William Shakespeare, also called the Bard of Avon, is making his rounds in Philadelphia. Where schools are participating in the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.
To celebrate this event, the WillPower Tour is making its rounds. Plus, with the help of Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe wrote the Henry VI trilogy with the help of University Pennsylvania scholars and engineers.
WillPower is all about William Shakespeare and putting out the awareness to schools in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania high schools and advanced middle-schools are participating. WillPower is also present in New Jersey, cites Philly. New Jersey's celebration of the event features workshops, plays and a dialogue between teachers who were experienced actors and beginner students.
The WillPower tour, according to Jill Arington, the PSF director of education, says that the tour is designed to combat Shakes-fear. The tour is going to meet students where they reside and where they study. She hopes to make the tour a tool that will hook students for good. According to Patrick Mulcahy, the PSF producing artistic director, they are bringing the Bard of Avon out from the high school book reading list to a whole different level.
WillPower is going to make stops at the Villa Maria Academy High School, the Willamstown High School, and the Quakertown Community Senior High School in New Jersey. This is the 17th year that the PSF is celebrating. The program started since 2000 and their records indicate that they have reached over 160,000 students. They aim to reach at least 14,000 students every year.
This year, they are featuring Hamlet as the focus performance. But whether it is Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing or other plays, WillPower displays a modern take.
English and literature teachers are thankful for the WillPower tour. It gives the students the chance to witness a live Shakespeare performance. One teacher even explains that some of his students have never ever seen a play.
