Community Based Learning
For three consecutive years there has been a strong partnership between the Robinson Shakespeare Company and the Writing and Rhetoric class from the University of Notre Dame, a community-based learning course. Beginning in fall of 2009, first year college students enrolled in the Writing and Rhetoric class were each partnered with a member of the Robinson Shakespeare Company. These “Shakespeare buddies” worked together on assigned monologues—-looking up historical references, working on vocabulary and reading comprehension, and enhancing their presentation skills. At the end of the term the college students performed a Shakespeare monologue, right alongside their youth partners, for an audience of RCLC family and friends. In 2010, the ND and RSC students also had the chance to travel together to Chicago to see a performance of Romeo and Juliet. The college students wrote papers during the term describing the impact of this experience on themselves and their buddies. The youth members and college students learned together and supported each other throughout this process. As a collaborative project, in fall of 2010, each partner duo interviewed each other and wrote the short biographies included in the program for the Shakespeare Recital. The goal of the bios was to capture the unique spirit of each individual that forms this ensemble.
