"Shakespeare On Your Feet!" Workshop At Mascoma.

Twenty nine Mascoma students and three faculty joined the Northeast Shakespeare Ensemble (NESE) for an intensive in-school workshop designed to "dust off of the notion that Shakespeare wrote stuffy junk." Mascoma became one of the four host school's for the outreach program through a collaboration between their Experiencing the Arts program and NESE's coordinator for school programs, Natalie Davis. Davis, a retired secondary school teacher living in new London had read in the NH State Council on the Arts newsletter last winter that Experiencing the Arts was named a model Artlinks program. She asked Director, Christopher Morse if Mascoma would support their grant agreeing to be a host school for the Shakespeare outreach program. "I was happy have a professional Shakespeare troop give us an intensive workshop for thirty students! I had no idea at that time really how generous they were being," exclaimed Morse, "in addition to the workshop, each participant was given three tickets to their full production of Much Ado About Nothing at Lebanon Opera House. Their workshop was full of the texture and details of Shakespeare's time -- they really helped make it come alive. I have had many positive comments from participating students as well as from teachers and parents who enjoyed their production of Much Ado About Nothing. I am extremely grateful to Natlie Davis and her Grant writer Andy Supplee and to NESE actors Chris Seiler and Daniel Carlton for their spirited workshop. This collaboration is great example of the way the NH State Council on the Arts Artlinks grant program builds partnerships -- I look forward to any future collaboration!"

Students from the Drama Class, Chorus, English, and Experiencing the Arts joined the workshop. As the title suggests, they learned about Shakespeare on their feet. Dr. Ralph Alan Cohen, the Executive Director and Director of Education for Shenandoah Shakespeare created this very effective workshop to "explore the dynamic of performing Shakespeare rather than just reading the text." The students first got to try deliver a spicy Shakespearian verbal jab. Next they were divided into small groups and hurled some of Shakespeare's sharpest insults at the other groups. They were divided again into a line emphasizing the accented syllables of iambic pentameter. It was physical. Throughout the workshop NESE actors Chris Seiler and Daniel Carlton kept the energy high delivering great historic notes and coaching the students individually and in their groups. They both spoke to the whole group and worked with each student individually. Students commented the hour went by too fast!

Mascoma was one of four host schools for the NESE outreach program. They were also hosted by Stevens High School in Claremont, Kearsarge Regional High School, and Bow High School. NESE received its funding from the NH State Council on the Arts Artlinks program, the McIninch Foundation, and the NH Charitable Foundation. For more information about NESE visit their web site at www.NESEtheatre.org

"Please note: Shakespeare on your Feet workshop topic is the creation of Dr. Ralph Alan Cohen, Executive Director and Director of Education for shenandoah Shakespeare, and may not be reproduced or published (in full or in part) without acknowledgement of their authorship."