Announcing the Second Annual Bardie Award Winners

The Shakespeare Standard is delighted to announce the winners of its second annual Bardie Awards. The awards honor outstanding work throughout the world of Shakespeare. Winners are selected from among nominees submitted for the 2014 calendar year.

Scholarship

Best Conference of the Year: BritGrad, the International British Graduate Shakespeare Conference held at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon. This conference is a brilliant opportunity and friendly atmosphere for postgraduate and early career researches to discuss Shakespeare and early modern theater.

Multimedia

Best Website: The Folger Shakespeare Library. After undertaking a complete redesign, the Folger’s site is a jewel of the Shakespeare web.

Best Shakespeare Documentary: Now: In the Wings on a World Stage. Kevin Spacey’s riveting look at Richard III from behind the scenes.

Best Shakespeare Short: Shrew’d. Robert Dukes’s fantastic and disarming short based on The Taming of the Shrew.

Best Shakespeare on Television: Complete Works, the Hulu mini series. Adam North, Joe Sofranko, and Lili Fuller stream Shakespeare.

Best Shakespeare Book of the Year: The Doctor Who Shakespeare Notebooks by Justin Richards. Dr. Who has been channeling the Bard for years.

Best Shakespeare Web Series: A Bit Much web series. Colleen Scriven and the fun folks behind A Bit Much bring us occasional episodes of a modern spin on Much Ado About Nothing.

Education

Teacher of the Year: Diana Green, Artistic Director of Children’s Shakespeare Theatre in Rockland County, New York. We were delighted to read about Diana’s work with CST. Here’s the heart of the nomination sent to us:

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CST not only provides an intellectually stimulating environment, where the text of Shakespeare is examined and discussions ensue regarding why the rhythm changes where it does and why Mr. Shakespeare chose the words he chose, but it is also a safe environment where each person’s opinions, thoughts, and ideas are valued and given weight. The children who participate, whether it be on stage or as stage crew (usually actors from other productions) learn about Shakespeare as a writer, Shakespeare as a director (from the clues he leaves actors in his words), and about the history of the time in which he wrote as well as the times he depicts in his plays. These kids LOVE Shakespeare. For them it is like being fluent in another language. But even better, ALL of their friends come to see their shows. And they bring their parents and siblings. This means that children who do not act for CST still see at least 2, if not more, plays mounted each year. There is most often a talk back at the end of each show where audience members have the opportunity to ask the actors questions about the play. Diana also sometimes does a pre-show director’s talk – where people can clarify the story or ask questions about the production.

Diana also travels to schools – sometimes by herself to talk about the plays the kids are reading in English class, but lately she has brought abridged versions of the current production to an inner city school where a large percentage of the students are homeless or on the verge of being homeless. The interaction between the school kids and the CST kids has been remarkable. The school kids were riveted by “Taming of the Shrew” and asked the CST kids or autographs after the show.

In addition, Diana runs workshops for children in the Rockland County community – sometimes on fight work or dying on stage, sometimes on text, sometimes on theater games, and sometimes as mini productions.

I cannot fully express the changes I have seen in the kids impacted by this program. My children’s friends who come to see these shows are not afraid of Shakespeare.

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Training Program of the Year: The Shakespeare Forum. If you’re not paying attention to what The Shakespeare Forum is doing on Tuesday nights in New York City and in their work in classrooms and in occasional, brilliantly reviewed productions, you should. The Forum is a shining example of what it means to build community around Shakespeare’s texts.

Foolery and Miscellany

Best Original Drawing: Good Tickle Brain. Mya Gosling’s delightful webcomic warms hearts and earns chuckles throughout the year.

Global Shakespeare

Best Foreign Shakespeare Film: Haider (India). A provocative take on Hamlet, set in India.

People’s Choice

Best Children’s Educational Program (K-12): Young Shakespeare Players East (YSP). We heard from so many supporters of YSP, who talk about the transformative work of this great program for young people. The program, founded by Richard and Anne DiPrima, and based in Madison, WI with a branch in Western MA has been inspiring young people ages 7-18 to fall in love the works of Shakespeare for 35 years. Thanks to a method developed by Richard DiPrima which uses audio material, multiple casting, peer critiques and directing, and a process that involves every participant in the whole production (acting, tech, directing)—the participants are able to approach original, full length works of Shakespeare with full understanding, intensity and passion.

Best Film Adaptation: Billy Shakespeare. Full disclosure: Billy Shakespeare was written, directed, and produced by our Multimedia Editor, Deborah Voorhees, but we heard so much support for this fun flick, it’s clear the people have spoken.

Winners

Are you a 2013 winner? Contact us for your Golden Bardie badge for your website.

Nominations

Want to nominate someone for our 2015 Bardies? Check out our nomination process below. Nominees can be listed ANY time throughout the year. Categories listed below, but you may feel free to suggest your own.

The Shakespeare Standard is seeking nominations of writers, bloggers, teachers, performers and theater companies who excel in the following categories during 2013: Scholarship, Multimedia, Education, Voices, Performance, Foolery and Miscellany, Global Shakespeare and People’s Choice. Specific categories in each area are listed below.

Submitted nominees will be reviewed and voted on, and the winners will receive special recognition from The Shakespeare Standard, as well as the honorary “golden badge” for their website and a printable certificate of achievement. Winning theater companies will be featured on The Shakespeare Standard and receive free press for their upcoming season. How to submit a nomination:

For verification purposes, please include your name and e-mail address.
Please clarify which award you’d like to nominate your candidate for and why.
To nominate online articles and websites, please include a link.
To nominate productions, please include the contact information for the organization.
To nominate a person or a department, please include their contact information.
Submit nominations via email to bardies@theshakespearestandard.org

Important Dates: Check the website for submission deadlines. On April 23, 2016, in honor of William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, we will announce the winners on TheShakespeareStandard.com. Eligibility: Nominees must be able to be verified by judges. Nominated material must be available to the judges for review. There are no geographical limitations. Categories vary based on nominations, but may include: Scholarship: Best Conference of the Year: Best New Monograph: Multimedia: Best Shakespeare Film of the Year: Best Shakespeare Book of the Year: Best Shakespeare YouTube Clip of the Year: Education: Teacher of the Year: Training Program of the Year: Student of the Year: Best Educational Site: Voices: Best Journal Article: Best Website: Best “Original Idea” Piece: Performance: Best Artistic Concept: Best Professional Production: Best Non-Professional Production: Best Children’s Production: Foolery and Miscellany: Best Meme: Best Use of Shakespeare’s Image in a Meme: Best Pun: Best Original Drawing: Language: Global Shakespeare: Most Inventive Production: Best non-English Shakespeare Production or Event: Best Foreign Shakespeare Film: Best Foreign Shakespeare Production: People’s Choice: Best Website: Best Resource Site: Best Collegiate Shakespearean Program: Best Children’s Educational Program (K-12): Best 2013 Shakespearean Production (Professional): Best 2013 Shakespearean Production (Collegiate or Community): Best Original Concept: Best Original Costume Design: The Bold Bardie Award (most avant-garde, risqué or controversial): For more information, contact bardies@theshakespearestandard.com

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Brudermord and an Award! – BritGrad. June 4th-6th 2015. says:

June 5, 2015 at 7:56 am

[…] researchers to discuss Shakespeare and early modern theater.” Read more about the award here. Congratulations BritGrad 2014, and here’s to BritGrad […]