News And Events
Members and Educators Benefit from the ESU's Program Partnerships
Event Recap
The ESU's program partnerships with Shakespeare's Globe in London and the Folger Shakespeare Library provided ESU NY members and educators with unique, personal, on-stage experiences during the recent highly acclaimed production of Twelfth Night on Broadway. The Globe hosts ESU British University Summer School participants each year in a teacher-training course designed exclusively for ESU scholarship grantees. And the ESU and Folger Shakespeare Library co-produce the Shakespeare Set Free institutes for high school teachers across the country.
In January, the ESU collaborated with both the Globe and the Folger, inviting 32 middle and high school teachers from across the country to see Twelfth Night and have a private "talk back" with cast members onstage following the performance. The following day, the teachers participated in a day-long professional development workshop at the ESU led by Michael LoMonico, Senior Consultant on National Education at the Folger Shakespeare Library, and Colin Hurley, Twelfth Night cast member and the Globe Theatre's Education Master Practitioner. Both workshop leaders shared performance techniques that teachers can apply in their classrooms to enhance their students' comprehension and absorption of Shakespeare. Folger Education and Globe Education curriculum methods and materials were provided for classroom use.
Later in January, 16 ESU New York members enjoyed an exclusive night at the theatre to see Twelfe Night, and were invited to a special post-performance gathering onstage to meet cast member Matt Harrington who was the 1999 English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition winner. Matt was the only American in the star-studded cast, and he stated that his professional acting career started with the ESU National Shakespeare Competition.
