Park Avenue Theater Education Program: Discovering Shakespeare’s Language
At Park Avenue Theater, our Education Program invites students to step inside the rhythm and wit of Shakespeare’s world. Through a dynamic exploration of verse, prose, and performance, participants learn how the structure of Shakespeare’s language shapes character, emotion, and storytelling. Our workshops blend learning with creativity, helping students unlock the secrets of iambic pentameter, experiment with prose, and even play with alternative rhythms like trochaic tetrameter. Each session balances technical skill with imaginative discovery, offering students tools to both understand and embody the Bard’s words.
Students begin by learning to hear the heartbeat of Shakespearean verse — the steady rhythm of iambic pentameter. By speaking, moving, and experimenting with the meter, they experience firsthand how rhythm reveals character intent and emotional nuance. We explore how shifts from verse to prose signal social hierarchy, intimacy, or humor, and how Shakespeare used these changes to guide his actors and engage his audience. Through guided exercises, students gain confidence with classical text and develop an intuitive sense for how sound and structure create meaning.
Beyond analysis, our approach is deeply practical and playful. Students work collaboratively to craft their own scenes inspired by Shakespeare’s techniques — writing dialogue in verse, experimenting with meter, and remixing familiar stories in fresh, contemporary voices. By translating the mechanics of the language into their own creative expression, they develop both performance skills and literary understanding. The emphasis is always on discovery and joy, not perfection, allowing learners of all experience levels to find their voice within Shakespeare’s world.
Our workshops can also be designed as an add-on to a school’s existing curriculum. For instance, if students are studying A Midsummer Night’s Dream, our sessions can be tailored to expand on their classroom work — deepening understanding of text, character, and rhythm through active exploration. We also offer combined programs that include both the workshop and tickets to a Park Avenue Theater performance. Our previous 2025 production, Richelle II, was a bold adaptation of Richard II featuring a complete gender swap — a reimagining of the world as if patriarchy never existed. By flipping the traditional power structure and giving expanded storylines to the male characters (formerly women’s roles), this production examined the double standards embedded in language and society. It challenged audiences to question perception, bias, and identity — inviting students and educators alike to join us on a journey of discovery and conversation.
Our current production: Romeo & Juliet, What if…? keeps about 80% of Shakespeare’s text. Our adaptation dives into the effect our choices, words and courage for vulnerability have on us. Themes like social pressure, keeping up your image, following someone else, fear of rejection, are all within our play. We see the conscience trying to steer the characters a different way.. In one of our workshops, we invite students to explore these themes within R&J for themselves.
These workshops are led by our Artistic Director, Jo van der Meij, whose teaching is rooted in a profound love for language and performance. With a background in acting, directing, teaching, and coaching, Jo brings a wealth of experience to every session. She has trained and collaborated with Tony-nominated director Tim Carroll and other leading Shakespeare experts from the UK, deepening her craft and pedagogical approach. Her guidance helps students move forward in both confidence and skill, inspiring them to approach Shakespeare’s work with curiosity and courage. Jo’s passion for Shakespeare is contagious — she creates a space where discovery is encouraged, play is essential, and every student’s voice matters.
Ultimately, our goal is to make Shakespeare alive — to transform his language from something studied on a page into something spoken, felt, and owned by each student. The Park Avenue Theater Education Program celebrates the power of words, rhythm, and imagination, giving young people the freedom to explore, question, and create. In learning how Shakespeare wrote, they discover how they themselves can write, speak, and perform with authenticity and confidence.
Why Choose the Park Avenue Theater Education Program?
Professional instruction from an experienced director, actor, and teacher.
Flexible workshops tailored to fit existing school programs and learning goals.
Applicable across subjects: English, Drama, Literature, and Social Studies.
Creative engagement: students learn by doing, creating, and reflecting.
Enriching experiences: combine workshops with a live theater visit.
Accessible and inspiring for students of all backgrounds and experience levels.
Our workshops are suitable for both secondary schools and vocational programs. They can be offered as single sessions (1–2 hours) or as multi-day intensives where students work toward a short performance or presentation. Every session takes place in a safe, energetic environment where humor, freedom, and curiosity are central.
Words That Stay With You
Our ultimate goal is simple yet powerful: to make Shakespeare come alive. In a world where communication often becomes fast and shallow, Shakespeare’s language offers depth, rhythm, and humanity. The Park Avenue Theater Education Program celebrates exactly that: the power of words, imagination, and expression.
By learning how Shakespeare thought, wrote, and performed, students discover something even more valuable — how they can use language, rhythm, and emotion to speak with conviction, creativity, and courage.
Interested?
Teachers and schools can contact Park Avenue Theater for more information, pricing, and availability. Together, we’ll design a program that fits your students, themes, and educational goals.
