Royal Shakespeare Company Returns to Montclair State University

For the third year in a row, the world renowned Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has returned to Montclair State University for a unique 10-day residency in the Department of Theatre & Dance.

The RSC works with 500,000 young people annually, across the UK and around the globe. They have been working in long-term partnership with schools and theatres for nearly 20 years, each one bespoke and responsive to the local context and community. Amongst their partnerships is a unique Residency with Montclair’s Department of Theatre & Dance.

Since the origins of the partnership in 2021, Chairs of the Department of Theatre & Dance (former Chair Randy Mugleston and current Chair Kathleen Kelley) worked with representatives from the BFA Acting, BFA Musical Theatre, and BA Theatre Studies programs to create a residency designed to meet the learning needs and professional training goals of MSU theatre students.

Juniors in the BFA Acting and BFA Musical Theatre programs will embark on an intensive two week process of daily workshops and rehearsals culminating in a staged, script-in-hand performance directed by RSC Associate Learning Practitioner Aaron Parsons and supported by Directing and Dramaturgy Apprentices from the BA Theatre Studies program. BFA Acting and Musical Theatre sophomores and seniors will participate in a series of performance-based workshops, while MA Theatre and BA Theatre Studies students will glean RSC rehearsal room approaches through workshops on Directing Shakespeare, Producing Shakespeare, Teaching Shakespeare, RSC Text Analysis, and RSC Performance Techniques, delivered by RSC Associate Learning Practitioners Joseph Arkley, Emma Manton and Aaron Parsons.

“Having the Royal Shakespeare Company return for a third consecutive residency is a testament to the transformative power of this collaboration,” affirms Daniel Gurskis, Dean of the College of the Arts. “Each year, our students deepen their understanding of Shakespeare’s language and performance through the RSC’s extraordinary teaching and artistry. What began as a pilot program has become a defining experience in our theater training.”

The 10-day Residency will include two events that are open to the rest of the University as well as the general public.

On Thursday, September 18th at 6pm in Memorial Auditorium, the public is invited to RSC: Live Insight into Rehearsals with Aaron Parsons, Emma Manton and Joseph Arkley, showcasing the RSC approach to rehearsing and performing Shakespeare. The audience is invited to stay afterwards for a Q&A with these world-class artists. This event is free and open to the public.

On Friday, September 26th at 3pm in Memorial Auditorium, the public is invited to attend a script-in-hand performance of JULIUS CAESAR, directed by Aaron Parsons, mentored by Emma Manton and Joseph Arkley, featuring the junior class of the BFA Acting and BFA Musical Theatre programs, with support from the BA Theatre Studies Directing Apprentices and Dramaturgy Apprentices. This event is free and open to the public.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s mission is to bring people together to experience stories that deepen our understanding of ourselves, each other and the world around us, and that bring joy. Shakespeare’s restless exploration of all of human nature is our inspiration and touchstone.

The Company’s roots lie in the bold vision of a local brewer, Edward Fordham Flower, who in 1879 established a theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon with his son Charles. The RSC as we know it today was formed by Sir Peter Hall, whose ambition was to produce new plays alongside those of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. We continue this today across our three permanent theatres in Stratford – the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre and The Other Place – and indeed online and around the globe. We believe everybody’s life can be enriched by culture and creativity. Our transformative Creative Learning and Engagement programmes reach over half a million young people and adults each year. We have collaborated with generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future.