Tennessee Shakespeare Company Announces its Annual Jack Jones Children's Literacy Gala

Tennessee Shakespeare Company will host its indoor/outdoor Jack Jones Children's Literacy Gala on Saturday, April 22 at 6:00 pm honoring longtime Hutchison School educator Christina Wellford-Scott with its inaugural Teacher of the Year Award and featuring select performances from her favorite classical works on stage.

Generously sponsored by the family of Jack Jones, TSC's Gala will feature the award presentation to Christina, her remarks, a performance on stage by TSC's professional actors curated especially from the classics that Christina has selected, and a buffet feast, open bars, fun auctions, and a chance to enter and win the Broadway Weekend Trip for Two to NYC drawing.

Gala guests will be welcome to socialize with friends indoors and outdoors during the buffet and cocktail hour, then relax under the portico, or nestled into the Shakespeare Garden, or indoors under the vibrant banners while creating verses on the lobby's Poetry Tree.

Attire is festive. Seating will be limited to 150 guests.

Named in honor of the late John Paul (Jack) Jones, TSC Board member Emeritus and a longtime supporter of Memphis youth athletics and literacy, the Gala supports TSC's Education Program expansion to create over 40,000 points of contact with Memphis area children by activating the works of William Shakespeare and other classical authors.

All Gala proceeds will go toward TSC's two Education funds: The Jack Jones Children's Literacy Fund and the Barbara B. Apperson Angel Fund.

TSC annually works with children ages 5-18, primarily in Title 1 schools, as well as incarcerated youths and military Veterans in near-daily programming that develops students' literacy, desire to read, and compassion. Those acclaimed programs include the Romeo and Juliet Project, the Macbeth Initiative, Feast of Crispian-South, Poetic Justice, and Juvenile Justice.

Christina Wellford-Scott is in her 28th year at Hutchison School, teaching 90 seniors Heritage of Western Literature and AP English Literature and Composition, which includes two of her favorite plays: Hamlet and King Lear. She attended Mount Holyoke and graduated from Rhodes with a degree in English (Phi Beta Kappa), attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and completed her Masters in Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Memphis (Pi Kappa Lambda), toured with Southern Opera, attended the Franz Schubert Institute in Baden-bei-Wien, Austria in German Lieder, attended the Summer Shakespeare Workshop at LAMDA in London, and attended the Month-Long Intensive Actor Training at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. As a classroom teacher, Christina has taught courses in acting styles and scene study, music history, film history, women studies, biblical history, and all areas of English literature: including creative writing, American Literature, British Literature, and World Literature. She is also has acted with TSC (Amanda in The Glass Menagerie) and is an award-winning veteran of Memphis stages.

Christina was selected by TSC's staff and Board of Directors based on criteria for a Tennessee educator who:

• Promotes the study of Shakespeare and provides live Shakespeare performance opportunities for their students.
• Is a life-long learner, continuing to discover ways to strengthen their knowledge, skills, and offerings in the classroom.
• Advocates for the arts and their vitality in schools.
• Leads with empathy and compassion, fostering a safe, open, and inclusive learning environment where students feel inspired to take creative risks.
• Values collaboration with outside organizations that strengthen students' learning experiences.

Platinum, Gold, and Silver tables (ranging from four to eight seats each) are available for purchase now by calling TSC's Gala Coordinator Stephanie Shine at (901) 759-0620 or emailing her at contact@tnshakespeare.org. Additional information about the sponsorships and evening is available here.

"I believe the depth of Christina's creativity and commitment as an actor, in addition to her rare scholarship, is a key contributor to her decades of success as a teacher of young people in Memphis," says TSC founder and Producing Artistic Director, Dan McCleary. "When we get Hutchison students from Christina's classes in our performances at TSC, the IQ and attention in the theatre skyrockets. She is a willing collaborator, a caring mentor, a sharp mind, and a literary scholar. She knows how important the arts are to the development of humanity, and she has inspired a legion of young people to follow in her path by encouraging them to forge their own. It is with great pride, on behalf of all of us at TSC, to have Christina Wellford-Scott awarded on our stage, cheered by our Gala guests."

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