Rex A. McGuinn (1951-2002), a member of the English faculty at Phillips Exeter Academy, established the Shakespeare Conference in 2001. His career was devoted to promoting Shakespeare studies among his own students and collaborating with other teachers to advance the study of Shakespeare. His own professional and scholarly endeavors invariably nurtured his students' perception of literature and of self.  Rex's life was a daily celebration of Shakespeare and, in that spirit, we dedicate this conference to him.

The conference is intended for 26 teachers who want to share with others the various ways in which Shakespeare can be taught in the classroom. We invite public, private, and parochial school teachers to interact with each other in a five-day working conference that includes academic and theatrical professionals and others who love the Bard.

Teachers from diverse backgrounds are able to share with each other their felicities and frustrations in teaching Shakespeare to adolescents and establish a network of support, advice, and dialogue during the academic year. The goal of the conference is to help teachers help students understand and enjoy Shakespeare for life.

Classes at Exeter are structured around a student-centered pedagogy of listening and discussion that we refer to as the Harkness method. Conference activities include small, daily seminar groups conducted in the Harkness style. Besides classroom activities, we explore the ways performance illuminates our students' experience with the play. We will study Shakespeare on film, in print, on stage, and we may even dance. A much-appreciated part of the program is the evening Sagitary, a time for relaxed, informal conversation. 

In the past, the conference has invited visiting scholars/lecturers Marjorie Garber of Harvard University, Kathy Howlett of Northeastern University, Alan Dessen of University of North Carolina, and Herb Coursen of University of Maine. Actors from Shakespeare and Company have been invited to talk to participants about the on-stage experience of Shakespeare and how that can translate to a classroom situation. Elizabethan dance performances have been highlights in the past. Most recently, the conference featured actors' workshops and round-table discussions led by the award-winning Actor's Shakespeare Project of Boston. (Visit their Website at http://www.actorsshakespeareproject.org/ for more information on the company and its mission.)

See the conference schedule for a look at how the conference is structured.