Introduction

The Office of Opening Learning at the University of Guelph in conjunction with the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project established a school tour program, which ran the length of the Shakespeare-Made in Canada exhibit (a full six months). This program ushered in over 2000 students ranging in ages from kindergarten through to grade twelve. The school tour, for many students, was a first experience with an art gallery, theatre, or the word “adaptation.” Age-appropriate tours were designed to provide students with a basic understanding of Shakespeare, the definition of adaptation, and the relationship between Shakespeare and theatrical culture in Canada. Throughout the program, a focus was given to the refinement of knowledge and skills in visual arts, English, drama, history, math, and science through activities related to the objects in the various galleries.

Included within the Shakespeare Learning Commons were scientific experiments on authenticating artwork, including x-ray spectroscopy and florescent examination, as well as an exploration of anamorphic art, a popular scientific method for creating perspective in paintings from Shakespeare’s period, which further situated Shakespeare in history and provided a science study component that was an alternative to the focus on drama and theatre in the rest of the Shakespeare Made in Canada exhibit. Additionally, adaptations and depictions of Shakespeare created by children, including drawings, figures and an extraordinary claymation adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by twelve-year old Jackson Mills situated adaptation in a more youth-oriented and accessible space. Visiting students were given the opportunity to try on costumes and recite well-known Shakespearean monologues, as well as play the literacy-based video game, Speare, created by the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project.