Shakespeare & Company's Shakespeare in the Courts Returns

Shakespeare & Company's groundbreaking Shakespeare in the Courts program, which leads adjudicated young people in an exploration of Shakespeare's plays, is celebrating its 13th year. The program, which runs in both North Adams and Pittsfield, was launched in 2001 with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, and is generously supported this year by Massachusetts Cultural Council's YouthReach Initiative; Berkshire Life, A Guardian Company; Berkshire County District Attorney's Office; The Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire; and the Charles H. Hall Foundation. Led by S&Co.'s expertly trained arts educators, Shakespeare in the Courts program is a challenging, inspiring, and often revelatory program. For media interviews and information contact Communications Director Elizabeth Aspenlieder aspenlieder@shakespeare.org OR Associate Director of Communications and Marketing Director Jason Velázquez jvelazquez@shakespeare.org.

Participants in the 6 week-long Shakespeare in the Courts program delve into Shakespeare's text, exploring how scenes and monologues relate to their own lives. The Shakespeare in the Courts program takes place in two sessions, one in North Adams, MA and one in Pittsfield, both of which culminate in a 50-minute production of a Shakespeare play selected for each particular group. Each production is supported by S&Co.'s professional costume and scenic shops, and is performed in front of an invited audience of family, friends, representatives from the juvenile justice system and members of the media. (Please note the performance is not open to reviews). This season the Shakespeare in the Courts program is led by Project Director Josh Aaron McCabe and his team of senior teaching artists Carmen Mandley, Josie A. Wilson and Lezlie Lee. For further information on all Education programs please contact the Education office at (413) 637-1199 ext. 131

PERFORMANCES: The North Adams Shakespeare in the Courts program, which involves 8 participants, is already underway with their final performance at Mill City Theatre, Building 4N in the Heritage State Park, 115 State Street in North Adams, MA (adjacent to the Visitor's Center) on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 7pm. The Pittsfield session will begin on April 1, and will work with up to fifteen students for six weeks with a final performance on Wednesday, May 8 at 7pm in the Company's Bernstein Theatre, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA. Performances by invitation only.

"When we first teamed up with Judge Paul Perachi and others at the Berkshire Juvenile Court to launch this program, some people scratched their heads," says S&Co. Director of Education and Shakespeare in the Courts founder Kevin G. Coleman. "But we've been able to show the positive impact that can be made in these young people's lives when you encourage them to articulate their thoughts and feelings, work cooperatively, and rise to the challenge of performance. The need for this kind of challenging experience is obvious when you meet these kids. What might be less obvious is how Shakespeare meets and surpasses these needs."
In part for his work with Shakespeare in the Courts, Coleman was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Arts Educator Award in the field of theatre in 2009, which is bestowed annually by the Massachusetts Arts Education Collaborative. The Shakespeare in the Courts was awarded the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Gold Star Award for exemplary programming for underserved youth in the state in May 2011.

Shakespeare in the Courts is built around the idea that the deeply human stories of William Shakespeare speak directly to teenagers facing a dramatic crossroads in their young lives. Participants meet four times a week over the course of six weeks. The process incorporates the daily realities confronting the teens into the rehearsal process, allowing them to connect with Shakespeare's text on a personal, visceral level. The goals for the participants are to learn, through rehearsal and performance, how to articulate their thoughts and feelings, listen to and respect the feelings of others, make and keep a commitment through personal investment, take ownership of the project through a collaborative process with one another, and foster a sense of accomplishment both individually and as a group.

The Courts program is a collaboration between S&Co. and the Berkshire Juvenile Court. It was founded and supported by Judge Paul Perachi, who retired recently after a distinguished career of public service. The Courts project has also thrived with the steadfast support of First Justice, the Hon. Daniel J. Swords, the Hon. Judge Judith Locke, Chief Probation Officer William Gale, Probation Officers Alexander Daugherty, Jim Hunt, Nancy Macauley and Colleen Murphy, the City of Pittsfield, the City of North Adams, and the Town of Great Barrington.

The Charles H. Hall Foundation is the newest supporter of Shakespeare in the Courts. Established in 2007, the Charles H. Hall Foundation supports and promotes educational, health & human services, religious, arts & cultural programming for underserved populations. The Foundation specifically serves organizations based in Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire, or Franklin Counties, Massachusetts.

In 2006, Shakespeare in the Courts received the prestigious Coming Up Taller award, given annually by the President's Committee for the Arts and Humanities for "outstanding after-school arts and humanities programs, especially those that reach underserved children and youth." First Lady Laura Bush presented the award to Shakespeare & Company during a White House ceremony.

The Company's award-winning Education Program is one of the most extensive theatre-in-education programs in the Northeast, and has reached over a million students since 1978 with innovative performances, workshops, and residencies. In addition to Shakespeare in the Courts, other S&Co. programs include The Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare, the Fall Festival of Shakespeare, Shakespeare & Young Company, Riotous Youth, Shakespeare in our Schools: Workshops for Teachers and Actors, and the National Institute on Teaching Shakespeare, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Guided by Education Director Kevin G. Coleman and Associate Director of Education Jenna Ware, the Education Program received the Commonwealth Award in 2005, the highest award for excellence in the arts, sciences, and humanities given by the state of Massachusetts. It was also the subject of an in-depth, two-year study by Harvard University's Graduate School of Education (Project Zero), which recommended national replication. The Education Program has been identified by the Arts Education Partnership and the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities as a Champion of Change.