The Macbeth Initiative

Macbeth leaps to life in our Page-to-Stage Residency:

Students join a Tennessee Shakespeare Company professional teaching-actor in an immersive and active introduction to the world of Macbeth. In this 50-minute class, students will:

  • Discover Shakespeare and his theatre
  • Become the major characters in Macbeth through speaking text and living relationships
  • Physicalize the rhythm of Iambic Pentameter through stage combat activities
  • Embody the fear and paranoia that drive the mood of the play
  • Meet the play’s major themes

Educators join TSC in a 50-minute teacher-training session that offers practical tips for activating Shakespeare’s text! TSC Education Director offers a bountiful tool-kit of games, exercises, and scenes that encourage teachers to invite students into the world of Macbeth in ways that are personally meaningful, active, and fun. This playful, engaging training will allow for a joyful, exploratory experience with your students as they discover Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Performance of Macbeth

Students will experience the play as Shakespeare intended: as a live, theatrical event.

Six actors play multiple roles in this elegantly-acted performance, focusing on stagecraft known to Elizabethan audiences and performed on a bare stage. Your students will love hearing the play and having their imaginations broadened. This Macbeth is an aural revelry and shows how words can indeed prove the “be all and end all.”

Playshops and performances can take place at your school. Virtual options may be available.

Email SarahHankins@TNShakespeare.org to reserve your spot today!

Caley Miliken and Paul Kiernan
Macbeth, 2018

What students and teachers are saying about TSC’s Macbeth Initiative:
  • “I learned that Shakespeare is more applicable to our everyday life than I thought before. The themes in his plays still play a role in our lives.” – Initiative Student
  • “I learned how important visual performances are to strengthen your knowledge of the play.” – Initiative Student
  • “I believe experiences like this are vital to our young people. Not only in academics but in an appreciation of the performing arts.” – Leslie Steele, Bartlett HS
  • “Bringing Shakespeare to life for students has a huge impact on students’ understanding of the text, as well as their enjoyment and appreciation of Shakespeare’s works.” – Rene Curley, Cordova HS

93% of students found themselves more engaged in the study of Macbeth due to participating in TSC’s playshop.

91% of students felt more academically prepared to continue their study of Macbeth due to TSC’s Playshop. 

This project is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

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