2025
Shakespeare Teacher Training Seminar: Professional Development for Educators
These immersive professional development seminars equip educators to successfully and joyfully teach Shakespeare’s plays with all the basics of the American Shakespeare Center’s approach to text.
Engage in hands-on sessions focused on text, staging, and audience dynamics, with dedicated time for reflection and collaboration with colleagues. Led by ASC’s expert Education Team, in collaboration with guest experts, we will explore rehearsal room techniques that empower your students with an infinite variety of choices for interpreting the page and the stage.
Leave with actionable tools and strategies you can implement immediately, ensuring your students connect with Shakespeare in dynamic and memorable ways.
Foundational Teacher Seminar at ASC
These single-day professional development workshops for educators introduce ASC’s active, performance-based approach to teaching Shakespeare.
Upcoming Shakespeare teacher training
- Fall 2025 Seminar I – Saturday, September 20 – Teaching Shakespeare
- Fall 2025 Seminar II – Saturday, November 1 – Teaching Shakespeare
Tuition: $325 Newly Reduced Rate $275 (Includes a ticket to the Saturday evening performance at Blackfriars Playhouse)
Discount: Save 20% if you are self-funding or attending with a cohort of 3+ teachers from the same school district. Email education@americanshakespearecenter.com for details.
Limited spots available – Register today
Why Attend?
- Master ASC’s Performance-Based Approach – Learn interactive techniques that help students engage with Shakespeare’s language.
- Explore Shakespeare’s Staging Conditions – Gain insights into original theatrical practices and how they can be applied in modern classrooms.
- Develop Adaptable Teaching Strategies – Walk away with ready-to-use lesson plans for English and theatre courses.
- Connect with Fellow Educators – Build a network of teachers passionate about Shakespeare education.
- Earn Continuing Education Credits (where applicable).
Save 20% on registration if you:
- Are self-funding your professional development
- Attend with a cohort of 3+ teachers from the same school district
- Have already participated in an ASC foundational seminar in the same year
Contact us to access your discount: education@americanshakespearecenter.com
Teacher Seminar Details
The ASC Approach to page and stage features experiential workshops that immerse teachers in ASC’s interactive approach to teaching Shakespeare. Participants will engage in hands-on sessions focused on text, staging, and audience dynamics, with dedicated time for meta-teaching reflection and collaboration with peers.
Seminars also frequently include enrichment opportunities with guest artists and scholars, providing fresh perspectives and practical tools to make Shakespeare inspiring and accessible for teachers and students at all levels.
Foundational Teacher Seminar Sample Schedule
A full-day seminar (8-9 hours) with interactive workshops and engaging sessions.
Please note, the schedule may vary slightly, but this provides a good sample and overview of the day.
Friday
4:00 – 4:50 PM: Introductions & Playhouse Tour (Featuring Shakespeare’s Staging Conditions)
5:00 – 6:00 PM: Lights ON Blackfriars (Pre-show discussion series)
7:30 PM: Optional Performance (Available as an add-on, not included in registration)
Saturday
9:00 – 9:30 AM: Introduction to the Play
9:45 – 10:45 AM: Shakespeare’s Verse Workshop
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Shakespeare’s Rhetoric Workshop
12:30 – 2:00 PM: Lunch Break (Not provided—explore Staunton’s dining options!)
2:00 – 3:00 PM: Shakespeare’s Stage Directions Workshop
3:15 – 4:45 PM: Shakespeare’s Audiences Workshop
5:00 – 5:30 PM: Debriefing Session: Takeaways & Farewells
5:30 – 7:00 PM: Dinner Break (Not provided—dine with fellow educators!)
7:00 – 10:00 PM: Live Performance at Blackfriars Playhouse (Experience Shakespeare on stage!)
Materials Provided:
- A digital study guide
- Lesson plans of all activities covered during the seminar
- Access to supplemental online resources for post-workshop practice
Outcomes:
- Earn continuing education credits
- Understand the fundamental principles of ASC’s approach to page and stage.
- Gain practical techniques to immediately apply in the classroom, such as interpreting meter, rhetoric, and audience interaction.
- Official Foundational Certification in the ASC Approach upon completion.