771 Shakespeare and the Generation of Genius - The Role of Performing Arts in education (with Robin Lithgow) - RECLAIMED

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Arts, Books

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2026

⏱️ 74 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Robin Lithgow spent her life immersed in the performing arts, including a childhood in the theater and decades spent as an educator and arts administrator. But it wasn't until she read a little-known work by Erasmus that she fully realized the importance that performance had on Shakespeare and his generation--which mirrored the experiences she had had as an English and drama teacher in inner-city schools in Los Angeles. In this special episode, Robin joins Jacke to talk about her life in the theater, her epiphanies regarding Shakespeare's education, and the centrality of the performing arts in a child's development. ROBIN LITHGOW was the first Theatre Adviser, and eventually the Director, of the Arts Education Branch of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the United States. Before becoming an arts administrator, she was a teacher for twenty-one years, teaching every grade level from kindergarten through senior high school and ending her classroom tenure as an English and drama teacher. And before that, she was the daughter of Arthur Lithgow, a theater impresario who developed Shakespeare festivals all over Ohio, which meant that Robin and her younger brother John Lithgow, the acclaimed actor, grew up traveling from place to place, watching rehearsals and performances, as their father mounted productions of every play in the Shakespearean canon. [This episode originally ran on September 28, 2020. It has been unavailable for several years.] Join Jacke on a trip through literary England! Join Jacke and fellow literature fans on an eight-day journey through literary England in partnership with ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠John Shors Travel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in May 2026! Scheduled stops include The Charles Dickens Museum, Dr. Johnson's house, Jane Austen's Bath, Tolkien's Oxford, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and more. Learn more by emailing jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or masahiko@johnshorstravel.com, or by contacting us through our website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Act soon - there are limited spots available! The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Help support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/literature ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com/donate ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and Lit Hub Radio.
0:09.8	Redeem your Labbucks on free bet spins or even cash you in for real money.
0:13.6	That's satisfaction from Lab Brooks.
0:15.4	And for extra satisfaction, here's the T's and C's.
0:17.6	Let's rock.
0:18.9	18 plus participates in selected promotions to get LabBucks.
0:24.4	Oh, get LaBucs.
0:26.5	With 8 and 4.
0:28.2	Offers or rewards.
0:30.4	Labbucks expire for T's and C's a bride.
0:34.2	Take time to think.
0:35.9	Gabble.
0:36.6	Where I'm that book. Hello, my friends. It's time to think, yeah, but who I died for.
0:39.4	Hello, my friends.
0:40.8	It's the last Thursday of the month, and that means we're reclaiming another episode that has fallen out of our archives.
0:48.0	This one comes from 2020, and it's been unavailable for the past several years.
0:52.7	It features a wonderful guest, Robin Lithgow,
0:55.7	who's been a champion of the arts in education in Los Angeles,
0:59.5	and the importance of theater in education.
1:02.9	And she's also a writer herself and part of an esteemed theatrical family,
1:07.9	including her father, who was one of the leading Shakespeare promoters in the United
1:11.9	States, and her famous brother, John Lithgow, one of America's finest actors. We've dusted off
	...

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