The Asolo Theatre Company NEWS
10 Area High Schools to Participate in the Asolo's Shake-n-Bake Shakespeare Celebration on Saturday, May 7
The event is Asolo's Grand Finale to the NEA Shakespeare for a New Generation 2005 grant program that brought over 1200 students to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Sarasota, Florida (May 2, 2005) - The Asolo Theatre Company Education and Outreach department is proud to announce the great success of its participation in the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Arts Midwest Shakespeare for a New Generation grant program. The grand finale of the program is the first annual Shake-n-Bake Shakespeare celebration which will be held on Saturday May 7, 2005 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the FSUCenter for the Performing Arts. Shake-n-Bake Shakespeare is a workshop and showcase which was made available to all area high schools.
The NEA Shakespeare for a New Generation grant brought over 1200 students to the Asolo's acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The grant also provided transportation and funds to take actors from the Asolo Theatre Company into the schools for a series of workshops, and to provide teacher workshops and study materials. The Asolo Theatre Company is honored to be the only theatre in the state of Florida and one of only 22 theatres in the entire United States to have received the special NEA grant in 2005.
Schools pre-registered to participate in Shake-n-Bake Shakespeare. Participating schools include BayshoreHigh School, BookerHigh School, RiverviewHigh School, ManateeHigh School, MiddletonHigh School (Tampa), DeSotoCountyHigh School (Arcadia), ManateeSchool for the Arts, LakewoodRanchHigh School, NewGateSchool, and St. Stephen's Episcopal School. Most attended the Asolo's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream as part of the Shakespeare for a New Generation grant.
“This Shakespeare program has been a terrific success and we are excited to end it in such a grand way. The schools have really been wonderful and the students have truly been enriched by their participation. We’re honored to have been instrumental in introducing Shakespeare to a new generation of youth in our community,” says Carole Kleinberg, the Asolo education director.
The day begins with an opening reception, after which students will be treated to a backstage tour. They will then attend a series of special workshops in Acting in Shakespeare's Plays, Stage Movement and Dance in Shakespeare, and Stage Combat for Shakespeare. A member of the Asolo Theatre Company will be the keynote speaker during lunch.
Students from each school will have memorized in advance the Pyramus and Thisbe scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Each with then put their name in a bag (hence the "Shake and Bake" concept) and the names will be drawn to team students from different schools together with a professional actor. Each team will receive a "treasure box" containing minimal props and costume pieces and a coordinated "concept.” The concepts include melodrama, western, science fiction, slapstick, detective/cop/gangster, and rap. They will have twenty minutes to rehearse, and then each team will present their scene to everyone at the showcase. Scenes will be critiqued.
A pizza “feast" will follow, at which students will receive certificates of participation. Students, teachers and chaperones will also have the opportunity to attend that evening’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
For information about the grant, Shake-n-Bake Shakespeare, or Access to the Arts, please contact the Asolo’s education department at 351-9010, or e-mail Carole_Kleinberg@asolo.org.
The Asolo is funded in part by the Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Department of State, The Florida Arts Council, the City and County of Sarasota and the Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax through the Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council, and the Sarasota Arts Council. The Asolo Theatre Company’s Shakespeare productions are sponsored in part by Shakespeare in American Communities, a national theater initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Sallie Mae Fund in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Additional funding is also received through the efforts of support groups including the Asolo Angel Association, the Asolo Theatre Guild, The Directors Emeritus and the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations.