The Folger Shakespeare Institute Comes to Buffalo! Working Artists Lab Spring 2023

Posted by Tim on October 4, 2022 in Academics, Honors Experiences, Workshops

The UB Arts Collaboratory
invites applications from students from all disciplines
to be part of a new interdisciplinary experiential class
in the Spring semester 2023

“The Folger Shakespeare Institute Comes to Buffalo!
Shakespeare and Buffalo: Questions of Race, Class, and Culture”
Fridays 2:00-4:20pm
at the UB Center for the Arts
Earn 3 credits. TH480 and TH513. No prerequisites.
Collaborate across disciplines with UB faculty, students and community partners! Get
involved with Buffalo’s leading theatre companies as a collaborator! Participate in the
creation, research, and production processes of live art leading to the upcoming national
event in Buffalo: The Folger Institute Weekend Workshop!
We invite you to complete the Spring 2023 Working Artists Lab student application to be
part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience while earning academic credit.
Course Description
This once-in-a-lifetime course presents a unique opportunity for students from all
disciplines to witness, research, create, and participate in the production process of live art,
centering on Shakespeare and the city of Buffalo and the questions of race, class, and culture.
The class will host visiting artists, scholars, performers, directors, arts managers, theatre
companies, archivists, librarians, and educators, affording a wide array of partnerships with
our students, leading to the production of artistic and scholarly collaborations. Our course
aims to foster a company of artists and scholars with a shared purpose to work and learn
together. Come join us!

The story of “Shakespeare” in America is more than a history of books and performances. It is also a
study of politics and society—of race, class, gender, and their intersections, of “culture” in the fullest
sense of the word—all of which is deeply inflected by the real and imagined past of particular places
The class will examine the Shakespearean textual, performance, and physical scene in Buffalo from
the late 1800s to the present day and will investigate questions of race, class and culture in
Shakespeare texts in performance. Planned field work includes sessions with distinguished
members of Buffalo’s professional theatres, exploration of the archives and collections, as well as
field trips to explore artistic and historic sites in the city of Buffalo.
The work in our class will lay the foundation for our Working Arts Lab student’s special participation
in the Folger Institute Workshop on “Gilding the Guilt: The Gilded Age, Craft Production, and the
Construction of Cultural Capital” on April 27-30 here in Buffalo. This is a rare and by-invitation
opportunity is available only to those in this class!

About the Folger Shakespeare Institute and the Folger Weekend
Workshop
The Folger Shakespeare Library, based on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, is the world’s largest
Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. The Folger
Institute is a dedicated center for collections-focused research and advanced study in the humanities
at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Through its multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural programs and
research fellowships, the Institute establishes scholarly communities, fresh research approaches, and
new teaching agendas for early modern fields. The Folger Weekend Workshop in Buffalo, “Gilding
the Guilt: The Gilded Age, Craft Production, and the Construction of Cultural Capital” will feature
distinguished scholars and artists addressing Shakespeare in relation to African-American culture,
frontiers / la frontera, and Indigenous reception and adaptation, including the archive, and
illuminating the conversations from page to stage. You can access a video describing the Folger
Weekend Workshop in detail here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcior3gmdGc. The
University at Buffalo has been a member of the Folger Institute Consortium since 1992.
About the UB Arts Collaboratory and Working Artists Lab – CAS
The UB Arts Collaboratory, an initiative of the College of Arts and Sciences, brings UB and Buffalobased
artists together to spark innovation and share their work with the world. The Working Artists
Lab (WAL), led by Professor Maria S. Horne, creates a space for UB students to learn and experience
what it’s like to be out in the world as a working artist-scholar, over the course of a semester and
while earning academic credit. This course integrates academics with real-life experience,
emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and multi-modal learning, and preparing the young
scholar-artist to enter the profession. The lab brings together UB students, faculty, and visiting artists
to develop new projects and collaborate across disciplines while engaging with the artists and
community where we live and learn. WAL hosts renowned scholars and artists, as well as luminaries
from the Buffalo community and the University at Buffalo.

Application Form
“The Folger Shakespeare Institute Comes to Buffalo!
Shakespeare and Buffalo: Questions of Race, Class, and Culture”
Instructions: Complete form and send it via email to artscollaboratory@buffalo.edu
Upon acceptance, students will be asked to provide their student number so they can be forceregistered
into the class. To avoid disappointment, apply early. Seats are limited and we
implement rolling admissions. Application will remain open until seats are filled.
Name:
Email:
Phone:
Department:
Major/Minor:
Academic Level: Fr So Ju Se Grad
Anticipated Graduation Date:
Pronouns:
Personal Statement (brief statement indicating why you are interested in participating)