Drama Club

Build confidence and expand creativity with the ultimate team sport: Theatre.

Offered in partnership with the City of Staunton Parks and Recreation.

With Shakespeare’s text as our touchstone and his technology as our laboratory, ASC Drama Club meets once a week in 12-week terms to explore Shakespeare’s wordcraft and stagecraft through play, building confidence and expanding creativity by working together to craft and rehearse a final performance at the Blackfriars Playhouse. Included in the cost of each Drama Club is a ticket for each participant to join the group on a field trip to the Blackfriars Playhouse.

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Spring 2027

Dates: January 17 – May 9, 2027
Time: Sundays from 1:00–3:00 p.m.

ASC Drama Club

Ages: 8-18
Play: Henry IV, Part 1.

Learn the theatrical basics by working on an abridged production of a Shakespeare play. Participants audition at the beginning of the cycle to receive their parts and spend the remainder of the cycle rehearsing for their final performance on the Blackfriars Playhouse stage. Included in the registration cost is a ticket for each participant to attend a special field trip to see a mainstage American Shakespeare Center production.

Why join a drama club?

ASC Drama Clubs introduce participants to the vocabulary of theatre, generally (things like “blocking” and “stage right/left”), as well as Shakespeare’s language, specifically (why do they talk like that?).

Participants gain all the benefits of theatrical training: greater collaborative skills, enhanced creative and critical thinking, increased awareness of physicality and movement, personal responsibility, and group camaraderie (to name a few). Specifically, they learn to work together to put on a performance and gain valuable skills and experience in the process. Making theatre isn’t just about memorizing lines and writing down blocking: it’s also about listening actively and responding genuinely, taking care of yourself and your teammates, and working together on a project that will always be greater than the sum of its parts.

Participants also gain an advanced, early understanding of Shakespeare—often before they encounter his plays in an academic environment. The objective of all ASC Drama Clubs is to foster a lifelong love of theatre in general and Shakespeare in particular. Available evidence suggests early exposure (before the onset of “Shakesfear” in high school) is the best way to achieve that objective.