CST Brings Shakespeare to Community Schools
After concluding its five-week and forty five-performance run at CST’s home on Navy Pier for tens of thousands of student and family audiences, Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream will begin its second five weeks—this time on tour to area schools, March 24 – April 25. Out on tour, the thirteen cast members are accompanied each day by their tour manager and seven crew members. In a large truck, a van and two cars, all twenty—plus the production set—move from school to school. Many mornings start as early as 6:00 a.m. with large mugs of coffee in hand. Arriving at the school, the stage manager and light and sound operators quickly assess the stage, the entrances, the light plot and sound board, and recreate the show’s production values in a new space each day.
In schools where there are active drama programs, the CST team doesn’t always have to create all the theater magic entirely on their own. A group of students volunteers to meet the truck as soon as CST pulls up, to help unload and set up, and to familiarize the crew with the backstage and stage areas, and sometimes with the school’s particular theatrical equipment. The students’ presence offers the crew great firsthand knowledge—and gives the students the opportunity to work beside a professional team as they negotiate a day on the road.
For more than twenty years, the Short Shakespeare! tour has expanded the impact of the Theater’s education program by bringing professional productions directly into schools as a dynamic complement to classroom study. This year engaging 40,000 students in Shakespeare through the unmatched power of live performance, Short Shakespeare! will visit Chicago neighborhoods as geographically diverse as Pilsen, Rogers Park and Mount Greenwood, as well as many suburban communities, from Summit on the city’s southwest side to Hoffman Estates and Oak Park, miles northwest and west of the city.
“The tech crew students had a wonderful time helping out before and after the show. It was a great experience for them to be able to work with professionals. It's all they talked about during lunch yesterday after the show.”—Teacher, Riverside Brookfield High School, Riverside, IL (12/13 tour)
“The kids loved the performance ... Frankly, we were quite proud and overwhelmed to have your company on our stage.” —Teacher, Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, IL (12/13 tour)
Spring 2014 Tour
3/24/2014
Benito Juarez Community Academy
Chicago
IL
3/25/2014
Washburne Jr. High
Winnetka
IL
3/26/2014
Wheaton Warrenville South High School
Wheaton
IL
3/27/2014
UNO charter - Rogers Park
Chicago
IL
3/28/2014
Glenbard West High School
Glen Ellyn
IL
3/31/2014
Conant High School
Hoffman Estates
IL
4/1/2014
Mother McAuley High School
Chicago
IL
4/2/2014
Argo Community High School
Summit
IL
4/3/2014
Barrington High School
Barrington
IL
4/4/2014
Libertyville High School
Libertyville
IL
4/7/2014
Governors State University
University Park
IL
4/8/2014
Loyola Academy High School
Wilmette
IL
4/9/2014
Lake Park High School
Roselle
IL
4/10/2014
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School
Oak Park
IL
4/11/2014
Central Middle School
Tinley Park
IL
4/14/2014
Nazareth Academy
La Grange Park
IL
4/15/2014
Lyons Township South High School
Western Springs
IL
4/16/2014
Lowell High School
Lowell
IN
4/17/2014
Dundee-Crown High School
Carpentersville
IL
4/21/2014
Prairie State College
Chicago Heights
IL
4/22/2014
Catholic Memorial High School
Waukesha
WI
4/23/2014
Chicago Academy High School
Chicago
IL
4/24/2014
Wright College
Chicago
IL
4/25/2014
Bogan Computer Tech High School
Chicago
IL