Anna Racette: Shakespeare
in the
Body: An Exploration of the Pedagogical Mandate of the Stratford Festival
The
fragmentary approach to teaching Shakespeare is working.
As it aligns itself to film, this teaching
approach ensures that students learn in a way that is relevant to their
world.
The Stratford Festival has been lauded as a national institution and
repulsed
as homage to a British playwright that doesn’t encompass the Canadian
cultural
spirit. Yet what impact does it have on today’s youth? Is it a relevant
theatrical experience and how does a student take into account the live
presentation of Shakespeare in relation to the methods used to teach in
the
classroom? This paper explores the pedagogical mandate of the Festival
and the
reason educators expose students to live performance. As part of my
research, I
have spent the last year interviewing Stratford
actors and administration, including Pat Quigley, Antoni Cimolino,
William
Needles, Seanna McKenna, Graham Abbey and Sara Topham about their
experiences
with student audiences. I have also worked closely with two Toronto
high schools that have traveled to Stratford to
see live performances. How were the methods that they used to study
Shakespeare
applicable to their visit to Stratford?