The Young Shakespeareans

"Hearing the name William Shakespeare didn’t mean much to 5th-grade me; sure, he’s the guy who wrote Romeo and Juliet. But joining The Young Shakespeareans turned out to be one of the greatest choices I’ve ever made. Suddenly, I was excited to audition for a part in Macbeth. Honestly, I was afraid I wouldn't meet my memorization deadline, but then I found 21 lines in our version of Macbeth would become my specialty. The memories made during that year of Shakespeare were unforgettable. I became the loyal messenger, Ross, and learned the important tricks of literary devices and iambic pentameter.

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Of course, the next year in 6th-grade I signed up for TYS. I was excited to be in the play Romeo and Juliet and I auditioned for the Nurse. We had been in workshops and had just had our first sword play instruction session when school closed. But it didn’t take long for TYS to find an alternative new way for us to perform that was really memorable - my entire family watched my performance online and brought flowers to my bedroom. The Nurse became one of my favorite characters from Romeo and Juliet. I admired her humorous personality and how she cared for Juliet, and the Covid Zoomie we created proved that if I could do Shakespeare, I could do anything. 

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My entire online 7th-grade year was full of Shakespeare, and in my leadership class, I played 2 to 3 characters. It was a wild ride, even receiving green screen equipment and lights, and using Snapchat filters for costumes. Then during 8th-grade, I signed up for a TYS workforce program. I couldn’t believe it; I would get actually get paid to study Shakespeare - it was a match made in heaven. I had my first VoiceOver acting experience that Ms. Alison personally trained me with, and played the part of Lady Macbeth, too (5th-grade me was so happy). During this time, I also got involved in all parts of the production; I was a tech for a while, then a zombie-soldier actor and co-teacher. 

6

The tech experience from middle school prepared me for my most recent experience with The Young Shakespeareans where I designed the lighting and helped with the hair and makeup of West Vernon Elementary’s 4th and 5th-graders. Seeing these children who were the same age I was when I started in TYS made me realize how much I’ve grown. 

6

The Young Shakespeareans program has largely influenced my life. When my 10th-grade English teacher was surprised by my ease in reading Shakespeare, I smiled and answered with three letters: TYS. I’m now brave enough to spontaneously act out Marc Antony’s monologue, something I never would have even tried six years ago. TYS has definitely made me become a stronger and more confident character, and person!"

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                                                                                          Shirley, 11th Grade