Snapshot of the October 12-October 17, 2014
Sunday: Filmed pre-show lecture and staged reading of the Menaechmi
Monday: Shakespeare Theatre Association Executive Board Conference Call to finalize January Conference plans (secretary), finalize grant application for First Folio
Tuesday: All day retreat with Education Team, MFA production of Twelfth Night
Wednesday: Scholar interview with 9 ASC actors, host lecture, welcome visiting University group
Thursday: Comment on MFA workshop presentations, meet with British Education scholar, Marketing meeting for artistic season, train box office staff to use LCD projector, host lecture, welcome visiting University group
Friday:Led workshop with 3 ASC actors for University group, met with Globe Education Head of Learning, training on new software for Education Programs to implement this month
Saturday:Meet with ASL interpreters for upcoming show, welcome 3rd visiting University
Sunday:Begin again
It’s been 5 years since I stepped into the role of Director of Education at the American Shakespeare Center.
“The American Shakespeare Center recovers the joy and accessibility of Shakespeare’s theatre, language, and humanity by exploring the English Renaissance stage and its practices through performance and education.”
My first task when I took this position was to write the language for the annual brochure for Education. I went straight to our mission and used the words there to describe each of our programs. That attention to the mission continues to be a focus of our work, so much so that our recent visitors from Shakespeare on the Road commented that we all, every department, each individual, knows what is at the heart of the work here and speaks about it in uncannily similar ways. So we know why we do this work. I think the question that tickles Education right now is how.
In my first couple of years in the job, changes in the company kept the work in Education fresh and new. Whether itwas the staffing changes brought about by the economic downturn forcing us to think in new, efficient, and creative ways, or the addition of a Managing Director with an actual arts management degree, who could encourage and allow growth, or the new staff in Education that growth supported, we seemed to have something new to celebrate every few months–publishing our study guides, putting out our own magazine, moving our camp to the college, adding college credit, adding a new camp for Adults, adding a summer teacher seminar, re-vamping our staged readings. Each change, and the success we experienced brought us joy and a sense of renewal. But, each also brought more work to an already taxed team. How can we maintain our quality of programming and our commitment to the mission?
We made some inroads this week in answering that question. We are going to be looking hard at the work we do and how we do it for the next little while. Just because we can keep so many balls up in the air doesn’t necessarily mean we should. As we move forward, I ask you for your help. Tell us what comes to mind when YOU think about ASC education. It can be just one word, or it can be a paragraph. With your help, we will continue to build on our programming and create new opportunities for many others to experience the joy that Shakespeare’s plays can bring to anyone.