Huntington-Codman Summer Theatre Institute Begins

Huntington Theatre Company and Dorchester's Codman Academy Charter Public School reunite for the seventh annual Huntington-Codman Summer Theatre Institute. The four-week program for Codman students and alumni to explore the full theatrical process extends lessons from the academic year to the summer and instills the values of individual focus and commitment necessary for success. Equally important, the Institute also provides a safe environment for the participants who come from some of Boston's most challenging urban neighborhoods, as urban youth violence tends to increase during the summer.

On July 27 at 7pm at the Huntington's Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, the cast of 24 students from Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, West Roxbury, and the South End will present a 1980s-themed production of Shakespeare's comedy about love and identity, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The public is invited to the free performance – no tickets are required.

The production is co-directed by Huntington staff members Meg O'Brien and Daniel Morris. "As the students apply the skills and techniques they learn from scene study and monologue competitions during the school year to a full production, they revel in the challenge and opportunity to follow their character's story from beginning to end," says co-director Meg O'Brien. "This summer's cast of 24 extremely talented and funny students are each deeply invested and engaged in our process. It is a real treat to be working with them each day."

A founding partner of Codman Academy Charter Public School, the Huntington collaborates with Codman year-round to create and teach its innovative, interdisciplinary Humanities curriculum. Beginning its twelfth year, the partnership is the showcase of the Huntington's acclaimed and wide-reaching youth, education, and community initiatives. The co-created Humanities program has been recognized both locally and nationally as a model for improving urban students' reading, speaking, writing, and presentation skills. The partnership was awarded The Commonwealth Award, the state's highest award in arts and culture given by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Codman Academy is the only public school to receive this recognition.

Each year, Codman students study the texts in the classroom and attend productions at the theatre of plays being produced by the Huntington. In addition, ninth and tenth graders work with Huntington staff and teaching artists two days each month to immerse themselves in the workings of a professional theatre.

The partnership engages and inspires students from neighborhoods often excluded from Boston's dynamic cultural life and enables them to develop both an understanding of and appreciation for the theatre by studying and attending Huntington performances, observing behind-the-scenes activities of the theatre, and participating in hands-on work in the theatre arts. The program leverages this engagement and inspiration to improve performance in academic areas, particularly literacy, and in the development of social capital by building core skills such as teamwork and priority-setting.

Thanks in part to the programs designed and administered by the Huntington, 99% of Codman Academy's tenth graders pass the English Language Arts portion of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam, a requirement for graduation. Since the first graduating class, 100% of Codman Academy students have been accepted to four-year colleges and universities.

The Huntington Theatre Company's Department of Education and Community Programs is one of the most extensive, impacting, and admired theatre education departments in the country. Over the past 30 years, its nationally recognized programs have served more than 300,000.

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