TEACHER WORKSHOPS
All classroom teachers are invited to our free teacher workshops! Whether you’re teaching a particular play this year or simply wanting to learn more about approaching complex texts in the classroom, our free one-day workshops will immerse you in Shakespeare scholarship, interpretation, and pedagogy.
We start with a play. We create a learning laboratory where teachers can roll up their sleeves, take in new ideas and try out some drama-based, Common Core-aligned teaching strategies. We add a Shakespeare scholar to the mix, giving us historical and contemporary perspectives. Then we invite a leading Shakespeare artist to join us and explore the art of interpretation, from page to stage.
Play On Teacher Preview Night
September 17, 5:30 PM
Join us for a scholarly discussion followed by a preview performance of Sheldon Epps production of Play On.
2-Day Professional Development Opportunity
with Chicago Shakespeare Theater and The Newberry Library CPScholars Teaching Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
September 18 – 19
This two-day experience is specifically for CPS teachers interested in growing their Shakespeare toolkit!
Page to Stage: Romeo y Julieta
January 23, 2027
In this workshop, we’ll get a behind the scenes look at the rehearsal process, a scholarly perspective, and practical tools for bringing Shakespeare to life in your classroom!
TEACHER HANDOUT RESOURCES
Short Shakespeare! Hamlet Teacher Handbook
This Teacher Handbook is your essential classroom companion for teaching Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. Developed with educators, theater artists, and scholars, this resource brings Hamlet to life through engaging, drama-based activities and accessible strategies. The handbook includes creative pre-reading exercises, act-by-act summaries, writing prompts, and discussion questions designed to deepen students’ understanding of the play’s themes: grief, action, family, and morality.
Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream Teacher Handbook
From pre-show writing prompts to hands-on activities and more, this guide offers discussion questions, drama-based strategies, and reading activities for students—all aligned with Illinois State Standards.
Community-building activities allow for risk-taking, creativity, and active participation. These exercises can encourage your student to work as an “ensemble”—being open to each other’s ideas and choices. And if you’re teaching virtually, these activities will help engage some of your “camera-shy” students.
Reading a Performance: Romeo and Juliet
How do actors’ and directors’ choices influence our understanding of Mercutio? Track Mercutio’s characterization in three different Chicago Shakespeare productions of Romeo and Juliet.
Reading a Performance: Macbeth
How do YOU imagine the Weird Sisters? Close read clips from three different productions of Macbeth produced by Chicago Shakespeare Theater!
At the center of Chicago Shakespeare’s work with actors—and teachers and students—is the process called “text work.” Explore some of these clues in Romeo and Juliet with Associate Professor of Theatre Kevin Long.
This activity will introduce students to the story of Romeo and Juliet while speaking Shakespeare’s words for the first time and physically activating key lines.
Text Summarizing: Parts of a Whole
We love this activity as a way to actively and imaginatively summarize or analyze a text you’ve read—or as a quick community builder to foster collaboration and trust in a classroom.
Text Summarizing: Pearls on a String
This low-stakes improv game is one of the most engaging ways we know to summarize material—and to work together as a group doing it. You can recap faithfully—or create your own twist on a familiar story!