NEWS: SCHOLAR AND ACTOR DON WEINGUST BECOMES DIRECTOR OF SHAKESPEARE STUDIES AT SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY

SCHOLAR AND ACTOR DON WEINGUST 

BECOMES DIRECTOR OF SHAKESPEARE STUDIES

AT SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY 

Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah: In conjunction with the creation of the Center for Shakespeare Studies (CSS) at Southern Utah University, Shauna Mendini, Dean of SUU’s College of Performing and Visual Arts, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Don Weingust as director of the program.

Don Weingust is a Ph. D. graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he was fortunate to work with some of the world’s great Shakespeareans, including Stephen Greenblatt, Stephen Booth, W. B. Worthen and the late Janet Adelman and Marvin Rosenberg. He is the author of the Routledge text Acting from Shakespeare’s First Folio: Theory, Text and Performance and a book examining “original practices” in Shakespearean performance forthcoming from Palgrave Macmillan. He has contributed to a number of other publications, including one to accompany a major exhibition of Shakespeare’s First Folio at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D. C., and the forthcoming Cambridge World Shakespeare Encyclopedia. He has presented papers and chaired seminars at a number of national and international conferences, and is the founder and continuing co-chair of the Shakespearean Performance Research Group of the American Society for Theatre Research. An actor and director before becoming a scholar, Professor Weingust studied acting with the legendary Stella Adler. A member of Actors Equity Association, he has performed Off-Broadway and with major regional repertory theatres.

Professor Weingust is extremely pleased to be the inaugural director of the Center for Shakespeare Studies at Southern Utah University and with the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Weingust feels that the extraordinary resource of the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival, together with the keen interest in Shakespeare and performance among members of the academic, local and visiting communities make Southern Utah University one of the best places in North America to host a Center for Shakespeare Studies, offer a minor program in that field and help students and others to gain even fuller appreciation for the genius and theatrical potential of the works of William Shakespeare.

On making this appointment, Dean Mendini commented, “Don Weingust will be a driving force in melding together academic research, literary and production dramaturgy and performance to create a cohesive new program that engages, educates and enlightens the minds of fledging Shakespeare scholars. Don’s impressive career as both scholar and actor provides him with a unique insight that will drive our goals for this ground-breaking program at SUU.”

The minor in Shakespeare Studies will foster SUU’s exploration of Shakespeare and Renaissance Studies across multiple disciplines. Students will study Shakespeare’s work by exploring the disciplines of theatre, literature, and history to understand the plays in relation to their culture, both then and now. Courses in literature/script analysis, early modern history, literary history specific to period, and acting styles provide the core of required and elective offerings, with special emphasis on the study of dramaturgy linking literary theory to practical work.

For more information about CSS and the Shakespeare Studies minor, contact SUU’s College of Performing and Visual Arts at (435) 865-8562 or email studyshakespeare@suu.edu. Visit www.suu.edu/pva/css for details.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE
The Southern Utah University College of Performing and Visual Arts is comprised of nationally accredited departments of Art and Design, Music, Theatre Arts and Dance, as well as a graduate program in Arts Administration and a new Center for Shakespeare Studies. The College offers 16 different degree areas, including liberal arts Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees; professional Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Fine Arts in art and theatre degrees; and a Master of Fine Arts in Arts Administration degree. More than 60 full- and part-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 550 majors in the College. Over 1100 students enroll each year in over 195 arts classes on the SUU campus. The College presents 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year. The College’s affiliate organizations include the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery, American Folk Ballet, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and the SUU Ballroom Dance Company. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, contact the Office of the Dean at (435) 865-8561, or by e-mail at cpvamktg@suu.edu.