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

Offered in partnership with City of Staunton Parks and Recreation.

With Shakespeare’s text as our touchstone and his technology as our laboratory, the 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 of Shakespearean scenes at the Blackfriars Playhouse. Included in the cost of the Drama Club is a ticket for each participant to join the group on a field trip to the Blackfriars Playhouse.

Registration for the ASC Drama Club is currently CLOSED. Please check back in the Fall.

DATES & INFO

SPRING 2024 CYCLE

January 14 – April 21, 2024 | Sundays, 1:00-3:00pm
Play: Julius Caesar
Playhouse field trip: Saturday, February 10 @ 1:45pm
Dress Rehearsal: Saturday, April 6 @ 9am-12pm
Final Performance: Saturday, April 20 @ 10am

Learning outcomes

Drama Club introduces 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 how to work together to put on a play and gain valuable performance experience in doing so. Making theatre isn’t just about memorizing lines and writing down blocking: it’s about knowing when to lead and how to follow, 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—hopefully before they encounter his plays in an academic environment. The objective of Drama Club 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) to be the best way to achieve that objective.

Drama Club meets weekly at the Nelson Street Center (900 Nelson Street, at the corner of Liberty and Nelson streets) in downtown Staunton, VA.

Drama Club meets on Sundays from 1-3PM, with some special meetings on Saturdays. Sunday meetings extend to 1-4PM for the final month of the cycle. Full schedule can be found here.

Drama Club is open to budding thespians ages 8-15.

Enroll in Drama Club through Staunton Parks & Recreation Department.

Register Now

Registration for the ASC Drama Club is currently CLOSED. Please check back in the Fall.

Drama Club enrollment costs $185 per participant and includes 12-15 weeks of club meetings and a ticket to a performance at the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse.

Syllabus subject to change.

 

Registration for the ASC Drama Club is currently CLOSED. Please check back in the Fall.

Register Now

rehearsal schedule – Spring 2024 cycle

  • Sunday, January 14: Welcome to Club (Nelson Street, 1-3PM)
    • Icebreakers, introductions, overview of Club goals and schedule
  • Sunday, January 21: Play/Audition Prep (Nelson Street, 1-3PM)
    • Introduction to our play and preparation for Auditions
  • Sunday, January 28: Auditions! (Nelson Street, 1-3PM)
    • Attendance at this Sunday’s auditions is mandatory for all clubbers. If your clubber needs to miss the auditions for any reason, please contact me ASAP to make alternate arrangements.
  • Sunday, February 4: Rehearsal (Nelson Street, 1-3PM)
  • Saturday, February 10: Field Trip (Blackfriars Playhouse, 1:45-4:30pm)
    • We will be attending the Spring 2024 production of Julius Caesar at the Blackfriars Playhouse.
    • Please plan to drop your clubber off at the Blackfriars Playhouse (10 S Market Street) at 1:45pm and pick them up from the Playhouse after the show, which should conclude no later than 4:30pm.
    • Tickets for each clubber are included in the cost of registration.
    • Parents & siblings may purchase additional tickets if they would like to accompany Drama Club on our field trip.
  • Sunday, February 11: Rehearsal (Nelson Street, 1-3PM)
  • Sunday, February 18: Rehearsal (Nelson Street, 1-3PM)
  • Sunday, February 25: Rehearsal (Nelson Street, 1-3PM)
  • Sunday, March 3: Rehearsal (Nelson Street, 1-3PM)
  • Sunday, March 10: Rehearsal (Nelson Street, 1-4PM)
    • Club meetings move to three hours for the rest of the cycle.
  • Sunday, March 17: Rehearsal (Nelson Street, 1-4PM)
  • Sunday, March 24: Rehearsal (Nelson Steet, 1-4PM)
    • Sunday, March 31: NO REHEARSAL (Easter Sunday)
  • Saturday, April 6: Playhouse Dress rehearsal (Blackfriars Playhouse, 9AM-12PM)
  • Sunday, April 7: Rehearsal (Nelson Street, 1-4PM)
  • Sunday, April 14: Rehearsal (Nelson Street, 1-4PM)
  • Saturday, April 20: Final Performance (Blackfriars Playhouse, 10AM)
  • Sunday, April 21: Optional wrap-up and Watch Party (Nelson Street, 1-3PM)