Two River Announces Experimental Virtual Little Shakespeare Education Program

Two River Theater's most popular education program, A Little Shakespeare, breaks the mold to create something entirely new with Tiny Shakes: Romeo and Juliet, adapted and directed by Em Weinstein (A Little Shakespeare: Twelfth Night).

Every season, Two River Theater introduces hundreds of young people-and adults-to the work of the Bard through its annual A Little Shakespeare program, now in its eighth season. More than 140 students from 28 different schools have participated in seven A Little Shakespeare productions: As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pericles, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth and Twelfth Night. The program has welcomed over 7,000 audience members, including more than 2,800 students from 35 schools across the state of New Jersey.

This year, the program takes the limitations of 2021 as an opportunity for students to delve deeply into Shakespeare's star-crossed romantic tragedy, giving them the agency to tell the story of each scene in their own way and film it: traditional Zoom scene reading? Rap battle? Movement or dance piece? Animation? The sky's the limit!

"I'm so excited to be returning to Two River's A Little Shakespeare program for this exciting, elaborate, and experimental take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Over the course of several weeks, the teens and I will tear into this great tragedy and make something entirely our own. This collage will be sure to feature music, acting, filmmaking and the incredible talents of a diverse group of teens from schools all over," says adaptor and director Em Weinstein.

Video submissions will be edited into a theatrical collage that can be accessed through Two River's website this May. There, audiences and educators can take the journey of the play through the videos, and continue to use this site as a resource.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE:

· High school students interested in acting, Shakespeare, filmmaking, design (costumes, props, lighting, sound), editing, stage management, directing, etc.

· This program is entirely virtual, so if you are a high school student who can attend rehearsals in the Eastern Time Zone, you are encouraged to submit.

Record a video between 2-3 minutes inspired by a scene or moment from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. If you're interested in acting in the show, please make sure the video includes you speaking a monologue from the show. Be as creative as you wish! The video can include music, dance, humor, found footage, drawings, etc. The main purpose of this video is for us to get to know who you are, so the main task is to be your weird, wonderful self.

Additional audition details can be found here: https://tworivertheater.org/tiny-shakes/