Door Shakespeare

Photo by Suzi Hass.

The summer of 2011 marks Door Shakespeare’s 14th season of offering classic theater to audiences in the garden at Björklunden. Just as Shakespeare’s troupe brought drama to life on a stage under the open sky, so does Door Shakespeare under a canopy of stars and trees, with an apron of lawn and wings of shrubbery.

And like a garden, Door Shakespeare grows as it thrives. This past year the company has become a presence extending beyond the boundaries of its outdoor theater in Baileys Harbor.

“Door Shakespeare has long been one of Door County’s hidden jewels,” said Board Chair Kit Conner. “Now with our year-round company manager and some actors living in the county, we have been able to raise our visibility in the community.”

Executive  Director Suzanne Graff agrees. “It has long been a dream to contribute to children’s understanding and appreciation of our favorite playwright,” she said. “As Door Shakespeare has grown, this dream has become a reality.”

This expansion will, Artistic Director Jerry Gomis hopes, help young people discover the universality of Shakespeare’s drama, learn that “Shakespeare’s heroes encounter the same obstacles someone might in today’s world” and find “the heart in the actions of these immortal characters.”

Door Shakespeare began a pilot community outreach program, Shakespeare in the Schools, and expanded their season to include February performances of the farcical comedy The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Third Avenue Playhouse in Sturgeon Bay.

Ryan Schabach instructs freshman Landon Edwards. Photo by Gary Jones.

“Where there is a Will there is a way,” punned actor Ryan Schabach of the educational outreach project. As part of Shakespeare in the Schools, he, along with actresses Amy Ensign, Suzanne Graff and Kay Allmand, worked with students in Door County schools in a series of workshops designed to bring Shakespeare alive for students both through engaging the text of the bard’s plays and through acting exercises.

The Shakespeare in the Schools educational outreach program had its roots in the invitations that Door Shakespeare traditionally has extended to student groups to attend productions. Children in the migrant program at Gibraltar have been guests at performances since 2001. The kids are prepped for the play, arrive early to meet the actors, and “even those children with limited English proficiency enjoy the performance,” said Tom Zwicky, one of the program teachers.

“Several of our students were laughing so loudly during the garden scene in last summer’s Much Ado About Nothing,” he added, “that the lead actor started playing to them!”

Door Shakespeare actors presented sessions for English classes at Gibraltar, Sevastopol, and Southern Door, and Washington Island high schools on reading Shakespeare with understanding and appreciation. The plays most frequently discussed were Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet.

“I have always loved the words of Shakespeare,” said Company Manager Terese Boeck, “but I found his plays hard to understand when I was younger. I would have loved to have professional actors come into my English classroom!”

“The trick and joy of teaching Shakespeare,” said Gibraltar English teacher Lauren Bremer, “is making it accessible for all. Having actors from Door Shakespeare come in to work with the senior class brought Shakespeare’s words to life and breathed fresh air into our study of the text.”

Helping students discover that “hidden under a layer of beautiful Elizabethan verse” lies a content “relevant and relatable” to them is a goal of Bremer’s colleague Elaine Tripp. “I was grateful to have two professionals, Kay Allmanad and Ryan Schbach, visit my students” and help achieve this objective.

“When Ryan and Kay came to talk to us,” said one of her students, “they changed my point of view on Shakespeare!”

At Gibraltar High School, the actors expanded upon the classroom sessions by offering acting workshops as part of the Exposure to Creativity program sponsored by the Hardy Gallery and the Friends of Gibraltar. Selected middle and elementary school students also participated in acting workshops through Gibraltar’s enrichment program.

“It was fun!” said a student in an elementary workshop offered by Ensign and Allmand. “Can we do this again?” asked another.

Allmand finds “going into classrooms to help students make sense of Shakespeare a worthy endeavor.” She especially recognizes the importance of “actual Shakespearean actors coming in and talking from their own experience.” And she was excited that high school students had the opportunity to see a live performance of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).

The February run of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at the Third Avenue Playhouse was directed by Schabach, who also acted in the show. He was joined in the cast by Allmand and local actor Mark Moede (American Folklore Theatre), and production assistant Ensign. The run included two daytime performances at a special rate for Door County students. In addition, the troupe performed portions of the program at Southern Door and Washington Island.

“This is an opportunity for them to hear the words,” Schabach continued, “rather than sitting with a dictionary and trying to read them themselves. Shakespeare was meant to be heard and seen in a theater. Actors can help students find the beauty that is Shakespeare.”

The Gibraltar administration chose to take the entire high school body to the production, a decision Bremer lauds.

“No educational experience is more powerful than stepping out of the classroom,” she said. Attending the play was “enlightening, humorous, thought-provoking, and fun!”

Tripp agreed, “Shakespeare never intended any of his plays to be read silently. There is no substitute that matches the impact that Shakespeare acted live can have for students and educators.”

Additional Information:

Door Shakespeare’s educational outreach program this year was funded in part by a grant from the Raibrook Foundation.

The Door Shakespeare Board of Directors plans to continue Shakespeare in the Schools next year with the possibility of artist-in-residence programs that could lead to student productions of Shakespeare.

Individuals and organizations interested in supporting the project or bringing a program to their school may contact Door Shakespeare at (920) 839-1500 or [email protected].