Richmond Shakespeare and Richmond CenterStage Partner To Host Theater Festival for Area High School Students

On Friday, March 23, Richmond Shakespeare will bring together more than 90 high school students from across the region to Richmond CenterStage, for the third annual Bardathon-a unique theater festival featuring the Bard's work. This year's event focuses on The Tragedy of Macbeth.

In addition to local participants, this will be the second consecutive year that students from School 213 in St. Petersburg, Russia, will participate.  In 2011, these students participated via webcast, but this year six of these students have traveled to Richmond to participate in-person, with many supportive family and friends prepared to watch on RichmondCenterStage.com, beginning at Noon (8PM local time in St. Petersburg).

In choosing to participate, nine different school groups selected one or more scenes each from Macbeth to prepare. Students have been working for weeks to memorize lines and create their props and set pieces. 

On the day of Bardathon-Friday, March 23-students will spend the morning in the Genworth BrightLights Education Center at CenterStage in a madcap rehearsal of entrances, cues and exits. At Noon, students will gather in the Gottwald Playhouse to present their scenes, and the play, in its sequential entirety. 

Cynde Liffick, Director of Education for Richmond Shakespeare notes that this approach is not unlike the methods used in Shakespeare's era.  "I expect that lines will be missed, entrances confused, and laughs will be had that aren't necessarily in the script.  But often times, Shakespearian actors had limited rehearsals as well," said Liffick.  "They too would come together on the day of the performance to work out entrances, exits, fights, and dances.  This production is not about a perfect performance – it's about interpreting the piece in their own way just like actors did in the Shakespeare's day."

Why this collaborative approach? Richmond Shakespeare feels that one of theater's strongest assets is its ability to unify. In contrast, theater for high schoolers often has a strong competitive element, either among actors competing for the same roles or between schools at theater competitions. 

Bardathon's goal is to bring diverse students together to celebrate the joy of playing some of the richest and most interesting characters ever written in the English language. By performing for one another, students can both learn from and share with each other.

Bardathon is produced in partnership with Richmond CenterStage and is funded through a grant provided by the Richmond Chapter of the English-Speaking Union, with in-kind assistance from Ukrop's Homestyle Foods. 

"We always look forward to this annual partnership with Richmond Shakespeare for Bardathon," said Richmond CenterStage Director of Education Janet Krogman.  "Our educational mission at CenterStage has always been to engage young people in the performing arts through a regional approach, and this event gives students across Central Virginia a wonderful opportunity to uniquely collaborate to interpret one of William Shakespeare's most iconic works."

In all, nine schools are participating in this year's event, including: 

Appomattox Regional Governor's School

Atlee High School (Hanover County)

Deep Run High School (Henrico County)

Maggie Walker Governor's School

Monacan High School (Chesterfield County)

Richmond Arts & Humanities Center (City of Richmond)

Thomas Dale High School (Chesterfield County)

Veritas School (Chesterfield County Private School)

School 213 (St. Petersburg, Russia)

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