Hudson Valley Artists Bring the Bard to Life

Their studies took a theatrical twist the week of March 6, when three visiting artists from The Hudson Valley Shakespeare (HVS), a local nonprofit professional theater company, led workshops on campus. Each class met with HVS actors Christine McBurney, Francis Pàce-Nuñez and Jacob Presson; the professionals presented scene work, led exercises and provided coaching. 

Upper school English teacher Lisa Green noted that the English Department has been collaborating with HVS for many years on its Shakespeare curriculum. “Bringing in teaching artists offers fresh perspectives and a wonderful feeling of energy and excitement,” Green said. “It takes the performance work we do as part of our repertoire of classroom activities for Shakespeare up a several notches.”

Upper school English teacher Stephanie Andreassi is teaching “Taming of the Shrew,” and described the class’ time with the actors as “a highlight of the year.” She explained, “Understanding the different ways a scene can be played — through intonation, movement and gesture — has deepened their understanding of the text and their role as readers and performers.” 

Sarah Schlapp ’25, who is studying “Hamlet” in Ms. Green’s class, appreciated the greater nuance the workshop provided: “I believe it is vital to engage with texts in a variety of ways to truly understand what they mean. Especially given the complexity of ‘Hamlet,’ studying Shakespeare through reading, writing and acting can offer a fuller and deeper understanding of the text.”

Schlapp’s classmate Ellie Hise ’25 agreed: “This method of studying allows for different interpretations of the characters and plot to be considered through different people's acting, and it provides the context of acting styles and set design that creates the atmosphere of the play, so that we aren't reliant on studying the text in a vacuum.”

For Green, having students gain a broader understanding of the Bard’s work is the most significant benefit of having HVS actors work with students every year. “As English teachers, we're trained to look at Shakespeare mainly through a literary lens, focusing on the themes and poetry, which is great, but plays like ‘Hamlet’ are fundamentally scripts for performance, and the actors are experts in approaching the plays that way. It deepens students' experience with the plays by encouraging them to ask questions about the feelings that drive the lines and the shifting power dynamics between characters. Perhaps most importantly, it allows students to be playful and take risks, while collaborating with one another.” 

Indeed, both Schlapp and Hise found that watching their classmates take the stage to act out scenes was the highlight of the sessions. 

“No two people will look at the same text and consistently derive the same interpretation,” Schlapp said. “The HVS teachers gave us the tools to act these moments out, and we were thus able to bring our own unique version of the scenes to life.”
 

As students near the end of their Shakespeare unit, they’re working on culminating assignments that include performances and, in one case class, bringing a modern twist to the English Renaissance-era classics: Students in Ms. Green’s class are co-creating and co-hosting short podcasts about aspects of “Hamlet” they’re curious about. No word yet on whether any podcasters will finally be able to find the answer to the existential question uttered by the story’s titular character: “To be or not to be?”