Though classroom time is an adventure of its own, it is when working with the Carlisle High School Shakespeare Troupe, an extracurricular acting company, that the author most consistently and happily experiences this illusion of indefinite time. She has been working steadily with the troupe since the fall of 1984, and the troupe has produced a variety of scenes and shortened versions of the plays. Through trial and error, success and failure, a troupe philosophy has emerged: If they hold to their core beliefs in the primacy of the words, the fluid nature of the text, and the power of comedy, they are in line for a most excellent adventure. In this article, the author shows how she has developed her students' excitement during 20 years of dramatic performances.