New Anti-Bullying Program, "Speaking Daggers"

Shakespeare on the Sound, a non-profit committed to producing free, professional open-air productions of the plays of William Shakespeare and offering year-round educational programming for the community is in pursuit of raising $17,500 for Anti-Bullying Program “Speaking Daggers” on crowd source funding website, Indiegogo.com. The campaign lasts only for 35 days between Oct. 1 – Nov. 4.

“Speaking Daggers: Shakespeare and the Fight Against Bullying” was piloted in the spring of 2012, funded by GE Capital and partnered with the George Washington Carver Center. The workshop was presented to almost 800 students at the Carver Center, Nathan Hale, Ponus Ridge and Roton Middle Schools in Norwalk to great success. (See Patch feature on Speaking Daggers)

“Speaking Daggers” is an anti-bullying workshop that features Shakespeare’s characters and scenes to help students stand up to bullying and to encourage empathy for peers who are experiencing aggression, social exclusion or verbal abuse. Director of Education Emily Bryan says, “We use scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Merchant of Venice. We address cyber-bullying, conflict resolution, and empathy building by examining Shakespeare’s complex characters and utilizing activities and techniques that help the students interact with the characters.”

Funding from Indiegogo will allow Shakespeare on the Sound to present "Speaking Daggers" free of charge to additional schools in Fairfield & Westchester County. It costs a few thousand dollars to bring “Speaking Daggers” to one school due to the cost of teaching artists, actors, transportation and implementation of the program. By raising this money with the help of area residents Shakespeare on the Sound will be able to reach more students.

“Shakespeare on the Sound is constantly striving to strengthen our educational programming. Our education team has created a phenomenal program that not only engages students in great theater but also gives students the opportunity to address the epidemic of bullying which continues to pervade our communities,” said Steven Yuhasz, Executive Director.

With the support of our volunteers, fans and local residents, Shakespeare on the Sound’s workshop, “Speaking Daggers” has the opportunity to get much needed resources to implement big changes!

Indiegogo has funded over 100,000 projects in 196 countries and has raised over $15 million for various projects. It is a website that helps individuals make donations to various projects of their interest.

How You Can Help

You can help Shakespeare on the Sound reach their goal of $17,500 by visiting www.indiegogo.com/speakingdaggers and making a donation before November 4th. On the Indiegogo site there is a presentation video of the "Speaking Daggers" program.

If you have questions about Shakespeare on the Sound or “Speaking Daggers” or would like to get involved, please contact scott@shakespeareonthesound.org or call 203.299.1300.