Honors College Taking Annual Trip to Shakespeare in the Park

Photo Courtesy of Sahos24.com
By ASHLEY WORLEY/ Staff Writer
UT Tyler’s Honors College will take a group of 40 Honors students and staff to Dallas this Friday, Sept. 29, to see “King Lear”for their annual Shakespeare in the Park event. The play is hosted by the production company “Shakespeare Dallas” and will take place in the Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre. 
“We hope that students will have a great time experiencing the words and ideas of a wonderful writer,” said Paul Streufert, founding dean of the Honors College. “The Honors College is committed to helping our entire community explore the life of the mind. Shakespeare’s plays have a way of speaking to us across time and space. I hope students take a moment to experience the show and meditate on what it means to be human.” 
Shakespeare in the Park, first introduced in the fall of 2016, has been an annual Honors event since 2021. While the event was formerly mandatory for Honors students, it is now an optional trip with a limited number of seats. However, attendance does contribute toward a student’s required Honors points.
“The 38 tickets we purchased were snapped up very quickly when we announced to the students that they were available,” said Streufert. “In 2021, we held the event as one of our big, required events for the fall semester. We had about 90-100 students that attended that year. Now attendance is totally voluntary, and we take just one busload.” 
The event is orchestrated by Honors College Senior Coordinator Laura Grace Dykes and aided by Honors College Administrative Assistant K’Lin Noble. Shakespeare in the Park is exclusive to Honors students.