The Spanish Theatre Programme (STP) is BADA’s month-long summer programme dedicated to Spanish-language classical theater. The program highlights historically marginalized female playwrights while engaging with the works of Federico García Lorca, an artist who found radical vitality and modern relevance in the Siglo de Oro. Students are invited to approach these classical texts not as distant historical artifacts, but as living works through which to examine contemporary questions of identity, representation, cultural inheritance, and social justice.

Program Director Paula Rodriguez will present the core theme of the 2027 program, focusing on how the works of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz offer an ideal case study for forging these connections. Her dramatic voice resonates not only with contemporary audiences but also with the inherent modernity of Lorca’s theatre. Linked by a shared debt to the Góngoran Baroque aesthetic, both writers challenge us to explore complex intersections of desire and belonging.

This dialogue between the Baroque and Modernity serves as a vital pedagogical tool for the contemporary performer interrogating classical texts, and forms the axis of the BADA 2027 curriculum. Students trace these artistic lineages through an immersive one-month program, beginning in London and followed by two weeks in Spain. There, participants encounter the cultural and theatrical heritage of the material through site-specific engagement in Seville, Granada, and Almagro—including the Corral de Comedias and other historic landmarks. The itinerary further provides opportunities to attend live performances and engage directly with industry professionals.

Sponsored by the Hispanic Studies Department. This event is open to the public.

About the Speaker

Course Director Paula Rodríguez is an award-winning theater writer-director based in London. Her work has been presented at leading venues including the Bridge Theatre, Orange Tree, and Cervantes Theatre in the UK, as well as with Spain’s National Classical Theatre Company (CNTC) and Teatro de la Abadía. She is co-founder of Teatro Inverso, creator of Project AURIC, and founder of Our New Gold, an international educational digital festival. She trained at Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático (RESAD), Universidad Complutense (Madrid), and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD) in London. She is a member of Spain’s Academia de las Artes Escénicas.