Troupe takes Shakespeare to the schools

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - March 16, 2010) The Kingsmen Shakespeare Educational Tour is bringing the Bard's works to 16 schools in Moorpark, Newbury Park, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village in March and April.

At each school, a company of six professional actor-teachers conducts a daylong set of interactive workshops to introduce Shakespeare and his language, stories and characters to students. This year, they will conclude by performing an adaptation of "The Tempest" set at a magic show.

At a time when school districts have had to slash their budgets, several organizations have stepped forward to provide funding for the tour. The ArtsLIVE in Ventura County program provided a grant for Marc Silver, a founding actor with Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival, to write the script. The City of Westlake Village contributed the funds for White Oak Elementary to participate. Rotaract of the Conejo Valley, a service organization for young adults, is raising the money to pay for the visit to Rio Plaza School in El Rio. And six Moorpark schools are participating as part of the Project ACT - Active, Collaborative Teaching program involving California Lutheran University and Moorpark Unified School District and funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, the professional theatre company of CLU, is coordinating the tour.

Tour Schedule:
March 12 - Park Oaks Elementary School, Thousand Oaks
March 15 - Campus Canyon School, Moorpark
March 16 - Ascension Lutheran School, Thousand Oaks
March 17 - Arroyo West School, Moorpark
March 18 - Flory School, Moorpark
March 19 - Westlake Hills Elementary School, Westlake Village
March 22 - Walnut School, Newbury Park
March 23 - Westlake Elementary School, Westlake Village
March 24 - Glenwood Elementary School, Thousand Oaks
March 25 - Walnut Canyon School, Moorpark
March 26 - White Oak School, Westlake Village
March 29 - Peach Hill School, Moorpark
March 30 - Mountain Meadows School, Moorpark
March 31 - Wildwood Elementary School, Thousand Oaks
April 6 - Rio Plaza School, Oxnard