“All the world’s a stage,” as the Bard once said. And on a cool spring Friday morning, hundreds of kids from all across the Denver Public Schools district learned just that. Pouring out of yellow buses at Skyline Park off 15th and Arapahoe, their tiny bodies were wrapped in borrowed Renaissance regalia.
Velvet skirts brushed the grass, high ruffled collars touched chins, and glitter-filled faces smiled at one another in passing. They were preparing to parade through downtown to the lawn of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts for the yearly Shakespeare Festival, where students act out famous scenes from Shakespeare plays for their families and classmates.
“It's a wonderful opportunity because otherwise kids may never have the exposure to something like Shakespeare and certainly not the ability to perform it,” said Holm Elementary volunteer coordinator Megan Craig. “You might read something in your classes, but to be able to actually live it is an entirely different thing. It opens a world to theater, to writing and English literature.”
This year, 95 students from Holm Elementary in south Denver participated in the festival, up from 60 the year prior. In total, about 5,000 students ranging ages 6 through 18 from around the district participated in the 41st annual event, one of the largest of its kind in the nation.
“Our Shakespeare program has grown exponentially,” said Kim Garcia, who works with Spanish speaking students. “This is the first year we've had really little kids. Some first graders. Not all of them have speaking lines, but they’re still getting up in front of their peers and having fun.”
Students at Holm also had the opportunity to perform Shakespeare in Spanish. “We have so many different languages spoken at school, so it really is a bonding experience for these kids. It’s a huge boost of confidence. They’re super proud of themselves,” Garcia said.
Denverite jumped into the frey with a group of 10- and 11-year-old boys as they prepared to perform Act Three, Scene Three from The Scottish Play — better known as Macbeth.
If you need a little refresher, Macbeth is about the seizing of power through murder and secrecy. The titular character murders the king. But after a prophecy from three witches — the ones famous for the line “Double, double toil and trouble” — MacBeth gets word that murder and betrayal are coming for him next. It’s a tale of ambition, guilt and fate. But when you’re ten, the most exciting part is the sword fighting.
Holm Elementary students Noah, Ben, Joseph and Benjamin perform the third act of "Macbeth" during Denver Public Schools' 41st annual Shakespeare Festival at Sculpture Park. April 25, 2025. Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Holm Elementary students Sloan, Mayah and Mila perform the first act of "Macbeth" during Denver Public Schools' 41st annual Shakespeare Festival at Sculpture Park. April 25, 2025. Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
“We’ve been practicing since January, and it’s April now,” said Ben Levesque. He played MacBeth’s friend Lord Banquo and had been working on his death scene for weeks, but he wasn’t nervous. “I’ve been doing this for three years now. I’m excited. I know what it’s like and we performed in front of people already,” he said.
Before the big event, the kids participating get to show off their hard work to their classmates at school. Karl Horeis, a teacher at the Montclair School of Academics and Enrichment told Denverite that seeing the student’s pride as they gear up to take the stage is part of why he’s helped with the program for the last 15 years.
“Often, you're telling students to be quiet and listen up, but [during] this time you're saying, ‘Be louder, be more dramatic, get more upset in this scene!’ And so it's great to see them really take ownership,” Horeis said. “It just builds tons of confidence for these kids that so often are having to sit quietly in a chair and do worksheets. Instead [they] get to get up on stage and take charge of a situation and be leaders.”
The tiny players take the stage
After marching through downtown chanting “We love Shakespeare” and carrying medieval-style banners honoring their schools, the kids made their way to their assigned tents, which are scattered throughout the DCPA lawn and foyer.
When they arrive, their families are already waiting to cheer them on.
“Look at the energy that this is bringing. It's so loud coming through the corridor there,” said Nick Francis whose son Noah Francis, who was cast as one of the murderers in Act Three Scene Three of The Scottish Play. “He’s been doing it for a few years now and it's definitely sparked an interest in continuing to do drama and theater and acting. It's a lot of fun to watch his passion.”
Getting to this point takes adults who are passionate about the project too. From collecting and cleaning costumes to getting kids to memorize their lines, it’s all hands on deck.
“Every Thursday after school you have a multitude of volunteers from the community and teacher volunteers who break into classrooms. And we just rehearse,” Garcia said. “Somebody from the DCPA comes down to teach the kids how to do their fight scenes. They start with pool noodles, and then they can upgrade to real swords. So it is a very planned-out process to get us to today.”
While waiting in the wings, Noah and Ben get mic packs attached to their costumes and last-minute stage directions from teachers who tell them to ‘Take up space’ and ‘Own the stage’.
Then it’s showtime.
A student commences: “Hark, I hear horses.”
Recorded crickets help set the scene of a dark wooded road at night. That’s juxtaposed with the actors’ squeaky sneakers as they approach the anticipated fight scene.
“Let it come down!” a student shouts.
“O treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!” our Banquo, Ben, shouts. “Thou mayst revenge—O slave!”
Wooden swords clank, more sneakers squeak, and Banquo is vanquished.
The audience erupts with applause.
“I think our play went great!” Noah said after his performance. “We got every line down. We didn't have any mistakes. The sword fighting went really well, I think it was awesome.”
“It’s bittersweet,” said Noah’s mom, Kate Meersman. “He’s in the fifth grade and I don’t know if he’ll do it in middle school so this might be the last year of Shakespeare, but it's building self-esteem for the future. So it's good.”
For another year the kids have found their exits and their entrances. And they’ve perhaps learned that one man in his time plays many parts.
