A TASTE OF SHAKESPEARE is an award winning video series created by Dr. Ada Craniford and Eric Weinthal and produced by Eugenia Educational Foundation. The series is used by schools, school boards, libraries, and individuals in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The impetus to produce the series came from a high school student's plaintive cry: "Why do we have to study Shakespeare?" This triggered the realization that most teenagers first encounter Shakespeare in the classroom: reading from a textbook and perhaps listening to an audiotape. They have no idea how marvelous and understandable the unfamiliar words become when convincingly acted out in the context of an engrossing story. On the other hand, taking students to the theatre or showing them a film or video of the full length play before they become familiar with the language and the story, often induces sleep rather than pleasure. So that is not the way to begin either.

Our way of introducing students to Shakespeare is to give them a Taste: a program that, in less than an hour, delivers the great scenes, the story line, and the central concerns. In a short time frame that holds their attention, students get a road map of the play: getting to know and care about the characters, and becoming engrossed in the tough moral dilemmas. Because we introduce a narrator/commentator into and between the key scenes, students know what is going on and where to focus their attention.

After enjoying the Taste of Shakespeare videotape and plunging into the activities suggested in our Teacher's Guide, students are well primed to appreciate a performance of the play, and to take pleasure in studying the text.

Eugenia Educational Foundation, a Toronto-based, not-for-profit company, was set up to create and produce entertaining teaching material for high schools and colleges. Eugenia produces the A Taste Of Shakespeare programs.

Ada Craniford is executive director of Eugenia and executive producer of A Taste Of Shakespeare. She also writes the Teacher's Guide. Her background includes a Ph.D. in English and years of teaching Shakespeare to high school and college students.

Eric Weinthal is co-creator of the A Taste Of Shakespeare series. He adapts Shakespeare's plays to the under-an-hour format and writes the narration. He produces the videos, sometimes directs, sometimes acts, and always supervises the music and post-production. Eric also acts and writes for film, television and theatre.