Lighthouse Academy
Shakespeare Conquest
Ages 12+
Shakespeare Conquest is an amazing, two-semester Practice Scholar project that inspires students to study the works of the greatest poet-philosopher of all time. During the first semester, students study a Shakespeare tragedy in depth through weekly reading assignments, in-class discussions, and opinion papers. Other assignments include memorization and giving a presentation on an Elizabethan era topic.
During the second semester, students will have several weeks of actor’s training while studying one of Shakespeare’s comedies. Then they delve into Shakespeare even further by preparing and performing the play they just studied. The final 8-9 weeks of the class are spent rehearsing for the play. Rehearsals are held two to three times per week and each student is expected to commit to the rehearsals and the performances. A schedule will be given well in advance. Shakespeare Conquest helps students come to learn about themselves as they study human nature through the plays of Shakespeare. Studying and performing the heightened language of Shakespeare will build both character and scholarship in the students.
Scholars will also learn...
Vision: to see they can be part of something great.
Mission: to do hard things and recognize they have a role to play.
Abilities: to disagree, and express their ideas, respectfully.
Skills: to understand challenging works of literature.
Books and other materials needed
(subject to change by the mentor):
Student manual - $20+
Cliff’s Complete versions of the Shakespeare plays chosen by the mentors, one for each semester.
For the play, there may be some costume costs.
How much time is required for work outside of class?
Students will spend approximately 5-10 hours per week reading, memorizing, researching and preparing for class. The second semester requires more rehearsal time and extra time for memorization for approximately eight weeks.
Parent involvement?
Parents are part of the Shakespeare scholar’s mentor team and will commit to a weekly parent mentor meeting with their scholar to help them with scheduling and time management, writing, meeting play watching/reading goals, memorization, etc. The idea is to help the scholar take initiative and provide them with support, listening to and challenging them along the way. Parent volunteers are mandatory for the Shakespeare production. The Shakespeare production is awesome! A ton of work, but so amazing, really! Parents must be an active commonwealth member, be present on campus and agree to stay up-to-date on Band, our commonwealth’s communication app.