Shakespeare & Company to Offer Professional Development Workshops

Shakespeare & Company offers two Professional Development Workshops for educators, teaching artists and youth program directors this August led by Director of Education Kevin G. Coleman. During each six-day workshop, participants will get on their feet to perform Shakespeare's roles, stage the scenes, fight, dance and clown. During discussion periods they will explore strategies and rationale for working on the plays to enable their own students and casts to experience Shakespeare in more personally meaningful, academically rigorous and delightful ways. Workshops focus on Hamlet August 11 - 16 and Romeo & Juliet August 18 - 23.

The workshops are designed for classroom teachers, teaching artists and those who want to begin directing student productions of Shakespeare. Participants will explore Shakespeare & Company's strategies and rationale for creating dynamic, engaging experiences of Shakespeare in the classroom- and on the stage. Shakespeare & Company's unique and time-tested exercises enable teachers to access the physical and emotional dimensions of the text. Brought back to the classroom, these exercises can engage students on multiple levels through multiple intelligences, enabling a more passionate and comprehensive experience and understanding of the plays.

To sign up or inquire about the workshops contact Schools Program Manager Lori Evans at 413-637-1199 ext. 131 or SchoolProgramMgr@shakespeare.org.

"Simply the finest professional development experience of my 10-year teaching career. Shame on me for not applying sooner; this experience will change everything I do...for the better," said a past participant.

The six-day workshop includes: professional development credit, handouts for all activities presented, 90-minute cut scripts for Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, tickets to selected Shakespeare & Company summer performances, as well as an optional evening class on directing student productions. Successful participation will yield 36 professional development points (PDPs) towards the 150-point requirement for certification in Massachusetts.

"Participating in this workshop can reinvent what is possible in a classroom, rekindle a teacher's deep love for teaching, and help students to own, appreciate- even delight in the plays of Shakespeare," says Coleman.

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