From Shakespeare to Hip Hop
Shakespeare to Hiphop --- a classic-to-the-modern celebration of the literary arts, music and the spoken word --- is available for auditorium presentations for K-College, as well as for PD for Language Arts Educators. Using poetry, storytelling, hip-hop, song and live music, Shakespeare to Hiphop offers a fun, innovative and engaging program that promotes active engagement with literacy and encourages students to become more excited about the written and spoken word. How do we do so? Simple, because we are also National Poetry Slam competitors and champions, when we became parents we knew we had to find ways of making being literate… cool to our kids!
Programs
Performance: The Shakespeare Speakeasy (Making Learning About the "Bard" Hip)
For the 2016-2017 season, Shakespeare to Hiphop is partnered with the Boston Public Library to celebrate the works of William Shakespeare in this 400th year since his death.
To do so, Shakespeare to Hiphop has created The Shakespeare Speakeasy, an all new presentation using live music (jazz, funk, country, pop, and hip-hop), poetry, song, storytelling and rap to explore the life, impact, and mysteries surrounding the man reverently known as “The Bard”. The Shakespeare Speakeasy is ideal for students and adults who have had, or will soon have, some exposure to Shakespeare.
And, because The Shakespeare Speakeasy combines History, Language Arts, Theater and Music, it meets both Common Core and Massachusetts Educational Framework standards.
Shakespeare to Hiphop will be presenting this show at the BPL main branch in Copley at 12:00pm on the first Friday of every month, starting on Nov 4th, and running until March 3rd. While you may be able to catch the show at the library, space is quickly running out as more schools catch wind of the presentation.
Educational:
Our programs are fully customizable, based on age and grade level, what topics a given school wishes to emphasize, and the amount of time allotted. To give you a taste, this is what a preferred (week-long residency) Shakespeare to Hiphop program would include in a K-5 school:
Assemblies:
We would begin with 3 assemblies. These would be K-1; 2-3; and 4-5. Because of differing cognitive levels and developed skill sets, we find it most effective to make each assembly targeted to specific grade groups. This helps to keeps the students engaged as the subject matter and its performance will be relevant and age-appropriate.
Writing Workshops:
After having previously solicited input from educators, we would visit all classrooms and focus on areas of interest. Example:
K-1: Collective Story-telling using games and imagination
Grade 2: Couplets, Quatrains and Rhyme
Grade 3: Narrative Poems
Grade 4: Person
Grade 5: Epistolary (Letter Poems)
Performance Workshops:
Writing workshops are followed by performance workshops for Grades: 3, 4, and 5. At this point, we, along with the teachers, will select several students from each class to present their work at the school “Celebration of the Bards” assembly which we will host at the end of the week.
“Celebration of the Bards” Assembly:
This is where the students get to shine! Where they get to show off their hard work. We will provide professional PA equipment and set up a staging area that is welcoming for our young bards. We will play drums when welcoming them to the stage (Basically, we make a big deal out of them), and allow them to stars we know they are.
Again, the aforementioned is our preferred way of partnering with schools, however, because we recognize each school's needs are different we will work hard to tailor our visits specifically to your unique goals. Please contact us about our rates. No matter your budget, we will work to find the best option for your needs..
Classroom Workshops
Let’s Get Engaged!: Writing that engages both sides of the brain
Page to Stage: Getting written work ready to perform
Read Like a Rock Star: Oral presentation and performance techniques
Week-Long Residencies
Our assembly performances can be within the context of a week-long residency, where we work directly in the classrooms. The objectives of our residencies are:
Programs
Performance: The Shakespeare Speakeasy (Making Learning About the "Bard" Hip)
For the 2016-2017 season, Shakespeare to Hiphop is partnered with the Boston Public Library to celebrate the works of William Shakespeare in this 400th year since his death.
To do so, Shakespeare to Hiphop has created The Shakespeare Speakeasy, an all new presentation using live music (jazz, funk, country, pop, and hip-hop), poetry, song, storytelling and rap to explore the life, impact, and mysteries surrounding the man reverently known as “The Bard”. The Shakespeare Speakeasy is ideal for students and adults who have had, or will soon have, some exposure to Shakespeare.
And, because The Shakespeare Speakeasy combines History, Language Arts, Theater and Music, it meets both Common Core and Massachusetts Educational Framework standards.
Shakespeare to Hiphop will be presenting this show at the BPL main branch in Copley at 12:00pm on the first Friday of every month, starting on Nov 4th, and running until March 3rd. While you may be able to catch the show at the library, space is quickly running out as more schools catch wind of the presentation.
Educational:
Our programs are fully customizable, based on age and grade level, what topics a given school wishes to emphasize, and the amount of time allotted. To give you a taste, this is what a preferred (week-long residency) Shakespeare to Hiphop program would include in a K-5 school:
Assemblies:
We would begin with 3 assemblies. These would be K-1; 2-3; and 4-5. Because of differing cognitive levels and developed skill sets, we find it most effective to make each assembly targeted to specific grade groups. This helps to keeps the students engaged as the subject matter and its performance will be relevant and age-appropriate.
Writing Workshops:
After having previously solicited input from educators, we would visit all classrooms and focus on areas of interest. Example:
K-1: Collective Story-telling using games and imagination
Grade 2: Couplets, Quatrains and Rhyme
Grade 3: Narrative Poems
Grade 4: Person
Grade 5: Epistolary (Letter Poems)
Performance Workshops:
Writing workshops are followed by performance workshops for Grades: 3, 4, and 5. At this point, we, along with the teachers, will select several students from each class to present their work at the school “Celebration of the Bards” assembly which we will host at the end of the week.
“Celebration of the Bards” Assembly:
This is where the students get to shine! Where they get to show off their hard work. We will provide professional PA equipment and set up a staging area that is welcoming for our young bards. We will play drums when welcoming them to the stage (Basically, we make a big deal out of them), and allow them to stars we know they are.
Again, the aforementioned is our preferred way of partnering with schools, however, because we recognize each school's needs are different we will work hard to tailor our visits specifically to your unique goals. Please contact us about our rates. No matter your budget, we will work to find the best option for your needs..
Classroom Workshops
Let’s Get Engaged!: Writing that engages both sides of the brain
Page to Stage: Getting written work ready to perform
Read Like a Rock Star: Oral presentation and performance techniques
Week-Long Residencies
Our assembly performances can be within the context of a week-long residency, where we work directly in the classrooms. The objectives of our residencies are:
- To excite and inspire students by bringing new life to classic texts, and introducing poetry in a manner that makes it more accessible, less intimidating .
- To empower students to consciously associate seemingly disparate contexts by realizing they already unconsciously do so.
- To provide a fun and safe atmosphere for students to express themselves through writing and spoken word performance.
- To underscore many of the lessons educators have worked hard to ingrain. (We have often found that when someone not associated with a school validates what teachers have been telling students all along, this increases the students interest in the subject. It becomes, for them, something that has been independently tested and verified).
To be or not to be, a Man
A workshop designed for adolescent males (age 12-19) to unpack and address issues and questions of manhood. Regie and Marlon interweave their own life stories into the presentation. Students are led through exercises and discussion groups designed to demystify manhood, and clarify what a "real man" actually is...or is not.
