Sweet Thunder Shakespeare trains actors through ensemble practice and performance.
Our promise to our audience is simple: you will understand the story, you will be entertained, and you will feel included.
Bringing audiences and actors together for theatre that is immediate and alive, we are renewing how Shakespeare is expressed and experienced.
“I never heard So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.”
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“I was with Hercules and Cadmus once, When in a wood of Crete they bay’d the bear With hounds of Sparta: never did I hear Such gallant chiding; for, besides the groves, The skies, the fountains, every region near Seem’d all one mutual cry: I never heard So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 4.1.115–122.
Courtesy of Pop-Up Globe: Clementine Sparrow, Susan-Jane Harrison (ST Co-founder), Rebecca Rogers
Here’s how we play…
Shakespeare’s audiences lived in a world of public spectacle: taverns, sermons, festivals, pageants, executions, and blood sports. Theatre had to compete with all of it: loud, dangerous, funny, musical, visceral, and alive. We return to that original theatrical energy, with actors who train together in a shared understanding of the work. Live music, dance, theatrical spectacle, and direct engagement with our audiences, are how we tell these stories. As our audience, you aren’t held at a distance. Rather, we invite you to listen, laugh, respond, and follow the story as it unfolds. Whether comedy, tragedy, or history, Shakespeare should be vivid, accessible, and hugely entertaining.
About Us
Based in Northern California, Sweet Thunder emerges from 60 years combined experience of theatrical performance & training, in England, the San Francisco Bay Area & New Zealand
ceiling of the stage, Pop Up Globe, NZ: photo SJ Harrison
Learn & Perform with Us!
Students exploring Laban Movement photo Carmen VeronicaRehearsal room in practice skirts Voice Class; photo Carmen Veronica
Auditions
Our Founding Fellows have been selected! Our next auditions will be in late fall for the early spring 2027 Fellowship. Join our mailing list to be the first to hear when applications open.
Curious but intimidated by Shakespeare? Not to worry. Our diverse ensemble welcomes adult performers of all ages, from beginner to experienced. Professionals and fellows-in-training work side by side.
