Susan Gayle Todd founded the Weird Sisters Women’s Theater Collective in 2004 as part of her overall quest to centralize female characters in Shakespeare and to accommodate women who want to play Shakespeare. Her MA thesis in Women’s and Gender Studies, The Weird Sisters, Hand in Hand (2005), included an adaptation of Macbeth, which was produced and performed by an unwieldy crew of about thirty other women. The collective grew as Susan continued her work of confronting the canon through feminist adaptation and exploring women’s issues in theater. While earning a PhD in Theater and Performance Studies, Susan directed the Weirds in their productions of Michelle Lee’s Angels of the House (2006); Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (2007)and The Merry Wives of Windsor (2008); and Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Good Night Desdemona Good Morning Juliet (2009). During this time, Susan also wrote Sycorax, a feminist re-examination of the mother of Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The play was selected for production in the 2007 Cohen New Works Festival at the University of Texas and was directed by Fadi Skeiker. Now in their sixth season, The Weird Sisters are re-launching Sycorax under the direction of Susan Gayle Todd and Christa French.

Susan has immersed herself in directing, performing, teaching, and studying theater since her first brush with UT’s Shakespeare at Winedale program in 1992 where she has played and worked for many years. She has, over time, taught Shakespeare at the Huntington Library in California, the University of Texas, and Leander High School, where she has also directed innumerable students in scenes and plays. She currently teaches rhetoric at the University of Texas and St. Edward’s University, where she is director of the Shakespeare Club. Susan is dedicated to building community through theater while tackling tough social issues. Her greatest joys are her family and friends, and creating theater in Austin, Texas.

To learn more about Susan Gayle Todd, please visit her website: www.SusanGayleTodd.com