Shake It Up After School is an innovative vehicle for what Ernest Boyer categorizes as the Scholarship of Engagement which has been led by Professor Matthew C. Hansen since 2006. This service-learning experience for students in Dr. Hansen’s ENGLIT 345 Shakespeare class each Spring is also a vehicle for fostering deep and meaningful relationships between students, between students and Dr. Hansen, and between Dr. Hansen, his students, and the larger Boise community.
Since 2006, Shake It Up After School has produced over 35 productions of abbreviated Shakespeare plays, performed for and by elementary students in Boise Schools. With the assistance of over $22,000 in external grant funds, Shake It Up After School has generated more than 5,000 hours of community service, helping more than 1,000 Boise schoolchildren learn about Shakespeare and theatrical performance in innovative, collaborative, hands-on ways.
Additional information about the program can be found on the Shake It Up After School website.
About Dr. Hansen
Dr. Matthew C. Hansen is a Professor in the Department of English Literature at Boise State University. He came to Boise State in Fall 2005 and was promoted to Professor in 2017. Hansen specializes in English Renaissance Literature with a particular concentration in dramatic literature and Shakespeare.
See his English Literature Department bio here.