NOTE: Currently there are no dates scheduled for First Flight in the 2023-24 school year while we develop this program. Please contact us if you wish to learn more about how to bring First Flight to your school!

What is First Flight?

First Flight is an innovative 7-12 grade educational arts program that blends performance and practical workshops in a dynamic Shakespeare day of learning for both students and educators.

Why should you bring First Flight to your school?

As educators, we often see a disconnect for students with Shakespeare’s works. The plays are centuries old, have complex story lines and are written in heightened language. All this combined can leave students feeling confused, bored, frustrated, or just turned off.

First Flight specializes in creating Shakespeare work that is accessible and exciting in order to ease students into the plays. After all, these words were meant to be heard and seen performed! Between our performances and workshops, students will leave the school day having gained a deeper clarity of Shakespeare’s text, experienced the opportunity to express themselves artistically, and engaged in a joyful day of theatre. Our teaching artists are a group professional actors who have taught in schools all over the country. First Flight is built in alignment with Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) standards for both Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Theatre education.

Where did First Flight originate?

First Flight is presented by Midsommer Flight, a theatre company producing high quality, accessible Shakespeare in Chicago communities. Since 2012, the company has reached over 11,000 audience members with its critically acclaimed, free outdoor performances each summer in partnership with the Chicago Park District. With First Flight, we are thrilled to share the company’s expertise and passion for Shakespeare with students in and around Chicago as well.

First Flight’s vision is to create Shared Joy: the shared experience of a laugh, a gasp, or a cathartic cry; of an event that brings students together. This connection is the joy. It has the power to remind us of our shared humanity. Our ordinary, extraordinary humanity. Our belonging. We believe that Shakespeare’s plays can be for everyone, and we invite students to join us on their First Flight through this exciting work.

What’s included in your First Flight day of Shakespeare?

Performance: Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
Our 75-minute production of Twelfth Night is a high energy, hat-flipping, stylized take on one of Shakespeare’s most classic comedies. Midsommer Flight has produced Twelfth Night as our “holiday show” each year since 2015. This year we are reimagining our beloved production into an exciting and accessible performance perfect for middle and high school students.

Question and Answer Session
Each performance is followed by a 15-minute Q&A session with the actors. Students will have the chance to ask any questions they may have about the performance, the play, the life of an actor, or anything else theatre- or Shakespeare-related.

Workshops
Our three 45-minute workshops listed below invite students into a continued exploration of themes from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. We engage in a multitude of learning styles, from performance to interactive lectures. The power of art is the pathway to knowledge!

  • Performance workshop, in which students will get to create, perform and share their own stories.
  • Language workshop, where students will get to dive deeper into the texts and themes of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
  • Poetry workshop, which offers the opportunity for students to write poetry and express their feelings through heightened language.

Cost to School

The cost is $1,000* for First Flight to be a part of your school day. This includes:

  • A 75-minute professional production of Twelfth Night
  • A 15-minute post-show talkback with the actors
  • 2 sets of 45-minute workshops, with up to 3 workshops happening during each time slot (i.e. up to 6 workshops over the school day)

Meet the Education Team

Ebby Offord (she/they) is a theatre artist and educator from the South Side of Chicago. Ebby received her BA in Drama from Washington University in St. Louis. Since returning home to Chicago, Ebby has been fortunate to have directed and acted across the city. Previous (selected) credits include: Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Midsommer Flight), Millennial Church (Bramble Theatre Company Festival of Unfinished Works), Ruined (Director– Invictus Theatre, Jeff Nomination for Best Director and Best Production), Hamlet (Invictus Theatre), Course Society (Chicago Dramatist’s), Now More Than Ever (St. Louis Actor’s Studio). Ebby is currently an English Teacher at DRW College Prep on Chicago’s West Side. She has also previously worked as an Early Literacy Interventionist for Kindergarten and 1st-grade students with Chapter One Agency and as a Reading Teacher for the Institute of Reading Development. At IRD, Ebby had the opportunity to work with over 250 students ages Pre-K-11th Grade in both Chicago, IL, and Monroe, LA. She is so excited about getting First Flight off the ground. Pun intended!

Joshua Pennington (he/they) is thrilled to be joining the education team with Midsommer Flight! He has performed with the company since 2019 and became an ensemble member in 2021. Chicago theatre credits include: A Red Orchid Theatre, Edge Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Lifeline Theatre. Recently Joshua spent 5 months in Montana working with the Montana Shakespeare in the Park’s “Shakespeare in the Schools” program. While in Montana, Joshua taught over 200 classes in 60 different schools. Joshua received a B.A. in Acting from Illinois State University in 2016.