RSC ANNOUNCES MAJOR NEW EDUCATION STREAMING PARTNERSHIP
The RSC has today announced a series of groundbreaking education streaming partnerships that will give students, teachers and educational institutions across the globe unprecedented access to its world-famous stage productions and learning resources.
Distributed via the Opus Arte label and harnessing the expertise of three of the education streaming sector’s key international players, from 11 December 2017 on-demand access to the RSC’s collection of Live from Stratford-upon-Avon filmed productions will be available via Drama Online, Digital Theatre and Alexander Street – A ProQuest Company.
An initial 13 plays (see notes to eds) will be available at launch with further content to follow in the coming months and years. As well as performances from some of the world’s leading Shakespearean actors, subscribers will also benefit from a comprehensive suite of teaching and learning resources including cast and creative interviews, production images, teacher packs and study notes.
All the plays have been filmed in HD and with surround sound at the RSC’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon. The new deal means that for the first time educators outside of the UK can make use of the material and all subscribers can enjoy unlimited on-demand access to the films and associated learning resources for use at their own convenience.
Jacqui O’Hanlon, Director of RSC Education, said: “We are delighted to announce this ambitious new set of collaborations. RSC Education is committed to giving as many people as possible the chance to see and experience our work and these platforms each give access to millions of teachers and students in over 65 countries worldwide. The new streaming partnerships provide a cost-effective way for schools and universities to access high quality cultural experiences.”
Jeremy Wilkinson, Head of Label, Opus Arte added: ”This is the first time these magnificent performances have been made available online, part of an ongoing project to make live performances of Shakespeare’s plays more widely available. Opus Arte are delighted to be working with three of the finest educational platforms, and to distribute these landmark recordings on DVD, Blu-Ray, and online.”
Margaret Bartley, Editorial Director, Drama Online, said: “I am delighted to welcome the RSC as a new partner on Drama Online. The RSC Live Collection of first-class theatre productions not only expands the platform’s video content but complements our collection of play editions and scholarly works from the Arden Shakespeare, allowing users to read, analyze, listen to and watch a play in the same digital environment. The RSC Live Collection offers students worldwide their own seat in the RSC’s theatre – joining the theatre audience to experience these stunning performances of Shakespeare in the very best of scholarly digital platforms.”
Talia Rodgers, Publishing Director, Digital Theatre, commented: “The digital environment is all about communities finding new ways to collaborate. This initiative is genuinely breaking new ground, broadening access to world-class productions of Shakespeare and the RSC’s stellar educational resources. We’re thrilled to participate and to bring this material to our rapidly expanding global audience of theatre students, teachers, and scholars on both our consumer and educational platforms, Digital Theatre and Digital Theatre+. The RSC Live Collection chimes beautifully with our 750+ hours of audio-visual content and our growing library of bespoke written resources for students.”
Will Whalen from Alexander Street Press, added: “We are honoured to be in partnership with the RSC and Opus Arte to bring the exhilarating experience of these performances to a wider audience. Particularly for students and researchers in the performing arts, the time and cost of traveling to see these productions can be prohibitive. The RSC Collection opens up avenues for learning that might otherwise be unavailable.”
Opening access up to millions of teachers and students in over 65 countries, the RSC Collection will be the world’s most comprehensive collection of Shakespeare productions, learning resources, teaching tools, and image archives.
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For further information please contact Jo Hammond at jo.hammond@rsc.org.uk or on 07739 330294.
Notes to Editors:
The 13 RSC films that will be made available for subscribers at launch are:
- Richard II
- Henry IV Part 1
- Henry IV Part 2
- Two Gentlemen of Verona
- Love's Labours Lost
- Love's Labours Won ("Much Ado About Nothing")
- Henry V
- The Merchant of Venice
- Othello
- Hamlet
- King Lear
- Cymbeline
- The Tempest
About Opus Arte
Opus Arte, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Royal Opera House, released its first DVD in June 2001 and has grown rapidly to become one of the world's leading providers of high-quality classical music content. As well as releasing around twenty titles on DVD and Blu-ray each year, the company has produced and directed programmes that have been broadcast in more than 60 countries, and won many Awards. The aim of Opus Arte has always been to work with the best possible partners in all areas of business – from broadcasters to cinemas; from opera houses to directors; from producers to artists.
About Alexander Street Press, a ProQuest Company
Alexander Street pairs exclusive streaming video, audio, and curated full-text with cutting-edge online tools to transform the way people research, learn, and teach in virtually every discipline. Learn more at http://alexanderstreet.com. You will find this RSC content in Alexander Street’s premier video product,Academic Video Online.Academic Video Online is the most comprehensive video subscription available to libraries. It delivers more than 62,000 titles (17,000+ exclusive) spanning the widest range of subject areas including anthropology, English, performing arts, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. Curated for the educational experience, the massive depth of content and breadth of content-types (such as performances, documentaries, films, demonstrations, etc.) makes it a useful resource for all types of patrons, giving libraries a high return on investment.
About ProQuest (http://www.proquest.com)
ProQuest is committed to supporting the important work happening in the world’s research and learning communities. The company curates content that matters to the advancement of knowledge, assembling an archive of billions of vetted, indexed documents. It simplifies workflows so that people and institutions use time effectively. And because ProQuest connects information communities, complex networks of systems and processes work together efficiently. With ProQuest, finding answers and deriving insights is straightforward and leads to extraordinary outcomes.
ProQuest and its companies and affiliates – Ex Libris, Alexander Street, Bowker – stand for better research, better learning, better insights. ProQuest enables people to change their world.
About Digital Theatre
Digital Theatre is an online subscription platform that brings the live theatre, ballet, opera and classical concert experience, to your own screen. Performances can be streamed anytime, anywhere, to any device.
Digital Theatre collaborates with over 30 of the world’s leading arts organisations to capture and curate live performances in stunning quality.
Digital Theatre subscribers currently have access to over 65 performing arts productions, with more being added on a regular basis. Subscribers have the option to pay £9.99 per month for unlimited access to current and future productions, or £7.99 for a 48-hour rental.
About Drama Online
Drama Online is an award-winning study resource available on subscription to schools, colleges and higher education institutions around the world. Originally created by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in partnership with Faber and Faber, the resource currently includes 2,500 playtexts from Methuen Drama, the Arden Shakespeare, Faber and Faber, Nick Hern Books, Playwrights Canada Press and Aurora Metro Books. These play collections are complemented by over 350 audio plays from L.A. Theatre Works. The platform also includes 700 images from the Victoria and Albert Museum and The American Shakespeare Center, and a collection of Critical Studies and Performance Practice scholarly works from the Arden Shakespeare and Methuen Drama lists.
The RSC Live Collection will complement the platform’s other collections, which feature titles from 500 playwrights, including the full texts of Shakespeare’s plays from the Arden Shakespeare series. The RSC Live Collection will further expand the library’s existing video content from Shakespeare’s Globe, Stage on Screen, BBC Films, The Hollow Crown, Maxine Peake’s Hamlet and a six hour acting masterclass with international coach, Patsy Rodenburg. Drama Online is the only resource to combine exclusively available playtext content and scholarly publications with filmed stage performances, film adaptations and audio plays - thus offering users the unique opportunity to read, study and watch Shakespeare’s plays in the same digital space.
About RSC Education
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world. Everyone at the RSC - from actors to armourers, musicians to technicians - plays a part in creating the world you see on stage.
We encourage everyone to enjoy a lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and live theatre and through our Education work change the way that children and young people experience Shakespeare at school. Our approach is rooted in a 130 year history of making theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and sharing that wealth of skills and knowledge with teachers and students all over the world.
We build long term relationships with school, teachers and communities and particularly those who have the least access to Shakespeare, the RSC and cultural provision. Each year we reach over 530,000 young people in over 1,200 schools across the UK, inspiring children of all ages, backgrounds and abilities and ensuring that Shakespeare is for everyone.
Further information from: rsc.org.uk/education