Feature article November 25, 2004
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Stratford brings Shakespeare to life
by Stevie Asselstine
Over the course of the past three months, three local high schools, Sydenham, La Salle and Ernestown, played an active part in the Stratford Shakespeare project. It began in August when a teacher from each of the schools attended Stratford and was given the opportunity to watch any production that was to be performed throughout the season. They participated in a number of workshops and aimed to bring Shakespeare to life for their students.
The idea behind the project was to move away from the dry textbook approach and to use activities to help students connect with the universal themes present in Shakespeares works. Our teacher Tracey Rombough, the representative for Sydenham High School, took part in the classes for a week. There she was able to make connections with both actors and directors and began planning activities to bring back and share with us.
The school was assisted by a part of a Rural Initiatives grant, a group to help schools who must travel a further distance to Stratford, which paid for the teachers trip as well as the students transportation and forty-five tickets to Midsummer Nights Dream. Students were asked only to pay for their accommodations and tickets to Guys and Dolls. Before taking the trip to Stratford, we were visited in Sydenham by an actor and a director, Florence MacGreggor and Edward Daranay, who worked with Mrs. Romboughs classes at the grade eleven and twelve university levels.
The activities they brought to the class included tableau, hurling insults, modernizing Midsummer Nights Dream, adapting and performing Shakespearean passages to different genres of music, and a workshop on costumes and stage fighting. These gave everyone the opportunity to experience Shakespeare actively and to put the often-confusing language into context.
After our preparation, the class headed to Stratford on October 26 and 27, where, upon arriving, we watched a performance of Guys and Dolls. Being a musical, it was rich in bright costumes with an extensive set, as well as entirely engaging for the audience. The following day we received a backstage tour and met with the actors for another workshop before finally going to see Midsummer. Again the set was appropriately detailed, and the presentation went so far as to include trapeze acts which accompanied scenes involving fairies.
In the end, everyone felt they had benefited from the project. The shows filled us with awe, and the activities in advance helped everyone to understand what was being performed better. With the involvement of Stratford and the help of the grant, we were able to witness Shakespeare in a whole new way.
We all hope to see the project return again next year so that others might share in the experience
(Stevie Asselstine is a grade 12 student at Sydenham High School)
