• Prices
• Technical Requirements
• How to Book Your Performance
• Preparing Your Students
• Audience Comments
• History
• Mission and Philosophy
• Meeting The Standards
• FAQs

Touring Prices

For the Spring 2009 touring season, fees are as follows:

• $875 per single performance at your school
• $1,650 for 2 performances on the same day (save $100)

Presenters (venues which plan to sell tickets to the performance) will be charged a higher rate, based on seating capacity and other variables.
Please call 973-408-3980 or email for details.

Financial assistance is available to schools in certain economically disadvantaged or underserved communities. Call 973-408-3980 for details.

A travel fee will be added in most cases.

Currently, travel fees range from $20-$150 (based on mileage) to New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and southern New York and Connecticut. Please call 973-408-3980 or email for a price quote on travel to your school.

Additional charges may apply for overnight stays, travel over 150 miles, or for performances on weekends or after 4:00 pm on weekdays.

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(l-r) Doug West, Ames Adamson, Molly McCann, Michael Rossmy, Roderick Lapid and Mandy Olsen in the Shakespeare LIVE! production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2003. Photo: Warren Westura.

Technical Requirements

Shakespeare LIVE! is designed for a trouble-free performance in most school venues (stages, gymnasiums or multi-purpose rooms).

The basic technical requirements for all venues are as follows:

• A level, unobstructed playing area of at least 20' deep by 25' wide by 14' high.
• Adequate lighting throughout the playing area for actor safety.
• A standard electrical outlet, table and chair in the playing area.
• A private, secure room in which the actors can change and store their belongings throughout their visit to your venue.
• Bottled drinking water (8-10 bottles) at room temperature.

The Shakespeare LIVE! company also requests your cooperation with the following:

• The performance space should be exclusively available to Shakespeare LIVE! (i.e. with no classes or meetings taking place) for 60 minutes prior to the performance.
• The floor in the playing area should be swept and/or mopped prior to our arrival.
• Bells, buzzers and announcements should be silenced in the performance space (if possible).

The Shakespeare LIVE! tour manager may delay or cancel a performance, without refund, if he or she deems the actors' safety to be at risk in any way, or if all technical requirements are not met by the scheduled performance time.

Click here to download a sample copy of the Shakespeare LIVE! technical rider, which details all technical requirements for a touring performance. When you book your performance, this rider will be attached to your touring contract.

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(l-r) Ames Adamson, Michael Rossmy and Molly McCann in the Shakespeare LIVE! production of As You Like It, 2003. Photo: Warren Westura.

How to Book Your Performance

Once you've decided to bring Shakespeare LIVE! to your school or venue, here is the procedure for scheduling and contracting for your performance:

Step 1: Decide on possible dates and times for your performance. During the school week, Shakespeare LIVE! typically performs once in the morning (at about 8:30-9:00 a.m.) and once in the afternoon (at about 1:00 p.m.). Having 3-4 possible performance dates in hand when you call or email will expedite the booking process.

Step 2: Call 973-408-3980 or email to schedule your performance. Please provide us with the show you wish to book, your preferred dates and times for the performance, and the name and mailing address of the school, as well as your contact information.

Step 3: A contract packet will be mailed to you when your performance is confirmed. Each packet includes:

• Performance Contract (2 copies)
• Technical Rider
• Touring Information Form
• Venue Checklist

Step 4: Complete and return the contract paperwork, with your deposit, within 15 business days.

• Sign and return one copy of the Performance Contract.
• Sign and return the Technical Rider (after photocopying it for your records if you wish).
• Fill out the Touring Information Form completely, including detailed driving directions to your venue from major highways.
• Enclose a check or purchase order for the specified deposit amount (usually $100).

Step 5: Return your final payment (as indicated on your contract) at least one week prior to the performance.

Step 6: At least two days before the performance, our Tour Manager will contact you to confirm all details and answer any last-minute questions.

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Roderick Lapid and Molly McCann in the Shakespeare LIVE! production of Romeo and Juliet, 2003. Photo: Warren Westura.

Preparing Your Students

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is committed to making Shakespeare LIVE! a useful and rewarding educational experience for students and teachers alike. This is not just an hour's entertainment, but an educational experience that reinforces students' educational objectives.

Before your performance, teachers have free access to our comprehensive Study Guide for the play you have selected. We strongly encourage you to select and reproduce material from these guides for your students before they attend the performance. Included are sections on Shakespeare's life and art, a synopsis and background material on that particular play, performance and writing activities, and questions for further discussion. Your feedback on the Study Guide is welcomed!

We also encourage you to discuss appropriate audience etiquette with your students. For some of them, this may be their first experience with live theatre, so please discuss, for example, the difference between live theatre and a movie. This will help make the show more rewarding for them and for us!

Following the performance, our actors will engage your students in a 10-15 minute discussion of the play and Shakespeare's works.

Teachers are also encouraged to take advantage of our innovative summer professional development institute, ShakeFest. It is loaded with interactive and insightful activities for making Shakespeare come to life in your classroom.

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Derek Wilson in the Shakespeare LIVE! production of Twelfth Night, 2004. Photo: Warren Westura.

Audience comments

Since its inception in 1997, Shakespeare LIVE! has been receiving acclaim and rave reviews from students, parents and educators. Here is a sampling of what they have told us:

"I am writing to let you know how much my fourth-grade son and I enjoyed seeing A Midsummer Night's Dream.   Your touring group gave a wonderfully skillful and hilarious production of what has long been my favorite play, making it my child's new favorite play as well.   I am particularly impressed by the ease with which this production made Shakespeare accessible to students, while meeting the high standards of adult Shakespeare fans."

Margaret Manzi, parent, Moorestown, NJ

"Just a note to tell you how much I enjoyed yesterday's performance of Romeo and Juliet.   I appreciated the thoughtful paring down of the play so that the essence of the play was captured.   Our students were attentive and involved and clearly enjoyed the production. The ensemble of actors was delightful.   They brought a freshness and vitality to the performance and responded to students' questions with care and thoughtfulness."

Arlene Hyman, Language Arts Supervisor, Millburn, NJ

"The entire school was impressed with the production.   I only heard positive comments.   Personally, I was impressed by the production and how much of the play was included. Cast members were intelligent and articulate in responding to questions from the audience and were most willing to talk to a smaller group of students on the stage after the audience was dismissed.   I hope we can have you back again!"

Terry Burns, English Dept. Chair, The Pennington School, Pennington, NJ

"I wish to thank you very much for sharing with our students a great, live production of Shakespeare.   The students were obviously very receptive to both the play and the question and answer session that followed.   Seldom have I witnessed this level of enthusiasm and interest at a student assembly, no less one relating to an academic theme.   Your production was professional from start to finish, including the acting, sets, and costumes.   Following the play, the novel opportunity to ask the actors questions about themselves and acting made this theatre experience especially memorable."

Jeff Flyer, English teacher, Immaculate Conception H.S., Lodi, NJ

"Thank you so much for the wonderful experience my students had yesterday.   The condensed and energetic presentation captured the attention of these seventh graders and confirmed their love of the play."

JoAnn Dorio-Fyne, teacher, Intermediate West School, Toms River, NJ

"This morning, we had your Shakespeare LIVE! troupe here for A Midsummer Night's Dream. You should be so proud of the work you do.   It is clearly the best thing we ever had [at the school].   Just well done top to bottom!"

Kathy Fridel, parent, Hillside School, Livingston, NJ

"We loved it!   Students and teachers agreed that it was the best children's production they had ever seen.   We would love to have you back with a new play for the elementary level.   Thank you."

Charlene Falkowski, teacher, Valley Road School, Clark, NJ

"I haven't heard a less-than-rave response to your performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.   Everyone loved it. It was a wonderful performance, very physical, lively, energetic.   It held the attention of the entire student body, seven hundred students from grades seven to twelve, for the hour and twenty minutes, and students had nothing but praise for it. What a great way to begin a long week, they said.   Thanks, and again, thanks!"

Jane Ashcom, English Dept. Chair, The Pingry School, Martinsville, NJ

"Bravo to the company of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Shakespeare LIVE! was a great success.   Our students loved the performances and workshops that mesmerized and captured their imaginations... a difficult audience to win over!"

Luba Corichi, Art Therapist, The Rugby School, Wall, NJ

"My children and I saw Shakespeare LIVE! yesterday at Appel Farm in Elmer, NJ. Your production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was fantastic! I was delighted that my children (ages 9 and 7) were able to follow the plot… The adaptation was especially suited for them and, because the actors were so expressive and energetic, my kids laughed in all the right places. Thank you for giving them a wonderful ‘first Shakespeare' experience!"

Sharon McMullen, parent

"We had a great time at your performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. We've never seen such a spectacular show or had such a good time."        

5th grade students, Alexander Hamilton School, Morristown, NJ

"[Hamlet] was by far the best performance ever at our school! Great job!!"

Karen Glasgow, English teacher, Mt. St. Joseph Academy, Flourtown, PA

"[Hamlet was] one of the best experiences I've had in 35 years of teaching theatre and English. Thanks again and again to the actors and stage manager."

Guy Suabedissen, teacher, Bridgewater-Raritan High School, Bridgewater, NJ

"This was the first time we had your group come to our school, and we loved it! Your performers did an excellent job not only performing, but also answering student's questions enthusiastically. We are looking forward to booking you in the future! Both the students and the teachers had a great time. Thanks!"

Jennifer Sisco, English teacher, Linden High School, Linden, NJ

"I want to thank the members of the [Shakespeare LIVE!] company for an oustanding production of Hamlet. The production and the acting was of the highest quality. I also applaud the interaction between the actors and students after the performance. I cannot express my gratitude enough for the impact of this production upon our student body."

Kenneth Jennings, Assistant Principal, Benedictine Academy, Elizabeth, NJ

Email your feedback on Shakespeare LIVE! to jbgrant@shakespearenj.org

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(l-r) Doug West, Roderick Lapid, Amanda Duffy and Ames Adamson in the Shakespeare LIVE! production of Romeo and Juliet, 2003. Photo: Warren Westura.

History

Since its inception in February 1997, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Shakespeare LIVE! educational touring company has almost 400,000 young people in New Jersey, New York and beyond. Its productions have been hailed as innovative, visually stunning and accessible to students while maintaining the eloquent imagery and rich poetry that has made Shakespeare's plays compelling for over four centuries.

The program has evolved from humble beginnings, with 11 tours in its first season, to now well over 100 each year. With the ambitious goal of ensuring that no New Jersey student graduates from high school without having seen Shakespeare performed on stage, the Theatre has endeavored over the years to build this program into an exemplary and outstanding catalyst for learning and for creating an enthusiastic audience for the future.

In 2004, Shakespeare LIVE! was selected as one of just 22 theatre companies nationwide to participate in the Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation program, an initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Since then, this prestigious award has been renewed annually.

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Mission & Philosophy

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey has a long-standing commitment to the development and education of young audiences. By bringing the excitement of live performance directly into the schools, the Theatre presents young people with an intimate and captivating "front row seat" from which they can explore the world around them.

Unlike other entertainment mediums, live theatre is an immediate and personal art form which, by its very nature, invites the audience to become an active participant. Like a kind of alchemy, the magic of theatre transforms simple words and elements as basic as paint, rhinestones and glitter into glistening visions of the world. For a generation increasingly isolated by the internet and desensitized by a barrage of mass media images and sound bites, Shakespeare LIVE! offers an exciting alternative: experiences that are entertaining, enriching and interactive. We invite you and your students to experience Shakespeare in a whole new way with Shakespeare LIVE!

As we continue forth into the 21st century, the Theatre strengthens its resolve to not only educate, but to also inspire students and teachers alike. Included with each performance is a comprehensive Study Guide, designed by the Theatre's education staff to give students a deeper understanding of the classics and the particular work they are viewing -- a valuable tool for pre-show preparation and post-performance reflection. Following every performance, students are invited to participate in a lively post-show discussion with the artists, giving them a unique opportunity to express their thoughts and examine the work more deeply.

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Meeting the standards

By bringing Shakespeare LIVE! into the school and engaging in activities found in our extensive Study Guides, teachers are able to help students meet the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in the areas of Visual and Performing Arts, Language Arts Literacy and Social Studies.

Visual and Performing Arts Standards

The Visual and Performing Arts Standards require students to experience, perform and comment on various artforms. A Shakespeare LIVE! performance at your school, and incorporation of the study guide exercises, will help meet the following Curriculum Content Standards:

• STANDARD 1.1– All students will acquire knowledge and skills that increase aesthetic awareness in dance, music, theatre and visual arts.
• STANDARD 1.2– All students will refine perceptual, physical and technical skills through creating dance, music, theatre and/or visual arts.
• STANDARD 1.4– All students will demonstrate knowledge of the process of critique.
• STANDARD 1.5– All students will identify the various historical, social and cultural influences and traditions which generated artistic accomplishments throughout the ages, and which continue to shape contemporary arts.

Language Arts Literacy Standards

Active listening and responding to what has been presented are two major aspects of the Language Arts Literacy Standards. A Shakespeare LIVE! performance can be used as a springboard to help students meet the following Standards:

• STANDARD 3.2– All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.
• STANDARD 3.3– All students will speak in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.
• STANDARD 3.4– All students will listen actively to information from a variety of sources in a variety of situations.

Social Studies Standards

Gaining an awareness and understanding of various cultures and cultural influences throughout history is part of the root of theSocial Studies Standards. A Shakespeare LIVE! performance can, once again, be used as a springboard to help students meet the following Standard:

• STANDARD 6.2– All students will learn democratic citizenship through the humanities, by studying literature, art, history and philosophy, and related fields.

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