This is a quick post about a couple ideas that are awesome, and all credit goes to an amazing homeschool mom, Amy. Recently Amy directed her small homeschool co-op in one of our plays, The Tempest for Kids. In doing so, she decided to perform it in their backyard, inspired by our own Backyard Shakespeare.…
Category: Performing Shakespeare for kids
I was talking with a mom earlier this morning, and she said something very interesting. She said that her daughter loves my drama classes, and talks about me frequently when it comes to drama. Although I’m glad I inspire the kids, it’s not the point of this story. What is interesting is she followed up…
Over the years, I have taught EVERY single one of our plays, most of them multiple times, and some of them at least 20 times…. (Hamlet, Midsummer, R&J, Caesar, Macbeth…). But, one of the best tools for me to use is the Character or Actor’s Line Quantities spreadsheet to help me with casting. A teacher asked…
I have directed Shakespeare’s Tempest for Kids at least 6 different times, and the costumes and kids always change. But, one thing is consistent, the THUNDER TUBE! I use this great drum thunder tube by REMO to make all the thunder sounds during the play. The kids LOVE it… so much that they want to…
I recently had the privilege to watch a video of a school group in New Jersey perform my Treasure Island for Kids, and of course, it was AWESOME! That being said, one thing I kept noticing…. they were saying “Rum” incorrectly… but wait! No, they weren’t, they were saying “Gum”! When re-writing classics tales like…
Backyard Shakespeare. What is that, you may ask. Well, it’s a very ingenious and creative way to engage homeschooled kids with Shakespeare, education, language arts, drama, and most importantly, fun! I recently had the privilege to teach a group of 7 kids Playing With Plays The Tempest for Kids and we had a BLAST!…
I have had several people reach out to me who are performing my Jungle Book for Kids and ask about costumes. So, to make it easy for everyone, this is what I have done for my performances in the past. Please keep one thing in mind, ALL my performances use a minimal costume set. This makes it…
Many people ask to see a sample of my books. So, I finally did it… here is the link to see a small excerpt from each and every title that I have. Let me know if you have any questions! Sneak Peek at Shakespeare for Kids books
So, I recently directed Oliver Twist for Kids and am about to direct A Christmas Carol for Kids. In doing so, I have come across a great costume that is both inexpensive and very effective as a fun kids cape to wear. As you may or may not know, there is a creepy villain, that is constantly referred…
So, I teach Shakespeare for Kids classes all over the place, and most venues I teach at do not come with stages. I’ve performed in gyms, dance rooms, dojos, boyscout meeting areas, and classrooms. One thing is consistent, I need a place for the actors to go “off-stage”. That is why I created easy-to-assemble sides,…