Funds from the Charlotte Arts and Science Council ‘School Funding Opportunities’ helped bring Chester Shepherd of Shepherd Shakespeare to Charlotte Christian this month to lead a two day Shakespeare workshop with the middle school ACT 2 students. 

Chester Shepherd, founder and owner of Shepherd Shakespeare, visited the middle school ACT 2 class to provide a “physicality through Shakespeare” workshop. Students worked through how the text can motivate actors’ actions on stage. 

Abigail Walker, grade 7, really enjoyed when Mr. Shepherd told the students “to get really physical to help tell the story.” She also learned that Shakespearean drama is better understood when the physical actions of the actors match the dialogue.

“My favorite part was when we all tried to put [the action and dialogue] into our bodies and emotions,” shared Jane Zacarias, grade 6. With little stage direction, Jane learned, an actor has to pay attention to what the characters say in order to move and act throughout a scene.

John Prosper Snyder, grade 6, thought the best part of the workshop was watching his peers step outside their comfort zones. While Shakespeare’s archaic language can be overwhelming to understand initially, John Prosper said it was “really fun to act” once they translated the lines into more modern English.

Shakespeare is meant to be active, and that is exactly what the ACT 2 students experienced. They walked away with a better understanding of Shakespeare and the ability to not only understand the text more, but create motivated and fun movement for their Shakespeare characters.