For three weeks this summer, students from the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film traded the familiar classrooms and rehearsal spaces of the Temple Building for one of the world’s most iconic stages — Shakespeare’s Globe in London.
The experience was part of the Carson School’s Study at Shakespeare’s Globe course, an intensive study-abroad program designed to immerse acting students in Shakespeare, classical theater and the broader theatrical culture of London.
For the students, the experience was about more than studying Shakespeare. It was an opportunity to experience his plays as actors, surrounded by the architecture, history, audiences and artists that make London one of the world’s great theater capitals.
“Our students participated in a three-week intensive in classical acting at Shakespeare’s Globe,” said Rafael Untalan, an associate professor of practice at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film who led the course. “They took classes from the Globe’s resident faculty in voice, text, movement, dance, theater history and, of course, acting. The course culminated in the performance of a truncated, ensemble-driven version of a Shakespeare play, in our case, ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’”
The students’ education extended beyond the Globe. They saw productions including Shakespeare at the Globe, a new interpretation of Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” and an award-winning revival of Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia.” They visited the British Museum and National Gallery, explored Kensington Gardens, toured the National Theatre and walked through the West End with scholars, actors and artisans.
They also participated in workshops with Frantic Assembly, a United Kingdom theater company known for its physical approach to storytelling.
For Desiree Chavez, a sophomore acting major from Omaha, the opportunity was one of the reasons she chose Nebraska.
“One of the main reasons I committed to this university was because of this study-abroad experience,” she said. “I knew I would eventually have the opportunity to study at Shakespeare’s Globe, which, for any actor, is life-changing.”
Before arriving in London, Chavez had little experience with Shakespeare.
“Before taking this study-abroad course, I had taken a foundational Shakespeare class required for all acting majors. Before that, I had absolutely no experience with Shakespeare, so initially I was very intimidated,” she said. “After spending many hours with the language and having the opportunity to perform Shakespeare, I’ve found that I really love it and have plans to do much more Shakespeare in my future.”
At the Globe, Shakespeare became something to be performed and experienced rather than simply studied.
“If nothing else, I learned that he truly wrote for the actor. Everything I needed was in the text. I now know that it’s my job to be curious and dig deep to find all the juicy clues he’s left for me,” Chavez said.
For Harper Allen, a senior acting major from Lincoln, the trip offered a different kind of connection to Shakespeare. Allen already had experience with classical theater, including an internship at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and hopes to pursue classical work professionally.
“Looking back now that I’ve come back from London, my interest is even more invigorated,” Allen said. “Being in London surrounded by the history of theater and classical performance allowed me to connect with the shared history Shakespeare gives actors. The stories we are telling and sharing are stories that have been told and shared by other actors for generations. Experiencing that connection is breathtaking.”
The Globe’s performance space also changed how Allen thought about the relationship between actor and audience.
“Even in a theater as big as the Globe, it is still such an intimate space,” she said. “It really emphasized how important your technique is as an actor; to be able to open yourself up and share with specific audience members all throughout the theater, while not cutting yourself off from anyone.”
For Allen, one of the defining moments came simply from standing on the Globe stage.
“I don’t know if I can fully describe it. It was this sense of honor to be up on the stage, and awe that I had actually made it,” she said. “There is such a rich history in that space, and you’re filled with such grace and love when you stand up there.”
That connection to generations of performers was shared by Luka Benjamin, a senior acting major from Superior.
Benjamin had never read Shakespeare before becoming an actor at Nebraska. After studying with Untalan, he performed in an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” at the Nebraska Repertory Theatre. The London experience deepened that interest.
“The first time we got to step out onto the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe was magic,” he said. “It was early in the morning, as the Globe is a working theater and needed to set up shows later that day. It was so special to connect with the place where these plays have been performed for hundreds of years.”
Benjamin also gained a new understanding of how the Globe’s physical space shapes the relationship between performers and spectators.
“I got to see four Shakespeare shows performed in the Globe theater. There is a sense of community, of sharing and engagement that is special to that space,” he said. “It really clicked for me how the audience is part of these shows just as much as the actors are. Being an outdoor theater, the lighting is shared. This means there is no separation — the audience is just as visible as the performers on stage.”
Untalan said that connection is central to what makes the Globe such a powerful educational environment.
“What makes it special is that it’s not just a museum or a historical landmark; it’s a living, working theater built to replicate the conditions under which Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed,” he said. “Students can experience firsthand how architecture, audience interaction, language and performance style all influence storytelling.”
For acting students, he said, the Globe offers lessons that are difficult to reproduce in a traditional classroom.
“The space demands a direct relationship with the audience, active listening and a strong command of language and imagination,” Untalan said. “Students begin to understand why Shakespeare wrote the way he did and how actors can use the text as a tool for performance rather than simply literature to be analyzed.”
But perhaps the most lasting lesson came from simply being somewhere new.
“I can think of no greater educator than travel, and no greater potentiator of an undergraduate education than studying abroad,” Untalan said. “To see, feel, hear and taste other cultures is, especially for a young person, to vastly expand one’s understanding and deepen one’s appreciation of what it means to be human. And the human experience is what actors and acting are all about.”
For Benjamin, London provided that broader perspective.
“Study-abroad experiences are so important,” he said. “I’m from a small Nebraska town of 2,000 people. I saw more people walking down the street one day in London than I see in a month at home. Over there, I stood in elevators with four different languages being spoken at the same time. It’s little things like these that put into perspective how wide the world we live in truly is and how you can fit into it.”
The students returned to Nebraska with a renewed sense of confidence and ambition.
Chavez said the experience taught her that she could take greater risks as an actor.
“I’ve learned that I’m allowed to make bold choices and take up space. In fact, it’s encouraged,” she said. “Now that I’m back in Nebraska, I’m ready to use this new mindset in my next show and hopefully bring a new energy to my characters that I haven’t had before.”
Allen returned with a renewed commitment to acting.
“I am so much more confident,” she said. “I also think I have a re-invigorated passion for acting. Being surrounded by theater and so many more passionate professionals really affirmed that acting, storytelling and theater making is the only thing I want to do with my life.”
Benjamin came home with ambitions that now extend across the Atlantic.
“It also set my aspirations a little higher,” he said. “I hadn’t even thought about acting in London, but now it’s a goal that I have my sights set on.”
For Untalan, that transformation was the ultimate measure of the experience.
“Some of the students on this trip had never flown before, and most had never left the country,” he said. “Watching them navigate a new city, engage with another culture and grow in confidence as artists was every bit as rewarding as the formal training they received.”
Standing on Shakespeare’s stage, studying his words and performing his work, the students found themselves part of something larger than a three-week course.
“This has been one of the most impactful experiences of my life,” Benjamin said. “I hope generations of UNL actors can continue to engage with this course. We will all be better for it.”
