Support the Magic of Camp Shakespeare!

You Precious Winners All!

Thank you! We are deeply moved by your speed and generosity. You have helped us achieve our goal twice over in just 3 days. Thus, we are going to stretch our goals. We believe there are more members of our community that want to join in this auspicious effort. In fact, our new goal is to get at least 200 people to contribute to this campaign. No contribution is too small. 

The cost of being in residence rises every year. Tuition and ticket sales address some of Camp Shakespeare's expenses, but not all of them. Our new stretch goal is $45,000. This amount would ensure that the program is on a sustainable track for next summer.

If you have not given yet, please know that we still very much welcome your gifts and will be excellent stewards of all donations large and small.

Please consider making a donation this summer to support young people’s exploration of Shakespeare — and themselves — through performance!

Camp Shakespeare returns to the Winedale Barn for another magical summer dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare, self, and the power of play! Your generosity during our 2023 HornRaiser campaign will ensure that twenty-eight students from across the world are able to gather together as a creative community and explore The Winter’s Tale and, for the first time in Camp history, Romeo and Juliet. 

"You are a lover; borrow Cupid's wings, And soar with them above a common bound." 

Founded by James B. “Doc” Ayres, now led by Robin Grace Soto, and entering its twenty-third year, Camp is an arm of the renowned Shakespeare at Winedale program, also founded by Doc Ayres, in the Department of English at UT Austin in the Fall of 1970. Both programs offer its participants much the same experience: the challenge of playing out ideas on stage; the revelation of Shakespeare’s language by embodying it; the discovery of inner strength through study, play, and hard work; and the gift of friendships destined to last a lifetime. Camp Shakespeare provides this richness of experience and meaning in the crucial period of adolescence.

Your donations will help fund production expenses for the six performances and stipends for guest artists this summer!

The Camp experience is needed now more than ever as young students navigate the post-COVID world. Six performances will be held across central Texas, including two Sunday afternoon performances in the Winedale Barn: The Winter’s Tale on Sunday, June 25th at 2pm and Romeo and Juliet on Sunday, July 16th at 2pm. Camp directors Robin Grace and Doc will be joined by four additional guest artists and counselors. Two of whom—Augusta Dexheimer and Malena Pennycook, who have been serving as Head Counselors for the past ten years—are returning as recently appointed Associate Directors. All four directors worked together this spring to assemble the two classes, assign characters, and begin discussions around the two plays and their endless possibilities. 

To ensure that our return to Camp this summer is a success, we are doing our best to secure necessary funding. With inflation affecting every budget item—the price of eggs alone is staggering!—Camp increased tuition for the first time in four years and continues to streamline its operations without sacrificing the quality of its instruction or the campers’ experience. About those eggs: Lupe, our beloved Camp cook, will be purchasing and retrieving eggs in bulk from a local area farm to cut down on the increased expense. We’re all doing our part. And we’re not the only ones. You are too! Rising prices are being felt by so many, increasing the need to keep camp financially accessible. We're grateful to our donors who have made a record seven scholarships possible this year. 

The Camp Shakespeare Ambassadors are asking for your financial support to reach our HornRaiser goal of $15,000. Your donations will help fund in-person performances, production expenses, stipends for guest artists, costumes, marketing for the plays, and transportation to the La Grange Performing Arts Center, the Crystal Theatre in Gonzales, and the Winedale Barn.

We hope for the broadest possible support from our Winedale community: former Campers, Camper families, Winedale alumni, loyal audience members, and anyone who’s ever been touched by Winedale’s magic. After you donate, we hope that you will join us this summer to experience these radiant, astonishing performances first hand and be a part of the magic you’ve made possible. 

Please take a look at our Donation Levels on the right and give as generously as you can. 

Thank you!