Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis is part of Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest.


Saturday Shakespeare Conservatory
"O, this learning, what a thing it is!"
~Taming of the Shrew

Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis invites you to

shake it up!

Classes for ages 5 - 18 run weekly from September 16 - December 16, 2006 (except Saturday, November 25).

The Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, in cooperation with the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Saint Louis University and Crossroads College Preparatory School is proud to present: Saturday Shakespeare Conservatory, an array of delightful Shakespeare classes for young people of all ages. We invite you to join our sequence of classes for young people interested in performing Shakespeare. Acquire the skills necessary to perform Shakespeare's plays with dexterity and confidence. Taught by experienced Shakespeare Festival staff, these classes focus on speaking Shakespeare's text clearly and expressively, and creating characterization based on the text and historical research. So join us and Shake It Up! every Saturday at the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis' Saturday Shakespeare Conservatory!

Classes will be held on the campus of Saint Louis University in Xavier Hall, 3733 W. Pine Mall, St. Louis, Missouri, 63108.  “Meet William Shakespeare” will be held at Crossroads College Preparatory School, 500 DeBaliviere, St. Louis, Missouri, 63112.

Details about each class are listed below.  For more information or to register, call us at 314/531-9800.

To download a PDF of our class brochure Click Here.

Meet William Shakespeare
Ages 5 - 6 from 9:00 - 10:00 AM, at Crossroads: $195

Designed for the young child, this class mixes the introduction of appropriate adaptations of Shakespeare's plays with art projects and simple theatre activities, including theatre games, improvisation and language play. A work-in-progress demonstration and showing of student art work will end the semester.

Shakespeare Acting I
Ages 7 - 11 from 12:30 - 1:30 PM, at SLU: $195              Ages 12 - 18 from 12:30 - 2:00 PM, at SLU: $230

Are you new to Shakespeare but enjoyed the Festival and want to learn more? This is the program for you! Learn about Shakespeare and how he wrote. Examine several of his plays and begin to work on familiar scenes. Explore how actors make choices based on Shakespeare's language.

Speak the Speech & Shakespeare Scenes for Kids
Ages 7 - 9 from 9:00 - 10:20 AM, at SLU: $230

Requires some experience with Shakespeare as an audience member or as an actor in a class situation. Twenty minutes of Speaking Shakespeare's Language is followed by 2-4 person scene work to be presented at the end of the semester to an invited audience.

Speak the Speech & Shakespeare Scenes for Tweens
Ages 10 - 12 from 9:20 - 11:00 AM, at SLU: $265

Requires previous experience with Shakespeare in a class situation. Tutorial on Speaking Shakespeare's language is followed by appropriate cuttings and adaptations of 2- 6 person scenes and monologues to be presented at the end of the semester to an invited audience.

Jesters & Fools
Ages 8 - 12 from 12:30 - 2:00 PM, at SLU: $235  (Ages 13 - 18 will be offered in the spring semester!)

Comic techniques including elements of slapstick, clowning, juggling, mime, dance, schtick, commedia and improvisation using masks and exaggerated costume elements are introduced. These are then applied to some of Shakespeare's most beloved comic characters: Launce from Two Gentlemen of Verona; Malvolio, Feste, Toby and Aguecheek from Twelfth Night, Stephano and Trinculo from The Tempest, etc. A final showing at semester's end completes the class.

Scenes with Swordplay
Ages 8 - 12 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM, at SLU: $235    Ages 13 - 18 from 12:30 - 2:00 PM at SLU: $235

Taught by a professional fight choreographer, this class introduces students to hand-to-hand combat, foil and broadsword techniques that support the performance of selected scenes from Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Henry IV and Henry V. A demonstration performance is presented at the end of the semester.

Speak the Speech & Advanced Shakespeare Scenes for Teens
Ages 13 - 18 from 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM at SLU: $325

This is the perfect class for advanced teen actors committed to a professional-level course in performing Shakespeare. Speaking Shakespeare's language is followed by vocal work for power and endurance. Two-minute monologues and scenes of six minutes or more are rehearsed and polished for a semester-end performance.

Important Information:

  • Registrations are accepted by mail, phone (314/531-9800), fax (314/531-9805) or in person, and in the order received.

  • Total payment is due upon registration. A non-payment penalty of $20 will be added to the total amount due for any returned checks or credit card charges that are declined.

  • Financial aid will be considered on a case by- case basis. Limited aid will be awarded based on need.

  • A letter will be sent confirming your registration. Confirmations will be sent as registrations are received; please allow two weeks for processing.

  • Parents will be contacted as soon as possible if the session they register for is full or does not meet minimum enrollment.

  • Cancellations will be accepted up to two weeks before the start of a session with a $20 processing fee. Unless a documented reason is presented, cancellations after that time will not be refunded.

  • Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis reserves the right to cancel any class that does not meet minimum enrollment. In the event of a cancellation, payment will be refunded within two weeks of cancellation notification.