In Ben Jonson’s eulogy for William Shakespeare, which appeared in the preface to the First Folio — 36 of the Bard’s comedies, histories, and tragedies — he wrote, “He was not of an age, but for all time!” As dozens of Santa Barbara teachers and hundreds of their students learned during the week of February 25-March 1, this observation of Jonson’s was much more than well-deserved praise; it was prophecy. Thanks to a team of artist-practitioners from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, and to their sponsors, the Léni Fund and Sara Miller McCune, the Bard’s time in our Shakespeare-loving city is now and, through the influence of generations to come, potentially forever.
These visits, which are in their third year, represent a significant boost to the culture of Santa Barbara’s secondary schools, not only for teachers of drama and English literature, but for any instructor who desires to implement teaching strategies that activate student engagement with the techniques of rhetoric. Although I reported on last year’s visit for the Independent, this time around I was fortunate enough to observe a class conducted by Globe artist Tas Emiabata and then to participate, alongside 20 enthusiastic educators from the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD), in a three-hour workshop for teachers. As a result, I got a close look at how these artists communicate the Globe’s sophisticated and strikingly effective strategies for teaching students about the powers of persuasion through reading and performing Shakespeare’s plays.
When Emiabata arrived at Laguna Blanca School early on Monday, February 25, he had already done one workshop at San Marcos High School with the students of 9th-grade English teacher Nicole Powers. Thanks to a break in the rainy weather, he could use the school’s outdoor amphitheater, lending a festive authenticity to the occasion that was very much in line with the Globe’s direct, open-air approach. Within minutes of his arrival, Emiabata had the 20 AP English students smiling and laughing through a fast-paced warm-up exercise designed to activate them physically in preparation for the learning activities to come. By the end of the hour, which seemed to fly by, the group had learned multiple techniques not only for improving their performances in an upcoming production of Twelfth Night, but more importantly for deepening their understanding of Shakespeare’s language and its meanings. Most of all, the entire activity was clearly a lot of fun.