A live online workshop for actors, creatives, and curious souls
Date & Time Options:
📅 Monday, August 4 – 6:30–9:00 PM CT
📅 Sunday, August 10 – 1:00–3:30 PM CT
📍 Online via Zoom
🎟️ Sliding Scale: $25–$45
🔟 Space limited to 10 participants per session
💸 Refunds available up to 7 days before the event
About This Workshop
We’ve been taught to see Shakespeare’s women through the wrong lens.
Desdemona. Miranda. Juliet. Too often misremembered as tragic, tame, or wilting violets — like delicate birds in a Victorian cage.
But they weren’t written that way.
In Shakespeare’s time, women were seen not as submissive saints, but as clever, passionate, and often dangerous. They were tigresses — and the cages of patriarchy were built to contain their power, not their fragility.
This 2.5-hour online acting workshop invites you to reclaim Shakespeare’s women as full, complex human beings — not romanticized archetypes or plot points in someone else’s story. Using supportive acting tools, bold historical research, and a perspective you’ve likely never been taught, we’ll explore the voices, choices, and cultural contexts that make these characters radically alive.
You’ll work with selected monologues and short scenes, dive into Elizabethan gender beliefs, and unpack how generations — especially in the 18th–20th centuries — distorted Shakespeare’s women into something smaller. Whether you're an actor, director, teacher, or simply curious, you'll leave with insight, clarity, and a new way to hear these voices.
What You’ll Experience
📜 A lively, accessible dive into the Elizabethan worldview of women — and how it shaped Shakespeare’s writing
🎭 Exploration of selected monologues and short scenes from characters like Lady Macbeth, Viola, Beatrice, and Portia
🧠 Discussion of how the18th-20th century sugar-coating of Shakespeare's works still influences how we see his characters today
💪 Gentle physical warm-ups to explore how these women take up space💬 A closing circle reflecting on the character, line, or moment you’re carrying forward
🚀 An invitation to join the upcoming 5-week She Is Fierce course — with a $20 discount
Who It’s For
✅ Adults 18+
✅ Actors, directors, theatre educators, Shakespeare fans, and curious creatives
✅ All gender identities welcome and respected
✅ All experience levels — from never-been-onstage to lifelong pros
✅ Anyone ready to rediscover the humanity and fire of Shakespeare’s women
Content Note
This is a creative exploration space — not a therapy session. While the material is rich, empowering, and often emotional, it may include themes such as grief, gender-based violence, manipulation, and power struggles.
You are always encouraged to engage at your own pace, with full agency and self-awareness. This workshop does not replace therapeutic support, and your well-being is always prioritized.
Safe Place to Play at Theatre for Hope and Healing
At Theatre for Hope and Healing, we know that no creative space — online or otherwise — can be guaranteed to be completely “safe.” Discomfort, vulnerability, and emotional intensity are often part of meaningful creative work.
That’s why this workshop is grounded in the Safe Place to Play approach: a trauma-aware, choice-based method that supports you in staying present, embodied, and in charge of your own experience. Through breath, body awareness, and regular check-ins, you’ll be supported to engage with the material in a way that honors your own boundaries and process.
We aim to create a brave, respectful space where curiosity is honored, agency is essential, and your inner sense of safety always comes first.
Sliding Scale Pricing
🎟️ $25 – Access
🎟️ $35 – Standard
🎟️ $45 – Supporter
Your payment supports this heart-centered work and helps keep it accessible.
What You’ll Need
- A quiet space to join us via Zoom
- A willingness to explore and reflect with curiosity
- Optional: a journal or notepad
Before the session, you’ll receive a text packet featuring selected monologues and short scenes. You’re welcome to explore in real time or read ahead.
Led by...
Janine Ashley is a theatre artist, folklorist, and narrative coach who helps people reclaim voice and presence through story and embodiment. She is a co-founder of Theatre for Hope and Healing, and the creator of Safe Place to Play — a trauma-aware, choice-based approach to artistic exploration.
Ready to join?
🌟 Space is limited to 10 participants per session. Choose your date and reserve your spot today.
✨ All participants receive a $20 discount to join the upcoming She Is Fierce multi-week course.
