturges—attend lobby talks and “Meet the Festival” events, and take part in post-show discussions for every Shakespeare play.​ Plus, enjoy a special luncheon and a final Banquet with an alumni reception!
​
Shakesperience 2025 Impact Report
​
Meet Your Professors
Dr. Jessica Riddell is a Full Professor of Early Modern Literature at Bishop’s University and holds the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence. As founder of the Hope Circuits Institute (HCI), she drives systems-change in higher education, focusing on governance, leadership, and student success. In a landscape rife with indictments of broken systems, her work invites people across the post-secondary ecosystem to co-create blueprints for meaningful rewiring that centers justice, equity, and access. Her 2024 book, Hope Circuits: Rewiring Universities and Other Organizations for Human Flourishing (McGill-Queen's Press), offers a roadmap for this transformation. A recognized leader, scholar, and educator, she serves on multiple boards and has received numerous awards and grants for teaching and leadership, including the 3M National Teaching Fellowship (Canada's highest recognition of educational leadership), the D2L Innovation Award (the highest recognition of innovation in partnerships), and the Forces Avenir award (Quebec's highest recognition of teaching excellence in higher education).
​
Dr. Shannon Murray is a Full Professor at the University of Prince Edward Island Shakespeare, John Bunyan, John Milton; children's literature, especially Early Modern English children's literature; Janosz Korczak, learning communities, active learning, and the senior-year experience. She is a recent recipient of the Chrsitopher Knapper Lifetime Achievement Award and a former coordinator of the 3M National Teaching Fellowship.
Dr. Lisa Dickson is a professor of English specializing in Renaissance Literature and Literary Theory. Her current research focuses on the relationship between beauty and violence in art and literature, with particular emphasis on the representation of violence in Renaissance Drama. She is a 3M National Teaching Fellow and a recipient of the UNBC Excellence in Teaching Award (2007). Much of her service to the University community is dedicated to promoting and supporting effective teaching and learning. For example, she is a member of the Foundation Year Curriculum Program Committee at UNBC and serves on the 3M Fellowship Council Executive Committee at the national level.