Chicago Shakespeare Slam: Final Bout
December 9, 2019
The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare
Lead Sponsors
The Program
Teams representing fifty high schools from across the Chicago region come together this fall to celebrate the power of Shakespeare and their own voices in CST’s third annual Chicago Shakespeare Slam.
Following a Saturday workshop, each team, comprised of 2 to 8 students, prepares two performance pieces to be performed at a Saturday Regional Bout: first, a Shakespeare scene selected by the team; and, second, a creative exploration inspired by a single play that the entire SLAM community focuses on together—this year, The Comedy of Errors, the play that CST will stage for tens of thousands of students next winter. The top-scoring teams advance to perform in a Final Bout, which takes place on December 9, 2019, in Chicago Shakespeare’s newest theatrical venue, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare.
The Chicago Shakespeare Slam is, more than anything, an ensemble program—building community, first among the members of a school’s team and, subsequently, between the many schools’ teams participating across the entire region. Together, students have the opportunity to dive deep into a shared text—and do so through an infinite number of lenses crafted out of students’ own imaginations.
2019 Participating Schools
Addison Trail High School, Addison
Alcott College Prep, Chicago
Benet Academy, Lisle
Bishop Noll Institute, Hammond, IN
Carl Sandburg High School, Orland Park
Chicago High School for the Arts, Chicago
Elk Grove High School, Elk Grove Village
Fenton Community High School, Bensenville
Francis W. Parker School, Chicago
Glenbard West High School, Glen Ellyn
Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor
John F. Kennedy High School, Chicago
John Hancock College Prep, Chicago
Kenwood Academy High School, Chicago
Lincoln Park High School, Chicago
Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Chicago
Little Village Lawndale High School, Chicago
Marengo Community High School, Marengo
Mundelein High School, Mundelein
Niles North High School, Skokie
Noble Street College Prep, Chicago
Northside College Prep, Chicago
Oak Park and River Forest High School, Oak Park
O-School, Chicago
Our Lady of Tepeyac High School, Chicago
Plainfield East High School, Plainfield
Prosser Career Academy, Chicago
Proviso West High School, Hillside
Ridgewood High School, Ridgewood
Round Lake High School, Round Lake
Senn Arts High School, Chicago
Simeon Career Academy, Chicago
South Shore International College Prep, Chicago
Sullivan House High School, Chicago
Taft High School, Chicago
Thomas Kelly College Preparatory, Chicago
Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center, Chicago
Warren Township High School, Gurnee
Zion-Benton Township High School, Chicago
More to Explore
SLAM Goals
What goals do the SLAM teams strive to achieve in their performances? From our first Saturday workshops through the final performances on CST’s stage, there are five of them…
Read More
“We OWN this space!”
As each team takes the stage, the students introduce their school name followed by the now-familiar chant, “…and we OWN this space!” And they do.
Read More
Education Team
Slam 2019
Marilyn Halperin Director of Education, Ray and Judy McCaskey Chair
Jason Harrington Education Outreach Manager
Maggie Suggett Learning Programs Manager
Sara B.T. Thiel Public Humanities Manager
Paige Whitson-Martini Arts Leadership Fellow
Mollie Greenberg Education Intern
Héctor Álvarez Educator Artist
Matt Hawkins Educator Artist
Laurisa LeSure Educator Artist
Kevin Long Educator Artist
Emily Ritger Educator Artist
Enrico Spada Educator Artist
Marcus Cunningham Emcee
Aurora Real de Asua Emcee
DJ Ca$h Era DJ
Additional Sponsors
Major Supporters of Team Shakespeare
Additional Support Provided by
Arts Midwest
Helen Brach Foundation
Crown Family Philanthropies
The Grover Hermann Foundation
James and Brenda Grusecki
The Malott Family Student Access Fund
Mazza Foundation
Pritzker Foundation Team Shakespeare Fund
The Segal Family Foundation Student Matinee Fund