Black Box Shakespeare with an educational twist

Second year Acting students are sharing their love of the Theatre with local high school students through a pilot program being run by USQ this week.

As part of the Black Box Shakespeare in Schools (BBS) program, students at five high schools in Toowoomba and Warwick get to experience ‘a night at the theatre' during their school day.

Director and Deputy Dean of Arts at USQ, Associate Professor Kate Foy, said the program was designed to make theatre and Shakespeare more accessible to school students.

'Increasingly we have found that schools are finding it difficult to send their students to the theatre after hours and during school time, so we decided to go out to schools in the classic theatre-in-education format,' Associate Professor Foy said.

'This means the students watch the production in their own school, on the floor of the school hall, seated on three sides. The program is especially designed to introduce students to some of the plays of Shakespeare and make them accessible.

'We are not however trying to replace the in-theatre experience, which is rich and draws upon all of the arts of theatre, for example design, sound, costume, lighting and so on.

'BBS is an educational tool and provides students with the opportunity to experience the energy of performance through good acting up close,' she said.

This year's production is entitled ‘All's Fair' and showcases various scenes from a variety of Shakespeare's works with emphasis on the notion that ‘All's Fair (in love and war)'.

'In picking a selection from the 39 plays, I wanted a theme to bind them together,' Associate Professor Foy said.

'I chose 'All's Fair (in love and war)' so each of the scenes looks at this notion, and asks some key questions for students to ponder, which the scenes play out.

'For example, What happens when you ignore your conscience? What's the right way to behave? Is lying ever OK? and so on.

'The show gives the students a taste of drama, verbal comedy, physical comedy and a sword fight to show the skills of stage combat.'

BBS will visit Warwick State High School, Scots PGC College, Fairholme College, Toowoomba Grammar School, and has already performed at St Saviour's College.

'We had our first performance at St Saviour's College yesterday, which was very well received so it is likely that BBS will continue in the future,' Associate Professor Foy said.

The BBS is a warm-up for the annual Shakespeare in Queens Park Festival, which plays from 27 February to 11 March 2007 and is open to the public.

Media Contact: Fiona Taylor, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2559 or +61 423 808 462