William Shakespeare is expecting more than 200 kids from 35 city and county schools to show up for his birthday party this year. The festivities take the form of the San Diego Shakespeare Society’s fourth annual Student Shakespeare Festival in Balboa Park, set for Saturday, April 25. All are welcome at the free event, which commences at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion at 12:30 p.m. with a procession led by costumed actors that takes everyone to performance areas along the Prado. The day concludes with presentations of awards and closing ceremonies at 3:30 p.m. Among schools participating for the first time this year are Castle Park High (Chula Vista); Coronado School of the Arts (Coronado); Guajome Park Middle (Vista); Hoover High (San Diego); Monarch School (San Diego); Tierra Del Sol Middle (Lakeside); Valhalla High (El Cajon); and Wangenheim Middle (San Diego). The students, whose ages range from elementary to high school, will entertain on as many as five stages. They have worked with professional directors in preparation of 10-minute scenes from the Bard of Avon’s plays. One such director is well-known local actor Linda Libby, who teaches at High Tech Middle Media Arts. Libby is a dedicated teacher who inspires her students — and she knows whereof she speaks. “Our school has participated since the first festival,” she said. “That year, we did the Pyramus and Thisbe scene from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ The kids had a great time — so much so that they came back. And they’re still coming back. They’re in high school, and they seek out Shakespeare. I’m excited about that. They are really fired up about the Bard, and the festival gave them the chance to do that.” The inaugural group presented their scene at their school, and the younger kids became energized, too. And so it goes, on and on, with Shakespeare enhancing the students’ skills and academic lives, according to Libby. She says the experience has engendered attendance at live performances of Shakespeare. Last year, Sam Hargrove, one of Libby’s students, had to schedule his bar mitzvah around the festival. Some of his classmates and friends remained in Balboa Park; others went off to the rite and ensuing celebration, during which he received a phone call informing him that he’d won Best Actor for Touchstone in “As You Like It.” Hooray for the Bard! Hooray for the San Diego Shakespeare Society and numerous volunteers who make this annual outdoor celebration possible. For additional information, visit sandiegoshakespearesociety.org.
