Shop Books & Audiobooks
Women of Will
“Fascinating. . . . Detailed . . .
[Packer’s] knowledgeable tracing of connections among the plays and parallels among characters is never less than compelling.” —New York Times
Women of Will is a fierce and funny exploration of Shakespeare’s understanding of the feminine. Tina Packer, one of our foremost Shakespeare experts, shows that Shakespeare began, in his early comedies, by writing women as shrews to be tamed or as sweet little things with no independence of thought. The women of the history plays are much more interesting, beginning with Joan of Arc. Then, with the extraordinary Juliet, there is a dramatic shift: suddenly, Shakespeare’s women have depth, motivation, and understanding of life more than equal to that of the men.
Shakespeare in the Theatre: Tina Packer
Katharine Goodland (Author), Peter Holland (Series Editor), Farah Karim-Cooper (Series Editor), Stephen Purcell (Series Editor)
This book examines the work of acclaimed director Tina Packer, founder of Shakespeare & Company, whose ground-breaking approach to performing Shakespeare has made her company among the most vibrant and enduring Shakespeare theatres in America.
Tina Packer directed her first Shakespeare play at London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art in 1971. More than 50 years later she continues to direct and teach at Shakespeare & Company, which she founded in Lenox, Massachusetts in 1978. Drawing on new interviews with the original casts and creative teams as well as Tina Packer herself, this book is the first comprehensive analysis of all of her professional Shakespeare productions in their cultural and historical context.
When Action is Eloquence
“Outstanding…brilliant work!”
Shakespeare Company: When Action is Eloquence is the first comprehensive insight into this internationally acclaimed company founded in 1978 in Lenox, Massachusetts, by actor-director Tina Packer and voice pioneer Kristin Linklater, with the transformative power of Shakespeare’s language at its heart. Why act Shakespeare? What’s his relevance in the twenty-first century? Compelling answers to these questions lie at the center of this highly accessible journey into the Company’s aesthetics and practice.
Actors, directors, students, educators, scholars, and theatre lovers alike will find practical acting strategies, inspirational approaches to theatre making, and lively insights into the sustaining of a unique and robust theatre company that has been thriving for over 40 years.
Tales of Shakespeare
“A Treasures!
Mix intricacies of Shakespeare's plots and poetic language with illustrations by award-winning artists.”
—School Library Journal
Tina Packer brings to life all the romance, clashing swords, dastardly plots, and hilarious comedies of 10 of Shakespeare's classic plays, retold as exciting, accessible stories and lavishly illustrated by notable children's book illustrators.
Legendary actress and Shakespearean expert, Tina Packer takes all the fear out of understanding Shakespeare by adapting ten of The Bard’s most famous plays into easily understood short stories, retold in modern language. Her introduction provides the listener with easy-to-digest information about Elizabethan England and Shakespeare’s life and work.
POWER PLAYS
Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership and Management
John O. Whitney and Tina Packer
“Engaging!
A testament on practicality and morality in business, richly illuminated by instances from Shakespeare” —New York Times
Whitney and Packer do not simply compare Shakespeare's plays with management techniques, instead they draw on their own wealth of business experience to show us how these essential Shakespearean lessons can be applied to modern-day challenges. Power Plays infuses the world of business with new life -- and plenty of drama.
Tina Talks
Six Masterclasses on Shakespeare
In the spring of 2020, as theatres all over the world were shut down due to the pandemic, Tina Packer, actress, director, and legendary expert on Shakespeare, had an idea. Why not put out a series of webinars to help raise money for Shakespeare & Company, the world-renowned theatre company she founded?
Once a week for six weeks, Tina looked at Shakespeare's plays through a different lens - philosophical, poetical, physical, political, psychological, and personal. The result? A series of completely original master classes that explore Shakespeare's plays from different angles, revealing the underlying messages and major questions that interested Shakespeare, and how his ability as a dramatist allowed him to express them in action as well as words.