Shakespearience Performing Arts

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Shakespearience is a charitable, non-profit organization which seeks to empower young people between the ages of 8 and 18 in Grades 3-12 with character, confidence, communication and various other invaluable soft skills by demonstrating to students that they can overcome any challenge, including the one the language in the works of Shakespeare's plays present. This is done with the generous participation of over a hundred of this country's most experienced, celebrated professional actors including many Stratford and Shaw Festival veterans. Workshops approach scenes the way an actor would prepare for a performance and, in this way, make any text accessible, understandable, relevant -- and fun. Selected scenes from the play being studied in class are brought to life by the students who work with the professionals in an interactive environment of exploration and discovery.

Launched more than twenty years ago as a pilot program with funding from the Toronto District School Board, the workshop has expanded to reach more than a hundred schools a year in more than two dozen boards of education all over the province and, in addition to its in-class sessions, offers a summer program for under-resourced youth and an after-hours program for at risk youth...with a number of other initiatives in development.
222 Jackson Street West, Suite 501, Hamilton, ON
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Language(s): English
Grade levels that programming is provided for: Primary (K - 3), Junior (4 - 6), Intermediate (7 - 8), Intermediate (9 - 10), Senior (11 - 12)
Communities served: Adults, Children, Youth, Seniors
Price range of programming: Pricing varies
Venue accessibility: Not applicable
Organization type: Charitable organisation, Non-profit

This organization offers online programming

  • Literary

    Poetry, Spoken Word

  • Theatre

    Acting, Theatre History, Theatre for Social Causes / Identity

  • In-School Workshops

    Shakespearience has the capacity to visit 150 schools a year between September and June with its innovative, interactive in-class workshop that involves the exploration of any scene of any act of any play students might be exploring. We also offer an "overview to Shakespeare" lesson plan which demystifies the Elizabethan language in the text and shows young people in Grades 3-12 how accessible, relevant and fun Shakespeare can be. A number of workshops are distributed free of charge, thanks to the donations we receive from various corporate, foundation and individual sponsors. Contact the Shakespearience office for more information.

  • Camps

    Shakespearience offers a summer program for under-resourced adolescents during the month of July that meets weekday's from 9:00-3:00, rehearsing scenes from the canon tied together by a theme which are staged as part of a culminating presentation at a professional theatre or, during the Covid 19 pandemic, are recorded as part of a filmed production. The organization also offers an after-school program for at-risk youth that runs from early February to the end of May that also involves the rehearsal of scenes tied together by a theme for a culminating presentation. Workshops in voice, movement, mask, improv and stage combat supplement the rehearsals for both programs which involve professional actors visiting regularly as text coaches.

Profile last updated: Nov 30 2020

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