Building on the many successes and strengths of STC’s Text Alive! program over the past 25 years, we are pleased to offer a new Residency informed by our ever-changing society and field to provide students with the opportunity to help transform the future of the classics in the theatre.
Over the course of eight sessions, students explore three plays covering the wide range of Shakespeare’s plays, other classics, and works that use the past to help process, explain, and cope with the present—putting the classics in action.
The Experience
In the first half of the Residency, students will explore acting, language, and design and touch on the plots of three thematically related works. In the second half, students will select one play as a focus and will dive deeper into its plot and themes. With their teacher and teaching artist, they will prepare and rehearse a showcase of scenes, come up with a design concept, and have plenty of opportunities to draw personal connections—integrating elements of current cultural and social events in their staging—and take ownership of the experience.
NEW! School Night at STC
Each school group will have the opportunity to perform their showcase at STC and invite their families to attend. After this performance and as part of School Night at STC, we will provide students and their guests with tickets to attend an evening performance of the Shakespeare play onstage that semester—Much Ado About Nothing in the fall and King Lear in the spring.
School groups part of the Residency will also be offered tickets and bus transportation to a student Matinee performance of those productions.
Want to see the Residency in action?
Check out the recent "Get Uplifted" segment on WUSA9 featuring Thurgood Marshall Academy's drama class performing Richard III at STC.
Fall: Shakespeare × Love
Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, and Richard III.
In its many forms and expressions, what does love look like today? Students will explore characters and engage with themes from three plays that feature different representations of love—a romantic comedy (Much Ado About Nothing), the most famous love story of all time (Romeo and Juliet), and love as a tool that fuels ambition and political gain (Richard III).Spring: Shakespeare × Family
King Lear, The Winter’s Tale, and Measure for Measure.
Shakespeare—primarily known for his lovers, heroines, and villains—presents us with various family structures and dynamics that make us reflect on our own. In the spring, students will tackle questions and issues from plays that feature a dysfunctional royal family (King Lear), a mother reuniting with her daughter (The Winter’s Tale), and a sister faced with the challenge of saving her brother’s life (Measure for Measure).For Teachers
Participating teachers will have the opportunity to connect with each other to share experiences and tips, and to work alongside their Teaching Artist to activate the classics in their classrooms.
Interested being part of our inaugural cohort?