I doubt many people check this anymore since the class is over.. but if you do you’re in luck here is a great article on Shakespeare in NYC and some performances if you’re interested. Enjoy:

Summer Shakespeare, Outside and Urban
Miranda Arden

The cast of New York Classical Theater’s “Richard III,” in which the audience follows the actors to scenes in different locations.

By STEVEN McELROY
Published: June 3, 2010

Joseph Papp first presented free Shakespeare performances in Central Park more than 50 years ago. Today, like heat advisories and smelly subway stations, Shakespeare among the elements is intrinsic to summer in the city.
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Jillian Nelson

The Hudson Warehouse’s “Tempest” last year. This summer the company’s calendar includes “Romeo and Juliet.”

While Papp’s legacy — the Public Theater presentations at the Delacorte in Central Park — is the best known of the productions, there are myriad offerings from smaller companies, and some of them are already under way.

For some purveyors of outdoor theater, the appeal lies partly in one of Papp’s original goals, to bring Shakespeare to the people. Hip to Hip Theater Company, for example, performs in parks in Queens.

“To these people the Delacorte might as well be in Montana,” said Jason Marr, the artistic director. “It appeals to my political sense that we are doing something in the community and for the community.”

Several artistic directors said that when admission was free and audiences could wander in and out as they pleased, they were more likely to sample Shakespeare or other classical plays, even if they were unfamiliar.

“It brings people in who would not go to see Shakespeare, no matter what level of education,” said Ted Minos, the artistic director of the Inwood Shakespeare Festival.

Such settings can also enrich the Shakespeare experience. “Many of the plays have natural outdoor themes because they were all performed outdoors originally, and that’s something not to forget,” said Stephen Burdman, the artistic director of New York Classical Theater. “Shakespeare’s language is so nature-oriented, whether he’s going on and on about fishing, which he does, or we learn about the Forest of Arden” in “As You Like It.”

“You hear the frogs croaking and the crickets chirping,” Mr. Burdman said of the outdoor theatergoing experience. “In our case you see the turtles and the fish and the egrets flying over the lake.” Or ducklings walking past rehearsals, as happened the other day. “I said to someone, ‘You know I couldn’t pay for that.’ ”

One unexpected benefit of an outdoor setting, some directors said, is intimacy. “It’s kind of an odd thing because we are in a giant park with helicopters and police cars and all kinds of things,” said Tim Errickson, who runs Boomerang Theater, “and yet it’s a very personal experience.”

Outside, audiences might be involved in literal ways, too, following actors when scenes move or suffering through the same bad weather. In the case of the Drilling Company’s Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, on the Lower East Side, productions take place in an actual working lot. Sometimes, said the artistic director, Hamilton Clancy, a car owner might walk right across the “stage” to retrieve a vehicle midperformance.

“Everybody picks up their chair and they let the Chevy pull out, and everybody just waves to the car,” Mr. Clancy said, adding, “And then we sit down and we get back to doing Shakespeare. I can’t think of anything more American than that.”

Here are some free outdoor productions running or coming up around the city. In many cases, audiences can bring chairs, blankets and picnics. Check company Web sites for schedule and location details.

INWOOD SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL Presented at the Inwood Hill Park Peninsula by Moose Hall Theater Company, the festival this year is not limited to Shakespeare. Performances of “The Comedy of Errors” (through June 19) will be followed by “Tombstone (Saga of Americans: The West)” (July 14-31), a western that brings Wyatt Earp and others to life in a story about the 1882 shootout at the O.K. Corral (inwoodshakespearefestival.com).

HUDSON WAREHOUSE The focus is on classics, not just Shakespeare. The North Patio of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Riverside Park is the stage, and the Greek tragedy “The Trojan Women” (through June 27) is the first play in the summer lineup. Productions of “Cyrano de Bergerac” (July 8-Aug. 1) and “Romeo and Juliet” (Aug. 5-29) will follow (hudsonwarehouse.net).

NEW YORK CLASSICAL THEATER This company subtitles its season “Shakespeare on the Run,” since audiences will follow the actors as scenes unfold in different locations. “Richard III” is now running (through June 27) in Central Park at West 103rd Street; coming up is “Much Ado About Nothing,” in Battery Park City (July 17-Aug. 1) and then Central Park (Aug. 5-29) (newyorkclassical.org).

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK This is the behemoth, presented in Central Park at the Delacorte Theater by the Public Theater, the company founded by Papp in 1954. This summer the Public will present two plays in repertory (June 9-Aug. 1): “The Merchant of Venice,” starring Al Pacino as Shylock, and “The Winter’s Tale” (shakespeareinthepark.org).

GORILLA REPERTORY COMPANY The company that mounted “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” annually in Washington Square Park from 1989 to 2002 is returning to the show, this time at Summit Rock in Central Park, near 83rd Street and Central Park West (Thursday-June 20). Audiences should expect to move with the action (gorillarep.org).

BOOMERANG THEATER COMPANY On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, anyone wandering down the bridle path off the Central Park entrance at West 69th Street is likely to encounter Boomerang’s production of “The Tempest” (June 19-July 18) (boomerangtheatre.org).

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKING LOT Forgoing the idyllic for the urban, the Drilling Company will present two productions in the lot at the corner of Ludlow and Broome Streets: “Love’s Labour’s Lost” (July 8-24) and “Julius Caesar” (July 29-Aug. 14) (drillingcompany.org).

HIP TO HIP THEATER COMPANY In its fourth season, this troupe will offer “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Macbeth” in repertory (Aug. 10-29) in several Queens parks, including Crocheron, Agawam and Sunnyside Gardens (hiptohip.org).

SHAKESPEARE ON THE SOUND Attending this production of “Othello” in Connecticut would involve transportation costs for New Yorkers, of course, but otherwise it is free. The show, directed by Joanna Settle, will feature original music and songs by Stew and by Heidi Rodewald, the collaborators behind “Passing Strange,” meaning that it might be worth the trip. “Othello” will be presented first at Pinkney Park in Rowayton (June 15-26) and then at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich (July 2-11) (shakespeareonthesound.org).
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I enjoyed this class very much. In reading Shakespeare, I learned a lot from all his controversial topics from tragedy to love. My favorite was Measure for Measure because it deals with complex issues such as justice, mercy, love and their relationship to pride and humility. I’m pretty sure that I will be able to influence other people as well.

I really enjoyed reading the Tempest, especially because it’s about romance. It was also thrilling to see Prospero acting heroic in protecting his daughter from Caliban. It reminds me of my dad when he rescued me from some mad dogs.

Solange Escobar

Shakespeare\’s The Tempest (1980 TV) – end of play ShakespeareAndMore

I found this play of The Tempest on youtube and I think that the play captures Caliban’s character as a half monster half human very well. I  also liked how the play portrays Prospero’s character, especially the ending when Prospero speaks to the audience and asks them for forgiveness of his doing ,by the audience clapping  he will be free . I have to admit that I did laugh a bit when I saw Ariel’s character and when he dissapeared in the sky after Prospero freed him. What do you guys think of this play in 1980. Do you think that the characters in this play come close to shakespears’ characters in The Tempest?

when i first started to read the tempest, i wasn’t sure what this play was about. I did not know if  Prospers was a real man or ghost.  As i finish reading up to the end of acted 3, it left me with  a questions.  The questions i have is  why does Antonio really want Sebastian to kill the King and take over.  What is he after?  What is in it for him?  Also, why did Sebastian  readily agree to kill his own brother?  It does not make sense to me.

In The Tempest we are taken again to the place familiar to us from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare’s Green World. But is The Tempest Green World similar to the ones that we encountered in his other plays?

Literary critic Northrop Frye defines the notion of Green World in The Anatomy of Criticism (Princeton; Princeton University press, 1957), pp. 182-4: “In some comedies by William Shakespeare, the main characters escape the order of a city for a forested and wild setting adjacent to the city. This natural environment is often described as a green world. It is in this more loosely structured, fantastic environment that issues surrounding social order, romantic relationships, and inter-generational strife, which are a prominent part of the “city world”, become resolved, facilitating a return to the normal order.”

This definition resembles closely the Green World that we encountered in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but in the Tempest the island seems to have more to it. Not only it is a place where societal norms do not apply, where monsters reside and where magic is the ruling power, but it also appears to be a representation of numerous possibilities for any character that lands on it. Gonzalo builds his theory of the utopian society on the island and how he would rule it; for Prospero it is the place where he learned his magic and later he also mentions that the island was an ideal place to educate his daughter; those that were banished find shelter on it; Miranda (not clear whether under the influence of the magical Green World or naturally) falls in love with Ferdinand at first sight and the youth later on proclaims that we would like to stay on the island forever; even Stefano (Alfonso’s butler in real life) obtains his own servant (Caliban) and at some point assumes the title of the Lord of the Island.  It seems like this place is a blessing to most of its inhabitants. While the forest in the Midsummer Night’s Dream was the Green World that spread around mess and muddle, a place out of which you would want to find your way out sooner than later, in the Tempest, however, the island is a place that our characters seem to enjoy, a place that they envision as the land of unlimited potential. Anything that is unthinkable in real world is a possibility here.

Maybe…

I know this has nothing to do with tempest or othello, but just thought the story was interesting especially studying Shakespeare at Baruch.

Ditching a $500,000 Salary to Teach Lit
by Josh Hyatt, contributor
Wednesday, May 5, 2010provided byCNNMoney.com

Photo by Jeff Sciortino
Gary Buslik

When Gary Buslik graduated from college with a degree in English, his parents were concerned about how he’d earn a decent living. “It worried them to hear me quoting Shakespeare,” he jokes.

Their fears were misplaced: Buslik went on to start an alarm company in Chicago that would eventually grow to $6 million in annual sales and earn him $500,000 a year. But he wasn’t happy. “My passion was literature, not alarm systems,” he says.

So when Buslik turned 50, in 1997, he sold his business (for several million bucks) in order to pursue that passion. With a recommendation from a pal who was an assistant dean, he got into the English Ph.D. program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In return for his work as a TA, the school waived his tuition.

Buslik graduated in 2007 and now teaches there part-time while writing books on the side. He makes just $13,500 a year, but “I’ve never regretted my decision,” he says. “I’m content to be sending Shakespeare lovers into the world.”

How He Did It

1. By Taking the First Good Offer

In putting his company up for sale, he didn’t wait around for the best price. “I could’ve held out for more money,” Buslik says, “but I wanted to get on with my plans.”

2. By Investing Conservatively

Expecting slim future wages, Buslik paid off his mortgage and put much of his savings in ultra-safe I bonds, which are indexed to inflation.

3. By Drawing Down Cautiously

A divorce cut into his nest egg, but Buslik figures his savings will last him if he’s careful. “I’m not a flashy guy,” he says, noting that he still drives a 1986 Mercedes.
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http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/109420/ditching-a-500000-salary-to-teach-lit?mod=career-worklife_balance

After reading Acts I and II, I see that Ariel is a spirit working for Prospero. But what I do not understand is, if Ariel has so much power, why does he deal with Prospero if he is not a man of his words. Prospero promised to give him his freedom a year early if he does as he is told, but he did not keep his word. Why doesn’t Ariel use his magic on Prospero to gain his freedom if it is owed to him? It seems to me that Ariel is powerful and loyal to his words, but Prospero is not, so he should not have to deal with Prospero’s request. Even though Prospero saved his life, there was an agreement between both parties, and they should both abide by it. Ariel should not keep his word if Prospero can not keep his.