The show and the production was an incredible hit, a fabulous success, from the performance to the talkback. Simply great.

The actors pulled off the doubling and the technical material and everything else beautifully. The kids laughed and laughed. Teachers said it was 'wonderful' and meant it. They were sky high.

Joseph Earls, teacher,
Tantasqua Regional High School, Fiskdale, MA

Every spring, we send out a courageous group of Education Artists to schools and community venues all over New England and New York. We usually start in February and continue straight through into the middle of May. A full day at the school usually includes two of these three options:

1. a 90-minute performance of a Shakespeare play (the production for 2008 is A Midsummer Night's Dream)
2. 45-minute Workshops in Performance (These can be centered around any of Shakespeare's plays and they are for groups of 30 or 40 students - 50 students max)
3. Actor Audience Workshop An alternative 45-minute workshop,(affectionately known as "Death by 1,000 Directors"). Actors engage the audience and students are invited to be directors.

So... we could spend a day at the school. It could include a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream and one of our Workshops in Performance and four Workshops in Performance (using text from any of Shakespeare's plays). Some schools will host a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream for the high school students in the morning and then have a workshop for the middle school students after lunch. Each day is unique with a different schedule that accommodates each school's needs.

Some schools even book the tour for a short residency. A residence could consist of anywhere from 4 to 12 Workshops in Performance over several days (around 40 students per workshop). The time at the school concludes with the performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Once the students have gotten a chance to become familiar with the actors and the story of the play through their active participation in the workshops, you can imagine the buzz in the audience and the student's level of commitment when seeing this culminating performance in the short A Midsummer Night's Dream residency.

Please call us to find out how much it would cost to bring A Midsummer Night's Dream to your school. Pricing may vary according to individual school needs or whether you want one or two performances per day. Funding assistance is sometimes available. Pricing will include all cast travel and accommodation costs.

To book: contact alincoln@shakespeare.org or call (413) 637-1199 ext 131

 

Sub Links:

• Actor Audience
• Workshops in Performance
• Technical information about A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream – Spring Tour 2008

Hamlet – Spring Tour 2006