Nebraska Shakespeare

As You Like It Tour, Camps Aimed at Kids

Nebraska Shakespeare in Omaha is reaching out to young people with a touring production of William Shakespeare's As You Like It in the fall and its annual Camp Shakespeare programs in the summer.

This year's As You Like It, touring Sept. 28–Oct. 24 to schools and communities, is the company's 10th annual On Tour program, which takes Shakespeare's plays and adapts them into 75-minute productions to fit into a school-day schedule. Each professionally acted and designed performance concludes with a post-show discussion to allow further critical thinking about Shakespeare and his works.

This production of As You Like It will focus on Shakespeare's great female protagonists, Rosalind and Celia, as they discover the meaning of loss, love, and true friendship. Inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, this production will dive down the rabbit hole to uncover the playful, whimsical side of this classic Shakespeare comedy.

Also offered is a new workshop titled "Merely Players" in which students will discuss and explore the gender performance and cross-gendering in the play. Using creative character and movement development techniques, students will discover in which ways the gender restrictions of Elizabethan England influenced Shakespeare's work and will explore how our current culture can create and define such roles for a modern society.

Nebraska Shakespeare's On Tour production and workshops fulfill the new Nebraska fine arts standards as follow:

• FA 12.5.1—Students will dramatize ideas and events using linear and nonlinear plot structures;
• FA 12.5.2—Students will perform ideas and events through movement, speech, and staging for an intended audience;
• FA 12.5.3—Students will analyze and evaluate audience/performance relationship.

Nebraska Shakespeare's On Tour's mission is to reach as much of Nebraska and surrounding areas as possible. The company has financial aid, grants, and generous sponsors to assist any interested school or community. Nebraska Shakespeare On Tour also offers pre- and post-show discussions as well as acting, Shakespeare text, and stage combat workshops.

From taking the first steps into a lifelong love of Shakespeare to diving deeper into Shakespeare's text and stories, Camp Shakespeare, June 22–July 5, offers students an opportunity to experience firsthand Shakespearean theater.

The camp is divided into three levels: Jester (ages 8–11), Apprentice (ages 12–14), and  Player (ages 15–18). Working with the professional artists and educators of Nebraska Shakespeare, participants will engage in interactive exercises and activities to build confidence and knowledge in acting, stage combat, and Shakespeare. Participants will get to tour the set and costume shops, meet professional designers, work with professional Shakespeare On The Green actors, receive a souvenir t-shirt, and rehearse and perform Shakespeare's work.

The schedule of performances is July 3 for the Jesters (5:30 p.m. indoor, 6:30 p.m., On The Green), July 5 for Apprentices (6 p.m. indoor, 7 p.m. On The Green), and July 3 for Players (6 p.m. indoor, 7 p.m. On The Green).

By signing up before the end of January, families can take advantage of an early-bird special offer of $150 per attendee, a savings of $25.

For more information on either the On Tour program or Camp Shakespeare, contact Sarah Carlson-Brown, education director, at 402-689-7614 or e-mail her at carlson-brown@nebraskashakespeare.com. To register for Camp Shakespeare, click here.

January 16, 2014

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