- Peggy O’Brien, recipient of the 2008 Shakespeare Steward Award
Peggy O’Brien, a former public broadcasting executive and editor of the Shakespeare Set Free series, has been named the recipient of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s 2008 Shakespeare Steward Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the innovative teaching of Shakespeare in American classrooms.
As head of education for the Folger in the 1980s, O’Brien developed the library’s education department and its performance-based philosophy. The philosophy is grounded in the belief that the best way to learn Shakespeare is by performing Shakespeare. Another basic tenet of the philosophy is the belief that students of every grade level and background can learn Shakespeare.
Reflecting on O’Brien’s contribution to Shakespeare education in the U.S., Folger Director Gail Kern Paster said, “We believe in bringing students to Shakespeare by doing Shakespeare, and we’ve seen this approach play a transformative role here on the Folger stage as well as in classrooms across America. Peggy O’Brien’s vision started us on this path over 20 years ago, and she continues to inspire us.”
During her time as head of education, O’Brien founded the Folger’s Teaching Shakespeare Institute, a prestigious four-week residential program on Shakespeare education that connects educators with scholars, theater professionals, and master teachers.
O’Brien’s award was presented at the Folger last Friday by the inaugural recipient, Susan Biondo-Hench. The timing of the award ceremony had special significance since the library is currently hosting the 2008 Teaching Shakespeare Institute.
- Shakespeare Steward Award
O’Brien is the also the editor of Shakespeare Set Free, a three-volume series designed to help teachers make Shakespeare relevant to their students. The books feature techniques for teaching Shakespeare’s plays through performance along with daily curriculum plans for immersing students in Shakespeare’s language.
Commenting on how the series has influenced Shakespeare education in America, Robert Young, the current head of Folger Education, said, “Again and again, teachers come to us and say that Shakespeare Set Free has changed the way they approach Shakespeare in the classroom. Peggy’s pioneering work combined scholarship, classroom practices, curriculum and lesson plans—creating a truly groundbreaking resource for teachers everywhere.”
O’Brien’s resume reveals a lifetime devoted to introducing innovation into the classroom. She started as a librarian and teacher of reading, writing, and English at public schools in the District of Columbia. After leaving the Folger, she served as vice president of education for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting(CPB). CPB is the funding agency for programming distributed through the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). As vice president, O’Brien was involved with setting standards for all educational programming and leading public television’s efforts to develop digital content.
O’Brien was instrumental in developing Mobil Masterpiece Theatre’s American Collection, nine films based on American literary classics and an extensive website created by middle school and high school teachers across the United States. She also helped develop the Annenberg-CPB Channel and the early reading series, Between the Lions.
More recently, O’Brien served as an executive for an internet education company and as executive director of Cable in the Classroom, the American cable industry’s education foundation. She is currently director of communications for District of Columbia Public Schools.
Despite her executive responsibilities, O’Brien says she’s never far from the classroom. “The opportunity to do this work is fabulous,” said O’Brien, “I’m an inner city high school English teacher, and that won’t ever change. When I first got into a classroom, I thought, ‘This is where I absolutely belong, I’ve been waiting to get here my whole life.’
O’Brien remains an active contributor to Shakespeare scholarship and education. Last year, she spoke at the Folger Institute conference “Shakespeare in American Education 1607-1934” about uniting teaching and performance. An interview with O’Brien on the “learning by doing” classroom approach is available on the Shakespeare in American Life website.
