The Public Theater Presents Summer Shake Up Student Workshop

For the fourth consecutive year, The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will present Summer Shake Up, a special workshop in Shakespeare for New York City students, presented for free as a part of The Public Theater's Shakespeare Initiative. The Initiative also hosts other Public Theater programs for youth: Shakespeare Lab Jr., A Midsummer Day's Camp and mobile Shakespeare Lab. Led by Shakespeare Initiative Director Barry Edelstein, the free annual event will take place on Friday, July 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

An additional Summer Shake Up, presented in collaboration with the NYC Parks Department and the City Parks Foundation, will be presented a week earlier on Saturday, July 10 at 10:30 a.m. at Crotona Park in the Bronx. Individuals, groups and classes can register for these two special events by visiting www.shakespeareinthepark.org. Summer Shake Up is free and open to all students in New York City.

"The Summer Shake Up is one of the highlights of our year," said Shakespeare Initiative Director Barry Edelstein. "It's inspiring and thrilling to watch young people, many of whom have very limited access to the arts, light up when they meet Shakespeare for the first time."

Edelstein continued, "Making Shakespeare accessible to all has always been a central value at The Public Theater, and the Summer Shake Up does that with a great sense of fun and possibility."

Generously supported by Bank of America, Summer Shake Up will be held in conjunction with The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park repertory productions of The Winter's Tale, directed by Michael Greif, and The Merchant of Venice, directed by Daniel Sullivan.

Open to all students in New York City 6th grade and up, Summer Shake Up is a fun, vivid, and exciting introduction to Shakespeare and live theater. Held at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park and Crotona Park in the Bronx, students will get to work with Public Theater Teaching Artists who will lead workshops, games, exercises in acting, writing, and dance, as well as conduct crafty projects all focused on Shakespeare's world, words, and works. Professional actors from The Public's Shakespeare Lab will perform and demonstrate the techniques used to bring Shakespeare to life in the theater. Participants in Summer Shake Up on July 16th will get to speak on the world famous stage of the Delacorte Theater where later that evening Al Pacino will play Shylock. Snacks and prizes are provided.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, and productions of classics at its downtown headquarters and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day onstage and through extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 42 Tony Awards, 151 Obies, 41 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. The Public has brought 52 shows to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk; On the Town; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Well; Passing Strange; and, most recently, the current Tony Award-winning revival of Hair. www.publictheater.org.

Summer Shake Up will be held on Saturday, July 10 at 10:30 a.m. in Crotona Park in the Bronx and on Friday, July 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The event is free and open to all students in New York City. To register, visit www.shakespeareinthepark.org.

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