Summer is fast approaching and with it, productions of Shakespeare are popping up all over the country, many of which are staged in local parks. I love Shakespeare! While I never got to study it in school, I have delighted in discovering his wit and charm alongside my children.
Soon after we first started homeschooling, I made it a goal to see at least one play each year. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, widely recognized as one of the best theater festivals in the world, has always been only a couple of hours from where we live. Thus far, we have not been far off that goal.
2006 A Winter’s Tale *
2007 Romeo & Juliet *
2008 Othello *
2009 MacBeth *
2010 Twelfth Night
A Midsummer Nights Dream 2011 (Drake Park, Bend, Oregon)
2012 Romeo & Juliet
2015 Much Ado About Nothing
2016 Shakespeare in the Park (select scenes from four plays at Shore Acres State Park, Oregon)
* The kids didn’t start attending until 2010 when our youngest was six years old, the minimum age required for admittance.
Shakespeare Canon Passport
With each production I have seen, I am more devoted to eventually seeing Shakespeare’s entire canon. To commemorate this feat, I have created a passport in which I can document a little anecdote from each play I’ve attended.
I printed the title page onto colored cardstock and the remaining pages on standard paper. I just love how it all came together and I know you will too. There is room to note when / where you saw the production as well as for a favorite quote from the play. It is available for purchase in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
If you are interested in learning how to incorporate Shakespeare into your curriculum, consider an earlier post, Much Ado About Shakespeare, where I outline a step-by-step plan to teaching Shakespeare to middle school students.