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Endowment National Arts for the SHAKESPEARE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN Engagement with great poetry in a dramatic setting is one of the most important learning we opportunities can provide young people in this country. These experiences develop intelligence on many levels and impact students' lives far beyond the English Literature classroom. They not only improve language skills, but also awaken empathy for others, and thus help to define the aesthetic and ethical standards of a culture. — & Tina Packer, artistic director, Shakespeare Company The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nations largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, Agreatnation deservesgreatart. including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding D W E S T across boundaries. One ofsix non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest's history spans more than 25 years. COVER: The Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of The Tempest. PHOTO BY RICHARD TERMINE CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE Since 2003 the National Endowment for the Arts has supported the largest government-sponsored theatrical program since the Federal WPA Theatre Project of the era. Shakespeare in American Communities is an initiative that helps fund theater companies to tour new productions of Shakespeare. It started modestly as the biggest tour of Shakespeare in — American history but it has grown. The NEA Shakespeare program has now involved more than 65 theater companies from more than 35 states. It has provided work for well over 1,000 actors (not counting all the directors, designers, costumers, and crew). It already has sponsored performances in more than 1,700 municipalities across all 50 states, including small towns, inner-city — neighborhoods, and military bases and the number of cities visited grows every month. Hundreds of presenters have booked the plays, many of them offering a production of serious drama for the first time. Most important, almost a million high school students have now seen a professional production of Shakespeare. For many of these kids this performance marked their first experience with professional spoken theater. The Shakespeare in American Communities program works like other NEA grant categories. Individual theater companies apply to join the Chairman Gioia at the program, and their applications are reviewed by an independent panel of Shakespeare in American Communities celebration theater professionals. The companies choose the plays they want to tour, on Capitol Hill. make all the artistic decisions from the production concept to the casting, PHOTO BY STEVEN PURCELL and line up schools for touring performances or to bring students into the theater. The NEA and our partner, Arts Midwest, coordinate the granting process and create collateral materials to support the companies in their activities. The NEA created free classroom materials, including films, an audio guide, a teachers guide, and more, to support teaching Shakespeare in high schools. These educational materials have been used by more than 16 million students to enhance their understanding and appreciation for the language and theatricality of Shakespeare's plays. Our goal with Shakespeare in American Communities, indeed with all of our National Initiatives, is to combine arts presentation with arts education while bringing the best in the arts to the broadest possible audience. C^Bw,^'' Dana Gioia Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES 1 ' 1 Shakespeare above is all writers. .the poet of nature; . up the poet that holds to his readers a faithful mirrour of manners and of )) life. — Samuel Johnson SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES 2 ABOUT SHAKESPEARE AMERICAN IN COMMUNITIES How Started it It was audacious from the start. Then itjust got bigger. "It" was Shakespeare in American Communities, the largest tour of Shakespeare in American The Acting Company's history. First announcing the program performance of Shakespeare, but production of Richard III in on April 23, 2003 (William has reached many millions more Phase I of Shakespeare in American Communities. Shakespeare's 439th birthday), through multimedia educational PHOTO BY RICHARD TERMINE National Endowment for the Arts toolkits available free to teachers. Chairman Dana Gioia revealed the From inner cities to rural towns to agency's ambition to "revitalize the military bases, Shakespeare in longstanding Ameri—can theatrical American Communities continues tradition of touring bringing the to support new productions by best of live theater to new audiences." hundreds of American theater An advisory board of distinguished artists and represents the Arts American authors and artists known Endowment's commitment to artistic as the Players' Guild was formed. excellence and public outreach. This group included such luminaries as critic Harold Bloom, directorJulie Reviving an American Taymor, and actors Michael York and Tradition James Earl Jones. Topping that impressive roster were Mrs. Laura America's love affair with Shakespeare Bush and then-Motion Picture predates its establishment as a nation. Association of America President and Colonists often included volumes of CEO, the lateJack Valenti. The latter Shakespeare among the few and two agreed to serve as honorary treasured possessions that they chairs for the project. carried with them on their passage to — Once it was launched, there the new world to the astonishment was no reining this program in. of European visitors like Alexis dc Shakespeare in American Tocqueville. Throughout the Nth Communities spread across the century Shakespeare remained the country, introducing a new generation most popular author in America. His of Americans to the greatest writer in plays were frequently celebrated in the English language. Over the past opulent theaters and on makeshift four years it has brought superb live stages in saloons, churches, and theater to more than 1,700 towns hotels across the country across all 50 states, reaching new Throughout most of our history the audiences in communities that have majority ol Americans from ever) little opportunity to experience live, social class and various ethnic professional theater. backgrounds knew his most famous The NEAs Shakespeare program speeches by heart Only in the 20th has brought almost one million century did Shakespeares relationship students to a professional with the American public begin to SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES ———— change. His plays gradually began to together and inspired a renewed be regarded as high rather than interest in the theatrical arts. popular culture. The once universally The program also has received accessible dramatist had become our enthusiastic recognition in hundreds — most sacred dramatist to whom of publications, including articles in most audiences were not able to The Christian Science Monitor, The relate. Wall StreetJournal, USA Today, The Although he remains the most New York Times, Readers Digest, The widely produced playwright in New Criterion, and American Theatre America, many of our youth have had magazine. few opportunities to experience high- Theater companies participating quality presentations of Shakespeare. in the national tour made a special Until now. effort to visit schools, supplementing their performances with workshops, The National Tour - Phase lectures, and other activities in each I community. The Arts Endowment The Arts Endowment didn't know it supported this goal with the creation then, but its ambitious year-long tour of the Shakespeare in American of six companies through all 50 states Communities teacher toolkit, a eventually would come to be known multimedia educational resource as "Phase 1" because the program distributed free to teachers would continue to grow. It began in nationwide. Educational efforts were September 2003 with six companies, also supplemented by The Sallie Mae selected to carry out performances Fund, which supported 50 free tickets and educational activities in all 50 for students at each performance states through November 2004: while also underwriting other • The Acting Company (New York, NY)—Richard 111 Shakespeare in American Communities activities. • Aquila Theatre Company (New York, NY)—Othello By the end of the first phase, the program had reached many unlikely • Arkansas Repertory Theatre Alabama Shakespeare Festival's places, including a military base in (Little Rock, AR) Romeo and production of Macbeth was taken Hawaii where Artists Repertory to 13 military installations. Juliet Theatre performed a bilingual PHOTO BY PHIL SCARSBROOK • Artists Repertory Theatre production ofA Midsummer Nights (Portland, OR) A Midsummer- Dream. That production featured Night's Dream actors from the Central Dramatic • Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Company of Vietnam. Chicago (Chicago, 1L) Romeo and Shakespeare Theater performed Juliet Romeo andJuliet in small-town • Guthrie Theater Waycross, Georgia, where the MN) (Minneapolis, Othello community promoted it as "Shakespeare in the Swamp." The six companies eventually visited 172 communities in all 50 states, NEA Meets DOD: An Historic reaching audiences totaling nearly Partnership 200,000. Special attention was paid to reaching small and mid-sized In an unprecedented effort to make towns with limited access to the the National Endowment for the Arts performing arts. From Anchorage, truly national, the NEA decided to Alaska to Boone, North Carolina, create the first program in its history performances brought communities dedicated to reaching military SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES 4 a personnel and their families. Needless appreciation. Military personnel to say, that plan turned some heads brought their families; young couples and spawned some doubters. made it a date night. The action- — Shakespeare was about to join the packed soldiers tale ofMacbeth ranks of Bob Hope and the Dallas story of power, scheming, and — Cowboy Cheerleaders as ambition held audiences spellbound. entertainment for the troops. And the As one military spouse at bard more than held his own. Holloman Air Force Base stated, Professional Shakespeare "Tonight for the first time in many productions were presented at bases in years, I have had the pure joy of 14 states for military personnel and being a part of a theatrical journey their families. According to Chairman into another time and place, and I Gioia, "We currently have the best was able to share it with my two educated military in the history of the young daughters... At intermission, . United States. Ifwe are truly going to my nine-year-old daughter said fulfill our charge of bringing art of happily, 'Mommie, I get it! It's indisputable excellence to all Shakespeare and I get it!' She and my Americans, we have to reach into five-year-old, who not only sat still for communities where we've never gone (my main concern!) but also enjoyed before." the performance will remember this To the surprise of both the arts when they are my age. Thank you all and political worlds, the NEA sought so much for bringing this fantastic and achieved a successful partnership production to a small community in with the Department of Defense southern New Mexico that otherwise (DoD). In September 2004, with a $1 would never be exposed to such million appropriation from DoD, the quality. You have genuinely touched Arts Endowment visited 18 military our family" bases with professional, fully staged performances of Shakespeare, along New Shakespeare for a with related educational activities for Generation - Phase II military families. Alabama Shakespeare Festival After nearly a year of touring, it was selected to tour its production of became clear that there was a vast and Macbeth to 13 military installations eager audience for what Shakespeare (the other five bases were visited by in American Communities was the Aquila Theatre Company, The providing. So why not keep going? Acting Company, and Artists Why not zero in even more on a new Why Repertory Theatre). Performances generation of theatergoers? not were accompanied by educational hook them on a lifelong engagement workshops for base youth whenever with the power of live theater, the possible. As most bases did not have wonders of the English language, and a conventional theater, performances the masterpieces of William were presented in movie theaters, Shakespeare? The summer of 2004 auditoriums, and in one case, an saw the launch of the next phase of airplane hangar shared with fighter Shakespeare in American jets. Communities: Shakespeare for a The tour was enthusiastically New Generation received by military audiences. Movie The program grew from the initial theater venues offered popcorn and national tour ol six companies to an sodas, and the crowd was vocal in its annual affair main tunes that original SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICAN COMMUNITII s — a The prestige of a Shakespeare for New a Generation grant has allowed theater companies to leverage new connections with funders as well as teachers, school boards, and local arts agencies. A prime example of this success has been the Atlanta Shakespeare Company, which as a As part ofCalifornia direct result of its grant now works Shakespeare Theater's with every high school in the city of Student Discovery size, with some 35 companies Atlanta. According to the theater program, students involved each year. Selected company, "The City of Atlanta's participate in a post-show companies receive grants of discussion with the cast of Bureau of Cultural Affairs and the As You Like It. approximately $25,000 to support Atlanta Public Schools are now citing PHOTO BY JAY YAMADA performances and related educational this program as an example of what activities designed to deepen the they would like to do with every appreciation and understanding of grade level in the Atlanta Public Shakespeare for participating Schools system. Thanks to students. Shakespeare for a New Generation we Through the first four years, had the opportunity to form Shakespeare for a New Generation partnerships with the leadership, has awarded 128 competitive grants, administration, and board of Atlanta supporting the work of more than 65 Public Schools while deepening our theater companies, employing more relationship with the City of Atlanta's than 1,000 actors, directors, and crew, Bureau of Cultural Affairs." in bringing Shakespeare to life for almost one million students. Investing in Live Theater Shakespeare for a New Companies, Actors, Generation has enabled theater Audiences companies to offer more performances to schools for free or "To-morrow, and to-morrow, for radically reduced rates. It has and to-morrow" expanded the geographic reach of -Macbeth their touring programs and provided improved access to the arts for As it grows, the Shakespeare program underserved schools. Models for continues to reach across the whole teacher training and the design of eco-system of American theater. "It study materials have been established provides high-quality employment for or improved upon, and the artistic actors," remarked Chairman Gioia, output among the most competitive "as well as support for theater theater companies who apply has companies, superb performances for — — been further enhanced. new audiences, and best of all New Shakespeare for a chance for students to see the play Generation will help build future they are studying in school." For audiences by educating and inspiring most of these students, the NEA- students to become informed sponsored Shakespeare performance theatergoers, and perhaps even active will be their first experience of live, participants within the arts and civic professional theater, a perfect gateway organizations that bring distinction to to a lifetime of enjoying the their communities. performing arts. SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES SHAKESPEARE NtflONM- IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES TEACHER TOOLKIT The NEA has created a kit with everything a teacher might need to bring Shakespeare alive in middle- and high-school classrooms. The box set contains, among other things, an audio CD, two award-winning films, recitation contest, and posters, especially created as a coherent curriculum. These items were designed as a fresh, enlivened, — relevant series of lessons after all, you can't teach theater without a little movies as Shakespeare in Love, showbiz. Free to any teacher, and Elizabeth, and JO Things I Hate with almost 45,000 copies requested About You. Hosted and narrated by to date (reaching more than 16 two talented actors from million students), this toolkit has Washington, DCs Shakespeare proven an important part of the Theatre Company, the video American high school curriculum. fashions these clips into an exploration of Shakespeares life, Highlights Elizabethan society, theater in "As a teacher, I have been • An Introduction to Shakespeare Shakespeares day, the stories that especially grateful for the (Audio-guide). This compact disc inspired the plays, Shakespeares curricular materials. The features the voices ofJames Earl characters, the beauty of his posters adorn my classroom, Jones, Harold Bloom, Mel Gibson, language, and the influence his and have gotten great use I Vaclav Havel, Michael York, Jane work has had in the United States out of the films and CD in Alexander, and Zooey Deschanel, and around the world. my elective class. My immersing students in Elizabethan Why Shakespeare? (DVD). This students just recently language and theater. A highlight award-winning film by Larry memorized and presented is a segment exploring of the Bridges is a fascinating look at how the Recitation Contest possibilities of performance, in becoming involved in theater can monologues in which Jones, York, and Gibson transform kids' lives. Focusing on class; what an exciting each take a turn (with very Shakespeare Festival/LAs program experience!" different results!) at Hamlets for at-risk kids in East Los Angeles, —feachei i apitolia, CA famous "To be or not to be" Why Shakespeare? also leatures soliloquy. recitations and commentarj b\ • Shakespeare in Our Time (VHS). Tom Hanks. William Shatner. This award-winning film by Martin Sheen. Bill Pullman. Julie & Hillman Carr proves the faymor, Christina Applegate, and relevance of Shakespeare today Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film is tunny through the creative weaving of insightful, and deeply moving. more than 50 clips from feature Why Shakespeare? answers the films, stage and television title's question, showing students performances of Shakespeare's the best reasons to Stud) plays, and from such related Shakespeare. SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES HIGHLIGHTS FROM SHAKESPEARE AMERICAN IN AMERICAN PLAYERS COMMUNITIES THEATRE (SPRING GREEN, Wl) than i < i ' professional theater companies haw Each year, American Players Theatre brings as many as 16,000 students participated from Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Shakespeat Minnesota into their Spring Green, American Commumtu Wisconsin, theater to experience a While they share a matinee performance of a mainstage common ground u Shakespeare production. One work of William production also is re-mounted to tour Shakespeare, each has to seven Wisconsin communities, reached out to th< reaching an additional 7,500 students, audiences in uniqu* many of whom are from rural or iting way urban areas. Performances are accompanied by workshops that llowin\ amplit introduce students to themes of the of the mat) plays and explore various techniques ito) its used to make the story, language, characters, and themes vivid and accessible to students. u AQUILA THEATRE It is truly rewarding to watch as even the most COMPANY reluctant student becomes swept up in the language of the play, making connections (NEW YORK, NY) between what they read in class, what they see on stage, and what they experience in life. « « On September 20, 2003, Aquila — Theatre Company kicked off the American Players Theatre national tour of Shakespeare in American Players American Communities with a Theatre's production performance of Othello for audiences of Twelfth Night. PHOTO BY ZANE WILLIAMS in New London, Connecticut, before moving on to another 59 cities as part of the tour. As a participant also in Shakespeare for a New Generation, Aquilas long tradition of national touring has enabled the company to bring Shakespeare in American Communities performances to thousands of students in underserved communities across the United States. COMMUNITIES