Popular Workshops
Approx.: 45-60 minutes
Students will be briefly introduced to Shakespeare and why we study him, learn basic iambic pentameter, and create tableaux of the plot of a Shakespeare play. This workshop is recommended for students about to start reading a play, or as a stand-alone introduction to a play before attending a student matinee.
Approx.: 45-60 minutes
Students will warm up with Shakespearean insults, and then learn several unarmed stage combat moves. They will then choreograph their own fights to put into the context of a scene from the play you are studying, and read a short scene with their combat scenes.
Approx.: 30-40 minutes
Students will explore Elizabethan fashion and manners and their connection to social status, discover why status was so important in Shakespeare’s day, and its connection to the plot of Romeo and Juliet. Then students will be transported to the Capulet party and learn two Renaissance dances. Recommended primarily as enrichment with studying Romeo and Juliet.
Approx.: 45-60 minutes
Students will work together to unlock the text of a scene from a play, and rehearse it the way that an actor would. Students will start with basic text analysis, examine their characters’ objectives and possible tactics, and then get up on their feet to explore how movement can support their actor choices and the text.
Approx.: 45-60 minutes
Students will work on their own to break down a Shakespearean monologue. They will start with basic text analysis, then explore how tactics and beats can help to break a monologue into smaller chunks. Finally, both students and our teaching artist will perform a small slice of their monologue, to help demonstrate that there are many ways to bring meaning to the same words.
Approx.: 55-80 minutes
Students who are already familiar with a play will work in groups, under the guidance of a teaching artist, to reimagine the setting of the play, based on an identified theme. Students will develop their creative concept for the play, and present their pitch to the class. This workshop is recommended for students who have already read the play, or for students who have done the Play Introduction workshop.
6-15 class sessions over 3-5 weeks
Students will rehearse and perform a series of scenes from a Shakespeare play. This residency is highly customizable based on students’ age, time and budget available, and goals of the residency. We have worked with 4th and 5th graders to create a full performance of a highly condensed Shakespeare play (40 minutes), with each student performing in one scene. We have also worked with high school students to rehearse and perform 2-3 person full scenes, with long passages of text rehearsed and memorized in three weeks. Contact us to help plan a classroom performance residency that will work at your school! No experience with Shakespeare or acting is necessary as a prerequisite.