“The prospect of studying Shakespeare can be intimidating for many students, but it’s especially daunting for those who don’t have English as their first language,” says Lisa Donaldson, a Grade 12 English teacher at John L. Forster Secondary School in Windsor. “And teaching Shakespeare can be equally intimidating.”

The Teaching Shakespeare School Program has three parts. During the first phase, up to 90 teachers from schools around Ontario converge on Stratford for three days. There they attend workshops, study plays, explore drama-based approaches to text and attend two or three performances. Of those performances, they choose the one they wish their students to study. They’re also partnered with an actor from the Festival’s

At the end of her final visit, Stratford Shakespeare Festival company member Dana Green receives flowers from Grade 5 and 6 students at Holy Cross Elementary School in London.

company.

The second part involves the actors visiting their teacher-partners’ schools and together going into the classroom to enrich students’ understanding of the text.

“Initially, we were restricted to a 100-mile radius of the Festival so that actors involved in the program could travel to and from a school in one day,” says Jackson. “OTF funding meant that we could include communities that require our actors to stay overnight. We now reach schools as far north as Kenora and as far east as Kingston.”

At the end of the program, the students and their teachers attend a Stratford Festival production of the play they’ve been studying.

But it’s the involvement of actors that makes the Teaching Shakespeare School program exciting and engaging for students and teachers alike. 

“These are actors with a passion for Shakespeare and they convey that passion to the students,” says Andrea Jackson, education co-ordinator, Education Department, Stratford Festival. “They help teachers approach Shakespeare in a dramatic, hands-on way. Trepidation towards the text is replaced by fun and enthusiasm.” 

The actors visit their partners’ schools twice before the students see the play they’re studying and once after. During these visits, the actor and teacher conduct tableaux and visualization exercises designed to free students from thinking that Shakespeare is boring. Students also act out scenes to which they can relate. For example, a scene where two characters hurl insults at each other.

“I’ve never seen my students enjoy studying so much!” says Lisa Donaldson.

Donaldson’s Grade 12 class studied The Tempest with the help of actor Deborah Hay and they couldn’t wait to see the Stratford production.

“Visiting Stratford was a high point of their school year,” says Donaldson. “They understood what the play was about and enjoyed the sets, costuming and acting. Many had never even been to Stratford before so they loved every minute of that trip!”

And hopefully for the Stratford Festival, it will be the first of many future visits!  

Following the completion of their OTF grant, the Teaching Shakespeare program has continued to flourish across the province thanks to funds from the Festival’s Education department and private donations.