SUMMER WITH SHAKESPEARE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Student performers (l: Hunter King and Katherine J. Martinez, r: K'yeona Winston) in Two Gentlemen of Verona, a 2018 co-production of Notre Dame of Maryland University & BSF
We have big goals:
Send 20 students to a full week of Summer With Shakespeare camp
FOR FREE.
Each summer, we welcome middle school students from the Greater Baltimore area for three weeks of Shakespeare fun! Over the course of a camp week, our dynamic campers tackle an abbreviated version of a Shakespeare play--from casting to staging--and perform it for friends and family.
BSF Summer With Shakespeare campers learn acting techniques, ensemble-building, script analysis, character creation, costuming, and stage combat through age appropriate activities. Our experienced teaching artists guide students through the process using an adaptation of BSF's signature style.
In mid-2019, we will open applications for Summer With Shakespeare camp scholarships. Our goal is to provide 20 scholarship slots, so that 20 Baltimore-area students can attend camp COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE.
You can help.
Through the generosity of patrons like you, we can reach our goal. From pocket change collected at our performances to larger gifts from long-time donors, we have been humbled by Baltimore's willingness to give.
One week of camp costs $250. A donation of any size contributes to a meaningful summer experience for a local student in grades 4-8. We can't wait to meet our campers, and we can't wait to thank you for supporting this important work.
Why Shakespeare?
The value of teaching Shakespeare through performance, particularly to children before they enter high school, is extremely well documented, and BSF's Summer with Shakespeare is designed to get children interested in great literature and allow them to have great fun with it at the same time.
Getting kids up on their feet to perform Shakespeare has a number of proven educational benefits:
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Early experience with Shakespeare provides students with confidence to approach great literature and allows them to develop advanced reading and writing skills built on strong vocabulary and an understanding of literary devices,
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It allows children to take creative risks and builds a sense of confidence,
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It allows for students to actively interpret a text in ways that are relevant to them allowing for a personal connection to any play,
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It teaches ensemble-building and fosters collaborative creativity,
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It encourages a passion for reading and discussion which leads to higher student test scores during the school year.
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Children are clearly sensitive to the play of patterns and symmetry available in Shakespearean language, and their own linguistic development can be enhanced by exposure to these experiences of pattern-rich literature.
(Have we mentioned that its fun??)