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BRIGHT TORCHES - CONTINUING EDUCATION

Shakespeare in Action

A Two-Day Professional Development Intensive with Bright Torches

November 14–15, 2026 | Santa Cruz, California

How can we help students experience Shakespeare as something living, immediate and exciting — rather than simply words on a page?

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DATE:
Saturday and Sunday, November 14th – 15th

TIME:
9:30am – 3:30pm

LOCATION:
Veterans Memorial Building
846 Front Street, Santa Cruz

Ages 18+

PRICING:
Early-bird through October 12: $175
After October 12: $225

CEUs available through University of the Pacific.

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This weekend is designed for elementary, middle and high school educators, university educators and students, teaching artists, professional actors, arts education practitioners and Shakespeare enthusiasts. Participants will leave with practical activities, principles and approaches they can use immediately in classrooms, rehearsal rooms and workshops.

At the heart of the weekend is a simple idea:
Shakespeare is something to be DONE.

Participants will speak, move, question, collaborate, experiment and play — experiencing activities for themselves before considering how they can be adapted for their own students and settings.

DAY ONE: Macbeth

Using Macbeth as our shared text, participants will explore practical ways into Shakespeare’s story, language, characters and ideas. Activities will model approaches that encourage active interpretation, close reading, ensemble work, discussion and confident engagement with Shakespeare’s language.

DAY TWO: Twelfth Night

Day Two will develop and deepen the work through Twelfth Night, applying the principles to a very different play and introducing further activities and ways of working.

No advance knowledge of either play is required.

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What California Educators Say

“Incredible! I always get so much out of these professional development sessions. It was amazing how Tas and Debs expertly read the group and tailored their presentation to us. The activities were so much fun and deeply engaging. I was given tools that I can immediately use/implement in the classroom.”
Educator
Santa Barbara, CA
“I think this is huge in providing equal access to the curriculum and multiple pathways toward mastery of the standards.”
Educator
Santa Barbara, CA
“Interactive, positive, engaging, high-energy, community building, inspiring.”
Educator
Santa Barbara, CA

Previous participants have connected Bright Torches approaches directly to California Common Core standards in reading, textual evidence and inference, language and character analysis, speaking and listening, and writing. Teachers have also identified applications beyond Shakespeare and English Language Arts, including social studies, science, writing and SEL.

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Meet Your Instructors

TOM DAVEY

Tom Davey trained as an actor at RADA and has 20 years’ experience performing on stage and screen. He spent two years at the Royal Shakespeare Company playing lead roles. Over the last 14 years, alongside his acting, he has worked as an education practitioner, supporting theatre education programmes at the RSC, The Young Vic, Good Chance Theatre, London Shakespeare Workout Prison Project and, most notably, Shakespeare’s Globe where he was a learning consultant for many years.

TAS EMIABATA

Tas Emiabata trained as an actor at Rose Bruford College, London and has worked internationally as an actor on UK, Australian, and American film and television. Holding an Applied Theatre Master’s Degree from Goldsmith’s College (UCL), and over twenty years’ experience working at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, the main thrust of his work centers on a rigorous exploration of the text, coupled with the use of experiential ‘play’ as a tool for revealing and understanding themes, character, language, motivation, staging, and the relevance of Shakespeare’s’ work today.

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Macbeth

PARTICIPANT
$ 300 for 3 Meetings
  • The Macbeth Book Club
    will meet on:

    April 8 (6-10pm PST)
    April 15 (6-9pm PST)
    April 22 (6-9pm PST)
  • Participants will take part in live readings of the text and the discussion that follows.
Click Here to Enroll

Macbeth

AUDITOR
$ 150 for 3 Meetings
  • The Macbeth Book Club
    will meet on:

    April 8 (6-10pm PST)
    April 15 (6-9pm PST)
    April 22 (6-9pm PST)
  • Auditors will observe the live readings of the text and the discussion that follows each week.
Click Here to Enroll

Macbeth

STUDENT AUDITOR
$ 20 for 3 Meetings
  • The Macbeth Book Club
    will meet on:

    April 8 (6-10pm PST)
    April 15 (6-9pm PST)
    April 22 (6-9pm PST)
  • Special Student Auditor pricing is available to current high school and college students.
Click Here to Enroll

Much Ado about Nothing

PARTICIPANT
$ 300 for 3 Meetings
  • The Much Ado About Nothing Book Club
    will meet on:

    February 4 (6-10pm PST)
    February 18 (6-9pm PST)
    February 25 (6-9pm PST)
  • Participants will take part in live readings of the text and the discussion that follows.
Click Here to Enroll

Much Ado about Nothing

AUDITOR
$ 150 for 3 Meetings
  • The Much Ado About Nothing Book Club
    will meet on:

    February 4 (6-10pm PST)
    February 18 (6-9pm PST)
    February 25 (6-9pm PST)
  • Auditors will observe the live readings of the text and the discussion that follows each week.
Click Here to Enroll

Much Ado about Nothing

STUDENT AUDITOR
$ 20 for 3 Meetings
  • The Much Ado About Nothing Book Club
    will meet on:

    February 4 (6-10pm PST)
    February 18 (6-9pm PST)
    February 25 (6-9pm PST)
  • Special Student Auditor pricing is available to current high school and college students.
Click Here to Enroll

BUNDLE: Much Ado about Nothing & Macbeth

PARTICIPANT
$ 550 for 6 Meetings
  • This bundle pricing provide a discount for patrons who are interested in participating in both Much Ado about Nothing and Macbeth.
  • Participants will take part in live readings of the text and the discussion that follows.
Click Here to Enroll