Forget dusty textbooks and silent classrooms—the Folger Shakespeare Library has released new teaching guides designed to make the Bard’s works more engaging, accessible, and inclusive than ever before. In this episode, Peggy O’Brien, the editor behind these guides, and teachers Deborah Gascon and Mark Miazga, co-authors of the lesson plans for Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth respectively, explore how the Folger Method transforms student understanding by focusing on performance, collaboration, and creative engagement with Shakespeare’s language.

The discussion also addresses how the guides tackle important topics like race and gender and how to adapt to today’s technological and social challenges, offering fresh strategies to connect with students in meaningful ways about Shakespeare and all kinds of literature. Whether you’re a teacher, a student, or simply a Shakespeare lover, this episode sheds light on innovative methods for bringing the classics to life and ensuring they remain relevant for future generations.

About the Folger Guides to Teaching Shakespeare

The Folger Guides to Teaching Shakespeare series offers educators fresh insights, innovative tools, and detailed lesson plans for teaching Shakespeare’s most frequently taught plays. Rooted in the proven Folger Method and informed by the experiences of classroom teachers across the United States, the guides are designed to make Shakespeare accessible, engaging, and relevant for today’s students.

> > The new teaching guides are available for purchase online at the Folger Shop.

Peggy O’Brien is a classroom teacher and the founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Education Department. Since 1981, she has championed K–12 Shakespeare education, establishing the Teaching Shakespeare Institute and serving as the instigator and general editor of the Shakespeare Set Free series. From 2013 to 2024, Peggy returned to the Folger to serve as Director of Education, during which she oversaw the creation of the Folger Guides to Teaching Shakespeare.

Deborah Gascon is a National Board-Certified teacher of English and Journalism in Columbia, South Carolina, and a Fulbright Teacher Exchange alum who taught English in Romania. A graduate of the 2012 Teaching Shakespeare Institute, she has served as a mentor teacher for the Folger Summer Academy. Deborah holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Carolina, with a dissertation on using Shakespeare to enhance student comprehension, empathy, and awareness of gender and race. She co-wrote the lesson plans for The Folger Guide to Teaching Romeo and Juliet.

Mark Miazga teaches English at Baltimore City College High School, one of the nation’s oldest public schools, where he works within the International Baccalaureate Diploma and Middle Years Programs. A recipient of the Milken Educator Award in 2014, Mark is a 2008 Teaching Shakespeare Institute scholar and a 2013 Steinbeck Institute Scholar. He holds a BA in English and Education from Michigan State University and a Master’s in Secondary Education from Towson University. Mark co-wrote the lesson plans for The Folger Guide to Teaching Macbeth.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published November 18, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Can you love Shakespeare and be an antiracist? Farah Karim-Cooper’s book The Great White Bard explores the language of race and difference in Shakespeare’s plays. Dr. Karim-Cooper also looks at the ways Shakespeare’s work became integral to Britain’s imperial project and its sense of cultural superiority.

But, for all this, Karim-Cooper is an unapologetic Shakespeare fan. It’s right there in the subtitle of her book: “How to Love Shakespeare While Talking about Race.” Far from casting Shakespeare out of the classroom or playhouse, Karim-Cooper shows new ways to appreciate him. By drawing connections between the plays and current events, she offers an eyes-wide-open tour of Shakespeare’s continued relevance. Karim-Cooper talks with Barbara Bogaev about the role of race in Titus Andronicus, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and more.

Farah Karim-Cooper, is the new Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, was previously a Professor of Shakespeare Studies at King’s College London and Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe. The Great White Bard is available now from Viking Press.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Originally published August 15, 2023, updated and rebroadcast November 5, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Paola García Acuña is the web producer and edited this transcript. We had technical help from Mark Dezzani in Surrey and Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc

Shakespeare is often associated with tragedy, but did you know that he changed the genre? In this episode, Rhodri Lewis, professor of English at Princeton University and author of Shakespeare’s Tragic Art, explores how Shakespeare redefined tragedy in ways that still feel modern today. Through a close examination of plays like Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear, Lewis explains how Shakespeare shifted the traditional classical form of tragedy, introducing characters who deceive themselves and struggle to understand their own nature. From the slasher-style Titus to the complex interiority of Juliet, Shakespeare experimented with plot, language, and character to push the boundaries of tragic drama, giving audiences an unsettling yet profoundly human insight into the flawed nature of existence.

Rhodri Lewis teaches English at Princeton University. His previous books include Hamlet and the Vision of Darkness (Princeton) and Language, Mind, and Nature: Artificial Languages in England from Bacon to Locke. Outside the academy, he writes for publications including The Times Literary Supplement, Prospect, The Literary Review, and The Los Angeles Review of Books.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published October 21, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Forget witches, broomsticks, and cauldrons bubbling over—when it came to real magic in Shakespeare’s time, most people turned to their local cunning folk. These magical practitioners wielded spells to cure illnesses, recover lost items, and even spark a bit of romance. Far from the dark, devilish image popularly associated with witchcraft, cunning folk were trusted members of society, providing magical services as casually as a modern-day plumber or dentist.

In this episode, Barbara Bogaev talks with Tabitha Stanmore, a scholar from the University of Essex, about the fascinating, overlooked world of practical magic in early modern England. Drawing from her new book, Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic, Stanmore sheds light on how cunning folk, who served as diviners, astrologers, charm makers, and healers, shaped the lives of both ordinary people and royals alike. These practitioners were called upon for everything from predicting the future to healing the sick, and their magic was seen as helpful, not harmful. Stanmore explains how these magical practices were woven into the fabric of daily life and how cunning folk managed to steer clear of the persecution that plagued so-called witches.

Stanmore shares the fascinating methods cunning folk employed—from using bread and cheese to identify thieves to casting love spells with fish (seriously!)—and why their magic was essential in a world that still sought out supernatural help. If you thought magic in Shakespeare’s time was all witches and broomsticks, think again—Stanmore takes us on a magical journey that’s far more practical…and surprising.

Tabitha Stanmore is a social historian of magic and witchcraft at the University of Exeter. She is part of the Leverhulme-funded Seven County Witch-Hunt Project, and her doctoral thesis was published as Love Spells and Lost Treasure: Service Magic in England from the Later Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published October 7, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc

How did Shakespeare engage with the complexities of gender and sexuality in his time? Was his portrayal of cross-dressing and same-sex attraction simply for comedic effect, or did it reflect a deeper understanding of queer desire? In this episode, host Barbara Bogaev speaks with scholar Will Tosh, who delves into these questions through his new book Straight Acting: The Hidden Queer Lives of William Shakespeare. Tosh, Head of Research at Shakespeare’s Globe, explores Shakespeare’s work in the context of early modern London—a city bustling with queer subcultures.

This conversation touches on Shakespeare’s depictions of gender fluidity, same-sex desire, and the influence of classical literature on his plays. The episode highlights the cultural and social dynamics of the time, revealing the complex ways in which gender and sexuality were understood and expressed in early modern England. Tosh also examines Shakespeare's schooling, shaped by homoerotic classics like Cicero’s De Amicitia and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which deeply influenced his writing.

>>Discover Straight Acting by Will Tosh—a literary biography that opens a window into Shakespeare’s queer subtexts, available now from Seal Press.

Tosh’s conversation offers a nuanced exploration of how Shakespeare navigated and represented homoerotic relationships, with specific attention to characters such as Antonio and Sebastian from Twelfth Night. He also connects Shakespeare’s work with the wider culture of early modern England, where queer desire was both expressed and concealed.

Will Tosh is head of research at Shakespeare’s Globe, London. He is a scholar of early modern literature and culture, a dramaturg for Renaissance classics and new plays, and a historical adviser for television and radio. He is the author of two previous books, and he appears regularly in the media to discuss Shakespeare and his world. He lives in London.

How can educators effectively incorporate discussions about race into the study of Shakespeare and other premodern texts in the college classroom? Barbara Bogaev speaks with scholars Ayanna Thompson and Ruben Espinosa about Throughlines, a pedagogical resource developed by the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Arizona State University. This free online tool offers professors a variety of accessible teaching materials for incorporating premodern critical race studies into their teaching. Specifically designed for use in higher education, the materials include lectures, syllabi, and activities on a unique and expansive range of topics that will continue to grow.

>>Explore Throughlines, a free online resource for the college classroom at throughlines.org

Espinosa and Thompson share their experiences teaching Shakespeare in diverse higher education settings. Their conversation underscores students' need for open dialogue and provides practical strategies for navigating these discussions. They offer valuable insights for experienced professors and those new to teaching, highlighting the value of integrating premodern critical race studies into studying Bard's works and other literature and history.

Ayanna Thompson

Ayanna Thompson is a Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University and Executive Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Thompson, an influential Shakespeare scholar, is the author of many titles, including Blackface and Shakespeare in the Theatre: Peter Sellars. She is currently collaborating with Curtis Perry on the Arden4 edition of Titus Andronicus. Thompson's leadership extends beyond the university, serving on the boards of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Play On Shakespeare, and Folger Shakespeare Library. She is a Shakespeare Scholar in Residence at The Public Theater in New York. In 2021, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Ruben Espinosa

Ruben Espinosa is the Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and a Professor of English at Arizona State University. He is the author of many titles, and most recently, Shakespeare on the Shades of Racism. He is the current President of the Shakespeare Association of America, and he serves on the Editorial Boards of Shakespeare Quarterly, Exemplaria: Medieval, Early Modern, Theory, and Palgrave's "Early Modern Cultural Studies" series. He is working on his next monograph, Shakespeare on the Border: Language, Legitimacy and La Frontera.

Was Romeo and Juliet your first brush with Shakespeare? Whether it was on stage, on screen in films by Franco Zeffirelli or Baz Luhrmann or Shonda Rhimes' Still Star-Crossed, or in the pages of the Folger Shakespeare edition, your early experience probably shaped how you see Juliet. Over 400 years, our thinking about Shakespeare's first tragic heroine has shifted repeatedly, revealing as much about us as Shakespeare's play does. Oxford professor Sophie Duncan, Shakespeare scholar and author of Juliet: The Life and Afterlives of Shakespeare's First Tragic Heroine, explores the enduring legacy of one of Shakespeare's most iconic characters.

The conversation touches on Juliet's cultural impact, why Shakespeare may have centered his tragedy around a young woman and the societal reflections found in the various interpretations of Juliet throughout history. The episode also discusses how different eras, particularly the Victorian period, have grappled with Juliet's rebellious and passionate nature, often reshaping her character to fit their values.

Duncan shares insights into why Juliet remains a potent symbol of love and tragedy and how this character continues to captivate audiences centuries after she was first brought to life on the stage.

Sophie Duncan is a scholar who specializes in Shakespeare's performance history and how Early Modern dramas have been used to explore issues of gender, race, and sexuality over the last four and a half centuries. She is interested in women's creative networks, theatrical memory, theater props, cognitive approaches to drama, and cultural memory. Sophie regularly works with theater companies to bring Shakespeare's works to life.

Duncan is the author of Juliet: The Life and Afterlives of Shakespeare's First Tragic Heroine and Shakespeare's Women and the Fin de Siècle. She writes about Shakespeare and gender and has worked extensively as a historical advisor in theater and television. Additionally, Sophie is a Research Fellow and Dean for Welfare at Magdalen College, University of Oxford. She lives in Oxford, UK.

Join us at the Folger for our upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet, running from October 1st to November 10th, 2024. Get your tickets now!

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published August 26, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

This summer San Diego’s Old Globe became one of only 10 theaters in America who have produced all of Shakespeare’s plays (or 11, depending on how you count it) with their production of Henry VI, parts 1, 2, and 3.

Artistic Director Barry Edelstein shares the details of how they tackled staging three rarely seen works with more than 150 characters, and condensed it into two exciting nights of theater. The epic production includes contributions from nearly a thousand San Diegans, many of whom have participated in the Globe’s community programs.

Edelstein, the Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director of The Old Globe, is one of America’s most experienced Shakespeare directors and has staged more than half the canon himself. Before joining the Globe in 2012, he directed the Public Theatre’s Shakespeare Initiative and was the artistic director for Classic Stage Company in New York City. He is the author of Thinking Shakespeare about American Shakespearean acting and Bardisms: Shakespeare for All Occasions.

Henry 6 runs through September 14 and 15, 2024 at the Globe in San Diego, California. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.theoldglobe.org.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published August 13, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Can a musical comedy featuring Hamlet and Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger change lives?

Actor, playwright, and director Colman Domingo thinks so. In Sing Sing, a new film from A24, Domingo stars in a true story about the power of theater. Inspired by the real-life Rehabilitation through the Arts program at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison, Sing Sing tells the story of Divine G, played by Domingo, imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, who finds purpose by acting in a theater group with other incarcerated men. When a wary outsider joins the group, the men decide to stage their first original comedy. Sing Sing stars an ensemble cast of formerly incarcerated actors who are alumni of the RTA program, including Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin and Sean San José.

Domingo takes us behind the scenes of the making of Sing Sing. He also shares how he became an actor after a class at Temple University and his own Shakespeare story including an inventive take on Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Domingo is beloved for onscreen portrayals including Civil Rights activist Bayard Rustin in Netlfix’s Rustin for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Other films include Lincoln, Selma, If Beale Street Could Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Zola, and The Color Purple. His breakthrough came as conman Victor Strand on Fear the Walking Dead. He won an Emmy for his performance as Ali on HBO Max’s Euphoria. On stage he was nominated for Tony and Olivier awards for his role as Mr. Bones in The Scottsboro Boys. He wrote the book for the Broadway musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published July 30, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Imagine: a fiercely idealistic, politically progressive artist takes the stand at a hearing of the House Un-American Activities Committee. The chair of the committee is a hard-right demagogue with a gift for sound bites and a fixation with Communism.

If you’re picturing Joseph McCarthy’s anti-Communist crusade in the 1950s… think two decades earlier. This story played during the Great Depression. The congressman was Martin Dies, a Democrat from Texas. On the stand was Hallie Flanagan, the director of the Federal Theatre Project, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ambitious program to rescue live theater in America. The project attempted to create jobs for thousands of out-of-work playwrights, actors, directors, and backstage technicians. It commissioned new plays and staged productions all around the country. And, despite logistical hitches and ideological blowback, the Federal Theatre managed to reach millions of Americans, many of whom had never seen a live production ever before.

Columbia University Professor James Shapiro’s new book, The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War, tells the story of that New Deal program and how it changed our cultural and political landscape. He discusses it with host Barbara Bogaev.

James Shapiro is the Larry Miller Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He is the author of several acclaimed books on Shakespeare including A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599, Contested Will; Who Wrote Shakespeare?, and The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606, and Shakespeare in a Divided America: What His Plays Tell Us About Our Past and Future.

From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published July 16, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.