There is no doubt that summer has a special place in Shakespeare’s world.
Think of the magic of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or the transcendent love of Romeo and Juliet; equally famous is the beauty of the sonnet that begins “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” And even hundreds of years later, beloved series The Magic Treehouse would invite readers to experience Stage Fright on a Summer’s Night. There is just something about this season that invites a celebration of possibility ― a time outside of the classroom where children can make any world a stage.
In our summer sessions, we often head into the sunshine to think about the connections between Shakespeare and nature. If things are going slowly with rehearsals, or everyone is feeling a bit tired, we use the landscape to give us renewed inspiration. One activity that will also work for your troupe is to write poems ― our own odes to the summer’s day! These poems do not need to be as formally structured as Shakespeare’s Sonnets (though some students may attempt it!); instead, encourage the children to try to put into words a mood, sensation, object, or even a colour in the environment around them ― just like Shakespeare did.
In her brilliant study Shakespeare of London, Marchette Chute tells us that he wrote the Sonnets while theatres were closed in the time of the plague (between 1592 – 1594). As you sit outside with the children, you can share a bit of this historical context and ask them to consider how Shakespeare created such beauty even in a difficult time . . . and in turn how they, centuries later, can make the most of these lovely summer days.
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