Kids Love Shakespeare!

Over the past few years I’ve received several requests for an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but I always felt that I shouldn’t write one. My reasons were numerous, but the main reason was this: I was worried I wouldn’t be able to honor the true spirit of the play while making it accessible to young students. The drama, violence, and romance of the piece requires a certain amount of reverence and seriousness. You cannot be respectful of this beautiful, not to mention famous, piece of work if you lighten it up. There are other people writing Shakespeare adaptations that brush over romantic scenes or cut them out all together. And there are even more adaptations that add humor or melodrama where it doesn’t belong. It is my mission to avoid this at all cost. I aim to write versions of Shakespeare that are accessible without “dumbing”  or “watering” the story (or language!) down. Nevertheless, Romeo and Juliet is the most frequently “required reading” of all Shakespeare’s plays.  I know teachers are desperately looking for something to help them convey the importance of this piece to their students. In the end it was my very conviction to quality that made me change my mind: I want to support YOU by providing a quality adaptation.

My newest adaptation varies a bit from the rest. Not only is it a tragedy, it has a significant amount of original text (maybe 75%?), and does not cut much of the violence or romance. There IS kissing! This is something, I’m sure, teachers and directors will have to cope with when choosing to produce the play in it’s entirety. The kissing also makes this script more (or only?) do-able with older ages. Of course, if you merely plan to read it aloud in class, or act out a few scenes, it can still be used with elementary-aged students.

However you choose to use this script, I hope you and your students enjoy it. Above all else, may it help you open the magical world of Shakespeare to the imaginative minds you work with! Thank YOU for what you do!

Jennifer Mounce, of North Carolina, recently reported back to us regarding the success of her group’s production of Much Ado About Nothing. Jennifer is a homeschool mom of five, and member of a five family homeschool co-op. They cover history, science, writing, art, and music as a group. Every spring their co-op produces a Shakespeare play.

This past winter they chose to work with a Kids Love Shakespeare customized version of Much Ado About Nothing. Jennifer explains, “We chose Kids Love Shakespeare for two reasons: 1. I personally love Much Ado and (Kids Love Shakespeare was) about the only one with a usable version. 2. (Marieka) was so willing to work with us. The script fit us perfectly because it was customized to our group. That is what made it such a stellar performance.” Because the ages of Jennifer’s group’s actors ranged from 4 – 15 years, the customized script enabled every actor to participate at an appropriate level. It provided a few simple lines for the 4 year old, while giving a few longer excerpts of original Shakespearean text to the older students.

Their process as an entire cast was fairly short. Students were given their parts in March and spent the next two months memorizing their lines with their individual families at home. In May, the group came together for three weeks and a total of eleven rehearsals. For this particular group, Jennifer reflects, “it was the perfect amount of time.” She also recommends, if it is possible, to give scripts to students early for memorization. It “allowed us to use our rehearsals more effectively… there was very little forgetting of lines. We were able to stage and block quickly… It took a lot of the headache out of the whole process.”

This particular production was truly a community effort. The five families in the co-op split the cost of the customization. Each family was responsible for costuming their own actors and they had “wonderful grandparents” who created their set. Some of the students helped with costumes and one planned and printed the program.

After a few months of intense work, the group performed once for about fifty audience members. The audience was made up primarily of family and friends but included a few outside community members. Jennifer shares that her favorite memory was watching her students perform in front of a laughing audience. “They had been warned this would happen, but it was hilarious to watch. The kids really fed off the audience in a way I had never seen them (do) before.” Here major regret is that they did not play to perform the play more than once.

The student involved in the production had experience with Shakespeare in the past (having done Macbeth and Hamlet in previous years). This year, however, they truly enjoyed performing a comedy and, as Jennifer reports, “are eager to do another comedy” next year.

When Jennifer suggested the students consider exploring another genre of theatre the students turned her down. She says, “nothing but Shakespeare for this crowd.”

Jennifer was happy to relay that, at their July meeting, the board of her homeschool c0-op unanimously voted to work with Kids Love Shakespeare on next year’s production. Kids Love Shakespeare is looking forward to working on an adaptation of Twelfh Night customized especially for their group!

Teresa Coleman Wash, TeCo's Executive Artistic Director

Kids Love Shakespeare recently received an exciting update from Teresa Coleman Wash, Executive Artistic Director for TeCo Theatrical Productions in Dallas, Texas. TeCo Theatrical Productions is an award-winning multicultural non-profit theatre company whose mission is to cultivate a diverse and vibrant arts community while creating opportunities for local and emerging artists through performance and education. Kids Love Shakespeare was happy to be a part of TeCo’s 2011 T-An-T apprenticeship program by customizing a version of Much Ado About Nothing for their group to  perform.

Ms. Wash’s update to Kid’s Love Shakespeare’s facebook page: “TeCo’s Much Ado About Nothing Cast in Dallas received a standing ovation each night on the show. The customized script made all the difference in the world. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”

For more information on TeCo’s amazing T-An-T program, please enjoy the following article written by Kelly Litzenberger for neighborsgo.com.

Continue reading →

We love to feature (and celebrate!) teachers and classrooms who are exploring the world of William Shakespeare. Please forward photos and/or articles about your classroom to marieka@kidsloveshakespeare.com.

Congratulations to Nancy Price, 2nd and 3rd grade teacher from Oregon for completing a successful study of Shakespeare with her students. Nancy attended Marieka’s workshop at the International Storyline Conference in Portland, Oregon in 2009.

This is an article in which one of Marieka’s classes is featured. She worked with Misha Therrian, another 2nd/3rd grade teacher in Bend, Oregon to produce A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The cast and crew totaled at 53 students. Students were not only responsible for the telling of the story, but for the “designing” as well.