Play the Knave is a dynamic, interactive digital tool/game that gets students up on their feet performing dramatic scenes via an avatar. ​

As many teachers know from experience, the best way to engage students in studying Shakespeare is by getting them on their feet to perform scenes from the plays. After all, Shakespeare’s dramas were meant to be performed and that is how they are best understood. With hundreds of scenes from nineteen of the most commonly taught Shakespeare plays, as well as an online system that allows teachers and students to write and upload their own scripts, Play the Knave is an ideal way to engage students at all levels. ​

Whether used as a unique reading tool, an un-intimidating introduction, a scaffold for full-scale performances of scenes, or a capstone performance, the game excites students of all ages about reading Shakespeare’s language. ​​

But Shakespeare is just the beginning... Dramatic performance is a fantastic way to engage students in any text. Education researchers have shown that kinesthetic movement and drama-based activities enhance student understanding of complex texts and materials across a range of subjects. Play the Knave is designed to be easily adaptable to suit learning in a range of subjects, including second languages, literature, history, and life skills.

Play the Knave has been used in classrooms across the United States and throughout the world.  ​

You can download our software for free, but you’ll need to make sure you have the required hardware to play.
Above: Students studying Shakespeare via Play the Knave ​at Thuto-lore Comprehensive School in Sharpeville township, near Johannesburg, South Africa.

Learn more below about our collaboration with Cape Town theater artist and educator Lauren Bates of Educasions to bring Play the Knave into South African high schools. 

Testimonials from Teachers

“Because of the format, the students didn’t seem to suffer from any of the usual hesitation of reading difficult text aloud.”
-- Kathleen, Waldron Mercy Academy, Pennsylvania
“They laughed a lot and had a great time. Also, the more timid students had less anxiety about getting up and performing.” -- Tim, River City High School, California
“It engaged the kids on a high level. Motivation and interest are two of the hardest things to cultivate in the classroom when dealing with difficult texts such as Shakespeare. This video game significantly increased the students interest in participating and their motivation to engage on a serious level with the text.”
-- Rachel, City of Hialeah Educational Academy, Florida
“The game defied their stereotypes of what characters in Shakespeare should look like. One African-American student chose a black man in a suit to play Hamlet because the man resembled him. The students discussed how it was interesting to ‘change things up’ by having the characters look modern or like a robot or an alien.”
-- Molly, River City High School, California
“My students were able to go straight into acting without having to memorize lines, and this is important because many students in the class read below grade level and they struggle enough with the language as it is.”
-- Raul, Florin High School, California
“They learned a lot about how to move their bodies while performing to emphasize the ideas that they are trying to get across. While I can explain this in words to my students, it’s not as effective as seeing themselves perform in real time.”
-- Averyl, University of California, Davis

Interested in Play the Knave for your classroom, but don’t have the required hardware?

Thanks to an educational grant from Margaret Bowles, we can loan you the equipment you need. Our Knave Kit contains everything required to run Play the Knave (computer, Kinect camera, and connection cables); you provide only a TV or projector/screen. ​

​There is no cost to use our loan program beyond shipping fees. (Shipping fees range from around $50-$100 each way depending on your location.)  Teachers who can travel to the University of California, Davis can pick up a kit in person to avoid shipping fees. This program is only available to schools in the United States.

We can waive shipping fees for classrooms that participate in our university-sponsored research study. 
​
Our study focuses on how digital gaming technology and physical theater activities help students understand Shakespeare and make connections between his plays and social justice concerns. For more information on the research study, click here.

To borrow a Knave Kit, fill out our form:

Karaoke-only option

We are happy to offer a low-tech option for teachers who do not have access to the motion capture camera and Play the Knave software or wish to have students rehearse scenes without our gaming platform: you can use our free Mekanimator Scriptmaker online tool to project karaoke scripts without downloading Play the Knave's software. 

The Scriptmaker program is pre-loaded with all the Shakespeare scenes from Play the Knave or you can use the tool to create a script of your own, with any lines you wish. See our download page for instructions. ​

Workshops for Educators

We offer FREE workshops on play-based learning, featuring Play the Knave ​and lessons plans for commonly taught Shakespeare plays, which you can adapt for your own curriculum.
Click below to learn how you can host a workshop at your school or institution. We teach educators in the Sacramento, CA area, as well as in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. 
Can't attend an in-person workshop? ​You can watch an an abbreviated virtual workshop we created for the California Teachers Association. 
To gain the most out of the workshop video, download the handouts for the sample lesson in advance:
  • Visit the teaching appendix to Experimenting with Shakespeare: Games and Play in the Laboratory 
  • Scroll down to the lessons for Romeo and Juliet and click the link to download the lesson bundle for Act 3, Scene 5: My Fingers Itch
  • When the folder appears on the next screen, click on the "Download" button at the top right of the page, and save the documents to your computer's hard drive.