The Spanish Tragedy Symposium 2024 | Villanova University

The Spanish Tragedy Poster

In academic year 2023-24, Villanova University faculty Dr. Chelsea Phillips (Theater) and Dr. Alice Dailey (English) launched a year-long interdisciplinary exploration of Thomas Kyd’s seminal Renaissance revenge play, The Spanish Tragedy (1582). This extended pedagogical, scholarly, and creative endeavor began with a combined undergraduate-graduate course taught in fall 2023 titled “Legacies of Revenge.” It culminates in a production of The Spanish Tragedy co-directed by Dailey and Phillips and staged in Villanova’s new John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts in April 2024, along with a coinciding scholarly symposium on April 19-20, 2024. Through both academic study and performance, The Spanish Tragedy Project seeks to foster engagement with the play as at once an historical and contemporary artifact and to deepen our understanding of the play’s place in revenge discourses, which continue to proliferate in popular culture.

The Spanish Tragedy Symposium will take place April 19-20, 2024, on the Villanova campus. Convening Friday afternoon, it will include Friday night's performance, keynotes by Dr. Richard Preiss (University of Utah) and Dr. Andrea Stevens (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), facilitated discussion among attendees about various components of the show and larger pedagogical project, introduction to the grant-funded web archive of production and teaching resources, a performance of student-authored Spanish Tragedy spinoffs, and a splendid reception. Registration is open to students, scholars, theater practitioners, and early modern drama enthusiasts. No advance preparation is required of attendees. Lodging for the Symposium can be booked at The Radnor Hotel or a range of hotels in Conshohocken. Rooms may become available at The Inn at Villanova on March 19. Registered out-of-town attendees will be contacted in that event.

The Spanish Tragedy Symposium is sponsored by Office of the President of Villanova University, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English, Department of Theater and Studio Art, and Honors Program.

The Spanish Tragedy Symposium Schedule

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Dietary Restrictions and Allergies

Please list any dietary restrictions and/or allergies.

Additional Concerns and Accommodations

Please list any additional accommodations you may need.

Badge Name *

Name as you’d like it to appear on symposium badge.

Badge Pronouns

Pronouns if you wish to designate.

Badge Institution

Institutional or organizational affiliation if you wish to designate.

Discussion Topics: Please indicate your interest in these topics. Check all that apply.

How To Fund This Kind of Project Pedagogy and Course Design Staging Challenges The Spanish Tragedy and Early Modern Drama The Spanish Tragedy and the Multiverse Other

"Other" topics write in:

Please list the discussion topic(s) if you selected "other" above.

Registration Fees *

Villanova Students, Alumn, Staff, and Faculty: FREE Non-Villanova: Students: $25 (contact for group fee) Non-Villanova: Contingent Faculty: $50 Non-Villanova: Full-Time Faculty: $100 Non-Villanova: Independent Scholars and Fans: $50

Total:

Payment Instructions:

Credit Card: After submitting registration form, a confirmation page will provide the link to make a payment by credit card.