OSU and Ohio Teachers Embrace Shakespeare

Through a unique partnership between Ohio State and the UK’s Royal Shakespeare Company, 20 public schoolteachers from central Ohio are spending the next week working as an educational ensemble in the Bard’s hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Led by the Arts Initiative at Ohio State, the group is the first in America to train under the RSC’s renowned program for school children called “Stand Up for Shakespeare.”

Says Karen Bell (below), associate vice president and leader of the Arts Initiative, “This is an incredible opportunity for all of us – the school teachers, Ohio State, the RSC and ultimately school children in Ohio – to embrace the Royal Shakespeare Company’s educational philosophies and work hand-in-hand with RSC educators and actors. We are currently immersing ourselves into Shakespeare’s hometown, taking in the sights and sounds and history, and are really looking forward to the educational program that starts tomorrow.”

That program, called Stand Up for Shakespeare,” encourages people to:
• Do it on your feet – explore plays actively and practically in the classroom, as actors do
• See it live – see live performances
• Start it earlier – introduce Shakespeare to younger age groups.

The week-long teacher education program, facilitated by Brian Edmiston, College of Education and Human Ecology, will promote literacy, drama education and leadership in Ohio public schools. Teachers will work each day with educators and actors from the RSC. While in Stratford, the group will also see several performances by the RSC, including The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar and As You Like It.

Teachers (shown above in front of Shakespeare’s birthplace), come from three central Ohio STEM schools and include: Meka Pace, Cory Neugebauer and Andrea McAllister (Metro High School); Danielle Berring, Melissa Henderson, Kate Moore, Timothy Wangler, Megan Ballinger, Amanda Blake, Kristina Bossa and Robyn Lewis (Linden McKinley High School and its feeder Schools in Columbus City Schools); and Kathy Hoover, Harry Gee, Matt Freeman, Lauraine Camm, Amy McKibben, Anna Meyer, Janet Benedict, Lorraine Gaughenbaugh and Aubrey Gibson (Reynoldsburg City Schools).

We’ll be following their experiences daily for the next week on this blog.
Boats on the River Avon.
The Royal Shakespeare Company's Theatre is undergoing major reconstruction at the moment. We will see performances at the amazing thrust-stage Courtyard Theatre.