Shakespeare in Action
Encyclopedia
Shakespeare in Action is a Toronto
-based, multi-racial Shakespearean
theatre company for young audiences. The company aspires to enhance the arts
and education
by bringing Shakespeare's plays
to children and students across Toronto. Founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Michael Kelly, Shakespeare in Action offers a wide variety of programming for students, teachers and the community, including in-class workshops, mainstage productions, summer programs and more. In 2009 the company became the Artist Company in Residence at Toronto's Central Commerce Collegiate Institute
. The company also partners with TD Bank
and the Toronto Public Library
to produce the Shakespeare for Kids Library Club, a free program where children learn how to act out Shakespeare's plays themselves.
The company focuses on demystifying Shakespeare’s language by locating the characters in today’s world and encouraging students to attach themselves to the stories within the play. The company’s mainstage productions use Shakespeare’s original text, and their workshops and youth programs help students to work through the text, often through group performance, inspiring them to think about the historical background of the plays and the process behind production. The company's workshops and other programmes use Shakespeare's language as an opportunity for students to learn by doing.
Shakespeare in Action is a non-profit organization registered with the Canadian Revenue Agency
. They operate under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Actors' Equity Association
, hiring only professional actors, and have memberships with many professional organizations including the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts
and Theatre Ontario.
Shakespeare in Action was founded in 1988 by Michael Kelly, a classically trained actor who has worked in Canada and the United States teaching Shakespeare. In 1991, the company performed for young offenders in prison, and from 1993-1996 toured productions of Romeo and Juliet
, Julius Caesar
, Macbeth
and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to schools in the Greater Toronto Area
. In 1996, they began producing mainstage productions, starting with Romeo and Juliet. In 1999, they traveled to New Zealand
to work with the National Youth Drama School and Shakespeare Globe Centre
. In 2006, they partnered with the Toronto Public Library
to create the Shakespeare for Kids Library Club. Over the past few years, the company has expanded its programming and has become the Artist Company in Residence at Central Commerce Collegiate Institute just west of downtown Toronto. Shakespeare in Action has served over 500,000 audience members in its 22 years.
for The Stratford Festival, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival
and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
in London. Michael is a part-time member of the Theatre Faculty at York University
. He has also taught acting at George Brown College
, Randolph Academy for the Arts, and the National Youth Drama School in New Zealand
.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-based, multi-racial Shakespearean
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
theatre company for young audiences. The company aspires to enhance the arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
by bringing Shakespeare's plays
Shakespeare's plays
William Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. Traditionally, the 37 plays are divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being...
to children and students across Toronto. Founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Michael Kelly, Shakespeare in Action offers a wide variety of programming for students, teachers and the community, including in-class workshops, mainstage productions, summer programs and more. In 2009 the company became the Artist Company in Residence at Toronto's Central Commerce Collegiate Institute
Central Commerce Collegiate
Central Commerce Collegiate is a public, semestered secondary school located in the Palmerston-Little Italy neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
. The company also partners with TD Bank
Toronto-Dominion Bank
The Toronto-Dominion Bank , is the second-largest bank in Canada by market capitalization and based on assets. It is also the sixth largest bank in North America. Commonly known as TD and operating as TD Bank Group, the bank was created in 1955 through the merger of the Bank of Toronto and the...
and the Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...
to produce the Shakespeare for Kids Library Club, a free program where children learn how to act out Shakespeare's plays themselves.
Mandate and History
Shakespeare in Action seeks to inspire audiences of all ages, and believes that Shakespeare can and should be accessible to everyone, regardless of age, race, education or socio-economic background. The acting company is diverse and multi-racial.The company focuses on demystifying Shakespeare’s language by locating the characters in today’s world and encouraging students to attach themselves to the stories within the play. The company’s mainstage productions use Shakespeare’s original text, and their workshops and youth programs help students to work through the text, often through group performance, inspiring them to think about the historical background of the plays and the process behind production. The company's workshops and other programmes use Shakespeare's language as an opportunity for students to learn by doing.
Shakespeare in Action is a non-profit organization registered with the Canadian Revenue Agency
Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency is a federal agency that administers tax laws for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories, international trade legislation, and various social and economic benefit and incentive programs delivered through the tax system...
. They operate under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Actors' Equity Association
Canadian Actors' Equity Association
Canadian Actors' Equity Association is an association of performers in English Canada who are engaged in live performances before paying audiences in theatre, opera and dance...
, hiring only professional actors, and have memberships with many professional organizations including the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts
Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts
Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts is an arts service organization representing professional theatre, dance and opera companies in the City of Toronto. Amongst their 175 members are the Canadian Opera Company, Luminato, Factory Theatre, Mirvish Productions, and Theatre Passe Muraille...
and Theatre Ontario.
Shakespeare in Action was founded in 1988 by Michael Kelly, a classically trained actor who has worked in Canada and the United States teaching Shakespeare. In 1991, the company performed for young offenders in prison, and from 1993-1996 toured productions of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to schools in the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
. In 1996, they began producing mainstage productions, starting with Romeo and Juliet. In 1999, they traveled to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
to work with the National Youth Drama School and Shakespeare Globe Centre
Shakespeare's Globe Centres
thumb|300px|The reconstructed Globe in LondonThe Shakespeare's Globe Centres are international centres for theatrical education and for the promotion of the Shakespeare's Globe in London, their nucleus organisation.-Shakespeare Globe Centre Canada:...
. In 2006, they partnered with the Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...
to create the Shakespeare for Kids Library Club. Over the past few years, the company has expanded its programming and has become the Artist Company in Residence at Central Commerce Collegiate Institute just west of downtown Toronto. Shakespeare in Action has served over 500,000 audience members in its 22 years.
Artistic Director
Michael Kelly is the founder and artistic director of Shakespeare in Action. He is an actor, director, producer, teacher, and arts educator who has directed many contemporary and Shakespearean plays and taught master classesMaster class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts....
for The Stratford Festival, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival
Kentucky Shakespeare Festival
'Kentucky Shakespeare', commonly called Shakespeare in the Park, is a cultural event which features free Shakespeare performances every summer in Central Park in Old Louisville . Begun as the Carriage House Players in 1949, it is the oldest free professional and independently-operating Shakespeare...
and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based...
in London. Michael is a part-time member of the Theatre Faculty at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
. He has also taught acting at George Brown College
George Brown College
George Brown College is a public, fully accredited college of applied arts and technology with three full campuses in downtown Toronto, Ontario...
, Randolph Academy for the Arts, and the National Youth Drama School in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.