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Chapter 18 - The Viola Project

Learning to Defy Gender Norms On Stage and Off

from Part V - Reimagining Performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2023

By
Skyler Schrempp
Edited by
Liam E. Semler ,
Claire Hansen  and
Jacqueline Manuel
Liam E. Semler
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
Claire Hansen
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra
Jacqueline Manuel
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
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Summary

This chapter describes The Viola Project, which is a theatre programme based in Chicago. It is an overtly feminist organisation with the specific mission of empowering girls and gender non-conforming youth through the performance of Shakespeare’s text. Amplifying the voices of students is at the heart of all programming. Shakespeare scene work anchors class activities, and texts are explicitly mined for themes of consent, body autonomy, racial and gender bias, and more. In any given year the programme serves between 75 and 100 individual students, many of whom attend multiple programmes. The programme is a charitable organisation and receives funding from state and local grants as well as foundations and individual gifts. Rather than revere and admire Shakespeare, The Viola Project students are encouraged to challenge the plays and make discoveries in the text. The Viola Project may source material from Shakespeare, but the mission has been shaped by our contemporaries. The Viola Project has evolved significantly since 2004 through a willingness to listen to students and learn from the research, experience and expertise of peer organisations.

Type
Chapter
Information
Reimagining Shakespeare Education
Teaching and Learning through Collaboration
 , pp. 281 - 294
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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