Category: School Programs

Bring your students to attend one of our Shakespeare Youth Festival LA performances in March of 2020 – this year’s season includes:

Measure for Measure
Troilus and Cressida
Twelfth Night
Comedy of Errors

We offer special group rates, or a coupon code that your students can use to attend the show independently. For 20 or more students, we offer pre-show study guides and post-show Q&As. For 40 or more students, please contact us to schedule a special dedicated performance for your students.

Coming soon!
Bring a SYF student production to your students.
These original scripts, with running times of less than 90 minutes, introduce students to a variety of Shakespeare’s works, and expand on the relevance of his plays in the modern world.

Unspoken: Shakespeare’s Personae in Peril
This play places several of Shakespeare’s smaller, often cut characters in a mythical Green Room, pestering their harried Stage Manager to learn whether they will be going on in any of the hundreds of Shakespeare productions happening across the world. Frequently interrupted by an angry Lady Macbeth, they discover that there are plans afoot to cut them permanently, as the works of Shakespeare are deemed too long and too complex for modern audiences. Unspoken speaks out against this attitude, and reiterates the importance and the magic of Shakespeare and live theater.

Includes segments from Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, Merchant of Venice, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.

Outspoken: Shakespeare in Shackles
Outspoken was inspired by our Artistic Director’s trip to London, and our Players’ fascination with the stories she brought back about The Clink, London’s notorious prison. It imagines what might happen if several of Shakespeare’s most idealistic and rebellious characters were thrown in The Clink, together, for the crime of speaking truth to power. As each character recounts the event that landed him or her in prison, they explore what it means to speak your mind, and how our perspective of our own lives does not always match up with what others see.

Includes segments from Henry IV, Part ii, King Lear, Henry VI, Parts i & ii, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet

Illspoken: The People vs. William Shakespeare
It’s hard living life as a notorious villain! Shakespeare’s most famous ones band together to sue their creator for dooming them to a life of notoriety.  Claudius, Richard III, Tamora, Regan, Iago, Aaron, Lady Macbeth represent themselves, while attorney Ed Devere (!!) represents Shakespeare before the honorable Judge Judith Clarence. But midway through the trial, something very unexpected happens that changes everything!!

Includes segments from Othello, King Lear, Titus Andronicus, Hamlet, Richard III and Macbeth.

Provide your student population with a special event exploring the world of Shakespeare.

OPENING PERFORMANCE (5 minutes)
A choral piece performed by our Master Teacher/Performers.

INTERACTIVE (50 minutes)
Each station will be run by one of our Master Teachers, who will be assisted by one of our high school counselors, as well as a few of our student performers. The subject matter will be accessible to all ages. Each workshop will last for approx 8 – 10 minutes, then a gong will announce a “POP-UP PERFORMANCE.” The PUP will last approx 1 – 2 minutes, then the participants will switch groups, so that all have the opportunity to experience each station.

1. TRIBAL CIRCLE *
   Participants will learn several of our favorite circle games (Bah, Wah, Zip Zap Zop, Pass the Clap, etc)
2. IMAGINATION GAMES *
   Participants will play improv/theater games geared toward using your imagination (Imaginary Ball, Mirror, etc)
3. PERFORMANCE GAMES
   Participants will play improv/theater games geared toward expressing yourself in front of an audience (What I do for a living, Gibberish, etc)
4. TABLEAUX
   Everyone who participates in this workshop will be invited to join us on stage for this portion of our performance
5. IAMBIC PENTAMETER GOES ROGUE!!
   Participants will be introduced to the language of Shakespeare, then have the opportunity to try it out with our favorite Shakespearean insults!!
6. THE WORLD OF SHAKESPEARE
   A crash course on what it was like to live in Elizabethan England

* Depending on the number of participants, we could combine 1 & 2 into one group, so that each section can be longer.

FINAL PERFORMANCE (20 minutes)
Opening with an Iambic Pentameter Intro – participants will be invited to join us on stage. We’ll also include several scenes/monologues, some of which will use children from the audience. They will also be invited to come on stage for our Tableaux section.

Q&A (15 minutes)

Off the page, onto the stage! This three-session workshop is designed to accompany the curriculum and enhance the assigned reading of a Shakespeare play. It is facilitated by two to three of our teaching artists.

SESSION ONE 

The first session should be held at the beginning of the unit, before the students are assigned independent reading.

Goal
To prepare students for the unique challenges of reading Shakespeare, and to provide them with the necessary tools to approach the text effectively and with enthusiasm.

Activities
An interactive recounting of the basic synopsis of the play, including performances of key scenes.
Introduction to iambic pentameter, Shakespeare’s “Language of the Heart,” and other poetical and rhetorical devices.
Games and exercises that explore themes and elements that the students will be encountering in their reading

Homework
Students will be given a series of challenges, in the form of a textual “Scavenger Hunt,” that they will be asked to meet for the next session. These challenges are active, and require students to read critically and deeply (you can’t meet them by skimming the text or reading the Cliff’s Notes).

SESSION TWO
The second session should be held after the students have read at least half of the play.

Goal
To ensure that students are reading actively and to build their understanding of what they are reading.

Activities
Using the “Scavenger Hunt” as a starting point, students will participate in a series of exercises designed to get them on their feet, actively exploring the text, thereby enhancing their understanding.

Homework
Students will be assigned short scenes to prepare for presentation at the final session.

SESSION THREE
The third session should be held at the end of the unit.

Goal
To celebrate the successful completion of the play

Activities
Students will present the scenes assigned at the previous session, in a workshop format, where students will have the opportunity to incorporate feedback given by the teaching artists.

SHAKESPEARE IN THE CLASSROOM

One-Week Residency
5 sessions – 1 hour each

Two-Week Residency
10 sessions – 1 hour each

Extended Residency
6 to 10 sessions – 1 per week / 1 hour each

SHAKESPEARE AFTER SCHOOL

Mini Workshop (culminates in a thematic recital)
6 sessions – 90 minutes each

Maxi Workshop (culminates in a full production)
12-16 sessions – 90 minutes each

The above schedules are suggestions – we are happy to tailor any of the above programs to a format that will fit the demands of your schedule, and the needs of your students.

——————————————————————————————

Our Workshops offer participants a comprehensive exploration of one of William Shakespeare’s plays, and are in alignment with VAPA Content Standards for California Public Schools.

Activities include the following:

• a detailed introduction to the language and structure of Shakespeare, within the context of the chosen play
• a rigorous exploration of the themes of the chosen play, and how they relate to our lives today
• a creative environment, where the participants are encourages to use their voices, their bodies and their imaginations to express their experience with the chosen play.
• a presentation, where participants have the opportunity to share their work with their teachers, fellow students and families.

The following is an example of how a session might unfold:
Arrival – students are greeted by 2 (or more) teacher-directors from Los Angeles Drama Club
Circle Intros and Sharing – we check in, and set our intention for the session
Group Ice Breaker Exercises – we build trust and create a group dynamic
Physical Warm-up – we practice yoga and meditation to prepare our bodies and our
minds for the work
Vocal Warm-up – we learn to use our breath effectively, expand our vocal power, and
establish healthy use of our vocal instrument.
Exploration – we participate in one or more of the following group activities

Story – we participate in the re-counting of a Shakespeare Play.
Theme – we discuss and debate the topics in the story, and discover how those topics are relevant to our lives.
Language – we explore the rhythm and power of iambic pentameter, Shakespeare’s “Language of the Heart.”
Character – we use Improv, movement, walks, sound, and speech to create
 characters.
Elements of Theatre – we become familiar with the language of theatre and with the basics of stagecraft

Scene Work – we divide to work on our specific pieces with the guidance of our teacher-directors.
Sharing the Process – we are given the opportunity to show our work to our peers.
Closing Circle – at the first class, we establish a ritual to end class each time with a feeling of accomplishment and community