Shakespeare in Santa Cruz: “Make not your thoughts your prisons”*

Literature

WHO: Emma Bavera, Avella Degennaro, January Johnston, Sean Keilen, Lilly Reed

WHAT: Utilizing the resources laid out after helping to document the history of Shakespeare Santa Cruz productions, January Johnston has begun developing a curriculum to teach Shakespeare to incarcerated and at-risk youth in the greater Santa Cruz area.

WHY: Shakespeare Santa Cruz’ rich history of youth outreach prior to their split from UCSC has left untapped resources with which to spark interest in The Bard, theater, and broader artistic and academic involvement in young people. Santa Cruz secure-setting youth environments suffer from a lack of programming, as do many youth carceral settings in the United States, and the vast array of Shakespearean resources in Santa Cruz are perfect for alleviating some of this gap in education.

WHAT'S NEXT: After outlining a flexible curriculum, January has been conducting interviews with those who work in youth carceral settings and education to get a better sense of what exactly these children need and how their environments can be improved to aid in their long-term well-being after incarceration. January has begun the search for long-term funding and further community interest as they prepare to get their foot in the door of Santa Cruz juvenile detention and rehabilitation institutions to propose the project directly. They hope to be introducing prospective students to the Bard in person by next year.

THE WOW: On May 20th, January will be interviewing Curt Tofteland, founder of Shakespeare Behind Bars, the longest running and most successful rehabilitory carceral Shakespeare program in the United States about the process of creating and maintaining programs such as these, as well of the legacy of Shakespeare in carceral settings as a whole.

*Antony and Cleopatra, Act V, Scene 2