Shakespeare in the Schools 2023-24

Shakespeare in the Schools

Macbeth

For the 11th year, GableStage brings an abridged, contemporary adaptation of a Shakespearian classic to 20+ Miami-Dade Public Schools. With a focus on bullying, the 23/24 production is Macbeth directed by FIU professor Michael Yawney. This partnership with FIU will tour during the month of March 2024 and include two public performances at FIU on February 23 at 7pm and February 24 at 2pm. Audiences are invited public performance at GableStage on March 24 at 8pm.

Teachers and activity coordinators may sign up their school here:

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Michael Yawney

Director/Playwright

Michael Yawney is a Miami-based director/playwright. His gloss on Kid Ends Play will appear in the next issue of Imagined Theatre. Last season, he directed a double bill of Brecht/Weill’s Lindberg’s Flight and Blitzstein’s Airborne Symphony for Orchestra Miami. He directed Rudi Goblen’s FITO for the Live Arts Bard Biennial and PET at Miami Light Project, YoungArts, and #305ONEFEST. Yawney’s production of Heather Woodbury’s 12-hour stand-up novel As the Globe Warms was seen at Austin’s Vortex Rep and L.A.’s Redcat. With Brandon Urutia, he co-created the streaming production Intimate/Internet for GableStage. Yawney wrote and directed Exile Jesus Starbucks for Miami Light Project’s Here & Now. He also adapted and directed the Bulgarian play, The Spider for Alternative Theater Festival. His play 1,000 Homosexuals premiered at the Arsht Center. His gloss on Kid Ends Play will appear in the next issue of Imagined Theatre.

Yawney founded Florida International University’s play development program The Greenhouse. He has a BFA from the Experimental Theater Wing of New York University and an MFA in Directing from Columbia University.

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SHAKESPEARE IN THE SCHOOLS

The 23/24 production is Macbeth.

Directed by Michael Yawney

Made possible by funding from PNC Arts Alive

Shakespeare in the Schools is funded by The Children’s Trust. The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.  It is also presented with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

Shakespeare in the Schools, Julius Cesar, 2016
Julius Caesar, 2015. Photo Anton Church

Shakespeare in the Schools: Macbeth

A cast of six will tour local high schools playing a one-hour adaptation of Macbeth. In this adaptation, a group of young people meet to enact the classic play, but discover that Macbeth tells the story of their own lives. Using everyday items that can be found in any school and costumes that can be found in any teenager’s closet, they transform the play to speak about their experience.

The Program

Objectives

To expose high school students to classic text that is animated from the page; Shakespeare is meant to be played rather than read and many young people will never have the opportunity to experience complicated, metaphorical verse, brought to life with depth, vibrancy and meaning.

To engender a life-long love of Shakespeare by amplifying the overarching themes that exist in Shakespearean plays, such as appearance vs reality; change; order and disorder; and conflict and how these themes are relevant today

To provide actors and stage managers, who have recently graduated from college, their first professional opportunity. By providing an experienced director, dramaturg and production team and mentorship from GableStage stage managers and staff, early career actors gain confidence and experience in their craft

About Twelfth Night

William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, Twelfth Night, a story filled with romance and mistaken identities, tells the story of a shipwrecked woman navigating love and life in a new land. In this adaption, the coast of Illyria is replaced with the vast beaches of Miami, while Haiti stands powerfully in the place of our protagonist’s homeland of Messaline. 

Boosted by music, poetic language and rich cultural references, this Twelfth Night carefully explores the diverse tapestry of Miami and the migrant stories that have shaped the city many call home. 

Study Guides

Taming of the Shrew Study Guide
Julius Ceasar Study Guide
Shakespeare Teacher’s Guide
Choir Boy Study Guide
Antony and Cleopatra Study Guide
As You Like It Study Guide

Diary of Anne Frank Study Guide
Doctor Faustus Study Guide
Hamlet Study Guide
Macbeth Study Guide
No Child Study Guide
Timon of Athens Study Guide

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Contact

For more information, contact

education@gablestage.org