The California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda is well aware that the plays of William Shakespeare, if staged in an old-fashioned way, could be a tough sell for middle school students. However, thanks to the innovative Cal Shakes Student Discovery Matinee program, a group of Alliance Academy 6th-graders have been introduced to the legendary bard’s way with words, knack for creating memorable characters, and to their surprise, his playful sense of humor.
When teacher Robin Green told a group of 6th-grade students she was taking them to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream, most of the 20 kids had heard of Romeo and Juliet, but that was as far as their knowledge of Shakespeare knowledge had gone. Green was “a little worried” that the language would be tough for 6th-graders to penetrate, “but Cal Shakes does a wonderful job of making it accessible and discussing the plot [with the kids] beforehand.” She had a hunch this play might be the perfect entry point for the middle school students.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream is probably the best play [for this age group],” she says. “It’s so accessible, fantastical and humorous.” There is some flair to the production, too. “There are so many amazing feats and effects,” says Green. The directors, actors, and other staffers at the California Shakespeare Theater go to great lengths to engage young viewers.
“At first I thought it would be boring but it was exciting,” says 6th-grader Steven. “I thought it would be different, but the play was funny, and had singing and dancing. I was impressed. It makes me want to see other plays he wrote, like Romeo and Juliet. I also think it will prepare me for high school.”
“It was cool because I’d never seen a real play of Shakespeare with my own eyes,” says fellow 6th-grader Diana. “It was a great experience because I’ve always wanted to see a play by him.”
Green has seen a lasting literary spark in the kids since their trip. “It really inspires a love of language,” she says. “We’ve been studying a lot of figurative language, and being able to see it come to life, acted out, [it helps them] experience how language can really take you to other places.”
“It’s also good to expose them to the plays at an early age because when they get to 9th and 10th grade and start reading Shakespeare, they’ll have a background in it.” As the master himself wrote it in A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes.
For this group of 6th-graders, Shakespeare is no longer a shadowy name on a dusty tome, but something with dramatic shape, form, and imagination.
Young Gardeners Break Ground at Alliance
Shakespeare had a few things to say about the natural world, too, including this oft-quoted line: “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” With their new garden, Coordinator James Tinker and his after-school students are making this quote ring true on Alliance Academy’s campus.
8th-grader Rogelio leads us on a tour, explaining what the group has done to get the garden going this fall. “These are some roses a lady donated to us,” he says. “She gave us them in bad condition, but we tried our best to fix them up…Over here’s our vegetable box, where we’re growing chard, cilantro, parsley, radishes. Over here we have our smaller vegetables, and the ones that can’t survive yet.” Around him, other students hustle to water the newly sprouting crops.
Another student walks up to Tinker with a handful of wildflower seeds, which he brought from home to plant at Alliance. Meanwhile, Rogelio runs down some of the concepts the kids have learned in Tinker’s class and through their hands-on work in the garden. “We’ve learned about how to make our own fertilized soil, with worms,” he says, “and we’re also learning [all about] planting. It’s really cool here. I like the planting, I like getting dirty in the earth. We’re gonna eat the stuff when enough of them grow.”
They’re also gaining a wider ecological perspective. “You know more about the environment and how to keep it safe,” Rogelio explains.
Tinker’s expansive vision includes creating a little haven from the urban surroundings. “The dream is to get the cement ripped up along the side of the basketball courts and plant trees, so the kids have shade and we don’t even see 98th Avenue,” he says. “My main hope is that the students will develop a sense of pride in their community and benefit from feeling they have made positive and long lasting contributions.”
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