And Bahr addresses what many might be thinking. "We get some people who say, 'How can you have leather pants and a sword?' The kids have no problem with that. The kids know the world they're in."

Tully, who saw a performance recently, thinks the students really enjoy the show. "They, of course, enjoy the humor. As soon as the play turns dark it gets very quiet in the audience, so it's been fun."

Bahr draws an interesting parallel after watching an unruly audience of 800 students file into an auditorium in Las Vegas. "I think the education audience are today's groundlings. Groundlings, in Shakespeare's day, were people who were standing on the floor, and they've never seen the play before. Blue-collar folks were downstairs, white collars upstairs. Shakespeare wrote for both audiences. He knew they were both there."

Bahr enjoyed watching this audience of groundlings relate to the 400-year old tale.

"A fight starts the show, and it was instantly engaging for the kids. Romeo moaning about this girl. There's enough there and the students started to listen.

"I was reminded again they'd never seen it. Romeo takes the poison and dies, Juliet wakes up and there was a huge gasp across the house. It was really cool to see them seeing it for the first time."

But USF doesn't stop with the play. The shows also includes an audience question-and-answer session after the show.

When asked which question comes up time and again, Tully and Bahr agree: It's about the kiss. "They're fascinated by the fact that two people can stand up on stage and kiss," Tully says.

When the actors kiss on stage, the students squeal. Adults may look at partners sitting next to them, the kids verbalize what the adults are feeling, Bahr said.

By the end of the show, the students are also interested in the story, the careers of the actors and the fight scenes.

"Then we have workshops. I hire actors who are great ambassadors, love the art and are great teachers. They teach workshops on text, improv and stage combat," said Bahr.

And the students student love it. "The improv is very, very popular. The workshop is designed so that at the end of the hour, every kid is on his feet, is engaged and working with a professional."

The USF approach seems to work. "The kids are relating," Bahr said. "We've all had parents that don't understand what we're going through. We've all dated the guy on the other side of the tracks. We've all had a well-meaning adult trying to solve everything. We've all had love that is very impetuous. The students have those same feelings and passions."

Tully is proud of the tour's accomplishment." We wanted to show the students that Shakespeare is accessible if you have really good actors who understand what they're saying."

---