The Wooden O Symposium is a cross disciplinary conference that explores Medieval and Renaissance Studies through the text and performance of Shakespeare's plays. Scholars from many disciplines will present papers that offer insights and new ideas springing from the era of William Shakespeare.

Cedar City and SUU host the Utah Shakespearean Festival, recipients of the 2000 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater. The conference coincides with the Festival's summer season where three Shakespeare plays will be performed in the Adams Memorial Theater, a unique performance space modeled after Shakespeare's own Globe Theatre.

The Utah Shakespearean Festival will be presenting Measure For Measure, Much Ado About Nothing and Richard III as part of their summer 2002 season. Scholars attending the conference will have the unique opportunity of immersing themselves in research, text and performance in one of the most beautiful natural settings in the western U.S.