Narrative Reinvention: Improving Your Own Storytelling Through Shakespeare’s Work

For centuries, writers have riffed on Shakespeare's plays and poems. From West Side Story (Romeo & Juliet) to The Lion King (Hamlet) to Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres (King Lear) to Margaret Atwood's Hagseed (The Tempest), contemporary storytelling is informed by the Bard. In this workshop, we'll look at a Top Ten list of Shakespearean reinventions, discuss how to use Shakespeare’s work as rich source material for your own writing, and collectively articulate what his work teaches us about good storytelling. In the second half of the workshop, we'll do writing prompts and share/critique ideas participants have about developing their own stories inspired by the Bard. You will leave with a clearer understanding of how Shakespeare’s writing can help improve yours and some short drafts to build on. No knowledge of Shakespeare is required. You're as welcome to come and learn as you are to share your long-held opinions.