During the month of June, Knox County students enrolled in Shakespeare in Shades will work daily with UT theatre students and Knox County theatre and language arts instructors, in preparation for a final performance before family and friends on June 29 at the Carousel Theatre.
This is the second year that the Great Schools Partnership has worked with Knox County Schools and the Clarence Brown Theatre to fund the program. Shakespeare in Shades is offered free of charge to students who will be attending Northwest and Vine Middle Schools as sixth graders for the 2017-18 school year.
“Each summer, students are given a list of suggested books to read before they start the new school year. For a child that struggles with reading, this can be a real challenge,” said Hana Sherman, who leads the program. “With Shakespeare in Shades, these students are improving their reading skills while preparing to perform, so they’re actually bringing life to the words they’re reading.”
Since the summer enrichment camps take place at the middle schools, the students also get the chance to become familiar with their new school environments before the school year begins.
Both Vine and Northwest middle schools are part of the Great Schools Partnership’s Community School initiative. Info: www.greatschoolspartnership.com