Shakespeare in the Schools charms hundreds of kids across Montana and Wyoming

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

"The Carpe Diem kids"

Montana's talented Shakespeare in the Schools actors play multiple roles. Here, actors delight a Tippet Rise Art Center audience of young students, a production in the company's educational outreach program. At left, in "A Midsummer Night's Dream, Samantha Potrykus  plays Hippolyta and Titania, Queen of the Fairies, and Calvin Adams plays both a disgruntled father, and Nick Bottom, who takes on another  role in the play within the play. Quick costume changes are demanded to keep each performance lively in a hectic production schedule.

HOW DOES ONE make Shakespeare palatable to groups of fidgety youngsters?

Montana Shakespeare in the Schools has the answer and is sharing it with thousands of kids in small towns across two states.

Many regional and touring companies across the United States offer theater in rural schools. Here students enjoy Montana's Shakespeare in the Schools, which is touring 50 small towns.

Make it lively! Dress the actors in eye-catching costumes and have them speak distinctly so kids can understand the lines.  Throw in physical humor and dance steps to keep things moving. Share the spirit of fun. to young students, to awaken their interest in the classics.

Physical humor keeps kids engaged in Montana's Shakespeare in the Schools outreach program. Avery Johnson, left, plays the roles of Lysander and, in the play within the play, Francis Flute. Isa Guitian's Puck delights the kids with music & antics. The actors spoke to students after the show about the importance of making Shakespeare approachable to them, the primary goal of Montana Shakespeare in the Schools .

WE JOINED a packed house at Tippet Rise Art Center recently for a rollicking version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The troupe had just played Hysham and Hardin and was enroute to Rapelje and Red Lodge, then a string of Wyoming towns.

Shakespeare in the Schools SERVES SHAKESPEARE  WITH A WESTERN TWIST, DELIGHTS SCHOOL KIDS, CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

The beloved Shakespearean classic -- about love, nature and magic  -- is getting a lively "retelling" as Montana Shakespeare in the Schools makes an ambitious two-state tour.

The 2024 production by Montana's beloved Shakespeare in the Parks is touring more than 50 schools in Montana and Wyoming with the same high quality production values that mark the company's rigorous summer schedule.

Eight actors of Shakespeare in the Schools and Shakespeare in the parks charms audiences each year on an ambitious multi-state tour.

FOR THE 32nd season, eight professional actors from across the U.S., are enacting a lively 85-minute rendition of a classic to more than 12,000 middle and high-school students -- and a few lucky adults.  This year's tour travels from Kalispell to Plentywood, Bozeman to Hardin and Sidney, dipping down into Wyoming to Cody, Powell, Meeteetse, Worland and Buffalo. The intent is to debunk the myth that kids don't "get" Shakespeare. In so doing, the production makes the language and story appealing and understandable, with a western twist and country music. 

In a post-show "talk back," actor Abigail Nakken explained, "Our hope is to make Shakespeare come alive for kids -- to make it approachable and fun. Not something that adults tell them that they won't understand because it's over their heads."

WITH ACROBATICS, fun props, enchanting costumes, an accordion, guitar, and precise diction, the company did just that at Tippet Rise, in one of the tour's early shows. The long run extends through mid-December with stops in small communities that seldom host performing arts, let alone a professional theater company. The endeavor -- supported by Montana Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts and other arts backers -- targets smaller communities, where the arts are often short-changed.

So students in Lame Deer,  Box Elder, Belt, Ronan, Polson, Ennis, Harrison and Belgrade all among those recipients of an impressive production.

It's a pleasure to watch kids smile, laugh and applaud lively antics, quick dance steps, acrobatics, sword play and lots of physical humor.

DOING THE show again and again, day after day, demands energy and commitment. The young, enthusiastic cast delivers that in spades, with imaginative direction from Shakespeare in the Parks veteran actor Kerry Bishe whose career spans stage and screen, from AMC and ABC productions to New York's famed Roundabout Theatre Company. She made her professional debut with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks in 2004 and chose actors from several thousand thespians across the country during January auditions. Most of them had not been west of Chicago or St. Paul, so they're enjoying the immersion in the western landscape. 

SO HOW do the actors transport that charming "woodsy" set from school to school?

It collapses and folds up, like a giant box of LEGOs!

To inquire about the next season of Montana Shakespeare in the Schools: 

https://shakespeareintheparks.org/menu/shakespeare-in-the-schools

For more on Shakespeare programs around the U.S.

www.arts.gov/initiatives/shakespeare-american-communities

Ghost, goblins and a famous haunted house await visitors to Puerto Rico's "Pearl of the South," Ponce.

UP NEXT: Ponce, Puerto Rico, is a great place to celebrate Halloween. It's not as well known as San Juan, but it's a lively and historic city, a pleasure to visit any time of the year. There's even a famous haunted house awaiting visitors. The "Pearl of the South" is known for its historical and cultural attractions as Puerto Rico's second-largest city  and as an unincorporated U.S. territory, it celebrates many of the same holidays as the mainland does -- All Hallows Eve included. Join us for a spooky visit, remembering to explore, learn and live.

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