Stage It involves practical, classroom-tested methods for teaching Shakespeare to ages 9–12 through performance, clarity, and student engagement.

Teaching Shakespeare to students at this age works best when the focus is on performance first, language second. At this age, students understand Shakespeare most deeply by doing rather than analyzing.

Stage It helps you introduce Shakespeare through short, accessible scripts that are designed specifically for upper elementary and middle school students. The goal is not literary analysis, but comprehension, confidence, and enjoyment.

Shakespeare’s stories are physical, emotional, and dramatic. When students act them out, the language becomes meaningful and memorable. Performance allows students to understand character motivation, plot, and theme long before they can explain them in academic terms.

Stage It was created by an educator and playwright who has published internationally distributed books on staging school plays and making Shakespeare accessible for students ages 9–12. The materials are used by classroom teachers, drama specialists, and schools to help students experience Shakespeare as something alive and playable.

With Stage It, students learn how performance-based teaching helps students understand Shakespeare without fear, frustration, or heavy text analysis.

Many students struggle with Shakespeare because they are asked to understand the language before they understand the story. A performance-based approach reverses this problem.

When students move, speak, and interact as characters, they naturally grasp meaning. Tone, gesture, and intention clarify Shakespeare’s language in ways worksheets cannot.

Stage It scripts are written to:

Preserve Shakespeare’s original stories and themes
Reduce the amount of language to focus on action
Allow large groups of students to participate
Be staged successfully by non-actors

Teachers using performance-based Shakespeare instruction report higher student engagement, stronger comprehension, and increased confidence with complex texts. Students ask not only, “What does this mean?” while embodying characters but also start asking, “What happens next?”

Stage It provides short versions of Shakespeare’s plays edited specifically for students ages 9–12 and classroom performance based on research that shows that acting is a “developmental imperative” for this age group. If you’ve ever wondered why students are “natural born actors” during this stage of development, then Stage It helps to answer this question.

Traditional Shakespeare scripts are written for professional adult actors. They are rarely practical for elementary or middle school classrooms.

Shakespeare adaptations focus on:

Clear storytelling
Manageable scene lengths
Flexible casting
Minimal technical requirements

The plays are designed so teachers do not need drama training. Blocking, pacing, and student comprehension are built into the structure of each script.

These adaptations are especially effective for:

Reluctant readers
English language learners
Students who learn best through movement and collaboration

By the end of the process, students understand Shakespeare because they have lived inside the story.

You do need to be a drama teacher to stage Shakespeare.

Many teachers avoid Shakespeare because they feel unqualified to teach drama or direct a play. This hesitation is understandable—but unnecessary.

Stage It was created specifically for classroom teachers with no formal theater background. The scripts are structured to support teachers step by step, allowing students to take ownership of the performance.

The emphasis is on:

Student clarity rather than theatrical perfection
Collaboration rather than competition
Process rather than polish

When teachers feel confident, students feel safe to take creative risks. Shakespeare becomes a shared experience rather than an intimidating assignment.

Yes! The scripts and resource material were created so you have control over how much material you would like to do. You could choose from four to forty minutes. You could choose to do a whole play, an Act, or even to collaborate with colleagues across a grade with each teacher doing one Act. It’s entirely up to you.

No. Once you’ve purchased the Stage It guide, then you will be provided with a code to download and use the materials any way you like. There are no additional or hidden fees. Stage It has intentionally been priced as low as possible to make it easily accessible.

Frequently Asked Questions