History

Shakesperience Productions, Inc. is the standard bearer for Shakespeare, as well as theatre and literature based outreach in Connecticut. Over the past fourteen years, Artistic Director Emily Mattina, together with Executive Director Jeffrey Lapham, has guided Shakesperience to quietly and confidently become a highly valued arts-in-education provider, annually performing over 650 workshops and performances for approximately 70,000 students in over 70 Connecticut communities and beyond. We hire up to 25 young professional artists each year, for whom Ms. Mattina provides cutting-edge classical training to deliver our wealth of programming. Shakesperience grew into this status as Connecticut's year-round Shakespeare company from an initial investment of nothing but the collective energy of the entire staff.

The success of Shakesperience can be attributed, in large part, to management's ability to thrive equally in both the arts and business worlds. Ms. Mattina is an artistic director and Shakespeare scholar with a head for business, and Mr. Lapham is a talented Executive Director with a degree in Mathematics and professional experience that includes theatre design and production. In its efforts to assure intellectual and financial community investment in Shakesperience, the company's directors and management have consulted for the staffs and directors of much older and larger arts organizations on reestablishing their own community support and good will and on the acquisition, rehabilitation, and development of their own facilities.

There are two main components to current programming:

1. The Public Season, consisting of a tour of shows for adults and families throughout the Northeast and including Shakespeare In Library Park; and the Spring and Fall Festivals of Theatre in our studio.
2. Educational Season, which reaches over 70,000 students a year, over half of whom are at-risk and under-served, via school tours throughout the Connecticut and beyond. Within the Educational Season is the Acting Intensive Series, which include studio-based classes for the public, ages seven through adult.

Our programming is created collaboratively and thoughtfully, using the Shakesperience Approach, to produce cutting-edge programs. A variety artistic media are combined for production designs, relying on talented creative designers, our emphasis on character development and social awareness, and clear and comprehensive ties to state standards for education in school programming. The company uses the Shakesperience Approach and intense text work in rehearsals with professional actors, community actors, and students. Specifically, programs that utilize the Shakesperience Approach to engage students are:

• Performances of Shakespeare's Plays: focusing on intense text work, in which our artists examine, explore, and deconstruct the language. The resulting celebration of Shakespeare's text is clear and accessible and the catalyst to create character, action, fight choreography, and music. Pre- and post-show discussions and workshops reinforce interactivity and approachability between actors and audience.
• Shakespeare Interactive Workshops: see description above (Educational Experience/Activities) of our signature workshop series, performed over 350 times each year, a cornerstone for many schools' Shakespeare Units.
• Residency Programs: feature cross-curricular lesson plans and rehearsals to encourage students to work as an ensemble and create a socially responsive, entertaining, and visceral theatrical performance for their community. The goal of each residency is to encourage lucid, analytic thinking and positive activity to enrich students' lives.
• Teacher Training: guides educators to incorporate the arts into cross-curricular activities.
• Public Performance Season: brings shows for adults and families to venues throughout New England. Shakespeare In Library Park injects new life to the City of Waterbury for two weekends of performances and Fall Festival of Theatre combines acting class students and our resident artists to performed in-studio productions.
• Acting Intensives: held weekly during the year and daily during the summer sessions to train young people in theatre, now include classes for adults, study groups, and play readings.

Among the founders of the Arts & Culture Collaborative, the Waterbury area's new regional arts council, Shakesperience has a proven record of cooperation with even the most disparate of groups from any industry. Shakesperience has partnered or worked with Brass City Harvest, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Waterbury Police Activity League, Palace Theater Waterbury, Mattatuck Museum, Department of Children and Family Services contract agencies, the Stratford Festival, CityCenter Danbury, Northwest Connecticut Convention & Visitors Bureau, Thomaston Opera House, Main Street Waterbury, Waterbury Housing Authority, Sterling House Community Center, Milford Fine Arts Council, and hundreds of schools, to name but a sample.

There are dozens of ways for people of all walks of life to engage Shakesperience and for Shakesperience to engage them, in return. Sign up for our newsletters, become a fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and most importantly, contact us.