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Using the Power of Theatre for Learning and Change Since 1974

2 weeks left to snag the early registration discount for CUNY Creative Arts Team's spring 2027

NYC Student Shakespeare Festival

Above: images from the 2026 Festival

ELA and SEL and ART, oh my!

Be a part of our 33rd Annual Festival!

About the NYC Student Shakespeare Festival:

NYCSSF is a sequential, skills-based, theatre literacy program in which professional Teaching Artists work with students and teachers, to familiarize them with the language and themes of Shakespeare as well as theatrical techniques for performing these texts onstage.

Through a scaffolded, 4-month process, students and teachers work with our Artists to create original scenes, using only Shakespeare’s words, by discussing issues important to them; selecting scenes that engage that theme; and collectively casting, blocking, adding rhythm/movement, rehearsing and performing their scene.

This student-centered approach supports Arts and ELA standards while allowing students to be wholly authentic throughout the creative process. These elements–collaboration, creation of original work and exploration of social issues–distinguish NYCSSF from other Shakespeare programs in NYC.

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4-6 in-person residency sessions with Shakespeare Teaching Artists for students, in- or after-school
3 CTLE-credited professional development sessions for teachers (PD dates currently TBD in Jan, Feb, & Mar)
Culminating Festival - cross-site event for students to perform, participate in Shakespeare-related activities, and receive peer feedback, at an historic Off-Broadway Theatre (late spring dates TBD)

Additional Details & Notes:

Want to see a few examples of our participants' work? Watch our 2025 or 2026 videos!
NYCSSF is for 2nd grade - 12th grade classes or groups
Fees: Early Bird (before November 1): $2100 per class or $2000 for 2 or more classes. After November 1st, $2500 per class or $2400 for 2 or more classes.
We also offer Shakespeare in the Classroom, a literacy-through-drama residency program separate from the Festival program - please contact us if your school is interested in this residency rather than the Festival program.
The maximum number of classes from the same school per Festival day is 4. If a school wishes to register more than 4 classes, some classes will participate on a second Festival day.

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Looking for something else?

CAT can customize single workshops as well as short- and long-term residencies for all grades, supporting literacy development, student retention, social-emotional supports, violence prevention, college readiness and more. CAT also provides CTLE-credited Professional Development on a variety of topics as well as parent workshops.

Literacy Support:

CAT can provide literacy-through-drama workshops and residencies to help supplement new efforts in literacy skills development. These can be customized based on curricular reading material or general support for Pre-K through 12th grade.

Student Retention Strategies:

Support student retention by bringing CAT's student-centered, engaging drama programming to your school - whether for drama and literacy, for any of the topics listed above, or for a specific need in your school community - contact us!

Bring CAT To Your School

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CAT is an NYC Public Schools Vendor and Arts Partner and a NYSED CTLE provider:

Arts Education • Supports for Students with Disabilities • Supports for English Language Learners

Vendor Number RFC988193 • Contract Number Q1129AS

NYC Student Shakespeare Festival is a program of the CUNY Creative Arts Team (CAT).

CAT is a program of the City University of New York, under the office of P20 Pathways. Research Foundation of CUNY functions as our contracts administrator. CAT receives no baseline funding from CUNY or RF, and is responsible for raising its own budget each year.