The Theatre for a New Audience Education Department kicks off the World Theatre Project (WTP) this month with professional teacher training taking place in fourteen public schools across the five boroughs. Each of these schools has chosen Theatre for a New Audience as an arts partner, with the 12-week, in-school WTP residency as a centerpiece. The program will serve over 1,300 school children from grades 5 through 8.
Professional development is a core component of the program, and more than 50 teachers and administrators will complete nine hours of comprehensive training led by Theatre for a New Audience’s highly trained teaching artists, with support from Education Director Joseph Giardina. During these sessions, teachers experience the same lessons as their students, learn how to effectively use theatre games and activities in the classroom, and are guided through the play-specific materials and corresponding teacher lessons. Throughout the training, teachers learn our proven principles and methods of instruction for teaching Shakespeare’s language to school-age children.
This year’s World Theatre Project revolves around our upcoming production of Antony and Cleopatra and is especially grounded in the historical worlds of Ancient Egypt and Rome. Teaching artists will help the teachers negotiate Shakespeare’s challenging and vivid language as well as the play’s difficult themes of leadership, duty, honor and cultural opposition.
