Shakespeare Ambassadors are young people within your school, who have a passion for the difference that creative arts and Shakespeare can make in their schools and communities.
Projects
Shakespeare Ambassadors have been involved in a number of different projects including:
- Speaking out and advocating for theatre and the arts in their communities
- Hosting the First Encounters tour in their schools and local theatres
- Supporting on Playmaking Festival performances
- Holding school assemblies about Shakespeare and theatre
- Creating display boards in their school
If you would like to share with the Associate Schools Programme network the projects your Shakespeare Ambassadors are working on in your schools and communities, please send details and photos (if you have them) to shakespeareambassadors@rsc.org.uk
37 Plays
2023 marked the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the first time his plays were brought together in one book. We marked this anniversary by selecting and celebrating the 37 Plays project, encouraging new writing and expression of new stories. Our Shakespeare Ambassadors have led and participated in this project within their school or their communities, by:
- Leading a writing competition
- Creating a writing festival (to sharing all the work)
- Making a display board
- Exploring stories within their communities
The final 37 Plays were performed as Staged Readings in venues across the country in Autumn 2023. Find out more and read about the final 37 Plays.
Young Creatives' Convention
Our Youth Advisory Board hosted its first national Young Creatives' Convention, giving a voice to young people, in July 2023.
Developed and curated by the RSC’s Youth Advisory Board, this youth-led event was the first of its kind in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and brought together over 300 young people from across the country to explore the issues that matter most to them, how they can collectively drive change and what they want from arts organisations and schools.
Recruitment
Shakespeare Ambassadors have been recruited from the many schools in our Associate Schools Programme who have all chosen to take on a position of responsibility and advocate for Shakespeare and the arts.
We have over 400 Shakespeare Ambassadors across the country who believe the arts matter and want more people to know that.
They are all passionate about making a difference and wanting their voices to be heard. They are all activating and leading creative arts projects in their communities – and making a difference.
Shakespeare Ambassadors are young people within your school, who have a passion for the difference that creative arts and Shakespeare can make in their schools and communities. At the moment, we have 400 Ambassadors from ages eight to 18 from our Associate Schools.
In consultation with the Youth Advisory Board, these are some of the qualities that we are looking for in a Shakespeare Ambassador:
They will:
- Have an interest in making Shakespeare and theatre more relevant to people’s lives
- Want to be active change-makers in their community
- Are passionate about wanting their voice to be heard
- Respect other’s points of view, and are kind and caring of others
- Be good team players, cooperative, reliable, engaging and inspiring
Resources for Staff Mentors
We have put together resources to help Staff Mentors organise and facilitate work with Shakespeare Ambassadors in their cluster.
The following resources have been created by Freddy to help Staff Mentors lead sessions on Youth Voice and creating projects.
To find out how more about our Shakespeare Ambassadors and how to run the programme in your cluster, or if you have any questions, please contact Freddy Goymer, our Young Leaders Programme Developer, freddy.goymer@rsc.org.uk
