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Discussing Shakespeare in the modern world with the Vail Symposium

'Weekend with Will' helps bring to life the common themes that Shakespeare explored 400 years ago

Weekend with Will explores how William Shakespeare and his themes have an enduring impact.
Vail Symposium/Courtesy image

The allure of William Shakespeare reflects how works from the actor, playwright and poet from England can still be relatable during modern times. Even though he was writing about love, loss, power, jealousy, fate and free will over 430 years ago, the themes still resonate today.

“Shakespeare is not just something from the Renaissance, Shakespeare is something that people are actively using in all sorts of ways now and it’s fascinating,” said Jill Gordon, who has a master’s degree in theater and performance studies, and a graduate certificate in Applied Shakespeare from the University of Colorado Boulder and teaches a class at Colorado Mountain College in Edwards called Shakespeare for Fun.

Gordon has lived in the Vail Valley since 1976 and raised her family here with husband, Steve Gordon, who taught and coached at Vail Mountain School for nearly 40 years. Gordon has been wanting to bring her love for Shakespeare to Eagle County for a while but knew she needed to start small.



“The idea was not to all of a sudden put on ‘Hamlet,’ but I thought I could do something really high-quality to get people interested in and more accustomed to the idea of Shakespeare,” Gordon said. “My class that I’ve been doing for nine semesters was getting popular and the students keep coming back and one of my students was on the board of the Vail Symposium, and said, ‘What are you going to do with your degree?’ And I said, ‘I have this idea for a ‘Weekend with Will’ event’ and she said, ‘Well, maybe the Symposium would get behind that,’ so here we are.”

“Weekend with Will” isn’t quite held over the weekend because Gordon knows how busy weekends can be and wanted to give the public a chance to attend when they weren’t otherwise occupied. On Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Vail Mountain School, moderator Clay Jenkinson will share “Shakespeare: The Magic of the Word” and is bringing in Paul Lasakow, who is an actor and executive director of the TCC Roper Performing Arts Center in Norfolk, Virginia. The two will welcome everyone from novice Shakespeare followers to those who have studied the Bard extensively with a discussion that includes entertaining background information, fun facts and readings from some of Shakespeare’s works. The discussion is designed to convey how approachable and relevant Shakespeare can be.

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Gordon will lead the second of three events during “Weekend with Will” on Friday morning from 11 a.m. until noon at Eagle River Presbyterian Church. She will moderate the panel discussion, entitled “Why Are We Still Talking About Shakespeare?” and is bringing in experts in applied Shakespeare. Applied Shakespeare is meant to examine societal problems and issues and possibly lead to solutions and influence change. Gordon is thrilled to have a powerhouse panel coming in.

“Amanda Giguere will be here from CU Boulder, and she is a dramaturg and she’s also a national voice in Shakespeare in Violence Prevention,” Gordon said. “She tours a small troupe of actors who go into schools, and they’ll do an abbreviated version of a play that involves bullying, for instance, “Twelfth Night.” If you know “Twelfth Night,” Malvolio, one of the characters, is bullied and then they discuss it with the students after they have watched that part of the play.”

Jill Gordon moved to the valley in 1976 . After she retired, she went back to school to get a master’s degree in theater and performance studies and a graduate certificate in Applied Shakespeare from the University of Colorado Boulder. She now teaches a class at Colorado Mountain College in Edwards called Shakespeare for Fun.
Vail Symposium/Courtesy photo

Another panelist, Kevin Rich, is also a professor at CU Boulder and is the director of the Applied Shakespeare Program.

“The Applied Shakespeare Program is used in therapeutic ways with prisoners or with the military helping veterans deal with trauma through Shakespeare. Shakespeare involves a lot of scenes of war, people who’ve been involved in war and the Applied Shakespeare Program is doing amazing things. There’s a whole program at Ohio State using Shakespeare and Autism and Kevin runs that program, too,” Gordon said.  

Peter Garino, co-founder and artistic director of the Shakespeare Project of Chicago will be on the panel and Garino will also be a part of the program on Friday night at 6 p.m. at the Vail Mountain School for “Shakespeare for my Father.” This is a one-woman play written by Lynn Redgrave about her relationship with her father and will feature actor and director Michelle Schupe playing the part of Redgrave. When Schupe heard about the panel, she wanted to be a part of it, too.

Weekend with Will includes three events held on Thursday and Friday for those who want to learn more about William Shakespeare and the influence his works still have on the modern world.
Vail Symposium/Courtesy image

Gordon is excited to present “Weekend with Will” in partnership with the Vail Symposium.

“I’m trying to bring this modern cultural relevance aspect back in and build community. I’m trying to get people used to the idea of Shakespeare and what it’s about and what the uses are now and how you can enjoy it,” Gordon said. “Many people think about how overwhelming Shakespeare can be to read but Shakespeare was a playwright. He wrote for the stage and he wanted people to go and see a performance and enjoy it.”

For more information on the three events held during “Weekend with Will” and ticket information go to VailSymposium.org. There are various prices for tickets and students, school staff and teachers are free.  

Jill Gordon, creative director of “Weekend with Will” hopes to grow the event and allow even more people to experience Shakespeare.
Vail Symposium/Courtesy image

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