Festive ‘Bard’s Bash’ honors William Shakespeare

PASADENA, Texas – The life and works of William Shakespeare came to life at “Bard’s Bash,” presented by the English department of San Jacinto College (SJC) Central to commemorate the birthday of the renowned English playwright.

Faculty, staff, and students gathered for the event on the lawn near the College’s student center. Some were dressed in Elizabethan period costumes, several portraying famous Shakespearian roles as period music played in the background. Students performed skits from well-known works of “the Bard.” Activities included Shakespeare trivia, a costume party, face painting, a portrait contest, and maypole dancing.

Central campus student Rachel Morris, who portrayed Helena in a skit from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” enjoyed everything about the festive event. “I especially liked acting out a part in the play,” she commented. “It really helped me to understand the real meaning of the lines.”

Morris said that Shakespeare’s work has stood the test of time and continues to be popular today because of the universal message conveyed in his literature. “I am doing a research paper on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ because messages in the play really speak to me,” she remarked. “For example, women of that time period were expected to always assume roles of subjection and subordination, and I believe Shakespeare tried to show that perhaps that was not always how it was supposed to be.”

Morris was also among the students who danced around a maypole. “I like this type of outside-the-classroom learning to supplement what we learn in class,” she said. “It’s a very engaging way of learning, because it literally brings literature to life.”