On a weekend in late September, Jeffrey Draper, upper school drama teacher, along with upper school English teachers Jason Berry and Pauline Paskali, traveled with a group of 21 students to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the country’s largest regional repertory theater. Draper said the trip gave the students the opportunity to see “the greatest productions of Shakespeare that can be found on this side of the Atlantic.”

Draper said the highlight of the trip was the production of “Hamlet,” Shakespeare’s epic tale of revenge set in Denmark. “The contemporary setting, innovative staging and stellar acting was something we won’t soon forget,” he said.

Before viewing a play, the group attended prologues to gain a greater understanding of the text and how the theater company was producing each play during the season. Students got to meet actors and attended a special workshop put on by one of the company’s actors and its education director.

“This will certainly be an experience that Harker enjoys every summer,” Draper said. Space for the fall 2011 trip will be limited, he added, “and I’d recommend that anyone interested in attending reserve their spots as soon as the trip is announced in the spring.”