Classroom Residencies | Afterschool Programs | Home School Programs
To support student achievement and teacher professional development, Cal Shakes brings Teaching Artists into the schools with the aim of developing students' imaginative and academic minds and voices.
Arts Integration Collaborations
Supports the Teaching of Required Academic Curriculum
Arts Integration collaborations partner classroom teachers with Cal Shakes Teaching Artists to integrate arts-based strategies into core curriculum subjects such as English and History. We deliver customized, arts-based instruction to their students during a series of 8-10 sessions. Using a team-teaching approach, Residencies allow students to tap into the artistic experience and their own imaginations in the context of meeting specific curriculum objectives. Theater arts-based activities include performance, playwriting, text, and character analysis, infusing more fun into the learning process, and helping students improve a range of academic, creative, and critical thinking skills. Students are more engaged and successful in school, develop their own artistic voices, and enlarge their capacity for community participation.
This approach has yielded proven results, with literacy scores increasing dramatically in just weeks. Appropriate for 4th-12th graders.
For more information or to schedule a residency please call Emily Morrison, Program Manager of Artistic Learning, at emorrison@calshakes.org or 510.548.3422 x127.
Feedback regarding past residencies
“Cal Shakes artists have helped me understand how to make Shakespeare come alive for the students. From warm-ups to get energy and community flowing to discussions and acting exercises around character motivation, the teaching artist has given me wonderful tools to work with as I teach the plays each year. This year, for the first time, I as a teacher felt confident enough to implement some of the teaching methods used by Elizabeth [Carter, Teaching Artist] in the classes she did not conduct a Residency in. For example, I used vocal warm-ups I learned from our artist, and it was great to feel like I could do Julius Caesar scene work with kids because I had learned from Cal Shakes teaching artists. My English Language Learners really responded with enthusiasm to the Residency. A few had not really participated much in the class, and what was interesting to see was that some students gained confidence to read aloud even when our artist was not there.”
-Jennifer Dannenberg, classroom teacher at Skyline High School (Oakland)
“This is my fourth year and it just keeps getting better. The program runs smoothly and the students love it. The parents came to see their students perform "King Lear" last week and they are still raving about what a great experience it was for their children. They do not have as great a fear of speaking up in class and are much more willing to participate in class discussions. I love the program and wouldn't change a thing.”
-Linda Roshay, classroom teacher at Charlotte Wood Middle School (San Ramon)
“I am writing in support of the terrific educational programs that Cal Shakes provides for young people. Having had their team work with our students over the past three years, I am convinced that their efforts have had tremendous, positive, and important benefits to our students. We continue to seek every opportunity to work with Cal Shakes and will continue to do so in the future.”
- Bruce Holaday, Superintendent of Oakland Military Institute
“Exceptional learning and teaching experience. Tremendous growth and interest in Shakespeare and acting by students inspired by Ms. Tillman [Teaching Artist]…Overall - an inspiration and breathtaking experience to see students handily perform so well! The parents who came were so very appreciative.”
- Anne Ferrell, classroom teacher at Claremont Middle School (Oakland)
Cal Shakes’ 2010 Classroom Residencies are underwritten in part by the Dale Family Fund
Afterschool ProgramsJoin Cal Shakes after school! Our programs take place on your Bay Area school’s campus and offer six-to-15-week sessions focusing on acting, improvisation, Shakespeare, and/or any other theatrical discipline you might like for your students.
For more information or to set up an afterschool program at your school, contact Samantha Fryer at 510.548.3422 x105 or sfryer@calshakes.org
We offer many kinds of afterschool programs. Here are some examples of our classes:
STORYBOOK THEATER (recommended for grades K-2)
There's a lot to be learned from a children's story–how to be nimble and quick enough to jump over a candlestick; how to, like the three little pigs, learn from experience and work together; and much, much more. Each week in Storybook Theater, students explore and experience a new story from around the world, building skills in acting, ensemble, movement, and creative problem solving while bringing literature to life.
Recommended: eight one-hour sessions.INTRO TO SHAKESPEARE (recommended for grades 3-5)
In this class, students explore acting basics through the lens of one of the greatest playwrights of all time. In addition to theater games, young actors will learn how to break down Shakespeare’s language, practice basic stage combat techniques, and rehearse and perform scenes. Families are invited to fill the role of enthusiastic audience for a final presentation.
Recommended: 10 one-hour sessions.ACTING/PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP (recommended for elementary & middle school)
Students explore their imagination in Cal Shakes Acting/Performance Workshop. In this class, students will transform themselves into a variety of characters while learning acting fundamentals and theatrical skills, improving their capacity for vocal expression and physicality. They will also work as an ensemble towards a final production (project TBD). Using scenes from contemporary playwrights, our budding actors will learn lines, explore improvisation and other theater games, and discover how to best tap into their creativity.
Recommended: 10 one-hour sessions.INTERMEDIATE SHAKESPEARE (recommended for grades 6-8)
In this class, middle-school students delve more deeply into Shakespeare’s most famous plays. Developing acting, voice, movement, and text skills, students will apply their work performing scenes from Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and others. Designed for young actors with some familiarity with Shakespeare, students will have fun and be challenged as they continue to discover Shakespeare's characters through the original text, culminating in a performance for friends and family.
Recommended: 10 one-hour sessions.
One-time workshops are also available. For more information, contact Samantha Fryer at 510.548.3422 x105 or sfryer@calshakes.org
Home School Programs
ACTING SHAKESPEARE: A PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP FOR HOME SCHOOL STUDENTS
Using A Midsummer Night’s Dream as inspiration, this comprehensive workshop offers young performers the opportunity to develop and strengthen their acting toolkits. Utilizing classical and contemporary approaches and techniques, students will explore breath and voice work, movement and physicality, text and scene analysis, and acting with emotional honesty. Actors are given a practical set of exercises and resources to enhance their creative process and increase the impact of their work on the stage. The class culminates with a performance for friends and family.
Register: Contact Ava Jackson at 510.809.3293 or ajackson@calshakes.org