Shakesperience: NJ
Annual statewide Shakespeare festival for schools

A student from Columbia HS performs a scene from Hamlet, 2008.
A student from Columbia High School (Maplewood, NJ)l performs a scene from Hamlet during the 2008 Shakesperience:NJ Festival. Photo copyright Andrew Murad, 2008.

May 18-20, 2009

at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

May 20-21, 2009

at Rider University

Shakesperience: NJ is a non-competitive forum for students in grades 5-12 to spend an entire day together engaging in live Shakespeare— as actors and as audience members.

Shakesperience: NJ is the result of a partnership between The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Rider University, and the Folger Shakespeare Library, institutions dedicated to advancing learning and the arts, with a shared belief in the power of Shakespeare in performance.

Application/Informational materials :

On the fence? Learn more at a Pre-Festival Workshop.

As an educator, it gave me great ideas on how to approach teaching Shakespeare through performance rather than simply by reading. My students were amazed at how beautifully some schools performed. They learned that you have to actually see Shakespeare to understand it.

Michele Giorgio, English teacher,
Weehawken High School,

2008 Shakesperience:NJ participant

A typical day at Shakesperience:NJ has several components. Some 6-8 different schools will perform diverse Shakespeare scenes for their peers— from slapstick to high tragedy, the scenes run the gamut of the possible, but each is greeted with thunderous applause.

Between scenes, volunteers from the audience are led by our Master (or Mistress) of the Revels in some of the silliest educational activities ever staged. These allow students from different schools to laugh together, forget about their nerves, and hopefully learn a bit more about Shakespeare in the process.

Students from different schools take the stage for learning activities.
Students make new friends and earn big laughs during the wacky, fast-paced activities between scenes at the Shakesperience:NJ Festival. Photo copyright Andrew Murad, 2008.

After the last school takes its bows, we present an hour of enlightening entertainment, from Shakespeare abridged to the ins-and-outs of Elizabethan stage bloodshed.

Finally, we celebrate the day's triumphs with a tangible token of participation for every student and prizes for special achievement, awarded by a panel of theatre professional and educators. In keeping with the day's non-competitive nature, these awards look for unexpected moments of brilliance: the actor who steps up in a small role or the musician who contributes without a single word. (These are not the "Shakespeare Tonys".) The panel also offers

some constructive critique to each group.

We had a fantastic time! The kids are STILL talking about it.

Suzanne Houston , Theatre teacher,
Dunellen High School,

2008 Shakesperience:NJ participant

It was wonderful to see so much Shakespeare in one place... The fact that the students got the chance to see these stories and techniques come to life was priceless.

Briana Dixon, Theatre/English teacher,
Hillsborough High School,

2008 Shakesperience:NJ participant

Those teachers who haven't previously taken part are encouraged to attend a free Pre-Festival Workshop, where we'll walk you through each step in the process, from casting your scene to collecting your book awards at the Festival. Participants will also received 3 hours of NJ Professional Development credit.

2009 Pre-Festival Workshops are scheduled for:

Wed., Feb. 11, 1-4pm

Sat., Feb. 14, 9am-noon

Space is limited, so please register ASAP for the date of your choice.

If you have questions or need additional information, please email jbgrant@shakespearenj.org or call (973) 408-3980.

Shakesperience:NJ at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is sponsored by JPMorgan Chase Foundation.