Student actors are learning how to bring Shakespeare to life for elementary school children through the BYU Shakespeare Fellowship's Black Swan Company.

The company, comprised of 10 to 12 students, tours elementary schools along the Wasatch front, performing to over 20,000 students annually. They are currently performing "Much Ado About Nothing."

Diana VanDyke, a sophomore from Kaysville, Davis County, majoring in pre-communications, plays Joan, a villain in "Much Ado About Nothing."

"I love working with the kids and seeing their faces light up with Shakespeare," VanDyke said. "You'd think that elementary school kids wouldn't get it, but they get it. You can see it. They laugh and they jump around with you - they love it."

Van Dyke, the second-year veteran, and youngest member of the group at 18, got involved in Shakespeare at a young age. Her mother teaches English and introduced Shakespeare to her.

"I just feel in love with the Bard," VanDyke said.

Another performer, Aaron Swjute, 24, a senior from Clovis, Calif., majoring in theatre media arts with an emphasis in general theatre studies has been a member of the company for 2 years and is currently playing Claudio in "Much Ado About Nothing."

"I like seeing the kids get excited about Shakespeare, when the show is over their eyes are sparkling, they just love it." Swjute said. "You can hear them quoting the lines and acting it out just like you were. You know they were listening and they loved it."

Chris Clark, Director of the Black Swan Company feels the Fellowship does an excellent job of making Shakespeare fun for children.

"It's exciting to introduce elementary children to Shakespeare. They're not afraid of it, it's something they understand," Clark said.

The company also performs for groups other than elementary schools. This week they performed for approximately 80 Utah State

Hospital patients.

Leland Slaughter, director of recreation therapy for the Utah State Hospital, said he feels the patients enjoyed having the Shakespeare Fellowship perform at the Hospital.

"They held their interest," Slaughter said. "The patients were involved and they were doing the cheering and booing for the bad guys."

The company auditions at the beginning of each semester and while the company selects performers based on talent, not major, but Pam Mayes, Theatre Outreach Coordinator for the BYU theater department said performing Shakespeare for children can be very demanding.

"Doing Shakespeare is not the same as doing something else, it requires a whole other level of understanding," Mayes, said. "If you're playing to elementary students, you have to go in there and be broad; you have to be entertaining; you have to be able to get at your audience. The student performers are really working their craft."



Copyright Brigham Young University 16 Oct 2002