At the heart of the weekend is a simple idea: Shakespeare is something to be DONE. Join Santa Cruz Shakespeare for their upcoming artist-educator workshops with Bright Torches. This weekend is designed for elementary, middle and high school educators, university educators and students, teaching artists, professional actors, arts education practitioners and Shakespeare enthusiasts. Participants will leave with practical activities, principles and approaches they can use immediately in classrooms, rehearsal rooms and workshops. Participants will speak, move, question, collaborate, experiment and play — experiencing activities for themselves before considering how they can be adapted for their own students and settings.

This event is open to everyone. Limited free registration available for UCSC affiliates.

DAY ONE: Macbeth
Using Macbeth as our shared text, participants will explore practical ways into Shakespeare’s story, language, characters and ideas. Activities will model approaches that encourage active interpretation, close reading, ensemble work, discussion and confident engagement with Shakespeare’s language.

DAY TWO: Twelfth Night
Day Two will develop and deepen the work through Twelfth Night, applying the principles to a very different play and introducing further activities and ways of working.

No advance knowledge of either play is required.

Tom Davey trained as an actor at RADA and has 20 years’ experience performing on stage and screen. He spent two years at the Royal Shakespeare Company playing lead roles. Over the last 14 years, alongside his acting, he has worked as an education practitioner, supporting theatre education programmes at the RSC, The Young Vic, Good Chance Theatre, London Shakespeare Workout Prison Project and, most notably, Shakespeare’s Globe where he was a learning consultant for many years.

Tas Emiabata trained as an actor at Rose Bruford College, London and has worked internationally as an actor on UK, Australian, and American film and television. Holding an Applied Theatre Master’s Degree from Goldsmith’s College (UCL), and over twenty years’ experience working at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, the main thrust of his work centers on a rigorous exploration of the text, coupled with the use of experiential ‘play’ as a tool for revealing and understanding themes, character, language, motivation, staging, and the relevance of Shakespeare’s’ work today.

For more information: Santa Cruz Shakespeare