Arts Education
Theatre for a New Audience provides challenging and rigorous educational experiences designed to support and advance student learning and teacher professional development. Begun in 1984, our programs have served over 130,000 students, grades 4 through 12, in New York City Public Schools city-wide. We offer the largest in-depth programs in the New York City Public Schools to introduce Shakespeare and other classics, as well as immersive programs introducing the major components of playwriting.
School Programs
Promote literacy by incorporating listening, speaking, reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. They are designed to inspire students to read and to recognize the power of ideas, the beauty of language, and the benefits of engaging in language-rich activities. Students critically engage with complex texts and build key collaboration skills through hands-on, project-based learning activities.
Align with state and city learning standards, including the New York City Department of Education’s Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Theater and the New York State Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy (grades 4-12).
World Theatre Project
For Grades 5-12
Instituted in 1984, the World Theatre Project is a 12-week in-school residency program that combines the experience of seeing a live performance of a Shakespeare (or other classical) play with in-depth classroom study of that play for students – and professional development for teachers – led by a TFANA Teaching Artist. The program culminates in a student performance in conversation with the play.
New Voices Project
For Grades 4-12
A 12-week in-school residency program in which students develop the skills that enable them to write original plays. The program includes classroom visits by a TFANA Teaching Artist who teaches the elements of playwriting and guides students as they write an original script. The program culminates in a staged reading of students’ original plays by professional actors.
World Theatre Project
For Grades 5-12
Instituted in 1984, the World Theatre Project is a 12-week in-school residency program that combines the experience of seeing a live performance of a Shakespeare (or other classical) play with in-depth classroom study of that play for students – and professional development for teachers – led by a TFANA Teaching Artist. The program culminates in a student performance in conversation with the play.
New Voices Project
For Grades 4-12
A 12-week in-school residency program in which students develop the skills that enable them to write original plays. The program includes classroom visits by a TFANA Teaching Artist who teaches the elements of playwriting and guides students as they write an original script. The program culminates in a staged reading of students’ original plays by professional actors.
Teacher Professional Development Programs
Support elementary, middle, and high school teachers with multimodal classroom-based practices designed to engage every learner as a creative artist and critical thinker.
Incorporate the latest in Shakespeare scholarship alongside performance approaches straight from the rehearsal rooms of professional artists.
Respect the expertise of teachers by collaborating with you on the curriculum we develop, the workshops we deliver, and the classroom-ready resources we provide on this site. Reach out to us with feedback or tell us how it’s going – the work you do is powerful and important, and we want to hear from you!
NEH Summer
Institute & Resources
A 2-week SUMMER INTENSIVE || classroom-ready resources
Through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Theatre for a New Audience hosts K-12 teachers from across the country for a 2-week summer intensive: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship and Performance. Offered biennially; applications for Summer 2024 open in December.
Teaching Shakespeare this year? Visit our Resources page for classroom-ready resources created by our Institute Faculty!
Critically Conscious Shakespeare
a 30-Hour aspdp course for nycps teachers of any subject
Developed and co-taught with the Royal Shakespeare Company, this course asks: How does Shakespeare fit into a culturally responsive curriculum?
Participants engage in performance-based “rehearsal room” approaches that inspire close reading, critical thinking, and interpretive choice, then learn to apply these creative and reflective teaching strategies to affirm student identities, increase student engagement, and encourage connections across cultures.
Shakespeare & Social Justice
workshops and curriculum for english teachers
Led by the Shakespeare Center of LA and the Southern Poverty Law Center, in collaboration with the Shakespeare Theatre Company of DC and the Old Globe in San Diego, TFANA is participating in a 5-year USDOE-funded research project to create and disseminate Shakespeare & Social Justice, a curriculum for using Shakespeare as a vehicle to teach social justice principles in English Language Arts classrooms.
TFANA offers “Shakespeare & Social Justice Essentials” workshops, as well as train-the-trainer opportunities.
For further information on the Theatre’s arts education programs, please contact:
Lindsay Tanner
Education Director
Telephone: 212-229-2819 ext. 18
Email: [email protected]
Theatre for a New Audience is currently seeking Partner Schools. Thanks to the support of various private and public funds, we are able to offer NYC Public Schools a subsidy that will cover up to 75% of the program cost. Interested schools are invited to reach out to the Education Director to discuss their choice of the New Voices Project and/or the World Theatre Project and how TFANA can serve your school community.