About
Page to Players: Residencies is a program of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in which students collaborate with peers and teaching artists to engage in predictive reading, explore phonics and the etymology of words, utilize context clues, and interpret language, story, and character. Participants explore theme, tone, and story structure through theatre exercises and games, performance-based exploration of a single Shakespeare play, and a final presentation of an abridged version of the play that focuses on shorter passages or scenes rather than full plays. Students learn strategies for decoding and interpreting Shakespeare’s text, explore how to bring written language to life through compelling public speech, engage in physical storytelling, dive into Elizabethan drama, stage a Shakespeare scene, and may take part in special art projects, “Shakespeare Journals,” and a “Shakespeare Blog.”
• Ages: 9–16 years old
• Schedule: The 20-Day Play Immersion Residency runs over four to six weeks and typically ends with a 35–40 minute final presentation; the 10-Day Intensive takes place over two to three weeks with approximately ten sessions and a 10–15 minute final project; the 3-Day/4-Day Introduction consists of 3 or 4 days of sessions and is offered throughout the school year, with all residency dates subject to Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey staff availability.
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey focuses this residency program primarily on students in grades 4–9 and describes the 20-Day Play Immersion Residency as one of its most high-impact education programs, often using plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar. Past 10-Day Intensive residencies have included The Henry Project with selections from Henry V, The Hamlet Project featuring four major speeches from Hamlet, and projects centered on key scenes from Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, while the 3-Day/4-Day Introduction is ideal for grades 4–10 and typically focuses on the opening sequences of Romeo & Juliet. Teaching artists work in partnership with classroom teachers to coordinate residency work with school curriculum and to address many of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards, and collaborations with classroom teachers have included special art projects, “Shakespeare Journals,” and a “Shakespeare Blog.”
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is a teaching theatre dedicated to using classic masterworks as interdisciplinary teaching tools for artist training and arts education, and its mission is to bring new, relevant life to the world’s classics for a diverse audience and to use those works to provide transformative experiences on stage and in classrooms. The company is now in its 64th season, is the longest-running Shakespeare theatre on the east coast, and is New Jersey’s largest professional theatre company dedicated to Shakespeare’s canon and other classic masterworks. It is one of the leading Shakespeare theatres in the nation, the only independent arts organization in residence on the Drew University campus, and has been recognized as “Regional Theatre of the Year” by The Star-Ledger in 2002 and 2006 and as “The Best Company of the Year” by The Wall Street Journal in 2014, and in 2002 it received a $1 million Strategic Partnership Grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey serves approximately 40,000 adults and children annually and plays to about 75,000 audience members each year from several Mid-Atlantic states, and through non-traditional casting and outreach efforts it continues to build a culturally and geographically diverse audience.
The organization is under the new leadership of Artistic Director Brian B. Crowe. Participating schools in these residencies have included Madison Middle School; P.S. 13 in Jersey City; Normandy Park School and Alexander Hamilton School in Morristown; Forest Street School in Orange; Glenwood Elementary School in Short Hills; Harding Township School in New Vernon; and Quibbletown, Conackamack, and T. Schor Middle Schools in Piscataway. Student comments about the residencies have included, “I was surprised by how easy the residency made it to actually understand Shakespeare!” from Brett, a 5th grader at Glenwood Elementary School; “I realized I was more capable than I thought,” from Jeffrey at Normandy Park Elementary School; and “I had a ball…It was the most fun I had this year!” from Connor at Normandy Park Elementary School.
Last updated April 16, 2026.
• Ages: 9–16 years old
• Schedule: The 20-Day Play Immersion Residency runs over four to six weeks and typically ends with a 35–40 minute final presentation; the 10-Day Intensive takes place over two to three weeks with approximately ten sessions and a 10–15 minute final project; the 3-Day/4-Day Introduction consists of 3 or 4 days of sessions and is offered throughout the school year, with all residency dates subject to Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey staff availability.
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey focuses this residency program primarily on students in grades 4–9 and describes the 20-Day Play Immersion Residency as one of its most high-impact education programs, often using plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar. Past 10-Day Intensive residencies have included The Henry Project with selections from Henry V, The Hamlet Project featuring four major speeches from Hamlet, and projects centered on key scenes from Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, while the 3-Day/4-Day Introduction is ideal for grades 4–10 and typically focuses on the opening sequences of Romeo & Juliet. Teaching artists work in partnership with classroom teachers to coordinate residency work with school curriculum and to address many of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards, and collaborations with classroom teachers have included special art projects, “Shakespeare Journals,” and a “Shakespeare Blog.”
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is a teaching theatre dedicated to using classic masterworks as interdisciplinary teaching tools for artist training and arts education, and its mission is to bring new, relevant life to the world’s classics for a diverse audience and to use those works to provide transformative experiences on stage and in classrooms. The company is now in its 64th season, is the longest-running Shakespeare theatre on the east coast, and is New Jersey’s largest professional theatre company dedicated to Shakespeare’s canon and other classic masterworks. It is one of the leading Shakespeare theatres in the nation, the only independent arts organization in residence on the Drew University campus, and has been recognized as “Regional Theatre of the Year” by The Star-Ledger in 2002 and 2006 and as “The Best Company of the Year” by The Wall Street Journal in 2014, and in 2002 it received a $1 million Strategic Partnership Grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey serves approximately 40,000 adults and children annually and plays to about 75,000 audience members each year from several Mid-Atlantic states, and through non-traditional casting and outreach efforts it continues to build a culturally and geographically diverse audience.
The organization is under the new leadership of Artistic Director Brian B. Crowe. Participating schools in these residencies have included Madison Middle School; P.S. 13 in Jersey City; Normandy Park School and Alexander Hamilton School in Morristown; Forest Street School in Orange; Glenwood Elementary School in Short Hills; Harding Township School in New Vernon; and Quibbletown, Conackamack, and T. Schor Middle Schools in Piscataway. Student comments about the residencies have included, “I was surprised by how easy the residency made it to actually understand Shakespeare!” from Brett, a 5th grader at Glenwood Elementary School; “I realized I was more capable than I thought,” from Jeffrey at Normandy Park Elementary School; and “I had a ball…It was the most fun I had this year!” from Connor at Normandy Park Elementary School.
Last updated April 16, 2026.
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