This collection evolved over a number of years and has received invaluable help and input from many sources, both individual and institutional. The editors would first like to thank the Shakespeare Association of America for providing the opportunity to pursue the topic of character in a seminar at the SAA Conference in 2008. Additional contributors came on board as papers continued to circulate at conferences organized by the American Society for Theatre Research and the British Shakespeare Association. An immense debt of gratitude is owed to Wellesley College and the Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College for supporting a symposium in 2010 (“Shakespearean Character on Trial”) that provided a venue for scholars and theatre practitioners to engage in a dialogue about character.
To more individuals than we can name here we also owe deep gratitude, but we would be horribly remiss without acknowledging the following: Ben Evett and his late father Dave Evett, Diego Arciniegas, Carol Dougherty, Nora Hussey, Carey Perloff, Tina Packer, Vilma Silva, Curt Tofteland, Hal Cobb, and our editor at Ashgate, Erika Gaffney. And most of all, our families.