The Blog

It is no secret that we love to mark the seasons here at Shakespeare For Our Children – and it is not just because the school year also moves with the spring, summer, fall, and winter! On a broader level, we have always found that the seasons provide an opportunity for reflection and re-establishing goals both on the stage (what plays to perform, what themes to explore) and off (how to inspire young actors to develop their skills and personal aims).

So here we are now, thinking about the Summer Solstice! Just on the horizon is the 20^th of June, which heralds the official beginning of summer and – of course – the longest day of the year. This is a chance to ask your students, and yourself: what could be accomplished in those extra hours of daylight? Perhaps the time could be spent reading a new sonnet or the story of one of Shakespeare’s less familiar plays; maybe the focus is on a nature walk, looking at Shakespeare’s flowers, or imagining the enchanted forest of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Or this could even be an opportunity to stage a special late-night (or relatively late!) performance of favorite scenes and monologues.

Whatever avenue you and your troupe pursue, the overarching intention is to celebrate this chance to spend a little more time in Shakespeare’s world – and to remember that every day brings its own set of possibilities.

Earlier this year, we explored the importance of remembering the essentials: taking stock of fundamental techniques in blocking and voice projection, revisiting the skills developed through theatre games. And just as significant is reflecting on our approach to Shakespeare’s words themselves – how can we continue to bring vitality and energy to material that, by this point in the school year, may feel very familiar to students? 

One way is to reconsider the material not as lines to memorize but as spoken music with a rhythm all its own. In this resource, we outline strategies for close readings: interpretation of imagery, attention to punctuation and alliteration, and analysing which phrases require more emphasis or a specific emotional tone. This resource takes Shakespeare’s legendary “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” sonnet as a key text to examine, but you can apply this method to any monologue or scene!

The most important point to share is that every word – like every student! – has its value in bringing Shakespeare’s rich and complex world to life.

In Shakespeare’s lifetime, one of his most esteemed supporters was Queen Elizabeth. She watched several of his plays, invited him to her Court, and there is even a centuries-old rumour that she asked him to write The Merry Wives of Windsor! Her reign lasted for 45 years (1558 – 1603), and certainly Shakespeare is one of the defining figures of the Elizabethan era. (You can read more about Queen Elizabeth here, via the Folger Shakespeare Library.)

This Valentine’s Day, Shakespeare For Our Children wanted to pay tribute to Elizabeth’s own love story – one that played out not on stage, but across virtually her entire life. Elizabeth had known Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, since childhood, and they remained close friends and allies until his death in 1588. Indeed, though Elizabeth never married, the received wisdom of the age tells us that she wanted to marry Dudley… but various circumstances, including the scandal around the death of his first wife, made this impossible. (Read more here.) Yet in 1575 – as depicted in the illustration above – Dudley invited Elizabeth to his glorious Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire to try to win her hand one last time. Even though Dudley was unsuccessful, Elizabeth’s visit to Kenilworth remains one of the most compelling, and poignant, chapters of their relationship. 

Clearly, there is enough drama here to fill several plays – and in fact, if your students are drawn in, they may wish to write out their own scene between Elizabeth and Dudley! But as a place to begin, we at SFOC especially love this episode of the English Heritage podcast in which historian Dr Jeremy Ashbee explores Elizabeth and Dudley’s story. Happy Valentine’s Day!

It is no secret that January can be a tough month: holiday festivities are over, children (and teachers!) are back to school, and the spring still seems a long time coming. As leaders in the classroom, it is our responsibility to look for ways to generate an optimistic outlook – underpinned by a realistic perspective. What are the priorities to emphasise with young actors? What are the skills to cultivate in a low-energy season?

Here at Shakespeare For Our Children, we have found that it is very helpful to spend a few weeks after the turning of the year engaging with fundamentals. Have a look at our Resources page for more details – here are just a few suggestions.

Rather than rush into the next production, use this time to reflect on core techniques such as blocking and voice projection. These are primary elements of performance that can easily slip as students become distracted or, even worse, complacent. Try taking a familiar scene and re-blocking it, inviting the children to consider and explore the resulting differences in mood and tone.

Similarly, you can spend more time on theatre games. The mirror game, improvisational exercises – these build up great energy in the classroom while also re-establishing the importance of collaboration. To that end, we encourage you to mix up any existing friend groups (or cliques) within the troupe; this is all about engaging with established activities in new ways.

Remind your students that these techniques and activities are not basic but rather essential for all actors. And the stronger your foundation, the stronger the next performance will be.

The holiday season is a joyous time of year! And it is also very, very busy. As attention turns to the whirlwind of school vacations, presents, and family visits, we at Shakespeare For Our Children asked ourselves: What can Shakespeare illuminate about the end-of-year hustle and bustle? 

Quite a lot, as it happens! There’s the importance of each individual lighting their own little candle of good will; the knowledge that everyone has a part to play in any endeavour, on-stage or off; and of course, the always essential reminder – “To thine own self be true”. 

Ultimately, as Shakespeare observed so beautifully, “all the world’s a stage”. This season offers many opportunities for acting out various roles and responsibilities; Shakespeare reminds us that we can do so with a touch of grace. 

It is no secret that we at Shakespeare For Our Children love Halloween, the most theatrical holiday of all! There are many ways to celebrate with young actors: making trick-or-treating into a performance in itself; telling tales of haunted theatres; and even using the season as a time to think about bigger issues like stage fright.

Halloween is also an opportunity to put on a show, of course. In the past, we have worked on short productions that bring together eerie scenes in what we call “Shakespeare’s Haunted House.” Here, famous moments in plays like Macbeth (Macbeth’s encounter with the Three Witches, his “sound and fury” monologue) and Hamlet (the Prince of Denmark’s encounter with his ghostly father) allow young actors to explore the spectral side of Shakespeare’s work. 

Keep the sets and costumes simple – have a look at some of the techniques we have used here. If you happen to put on the production in a home, you can really bring the “haunted house” to life! Perhaps stage scenes from one of the plays in your first room, and then guide your audience to another room for the next excerpts. In fact, you can write some brief contextual material for a ghostly narrator to share as they lead the audience from one space to another. 

Planning the production itself – what scenes to choose, and why? – is also a terrific time to reflect on the deeper themes represented by the supernatural. Memory, regret, ambition – all of these are evoked in Shakespeare’s haunted characters, and all are worthy of discussion as the troupe prepares the performance. Happy Halloween!

Clearly we love Shakespeare at any time of year! But there is something especially dramatic about the autumn – a chill in the air, golden leaves, nights getting longer – that makes thoughts turn to the Bard and what he might illuminate about this season of transition.

For children and grown-ups alike, one of the more striking changes is heading back to school. We have explored this topic over the years, and you can see some of our “greatest hits” here. 

Of course, we cannot help but think about “The whining school-boy, with his satchel and shining morning face, creeping like snail unwillingly to school” (As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII) – a highly appropriate line from the “all the world’s a stage” monologue. And who knows, reflecting on the school-as-stage might even be a helpful way of spurring on reluctant students!

We have even considered the slump that can hit us once the hustle and bustle of new school days has passed. At this point, check out our post on harvesting potential and ways to reflect on the schoolwork that we (again, teachers and students alike!) might find ourselves doing by rote.

As authors Miriam Weiner and Shannon Whitt remind us in their lovely book Shakespeare’s Seasons, each time of year brings its own wondrous possibilities – and it is always exciting to reflect on what the coming months have in store. See you at Halloween!

We all know that by the middle of the summer, it can feel like we’re in a bit of a rut. And even the most dedicated theatrical troupe is no exception! If you and your young thespians need a break from rehearsing a production – or even from re-reading classic books about the Bard in the comfort of an air-conditioned room – why not try a Shakespeare-themed treasure hunt?

This is the perfect activity for the August slump: interesting to plan, fun to carry out, and totally versatile no matter the weather. On a sunny day, hide the treasures outdoors in a park or your backyard; if it’s rainy, use an interior space.

When it’s time to choose the sought-after items, keep it simple. Draw from your stock of props, or even reimagine household items. You could hide Prospero’s wand from The Tempest, for example, or King Henry V’s crown. If you can go outside, flowers from A Midsummer Night’s Dream fairy glen could be a lovely addition. For the clues, you can guide the children to the items through a line of dialogue. We recommend thinking about the characters and / or plays that matter the most to your children – every group has their favourites!

By the same token, why not ask the children to plan the treasure hunt themselves? This kind of group activity builds on an existing spirit of camaraderie; at the same time, it offers even the more reluctant young actors an opportunity to engage with Shakespeare’s words. After all, as well we know, all the world’s a stage!

No question, the work that comes to mind when we think of Shakespeare and summer is – naturally – A Midsummer Night’s Dream! This was the first play that the original Shakespeare For Our Children troupe performed, over 30 years ago; and as such, it holds a very special place in the history of the program. Over the course of that summer, we held daily rehearsals, made props and costumes, and fostered an overall feeling of camaraderie and goodwill  that defined the spirit of SFOC for future generations.

It will come as no surprise, then, that A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a favourite in our blogs and teaching resources! We’ve explored the magic of Puck’s epilogue  and the value of Philostrate’s speech for actors just beginning their on-stage journey; we’ve examined romantic misunderstandings in the play and, in practical terms, costuming and character-related theatre games for building trust between actors.

With midsummer almost here, we invite you to revisit these posts and see if there are ways to bring some enchantment to these lovely, long days with your children. Take it from us: Shakespeare will make this a summer to remember.

April 23 marks the day of Shakespeare’s birth, 460 years ago. This year, bring your students together to celebrate this special day! You will be in good company: Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon, is holding a weekend of events; and the Folger Shakespeare Library have shared a range of excellent ideas to help you pay tribute to the Bard.

This is also a great opportunity to explore the resources that we have compiled here at Shakespeare For Our Children. You can find theatre games and excerpts from plays like Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Hamlet. Perhaps you would like to learn more about Shakespeare’s very first trip to see a play or his life in London, or to browse through beautiful images from the Folger digital image collection. (The illustration above, depicting Shakespeare’s merry characters, comes from that site!) Whatever approach you wish to take, there’s something here for everyone.

Of course, we believe in celebrating Shakespeare every day of the year! But it is especially magical to reflect on his life and legacy in solidarity with Shakespeare lovers around the world. Happy Birthday, Shakespeare!