Outside view of the Theatre for a New Audience

Teacher Professional Development

Teacher Professional Development

Theatre for a New Audience offers two pathways for teachers interested in training with us.

Through our school-based arts integration programs, the World Theatre Project and the New Voices Project:

  • Professional Development is a core part of TFANA residencies. Partner teachers collaborate with TFANA Teaching Artists in 1:1 PD sessions and hands-on classroom experiences, learning to use theatre-based activities to promote core literacy skills.

Through our designated Shakespeare professional development programs:

  • We offer options to meet all levels of interest and availability, from one-off workshops to two-week residential intensives. While courses vary slightly in their focus, all TFANA PD programs blend scholarship and performance techniques with a critical lens that views Shakespeare as a tool for students to hone their skills as artists, collaborators, thinkers, and leaders. See below for details.

We love to hear from teachers! For more information, contact Education Director Lindsay Tanner at [email protected]

A group of teachers examining a copy of the First Folio of Shakespeare's works at Columbia's Rare Book Room, guided by Shakespeare scholar Mario DiGangi.
Teacher participants in TFANA's 2022 NEH Institute engage in an acting exercise led by director Claudia Zelevansky. Using text from Measure for Measure, two teachers stand opposite each other onstage at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, one gesturing towards the other accusingly.
On stage a teacher is standing in front of a group of adults sitting on the floor and on chairs.

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!

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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.

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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.

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