Maybe the Best Day Trip You Could Take This Summer: Shakespeare at Winedale

Y'all, I love me some Shakespeare. Like, a lot. I once wrote a paper on the Shakespearian themes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer in college, and it was basically the most exciting paper I had ever written in my life up until that moment.

So: Shakespeare at Winedale! I've been to this lovely, lovely UT summer program four times. Once as an UT English undergrad and three times in recent years with Chris. Students from UT and colleges around the country and sometimes the world come together to live and breath Shakespeare for a few weeks in the summer. You can feel the excitement and camaraderie in the air, and it really is something quite special.

And now is apparently a good time to go. There have been worries that Winedale has become neglected over the years, and it needs support to survive.

The troupe this year is fantastic. Chris and I were super impressed by the talent, in particular Casey Nice as Katherina and Nina Bildstein as Tranio.

Winedale is just outside of Round Top, about an hour and a half to the east of Austin. The season runs until August 10 this year, and tickets are only ten dollars. Ten dollars! The Taming of the Shrew, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Troilus and Cressida are on the docket this time around.

Come early, bring a picnic, don't forget a bottle of wine, and stay late to walk around the grounds. You won't regret it. And if you do, I'll try to find my Shakespeare-BVS paper for you and maybe that will make you change your mind. Actually, that sounds like it might be torture for some people. You can regret it if you want. But I really should try to find that paper...

Day Trip Details
What: Shakespeare at Winedale
Location: Winedale Historical Center
Cost: Ten dollars per ticket
Why: Because awesome.

(All photos by Sandra Ogle & Chris)

Shakespeare at Winedale

Three years ago when we first started dating, Chris and I drove out east to Winedale, a tiny Texas town, where the University of Texas English department hosts their summer Shakespeare program. This year, we went back for one of our monthversary dates. We saw The Comedy of Errors peering through the rafters from up in the balcony of a converted nineteenth-century barn.

Day trip success

(Side note: Our GPS was acting completely insane on the way out there, so if you decide to go, snag the directions from their website so you don't end up on the narrow, gravel, bumpety-bump road that leads you past many, many farms like we did.)

Day trip details

Where: Winedale, about an hour and a half outside of Austin

When: The summer schedule runs from July to August.

Why: Because you love Shakespeare? And cute little towns? And are awesome?

Also, food: Bring a picnic or stop at Royers Round Top Cafe for dinner and some delicious pie.

This and That

What Jane saw.

I cried at the end of this Modern Love.

Fourth of July printables.

Love: Charles Eames proposal letter.

Cronut, anyone?

Excited about this restaurant opening.

(Image via Pinterest)