Teacher Guide - "Much Ado About Nothing"

BY

William Shakespeare

DIRECTED BY

Laura Braza

JANUARY 10 – DECEMBER 12, 2023 | QUADRACCI POWERHOUSE This Teacher Guide is designed to be used in the classroom along with Milwaukee Rep’s PlayGuide for Much Ado About Nothing.

This PlayGuide is available online at: www.MilwaukeeRep.com/MuchAdo Much Ado About Nothing Teacher Guide written by Lindsey Hoel-Neds

Topics for

Teaching &

Learning:

Exploring Shakespeare

If your students need some additional background information on Shakespeare or the play, resources abound! You may have some favorites of your own that you use with students, but here are a few more you might want to check out: Royal Shakespeare Company Shakespeare Learning Zone Folger Shakespeare Library Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Exploring Shakespeare Romantic Tropes

Gender Expectations

Discussion Questions

1. Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not? What about the idea of people who appear to despise each other eventually falling in love?

2. Is it ever alright to deceive another person? In what circumstances do you think it is alright? Is there ever a moral reason for deception?

3. What societal double standards exist based on gender? Do they personally impact you? How? 4. Does humor transcend time? Do we share the same sense of humor as our ancestors?

The cast of Much Ado About Nothing at The Old Globe, 2018. Photo credit: Jim Cox, The Old Globe.

5. How important is your reputation or how people perceive you? Do you have total control over that? Why or why not?

Super Short Shakespeare

This activity works best if you are having the students read the play in addition to attending the production at Milwaukee Rep. Break students into five groups. Assign each group one act of Much Ado About Nothing. Each group should use the text of the play to create a one-page or less version of their assigned act to perform for the rest of the class. While it may be short, the scene should still make sense and capture the essence of each group’s assigned section. It has been a challenging, but fun activity for students in the past.

Once groups have written their shortened versions of each act, have them make a plan for sharing their work. They may stage a live performance, create a video, record a radio play, or whatever idea they think could best represent their work.

Share the finished projects in act order to have a complete but concise new interpretation of Much Ado About Nothing.

Robert Sean Leonard, Keanu Reeves, Kate Beckinsale, Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, and Denzel Washington in Much Ado About Nothing promotional photo. Photo Credit: Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios.

Romantic and Shakespearean Tropes Define for students the term “trope” (a common or overused theme or device : cliché) and give some examples.

Then have students read the article in the PlayGuide about Shakespearean romantic comedies and romantic tropes. Discuss with students where they may have seen some of these tropes in Much Ado or in other Shakespeare comedies they have experienced. Now, expand the discussion to “rom com” films or TV series with which they are familiar. What tropes do they identify? Make a list as a class.

After you’ve created an extensive list of “rom com” tropes, have students get into groups. You can take this activity in several directions. Either you can have teams race to list as many examples of a particular trope, or one example of each trope; or you could have each group do a deeper dive into a particular movie or play, identifying and explaining the tropes they find.

When the race or the deep dive is over, discuss the following questions as a class: •

Why are tropes or clichés so common in romantic comedy?

•

Is there a benefit in storytelling or for the audience if tropes are prevalent in a piece of media?

•

What might be drawbacks to a piece that has many tropes?

•

Are there any truly original stories?

De’Adre Aziza plays Hippolyta, and Bhavesh Patel plays Theseus in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Lear deBessonet for the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater. Photo credit:Joan Marcus, TheaterMania.

Gender Expectations from Shakespeare’s Time to Today In Much Ado About Nothing, the expectations placed on the characters based on their genders is important to understanding of the play. In this activity, students will examine some primary sources and other resources to gain a better understanding of gender norms of Shakespeare’s day, the time in which our production is set (1990s), and today.

You might want to break students into three different sections to look at each time period. You could also expand the activity to include other eras, but the three suggested are most relevant to study of the play and student experiences.

(Make sure to pre-screen these listed resources for appropriateness for your classroom due to language and some subject matter.)

Imogen Stubbs as Viola/Cesario and Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia in Twelfth Night. Photo credit: Rotten Tomatoes.

Shakespeare’s time: Students studying this era may use this play or other Shakespeare plays as a resource. They may also use a copy of a primary source from the Elizabethan period called The Goode and The Badde, found here.

1990s: Students can access this article and research some of the pop culture, social, political, and historical moments mentioned (or others not listed):

Now: Students can be their own primary sources for this or can access various news sites to discuss issues that are important in relation to gender norms now.

Once students have completed their research, have them share with their classmates. They may share presentation-style or using a digital platform.

After the presentations, let the class discuss what progress has or has not been made as far as gender equity. Are there action steps they might want to take to make positive change in their school or community?

Irene Jacob as Desdemona and Laurence Fishburne as Othello in Othello. Photo credit: IMDb.

STANDARDS CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.9: Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

TP.Cr.18.h: Text/Script: Devise an original or adapt an existing work that incorporates dramatic structure.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

MILWAUKEE REP EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT DEPARTMENT The Education & Engagement Department offers pre- and post-show workshops and classroom residencies.

TP.R.12.h: View Performance: Demonstrate developmentally appropriate audience etiquette at a professional performance.

TP.Cn.13.h: Cultural Social Context: Compare and contrast how two or more cultural and/ or historical traditions impact production, text, or script.

WI SEL 9.9-10: Social Awareness/Self Awareness: Learners will be able to reflect on their own beliefs relative to different familial and societal norms.

WI SEL 14:9-10: Social Awareness: Learners will be able to assess for personal bias and evaluate strategies to oppose stereotyping.

WI SEL 18.9-10: Relationship Skills: Learners will be able to formulate group goals and work through an agreed upon plan.

WI SEL 21.9-10: Social Awareness: Learners will be able to identify the purpose of social norms for behavior across situations and how these norms are influenced by public opinion.

CONTACT US: Milwaukee Repertory Theater Education & Engagement Dept.

108 E. Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202 www.MilwaukeeRep.com | 414-224-9490 For questions or to schedule a workshop, please contact: Ro Spice-Kopischke, Education Coordinator at rspice-kopischke@milwaukeerep.com or 414-290-5393

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