Education Programs - Shakespeare & Company

Shakespeare in the Courts

Mon, 01 May 2023 12:12:39 +0000

“Shakespeare in the Courts is meant to boost the kids’ self-esteem, to improve their communications skills, to develop a spirit of community and cooperation.” –The Wall Street Journal

Since 2001, Shakespeare & Company Education artists have worked closely with juvenile court judges and the probation officers of Berkshire County to engage adolescent offenders and those in need of support and provide an alternative to traditional punitive measures. In conjunction with the Berkshire Juvenile Court System, adolescent offenders work with Shakespeare & Company artists and participate in classes, rehearsals, and performances of scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. During the six-week project, participants explore Shakespeare’s text and prepare their own performance pieces as part of the terms of their probation.

This innovative, effective and action-oriented program has garnered overwhelming local and national media attention. The program was nationally recognized and celebrated at a White House Ceremony, and honored as an outstanding community arts program with a Gold Star Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Shakespeare in the Courts is partially funded by Berkshire United Way and supported by a grant through the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s YouthReach Initiative. Shakespeare in the Courts is also partially funded by the Charles H. Hall Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.

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Riotous Youth

Mon, 01 May 2023 11:55:42 +0000

“Riotous Youth is one of the best summer camps in the region. My kids love ‘the awesome teachers who make it really fun and include everyone’. As a parent, I love that they teach the kids to really understand the Shakespeare play performed, and perhaps most importantly, I love seeing the clear confidence boost my kids gain by the end of camp.” – Riotous Youth Parent

These fun and inspiring one-, two- and three-week summer theater programs introduce students* ages 7 to 17 to Shakespeare’s language, stories, characters, and themes using imaginative and playful methods. Riotous Company is a more advanced three-week program designed for high school students.

Classes incorporating voice, movement, and acting enable students to explore Shakespeare’s text emotionally, physically, and intellectually. Students will then create a performance piece based on their experience of the play, which they will share with family, friends, and Company members on the final day of the session.

*In order to participate in Riotous Youth, your child must have at least one year of full-day school.

Riotous Youth 2025

Dates coming soon!

Riotous Youth Information & Required Forms

General Release Form

Medical Emergency Form

Health & Wellness Guidelines

Financial Aid

Financial Aid Form

To apply for Financial Assistance, please complete the above PDF form and submit with a letter sharing with us a little about your current situation/need. Send to Meg Marchione, Education Programs Manager, at mmarchione@shakespeare.org mail to Shakespeare & Company, Attn: Education, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA 01240.

Our ability to provide financial assistance is made possible through generous contributions from friends of Shakespeare & Company Education. To make a donation to our Riotous Youth Scholarship Fund or to find other ways to support our Educational Programs, please reach out to our Development Office at (413) 637-1199 ext. 105.

Contact Information

Please contact Caitlin Kraft at ckraft@shakespeare.org, or call (413) 637-1199 ext. 132 with any questions.

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Fall Festival of Shakespeare

Mon, 01 May 2023 10:54:36 +0000

“This is a rock concert of Shakespeare! Show after show after show the theater is jammed with kids and adults cheering for the performers and the productions.” – WBUR Boston

Nationally replicated and locally treasured, the annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare brings more than 500 high school students together each year for a nine-week, non-competitive exploration of multiple Shakespeare plays. The flagship of Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program, the annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare is a residency at 10 high schools in Massachusetts and New York. Shakespeare & Company directing teams lead students at each school through a language-based exploration of different Shakespeare plays, culminating in full-scale productions at their schools and on the main stage at our own Tina Packer Playhouse. When high-energy teenagers are turned loose through the power of Shakespeare’s language, the thrill is palpable, and the houses are packed.

The Fall Festival deeply engages students through personally meaningful, educationally rigorous and dramatically compelling experiences of Shakespeare’s classical dramas. The Festival is truly a celebration, never a competition. Students from multiple schools work collaboratively, exploring Shakespeare’s words, unpacking the humor and the heartbreak, the intensity and humanity of these unparalleled plays.

Thank you for your support of the 36th Fall Festival of Shakespeare!

We’ll see you in 2025.

Couldn’t make the festival in person? Community Television for the Southern Berkshires will be
selling DVD, Blu-ray and digital downloads of all the performances from Fall Festival.
Visit ctsbtv.org/fallfest!

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Shakespeare & Young Company

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 11:04:58 +0000

This program was designed for high school students who are looking to begin or continue their actor training. These young actors work on voice, movement, text, scene work, and more, often finding what they haven’t found elsewhere before. Classes meet twice a week. Auditions are required.

In an ensemble guided by Shakespeare & Company Education Directors and Teaching Artists, participants are led through theater activities encouraging them to discover the themes, characters, and stories that resonate with them.

Participants actively engage in the creation of a performance piece, using Shakespeare’s plays and poetry as the foundation.

Spring Session 2024

Auditions

Auditions for 2024 Spring Young Company will be held Friday, January 5 from 4 pm – 8 pm, and Saturday, January 6, from 10 am – 6 pm. To schedule an audition time, please email springsyco@gmail.com.

Program Dates

Spring Young Company sessions begin the week of February 25, 2025. Performance dates are May 2 and 3, 2025. Sessions are held twice weekly, on one weeknight and one weekend day.

Program Tuition: $700

Tuition is $700, and payment in full is due by March 1, 2025. Limited financial aid is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Applications for Financial Aid are due at the time of your audition. For more information regarding Tuition and Financial Aid or to set up a payment plan, please email Caitlin Kraft, Education Residency Manager, at: ckraft@shakespeare.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Shakespeare & Young Company?

Shakespeare & Young Company is a ten-week program through which actors can take a huge steps forward in their actor training. During the course of the program, students have the chance to explore voice, movement, clown, and to experience Shakespeare’s text in a more rigorous, deep, and playful way.

How often do we meet?

Shakespeare & Young Company meets one weekday and one weekend morning per week, in-person.

What do I need to do to be a part of this?

Each interested Shakespeare & Young Company participant must apply and audition for this program. To apply, please fill out an application; ask a Teacher and/or Director who knows your work to write a one-page recommendation. (If you are a Fall Festival participant, you may ask your Fall Festival Director for your recommendation); write a few paragraphs telling us about yourself, why you do theater, and why you would like to be a member of Shakespeare & Young Company. The application, essay, and letter of recommendation should be emailed to springsyco@gmail.com prior to your audition time.

For your audition, please prepare (learn by heart) a 12 – 15 line Shakespeare monologue about which you feel strongly. Auditions will take place in 20-minute time slots with the Directors of the Shakespeare & Young Company Program and an Education department administrator. To schedule an audition or to ask questions about how to prepare, please email springsyco@gmail.com. We are happy to help!

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Professional Development Workshops

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 11:02:55 +0000

Learn how to create dynamic and engaging learning experiences of Shakespeare in the classroom and on stage with one of the country’s preeminent Shakespeare teachers, Kevin G. Coleman – past project director for both the NEA and NEH, two-time Tony Award-nominee for Excellence in Theater Education, and a founding member of Shakespeare & Company.

Shakespeare & Company’s long-developed and refined techniques awaken the imaginative, physical, and emotional dimensions of the text. Designed by Director of Education Kevin G. Coleman, and supported by other Master Teachers, Actors, and Directors, participants learn appropriate strategies to help students engage with the texts in deeper and more personal ways. Brought back to the classroom and rehearsal rooms, these approaches provide teachers opportunities to differentiate their instruction, enabling a more passionate, personal, and comprehensive experience of the characters and understanding of the plays for their students. Participants in this program earn Professional Development Points under the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Weeklong Professional Development Workshops

Summer 2025 dates and plays will be announced soon!

In this foundational Weeklong Workshop, teachers will learn and practice strategies to engage with the language in deeper and more personal ways, delving into the imaginative, physical, and emotional dimensions of Shakespeare’s rhetorical devices, characters, and themes.

Weeklong Workshops Offer:

A deep dive into a single play, allowing participants to learn and practice our foundational techniques to implement in their daily classroom instruction.

Support in creating an atmosphere of playfulness, safety, and celebration rather than competition.
Reinforcing your school and/or organization’s social-emotional learning programs by creating rituals of checking in and reinforcement.
Opportunities to create inviting and accessible opportunities for students to speak and play Shakespeare.
Techniques that take the poetry off the page into a realm of deeper, personal connections.
An organic and engaging way of presenting the rhetoric in Shakespeare that is liberating and exciting; more about Shakespeare’s theatricality, less about scansion.
Responsible ways of exploring the violent parts of the plays, and appropriate ways of presenting it.
Ways of approaching and presenting status in Shakespeare: kings and queens, lovers, villains, clowns, and fools, as well as the supernatural elements.

Weeklong Participants Have Access To:

30 Professional Development Points from Monday – Friday afternoon.
Handouts of the strategies and rationale for each activity.
Continued support via e-mail and/or video conferencing if needed throughout the school year.
A Discount to bring next year’s 2025 Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare’s Production of Macbeth.
A Discount for future Professional Development Weekend Workshops/electives.
Tickets to the main stage shows at Shakespeare & Company.

Weekend Professional Development Workshops

Summer 2025 dates and plays will be announced soon!

Weekend Workshops Offer:

This Weekend Workshop is designed to help Teachers, Directors, and Teaching Artists, to create dynamic staging involving the entire ensemble through examining status, creative movement, and fight choreography.

Practical ways to build playful, emotionally safe, and intellectually rigorous classroom experiences.
On-your-feet explorations of Shakespeare’s text and how to explore it with students.
Strategies for building an understanding of ways for students to meet Shakespeare on multiple levels: personally, imaginatively, and emotionally.
Ways of effectively managing the presentation of physical violence in Shakespeare’s plays by tracing the journey from shameful incidents to resulting violence, to entire battle scenes.
Activities for developing an awareness of status amongst characters to create more dynamic staging.

Weekend Participants Have Access To:

16 Professional Development Points from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon.
Handouts of the strategies and rationale for each activity.
Continued support via e-mail and/or video conferencing if needed throughout the school year.
A Discount to bring the 2025 Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Tickets to main stages show at Shakespeare & Company.

Tuition, Housing, and Transportation:

A non-refundable Application fee of $50 is required to secure your place.
Weeklong Workshop Tuition is $800
Weekend Workshop Tuition is $350
Tuition for both Week-Long and Weekend Summer 2024 Workshops: $1000 ($150 in savings)!
Early-Bird Deal: Register by April 1 and receive $50 off!
Refund Policy: a 50% refund is available if the participant notifies Professional Development Manager, Kirstin Daniel, in writing three full weeks before the start date of the program. We are unable to give refunds within three full weeks of the start date of the program.
Housing: limited local housing is available upon request through the generosity of our Company of Volunteers. If you choose to find your own accommodations, please consider looking early, as the Berkshires are a popular summer destination.
Transportation: if you need assistance with arrival and departure via bus, train, or plane, please reach out to us. We do not have personal vehicles available for use, however, we will assist with securing daily transportation to and from campus for the duration of your stay.

Please contact Professional Development Manager Kirstin Daniel at kdaniel@shakespeare.org with any questions regarding our programming.

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Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 06:22:30 +0000

Since 1982, Shakespeare & Company has sent touring productions of Shakespeare’s plays, along with a variety of related workshops, into middle and high schools, colleges, large-scale performance venues, and community centers all over the Northeast and beyond. These performances reach more than 20,000 students, teachers, and audience members each year.

About the Tour

2025 Northeast Regional Tour: Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
February 17 – May 2, 2025

A one-day package at your school, university, or venue includes:

A 90-minute performance

A 15-minute interactive, post-show forum immediately following the performance, which explores the audience’s own insights and observations.
The choice of one 45-minute workshop with students:
- The Workshop in Performance (12 – 50 students)
- Exploring the Actor-Audience Relationship (unlimited size)

The Company also offers custom packages that include access to virtual programming, multi-day residencies with additional workshops, and more.

See last Season's touring production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in action!

Example Schedule: One Shakespeare performance, Post-show Forum,
and Actor-Audience Workshop

9 am – Actors Arrive

9 am –12 pm Load in / Warmup / Lunch / Fight call / Half hour

12 pm – 1:30 pm performance

1:30 pm – 1:45 pm Post-Show Forum

1:45 pm – 2 pm Short break for Actors

2 pm – 2:45 pm Actor-Audience Workshop

2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Load out

This schedule may be customized to accommodate school and classroom schedules, as every school has different scheduling challenges. The only hard-and-fast rule is that the Education Artists need at least 2.5 hours in the space ahead of a performance.

Workshops & Teaching Materials

As a part of the day, Education Artists will lead students through one or more 45-minute workshops. If you have any questions about these workshops or are interested in customizing the work, contact us.

Workshop in Performance

In this workshop, each student can succeed and discover that Shakespeare is comprehensible, immediately engaging, and can be outrageously fun. The first exercises are with the whole group, but for most of the workshop, students are divided into smaller groups to work on a piece of text from a Shakespeare play which is then performed for classmates. Education Artists work closely with students to unleash an exciting, immediate, and personal experience of Shakespeare’s language. This workshop works best with 30 to 40 students and teachers, but can work with as few as 12 participants with an absolute maximum of 50 participants.

The Workshop Space

For this workshop, a space large enough for the whole group to form a large circle as well as accommodate smaller groups in necessary – students are divided into groups for much of the workshop. Normally, the school auditorium is fine, but sometimes the gymnasium or another alternative space is used.

Exploring the Actor / Audience Relationship

This is an entirely interactive workshop in which students can share their observations, reactions, questions, and dialogue with Education Artists. Driven by the students’ curiosity about the show and with a high level of student participation, students volunteer to work on text on stage, try a fight move, or learn an adapted Court Dance.

This workshop is designed to help students engage with the text in new ways. The activity often includes the actors reperforming brief scenes from the play that the students request, and students are invited to make suggestions for the Education Artists to play out as a way to reinterpret or redirect the scene. The workshop demonstrates the plasticity of theater and the imaginative collaboration among directors, actors, and audiences that is essential to the art form. This workshop can accommodate as many students needed, and Education Artists regularly work with the entire audience following the performance.

The Workshop Space

This workshop is most successful in the performance space following the show, as it allows the actors to utilize the scenic elements in their work with the students.

Teaching Materials

As a part of the tour booking, schools and educators may request digital copies of the Shakespeare & Company Study Guide, prepared by the Education Department and tailored specifically to each production. The Study Guide is designed as a supplemental resource for teachers and students, to be used in conjunction with live performance, in order to help better understand the play and form points of connection between the experiences of modern-day students and the story of the play.

The Study Guide contains a brief synopsis of the play, an introduction to the characters, and a scene-by-scene breakdown of the major events of the play.

It also provides descriptions of exercises used at Shakespeare & Company to explore the text with a selection of scenes to play with in the classroom, along with useful websites and resources for further exploration of themes and connections to current events and everyday life.

Student Matinees

If full, in-school productions aren’t possible, students can still experience the magic of the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare with a student matinee performance at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse in Lenox, Mass.

2025 dates include:

Friday, March 14, 11 am
Saturday, March 15, 2:30 pm (Sensory Friendly)
Wednesday, March 26, 10 am
Friday, April 11, 10 am
Friday, May 2, 10 am
Please contact Education Tour and Professional Development Manager Kirstin Daniel at kdaniel@shakespeare.org for more information or to book.

Financial Assistance

Massachusetts Cultural Council Grants

The Big Yellow School Bus program provides grants to help schools meet the transportation costs of educational field trips to cultural institutions and events. For more information and an application, visit the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Big Yellow School Bus web page.

Make a payment

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School Residencies

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 19:10:46 +0000

School Residencies

Program Dates

December – May

Apply Now

“Through the process of rehearsing and performing the plays of William Shakespeare for themselves, for each other, and for the community, students inhabit a Renaissance world of beautiful language, profound thought, and passionate feelings that articulate and celebrate the full spectrum of human experience.” – Kevin G. Coleman, Director of Education

Ranging from one-day to ten-week programs, school residencies offer elementary, middle and high school students an innovative and meaningful introduction to Shakespeare, both in and out of the classroom. Teams of teaching artists, professional directors, actors, and technical staff work in collaboration with educators to introduce students to Shakespeare in ways that are active, imaginative, and personally meaningful.

Residencies are flexible in design, and new models can be created to serve the needs of each school. Residencies can last from one day to ten weeks and be either an in-school or an after-school program. Residencies can end with a final performance of the students’ work, which can be selected scenes, a performance piece, or a full production. The Elementary and Middle School Residency Program serves students from the 4th to 8th grades. High School Residencies, including the annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare, serve older students. This program has operated annually since 1985.

For more information on Residencies in Schools, contact Meg Marchione at mmarchione@shakespeare.org or (413) 637-1199 ext. 172.

Apply Now

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Education Programs - Shakespeare & Company

Shakespeare in the Courts

Shakespeare in the Courts

“Shakespeare in the Courts is meant to boost the kids’ self-esteem, to improve their communications skills, to develop a spirit of community and cooperation.” –The Wall Street Journal

Sponsored By

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Riotous Youth

Riotous Youth

Riotous Youth 2025

Dates coming soon!

Riotous Youth Information & Required Forms

Financial Aid

Contact Information

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Fall Festival of Shakespeare

Fall Festival of Shakespeare

“This is a rock concert of Shakespeare! Show after show after show the theater is jammed with kids and adults cheering for the performers and the productions.” – WBUR Boston

Thank you for your support of the 36th Fall Festival of Shakespeare!

We’ll see you in 2025.

Couldn’t make the festival in person? Community Television for the Southern Berkshires will be selling DVD, Blu-ray and digital downloads of all the performances from Fall Festival. Visit ctsbtv.org/fallfest!

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Shakespeare & Young Company

Shakespeare & Young Company

Spring Session 2024

Auditions

Program Dates

Program Tuition: $700

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Shakespeare & Young Company?

How often do we meet?

What do I need to do to be a part of this?

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Professional Development Workshops

Professional Development Workshops

Weeklong Professional Development Workshops

Summer 2025 dates and plays will be announced soon!

Weeklong Workshops Offer:

Weeklong Participants Have Access To:

Weekend Professional Development Workshops

Summer 2025 dates and plays will be announced soon!

Weekend Workshops Offer:

Weekend Participants Have Access To:

Tuition, Housing, and Transportation:

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Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare

Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare

Macbeth

February 17 - May 2, 2025

About the Tour

2025 Northeast Regional Tour: Macbeth, by William ShakespeareFebruary 17 – May 2, 2025

Example Schedule: One Shakespeare performance, Post-show Forum, and Actor-Audience Workshop

Workshops & Teaching Materials

Workshop in Performance

The Workshop Space

Exploring the Actor / Audience Relationship

The Workshop Space

Teaching Materials

Student Matinees

Financial Assistance

Massachusetts Cultural Council Grants

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School Residencies

School Residencies

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Couldn’t make the festival in person? Community Television for the Southern Berkshires will be
selling DVD, Blu-ray and digital downloads of all the performances from Fall Festival.
Visit ctsbtv.org/fallfest!

2025 Northeast Regional Tour: Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
February 17 – May 2, 2025

Example Schedule: One Shakespeare performance, Post-show Forum,
and Actor-Audience Workshop