Midnight Shakespeare

The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival
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Donate a copy of 'The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works' to Midnight Shakespeare!



Cast members from 2008 Midnight Shakespeare performance at San Jose's Ley Va Middle School


Civicorps members
Cherrice Hilton as Katherina and Ernest 'AG' Gill as Petruchio in Midnight Shakespeare's
production of
The Taming of the Shrew



 

The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival's Midnight Shakespeare program is part of Shakespeare for a
New Generation
,
a national initiative
sposored by the National Endowments for
the Arts in cooperation
with Arts Midwest.

Shakespeare in American Communities logo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Midnight Shakespeare teams inner-city youth and professional theater instructors to create a wonderful alternative learning opportunity. Specifically targeting under-served neighborhoods, students work in an ensemble atmosphere to strengthen verbal and written communication skills while building an appreciation for technique, discipline and sacrifice - all necessary ingredients for achievement. The Shakespeare Festival partners with community organizations like the CivicCorps Schools, the South Side Community Center of San Jose, and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.

Students in the 10-week program discover and examine the world of Shakespeare, and perform an abridged Shakespeare play using their own life experiences to create fully developed characters. This approach stimulates imagination, engages intellect and builds confidence. Past performances have included: Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, A Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, and Othello.

If you or your organization would like more information about Midnight Shakespeare, please call (415) 558-0888 or (800) 978-PLAY.

2013 Midnight Shakespeare Sites.

PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL
1 Spartan Way, Antioch
- Meets: January 24 – March 28, 2013 / Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
- Performance Date: March 28, 2013 / Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar - 6:00 pm in the Multi-Purpose Room
- Teaching Artists: Beth Fatum, Livia Demarchi, Amy Lizardo
We are delighted and enthused to return to Antioch for the fourth season of Midnight Shakespeare at Park Middle!

CIVICORPS SCHOOLS (Formerly East Bay Conservation Corps)

West Oakland
- Meets: January 15-April 11/ Tuesdays & Thurdsays 4:00 - 6:00 pm, Fridays 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
- Performance: Hamlet
- Date: April 11, 2013 - 7:30 pm in the Ebell Room at the Lake Merritt Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave, Oakland
- Teaching Artists: Steve Muterspaugh, Becky Kemper
This is our fifteenth year of theater training with the creative and hardworking young adults at Civicorps. Their achievements continue to be a source of pride and inspiration!
~ Article about Midnight Shakespeare at EBCC
Civicorps performance photos:
- Macbeth (2011)
- Much Ado About Nothing (2012)

CADWALLADER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Evergreen District, San Jose
- 2013 Dates TBA
- Performance: TBA
- Teaching Artists: TBA
2012 marked our 12th season of collaboration with the skilled and dedicated students at Cadwallader. We continue to be impressed by the commitment of the students and families of the Evergreen District! We're pleased to have the particpation of Leyva Middle School students as well, many who are Cadwallader graduates!
~ Article about Midnight Shakespeare at Cadwallader Elementary


Midnight Shakespeare: image panel
Support Midnight Shakespeare

Because Midnight Shakespeare is provided free of charge to the participants, we depend on the financial support of the community to pay for the program. Grants from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Louis R. Lurie Foundation, GATX Capital and Hitachi Data Systems have enabled us to add additional teaching artists and present additional sessions, resulting in an increase in both the quantity of youth served and the quality of service provided. Your donation today will:

  Make the power and emotion of Shakespeare's words and themes accessible to at-risk and economically disadvantaged youth who would not otherwise be exposed to the transforming power of the performing arts.
 

Give youth important communications and social skills to increase their confidence, tolerance, and self-esteem
 

Empower and encourage youth to realize their full potential and to improve their life.
 

Support our mission to make the works and themes of Shakespeare accessible to all, regardless of their ethnicity, age, financial status or level of education.


Become a member of the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and support Midnight Shakespeare today!

Current Supporters of Midnight Shakespeare:

The City of Oakland
The City of San Jose
Dodge & Cox
• Dreyer's Charitable Foundation
• The East Bay Conservation Corps
• GATX Capital
• The Greenville Foundation
• The Koret Foundation
• The Louis R. Lurie Foundation
• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
• The Hitachi Foundation and Hitachi Data Systems
• Macy's West
• The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
• San Francisco Department of Recreation and Parks
• Valley Foundation
• Hundreds of individuals who believe in the transformative power of the performing arts!
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