Secondary schools:
In just two energetic hours, an Arts Educators will re-introduce your students to Shakespeare’s language, characters and plots the way they should be – as a play in performance. As actors, our Arts Educators have decades of experience, and their insights can inspire a lifetime love affair with Shakespeare’s plays.

From introductions to last-minute exam revision, we’ll come to your school and tailor a masterclass for up to 40 students.

Primary schools:
Primary school is the perfect time to introduce Shakespeare’s plays to children. Young students are curious about the language, entertained by the plot lines and love all the dress-ups. We’ve already presented primary masterclasses for Macbeth, Romeo And Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with great success. Call if you’d like to tailor a primary masterclass for your school.

Student Masterclasses include:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Antony And Cleopatra
As You Like It
Hamlet
Henry 5
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
Richard 3
Romeo And Juliet
The Merchant Of Venice
The Taming Of The Shrew
The Tempest
Twelfth Night

Call 1300 305 730 to discuss other customised masterclasses.

Lovesick teenagers. Strict parents. Rebellion. No wonder modern kids connect so well with Shakespeare’s tragic teens. Romeo falls for Juliet. Juliet swoons for Romeo. The young ‘star-cross’d lovers’ are torn apart by an old family feud. It’s a classic boy meets girl, boy loses girl love story.

In 2011, for the first time, Bell Shakespeare presents a fast-paced 90 minute version of a mainstage production especially for students.

With the full force of a mainstage show, Romeo And Juliet is perfect for Years 7 – 12 English and Drama students. The production will bring all the drama, excitement and tragedy of Shakespeare’s classic play to life with a stunning design and dynamic, innovative retelling of the story we know so well.

SUITABLE FOR: Years 7 - 12

 

Directing one of Shakespeare’s plays is a rite of passage for Drama and English teachers.

Using excerpts from a range of popular Shakespeare plays, Shakespeare Weaponry takes you through practical exercises and focused seminars full of fresh ways to re-energise your students. Armed with your new-found confidence and a few tricks up your sleeve, conquering the works of Shakespeare and inspiring your classroom will be child’s play.
 

Claudio and Hero are deeply in love. Beatrice and Benedick are deeply in denial. All is well. Then Claudio humiliates Hero. Hero has a fainting attack and pretends to die. And Beatrice and Benedick join forces with a vengeance. And that’s just up to the interval.

If it sounds complicated, well, that’s love for you – a trip down the aisle is never a straight one.

John Bell directs this exuberant comedy with a lightness of touch and a fantastic cast including Blazey Best, Toby Schmitz, Max Gillies and Tony Llewellyn-Jones. When you delve into other people’s relationships you soon learn the real cost of commitment – what we will do and what we won’t do for that capricious and often elusive state of love.

Get intensive tools for teaching the new National Curriculum when The Players come to town.

During a full day of Professional Learning, you’ll discover how to use Shakespeare’s works to fulfill general capabilities in the Literacy, Language and Literature strands. You’ll also be taught practical classroom exercises that make teaching Shakespeare within the new National Curriculum a breeze.


The forums will suit English and Literature teachers.

To see the future one must only look to the past. Like many who came before him, and after him, Julius Caesar had the support of the people but the loathing of the players.

They conspired. They persuaded. They whispered it was for the good of the country. All they needed to succeed was Brutus. Poor patriotic Brutus. He was like a son to Caesar and a poster boy for the republic. But not even a front-man of such unimpeachable integrity could avert the total and utter disaster their daggers set in motion.

Peter Evans, Bell Shakespeare’s new Associate Artistic Director, takes this momentous piece of Roman history and transports it to the corridors of backroom politics. This time, when Caesar gets the axe, it’s the media who roar like an angry mob. This sharp political drama puts friendship to the test and reveals a stark contrast between our intentions and our actions.

With Alex Menglet as Caesar and Kate Mulvany as the conniving Cassius, we go behind the scenes as yet another leader is forced from office.

Tips for coping with old age, retirement and ungrateful children.

A father in his twilight years divides his assets between his three daughters. She who loves him most will gain the most. Goneril and Regan are more than happy to flatter him so they share the spoils. Cordelia, his youngest and favourite, is too honest for her own good. Furious, he disowns her and sends her away. Betrayed by the elder two who have all he once owned, Lear is left destitute. Still blinded by pride and vanity, it’s not until Cordelia returns to save him that he realises his catastrophic mistake and recognises true love. But is it too late?

One of the greatest works in Western literature, King Lear is an epic story of power, loyalty, jealousy and betrayal, and a profoundly moving study of human frailty and the nature of love.

Celebrate the 20th year of Bell Shakespeare with some of Australia’s most respected actors and exciting new talent in Marion Potts’ richly poetic production.

A beginner’s guide to witchcraft, Wizz Fizz and girl germs.

Andy Griffiths’ Just Macbeth! is a really silly version of Shakespeare’s great big gory tragedy starring Andy, Lisa, Danny and Jen from his Just! series of books. And when we say really silly, we mean really, really silly as it’s performed by six funny but tragic actors and a garden gnome and has witches and Wizz Fizz and ghosts and girl germs and...

Following a rip-roaringly successful season in 2008, Just Macbeth! returns with many of the original cast. Loaded with gags aimed at children and adults alike, it’s an absolute treat for the whole family.

Directed by Wayne Harrison.

The sort of thing that can happen when a man looks a little too much like his sister.

Orsino is head over heels with Olivia, but she's too busy mourning her dead brother to notice. Meanwhile, her steward is trying to run a strict household while grappling with sexual frustration, and her boozy old uncle is chasing the maid and generally causing trouble. Into this mayhem enter the twins – one male, one female – equally lovable but a little too hard to tell apart…

In Lee Lewis’ retelling of the play, Viola has lost her twin brother following a natural disaster but can't search for him until morning. How will she and her fellow survivors get through the night? They’ll put on a show!

This new production brings a subtle twist and a little bit of magic to Shakespeare’s much-loved comedy of mistaken identity, deception and desire.

Directed by Lee Lewis, with Max Cullen and Brent Hill.

Timeless stories. Living, breathing characters. Themes that are as relevant now as ever.

In just two energetic hours, one of our Arts Educators will re-introduce your students to Shakespeare’s language, characters and plots the way they should be – as a play in performance. As actors, our Arts Educators have decades of experience, and their insights can inspire a lifetime love affair with Shakespeare’s plays.
From introductions to last-minute exam revision, we’ll come to your school and tailor a masterclass for up to 40 students.

Student Masterclasses for 2010:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Antony And Cleopatra
As You Like It
Hamlet
Henry 5
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
Richard 3
Romeo And Juliet
The Merchant Of Venice
The Taming Of The Shrew
The Tempest
Twelfth Night

 

Once more unto the breach dear teachers, once more. Touring to every state and territory in Australia in 2010.

Once more unto the breach dear teachers, once more. Bell Shakespeare Arts Educators are here to arm you with all the Shakespeare ammunition you need – smart, practical teaching strategies that couple close reading with dramatic realisation, remembering that Shakespeare is meant to be performed.

Together we’ll deconstruct and re-imagine famous scenes, discuss new readings and interpretations, and make learning Shakespeare a little easier, and a lot more fun, for you and your students.

Each Masterclass one day only. See dates above.

Friends, teachers, countrymen, lend us your ears, and we will provide you with an intensive day of Shakespeare teacher training.

Using excerpts from a range of popular Shakespeare plays, Shakespeare Weaponry takes you through practical exercises and focused seminars full of fresh ways to re-energise your students. Armed with your new-found confidence and a few tricks up your sleeve, conquering the works of Shakespeare and inspiring your classroom will be child’s play.

A full day of intensive Professional Development covering Macbeth and Romeo And Juliet.

Shakespeare’s bloodiest play and his most tragic love story. Discover innovative new ways to help your students immerse themselves in both texts, exploring plot, language, dramatic techniques and different interpretations of the plays.

A full day of intensive Professional Development and fascinating new insights into Shakespeare famous tragedy.

Reward yourself and gain new insights with a full day’s exploration of the play’s historical context, contemporary connections, the characters and their relationships, the power of Hamlet’s language, and fascinating new readings of the text.

In memory of Nell Hourn
Supported by Colonial Foundation

One life-changing week in Sydney. A lifetime of possibilities.

The Bell Shakespeare Regional Performance Scholarship gives students in remote areas the chance to learn and perform Shakespeare with some of the most experienced Shakespearean actors in Australia.

Masterclasses, backstage tours, tickets to live performances and a front row seat at a week of Bell Shakespeare rehearsals. On top of that, we’ll sort students out with accommodation (along with a parent or guardian), and give them the opportunity to perform their winning monologue for John Bell and a Bell Shakespeare cast.

All they have to do is:
- Download and learn a 1-2 minute monologue for
female characters or male characters from bellshakespeare.com.au/learning
- Book an audition slot by emailing learning@bellshakespeare.com.au
- Perform it for one of our friendly Arts Educators (they’re actors too)
- Have fun experimenting with the monologue in different ways

 

Scholarship enabled by the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation

Get closer to Shakespeare no matter where you are.

Teaching Shakespeare doesn’t have to be a solo pursuit. Even if you feel a little cut off in remote or regional Australia, you can still have access to new ideas about the plays and how to bring them to life for your students.

In 2011, 12 teachers will have the opportunity to travel to Sydney for a four-day workshop where you can hone your skills with new teaching tools that will get you ready for the incoming National Curriculum in 2011 – and have the chance to share ideas with each other about teaching off the beaten track.

Travel and accommodation included.

Commentary. Interpretation. Live performance. Lively discussion.

An intensive, interactive masterclass where Bell Shakespeare experts give students real insight into Hamlet at that most critical time – in the lead up to the HSC and VCE.
Designed for HSC Advanced English Module B Critical Study of Text, and VCE Literature List B Close Study of Text, The Hamlet Seminar offers two ways to explore Hamlet inside and out.

The Hamlet Seminar will be presented by Damien Ryan and Matt Edgerton. Both Damien and Matt have been cast members of Bell Shakespeare productions and directors of Bell Shakespeare’s Actors At Work. Matt is also Bell Shakespeare’s Resident Artist in Education.

Ambition. Betrayal. Murder. Power. Revenge. They’re all here.

Macbeth Intensive isn’t shy about bringing you face to face with Shakespeare’s most bloodthirsty story – or the preparation actors go through as they bring the play to life. Moral dilemmas, the corrupting influence of power, war and human frailty – Macbeth Intensive will give students as much insight into modern politics as it does about the play itself.

Reading Shakespeare is one thing, but there are many more insights to be gained when you see actors bring the playwright’s words to life.

Actors At Work brings live performance into the classroom, helping your students get to know Shakespeare’s plays from the inside out. With just two roadcases, five banners and a handful of props, Actors At Work proves that you don’t need professional stages, lighting rigs or elaborate costumes to put on a play. Shakespeare has never been so real for young people.

Hamlet Intensive helps students to discover the different readings of one of the most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language.

Designed for senior students making a critical study of text, it will unlock the secrets of Hamlet and guide them through the wordplay, nuance, characters and dramatic depth of Shakespeare’s play.

Reading Shakespeare is one thing, but there are many more insights to be gained when you see actors bring the playwright’s words to life.

Actors At Work brings live performance into the classroom, helping your students get to know Shakespeare’s plays from the inside out. With just two roadcases, five banners and a handful of props, Actors At Work proves that you don’t need professional stages, lighting rigs or elaborate costumes to put on a play. Shakespeare has never been so real for young people.

Romeo And Juliet Intensive explores key scenes, character studies and the world of Shakespeare’s great play, making it as relevant as ever.

Students studying Romeo And Juliet have so much in common with Shakespeare’s two most famous teenagers. This play has it all – young love, street brawls, rites of passage, overbearing parents, a fake funeral, one big party and a tragic end.

Reading Shakespeare is one thing, but there are many more insights to be gained when you see actors bring the playwright’s words to life.

Actors At Work brings live performance into the classroom, helping your students get to know Shakespeare’s plays from the inside out. With just two roadcases, five banners and a handful of props, Actors At Work proves that you don’t need professional stages, lighting rigs or elaborate costumes to put on a play. Shakespeare has never been so real for young people.

All great tragedies spring from all-too-human flaws.

In Trust And Betrayal; students take the role of psychological detectives, examining the clues and uncovering the seeds of pride, deception and treachery. Key scenes from Macbeth and Othello present them with the evidence they need to reach insightful conclusions for themselves.

Reading Shakespeare is one thing, but there are many more insights to be gained when you see actors bring the playwright’s words to life.

Actors At Work brings live performance into the classroom, helping your students get to know Shakespeare’s plays from the inside out. With just two roadcases, five banners and a handful of props, Actors At Work proves that you don’t need professional stages, lighting rigs or elaborate costumes to put on a play. Shakespeare has never been so real for young people.

Love is a many splendoured thing.

Comic, tragic and utterly unpredictable, Shakespeare covered it all in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo And Juliet. Love’s Magic will energise your students with the comedy and romance of these two plays and a host of unforgettable characters – showing them how love can often move in mysterious, sometimes tragic ways.

Reading Shakespeare is one thing, but there are many more insights to be gained when you see actors bring the playwright’s words to life.

Actors At Work brings live performance into the classroom, helping your students get to know Shakespeare’s plays from the inside out. With just two roadcases, five banners and a handful of props, Actors At Work proves that you don’t need professional stages, lighting rigs or elaborate costumes to put on a play. Shakespeare has never been so real for young people.