LAWRENCEVILLE -- High school and middle school students will relive the world of Shakespeare as Rider University hosts “Shakesperience: NJ” on Wednesday, May 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The all-day festival will take place in The Yvonne Theater on Rider’s Lawrenceville campus.  Four high schools and one middle school will be represented, including Clearview Regional High School in Mullica Hill, Cumberland Regional High School in Seabrook, Rosa International Middle School in Cherry Hill, Watchung Hills Regional High School in Warren and Robbinsville High School in Mercer County.

Shakesperience: NJ is a partnership between The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and Rider University with the support of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.  The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey held its first annual festival on April 26 at the F.M. Kirby Theatre in Madison.

The students will perform scenes and montages from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Merry Wives of Windsor” and a medley of other plays.  Dr. Pat Chmel, chairperson of Rider’s fine art department, and Miriam Mills, adjunct assistant professor of fine arts, will serve as commentators.

“We want students to be able to embrace Shakespeare’s plays and talent, rather than just go through the motions of reading Shakespeare,” said Dr. Kathleen Pierce, assistant professor of graduate education. “The festival’s goal is to encourage students’ performance of Shakespeare and to cheer each other on.  We want them to think out of the box in order to interpret Shakespeare and make their own meaning of his texts.”