Running since 2014, Shake on the Block supports students in the Spring and Summer to explore Shakespeare and focus on breaking down the complex dynamics in Shakespeare's existing text. Students gain the skills to adapt a Shakespearean play using contemporary English and street slang. Students are also introduced to all aspects of theater-making, including acting, basic playwriting, memorization, staging, and design in both Shakespearean tradition and contemporary performance expressions.

IN EXPOSING YOUTH TO SHAKESPEARE BY RELATING HIS CLASSIC WORKS TO CONTEMPORARY LIVED EXPERIENCE, SHAKE ON THE BLOCK INTENDS TO EMPOWER YOUNG PEOPLE TO TELL THEIR OWN STORIES WITH HIS INVENTIVENESS AND SKILL.

The Bushwick Starr is proud to partner with longtime collaborator Modesto Flako Jimenez's Oye Group to annually bring the Spring session of Shake on the Block to middle schoolers at IS77 in Bushwick. The spring session explores one of Shakespeare's plays, chosen in tandem with the school's curriculum, with students creating their own adaptation for ten weeks. The program also includes a field trip to attend a professional production of a Shakespeare play, and invites professional working guest artists to lead sessions focusing on skills like spoken word, hip hop, design, and directing. The workshop concludes with 2 free performances of the students' original adaptation at IS77, one during the day for fellow classmates and one evening performance. Both performances are open to the public and their families.