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Theatre History Initiative

In response to the national mandate to achieve measurable benchmarks in literature and arts education, the Shakespeare Theatre Company created the Theatre History Initiative (THI), an on-line resource to promote the teaching of theatre history in the high school curriculum. THI is a text-based, experiential and scholarly program that provides texts and support materials to teachers in traditional and electronic formats. A group of secondary-school teachers, drawn locally and nationally, have designed standards-based curriculum materials and classroom activities for inclusion on the website.

Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Theatre History Initiative is a collaboration of the Education Department of the Shakespeare Theatre Company and American University. THI works to integrate drama and theatre history into the high school curriculum through three components: 1) teacher training; 2) curricular development; and 3) technological dissemination.

Leadership support from The National Endowment for the Humanities:

National Endowment for the Humanities

Click here for the Theatre History Initiative website

For more information about the Theatre History Initiative, please call the Education Department at 202.547.5688.