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 "Shakes Alive!" partners Antaeus with Los Angeles-area middle and high schools to bring the magic of the classics to underserved and at–risk youth. In ten-week workshops at underserved middle and high schools, Antaeus teaching artists – actors often recognizable from television and film – come into the classroom to interact, perform, instruct and enliven Shakespeare's text. Through a process of interactive play with character, plot, poetry, history, theme and language, students release inhibitions, become more inquisitive and develop stronger cooperation skills. |
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Group exercises, improvisation, debate and discussion stimulate and deepen critical thinking skills, empathy and insight. Many students who have never participated in theater or attended a live performance gain their first opportunity to personally interact with professional actors. In weekly sessions with us, students master new skills, find inspiration in their coursework and learn to communicate more effectively with adults and peers - all while meeting California State Educational Standards and the students' course curriculum. |
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| Thanks in part to a grant from The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, we recently began "Project 29" at the William Tell Aggeler Opportunity School in Chatsworth, connecting at-risk students with Shakespeare's at-risk characters. These teenagers, many of whom have been convicted of felonies and all of whom have faced what most of us would perceive as insurmountable obstacles, worked with our ensemble members on the disenfranchised brothers, Edgar and Edmund, from King Lear. They immersed themselves in this great masterpiece of family drama that in many ways mirrored their own relationship issues and feelings of loss. This sense of connectedness helps address their own isolation and prepare them to meet life's challenges. |
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