Elementary and middle school children had been taking field trips to explore the arts for years. But there was little offered to students in high school. That changed when Gulfshore Playhouse and Artis—Naples partnered with the Collier County Public Schools to bring theater and music to all 11th grade students.
Andrew West
Artis—Naples
Each year one of William Shakespeare’s plays is reconstructed to be about 40 minutes long. Music is added. Students are brought to the theater at Artis—Naples to see professionals from Gulfshore Playhouse, and musicians from the Naples Philharmonic perform the adaptation.
“We find a lot that kids get to go on field trips in the early years,” says Skip Pardee, Collier County schools district coordinator for fine arts. “By the time they get to high school, they get so busy and they are preparing for college and they have all their advanced courses. There were trips for band, chorus or sports teams, but for a whole grade level it was not really happening.”
Skip was excited that this partnership could give every 11th grade student the chance to see a live professional performance.
“The kids get to connect a live performance with something they are studying in school,” Skip explains. “The trick is they are not just learning about the text, they are seeing it being acted out. It is really impactful seeing it and hearing it, and having the music added to it is a really original take on it.”
So far students have seen “Star Cross,” an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet,” and “Shipwreck,” an adaptation of “The Tempest.” The next show, scheduled for September, is an adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Kristen Coury, Gulfshore Playhouse founder and producing artistic director, says it takes a lot of work, but it is worth it.
“We are responsible for adapting a Shakespeare play and shortening it to about 40 minutes,” Kristen says. “We meet with Naples Philharmonic and choose music and where and when and how it will be instituted. Our team actually directs the show and casts the actors. We are responsible for rehearsing the actors and the blocking and then we meet with Artis two days before the performance for a tech rehearsal.”
The performers are from the Actors’ Equity Association,the labor union that represents American actors and stage managers in theater. Kristen says many of their performers are actors from New York. After the show, students often get a chance to meet with the professionals.
“The value of the arts in a child’s life is undeniable,” Kristen says. “There have been studies that underline that fact. These are things they read, and we are bringing it to life and making it relatable and enjoyable. Hearing a live orchestra onstage is something students very rarely have an opportunity to ever do.
"In some cases it becomes inspirational. In some cases a child can look at an actor or an instrumentalist and see it is a job. They see someone is doing it, and they can say, ‘I would like to do that job.’”
Artis—Naples provides the venue, a study guide and the musicians from the Naples Philharmonic.
“We have had a great relationship with Collier County Public Schools for decades,” says David Filner, executive vice president of artistic operations for Artis—Naples. “We were bringing in third, fourth, fifth and seventh grade classes to see performances with the Naples Philharmonic. We heard that the high school kids had really enjoyed coming to the Naples Phil as a child and missed it now that they were in high school.”
David says 11th grade was the perfect match since most of them had read Shakespeare.
“We looked at ways to meld music and drama together and we decided to do Shakespeare,” he says.
The actors and musicians put on four shows over two days. David says the partnership was important to make the project successful.
“We realized there is a big difference between the expectations of the younger grades and high school students,” David says. We realized we needed more diverse, cultural activities. So we started working with Gulfshore Playhouse.”
“It is a true partnership,” Kristen says.