Shoutspeare!
Nevada Shakespeare Festival's Shoutspeare is a dynamic, engaging, and non-traditional take on Shakespeare's Macbeth presented by the Nevada Shakespeare Festival's professional actors to high school students across Nevada. Nevada Shakespeare Festival is dedicated to bringing the tremendous spark of joy and connection to the youth of Nevada through the ancient and essential art of live theater.
Learners were empowered to get involved, to ask questions, and to play the game of the show. They were also encouraged to be creative-thinkers, coming up with ideas for their MadLib monologue workshop session. They were asked to be courageous in their participation of theater games and reading creative writing. They also demonstrated integrity to be still and listen, to actively participate, to ask questions when they don’t understand, and to further their own educational experience.
What is the connection between this outreach project and the principles of the portrait?
When learners are invited to get involved and to ask questions; power dynamics shift.
Theatre is a communal act of empathy, creativity, problem solving, and storytelling.
Learners who would not typically watch a theatrical performance or read Shakespeare had a newfound interest in the subject.
“Having Nevada Shakespeare at our gym has given us the opportunity to collaborate, bringing acting and performance to an environment focused on athletics. It's just one more avenue in which we can engage kids in a supportive and creative way and we love that!” - Educator, Indian Springs HS
"Shoutspeare is the type of performance that can get anyone from any walk of life excited about classical texts and theatre history. It scrambles every show into a fun, new-age version of its former self and really has its audience understand the absurdity that comes with most Shakespearean plots, which makes the performances incredibly fun. I saw Shoutspeare's production of Macbeth and was blown away by the creativity and imagination. This company does not paint Shakespeare as an impossible-to-learn intellectual concept. Instead, Shakespeare becomes an exciting and hilarious experience where the absurdity of the human condition is finally brought to life.
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- COMMUNITY MEMBER
"Some students who would not typically watch a theatrical performance or read Shakespeare had a new found interest in the subject. Other students mentioned how happy they were that it was relatable and interactive."​
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- EDUCATOR