Lantern Theater Company
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Othello (2020)
Illumination Education Program

Bard Basics: Classroom Teacher Training Program

Lantern Theater Company is dedicated to supporting the classroom work of English and Drama teachers teaching the plays of William Shakespeare to students in Philadelphia middle schools and high schools.

Our artistic and education staff have developed deep expertise in producing Shakespeare, making his canon accessible to and enjoyable for audiences of all ages. With our Bard Basics workshops, we share our experience and expertise with you to help students learn Shakespearean language and themes more effectively and effortlessly.

The Lantern is a Pennsylvania-approved Act 48 Continuing Professional Education Provider. In partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, we offer Saturday workshops for classroom teachers on a variety of theatrical topics, including acting, directing, Shakespeare, coaching inexperienced actors, and curriculum design.

Conducted at our artistic home at St. Stephen's Theater in Center City Philadelphia, our Bard Basics teacher training sessions are FREE for interested teachers from throughout the Philadelphia area. Past participants include teachers from Academy at Palumbo, Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP), Parkway Center City Middle College, Walter B. Saul High School, and West Catholic Preparatory High School, among others.

UPCOMING SESSIONS – 2025/26 SEASON

Bard Basics Workshop: MACBETH
Saturday, October 18, 2025 | 10AM to 1PM

  • This free morning workshop will focus on William Shakespeare's Macbeth, a required text in the Philadelphia School District's 10th grade English curriculum.

    Performances of our mainstage production of Macbeth, directed by Charles McMahon, begin Thursday, October 30, 2025. Your registration for this Bard Basics workshop includes two complimentary tickets for any performance before November 30, 2025, as attending a performance is part of our process for granting CPE credits. If you bring a group to a student matinee performance, this will count towards your CPE credit.

    The registration deadline is Friday, October 3, 2025.

Bard Basics Workshop: ROMEO AND JULIET
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 10AM to 1PM

  • This free morning workshop will focus on teaching William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a required text in 8th and 9th grade English courses in many Pennsylvania school districts.

    This season, we are partnering with Arden Theatre Company to provide our Bard Basics workshop participants with two complimentary tickets to the Arden's March 4, 2026, performance of Romeo and Juliet.

  • Registration Deadline: Thursday, January 23, 2026

For More Information

To register for a Bard Basics workshop, please contact Talia Speak, Education & Artistic Associate, at tspeak@lanterntheater.org or 215.829.9002 x106.
Pictured: Lindsay Smiling and Campbell O'Hare in Othello (2020). Photo by Mark Garvin.
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Header Photo: Lawrence Stallings in the world premiere of Me and the Devil (2021); Anthony Lawton and Dave Johnson in Travesties (2022); Melissa Rakiro and Joanna Liao in Twelfth Night (2023); and Paul L. Nolan, Sally Mercer, and Charles McMahon in Copenhagen (2018). Photos by Mark Garvin.

Lantern Theater Company acknowledges that it is situated on Lenapehoking, the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Unami Lenape, and we pay respect to them as this region's original storytellers.

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