Shakespeare and Service Day at CPA High School

High school students hit the city of Nashville to serve their community and enjoy TPAC’s production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at Polk Theater. The school was divided by grade for each field trip. Eleventh and twelfth grades visited TPAC one day, while ninth and tenth grades served at a local non-profit with their advisories, and vice versa.

This particular production of Romeo and Juliet is part of TPAC’s Humanities Outreach Tennessee (HOT) Program, a theater season geared towards engaging Tennessee’s youth. Students have been preparing for the play in English classes this month via TPAC’s ArtSmart program. ArtSmart teaching artists visited CPA classrooms, partnering with faculty to give students in-depth preparation for the performance and reveal unexpected ways the work of art relates to their own lives. Students engaged in strategic activities, exploring the global themes at work in the timeless tragedy. Teaching artists gave valuable insight into the text, priming students for the performances.

Service Day in the high school focused on over 15 local non-profits working to meet different needs throughout the city of Nashville. Students traveled to service sites with their advisory groups, allowing a more intimate service-learning experience with non-profit leaders. Sites included Preston Taylor Ministries, Graceworks, Legacy Mission Village, Feed the Children, Room In the Inn, ThriftSmart, the Giving Garden, Lead Southeast, Second Harvest Food Bank, the Habitat for Humanity Restore, and more.

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