Shakespeare as an Alternative for Juveniles

A court in Western Massachusetts is referring juveniles to a Shakespeare troupe as an alternative to community service or lock-up.  This type of program takes into account some positive youth development principles, focusing on youths’ strengths and building positive relationships and roles for them.  What other programs are out there that take this approach?

Caught in the act: Juveniles sentenced to Shakespeare

By Louise Kennedy, Globe Staff  |  May 18, 2010

LENOX — Tonight, 13 actors will take the stage at Shakespeare & Company in “Henry V.’’ Nothing so unusual in that — except that these are teenagers, none older than 17, and they have been sentenced to perform this play.

The show is the culmination of a five-week intensive program called Shakespeare in the Courts, a nationally recognized initiative now celebrating its 10th year. Berkshire Juvenile Court Judge Judith Locke has sent these adjudicated offenders — found guilty of such adolescent crimes as fighting, drinking, stealing, and destroying property — not to lockup or conventional community service, but to four afternoons a week of acting exercises, rehearsal, and Shakespearean study.  Read more…