Montana Shakespeare in the Parks Debuts Spring Elementary School Tour

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and Montana Shakespeare in the Schools will premiere Montana Shakes, an elementary school tour for spring 2008.

Throughout the month of May, Montana Shakes will travel more than 2,000 miles touring Montana and Wyoming and working with more than 4,000 students performing “All the West’s a Stage.” The performance includes Shakespearean scenes that have made Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and Schools famous across the Old West.

Montana Shakes is a program designed for younger students, presented in the tradition of traveling theatre companies in the Old West. The day-long presentation includes an interactive collection of scenes as well as workshops presented by an accomplished team of professional actor-educators.

This year’s program will include scenes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a question and answer session with the acting company and up to 12 workshops specifically designed for various age levels. Made possible by a grant from the Ruth and Vernon Taylor Foundation, the pilot project will perform in 17 schools beginning May 1, culminating in a public performance at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, on May 24.

A professional theatrical outreach program of Montana State University, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks has been bringing quality, live theatrical productions of Shakespeare and other classics to communities in Montana and vicinity with an emphasis on underserved rural areas since 1973. Added in 1993, Montana Shakespeare in the Schools has served more than 100,000 young people with productions of “Macbeth,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Julius Caesar,” “Twelfth Night” and “Othello.”

According to Joel Jahnke, the troupe’s artistic director, the elementary school age level has not been exposed as much to Shakespeare’s work in Montana.

“I feel it is very important to introduce young students to Shakespeare at an early age so they learn not to be intimidated by it,” Jahnke said. “Some of our best audience members in our summer tour are children. They don’t worry about the language or plot twists and turns- they simple enjoy.” Montana Shakes touring schedule follows:

May 1 Hawthorne School, Bozeman

May 2 Jefferson School, Helena

May 5 Forsyth Elem. School, Forsyth

May 6 BA Winans School, Livingston

May 7 Kemmerer Elementary, Kemmerer, Wyo.

May 8 Park County HS Association, Livingston

May 9 Four Georgians School, Helena

May 12 Potomac School, Bonner

May 13 Deer Park School, Columbia Falls

May 14 St. Ignatius Elem., St. Ignatius

May 15 Ridge View Elementary, Belgrade

May 16 McKinley School, Billings

May 19 Gallatin Gateway School, Gallatin Gateway

May 20 Cottonwood School, Bozeman

May 21 Smith School, Helena

May 22 Ft. Benton School, Ft. Benton

May 23 Garfield School, Lewistown

May 24 Museum of the Rockies.