Hamlet Teacher Resource Package

Dear Teachers

Thank you for choosing TO BE educators. Our performing arts team is deeply grateful for your initiative!

THE PLAY'S THE THING with which to inspire students, much thanks to your guidance.

BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF WIT, so I'll keep this message short.

On behalf of our whole team, please accept these heartfelt thanks, again, to you, cherished teachers; and please enjoy and share this Hamlet resource package with your students, engaging them with the play before and after your time in our theatre THE READINESS IS ALL.

Yours sincerely,

Steven

STEVEN SCHIPPER, C.M., O.M. Executive Artistic Director, Performing Arts

About This Teacher Resource Package

We are pleased to present this teacher resource package for Hamlet starring Ahad Raza Mir. Enclosed you will find many excellent resources to support your teaching of the play.

This teacher resource package aims to provide a unique focus on the play, and features contributions of artists from Brampton, Peel, and the Greater Toronto area.

Designed so you can easily download and print or share with students, the resources are for grades 912, but may be used by teachers of intermediate grades as they find applicable.

Content Advisory

Hamlet explores mature themes including suicide, violence, and murder ending tragically During the play there is a duel where multiple characters are killed, and a character dies by suicide, following their father’s murder.

Should your students have questions surrounding these topics, there are people in our school communities and organizations who can provide support. Please share these resources:

• Kids Help Phone

• Talk Suicide Canada

• School Mental Health Ontario

Our staff is also available to visit your classroom for a talk-back session, or to provide further context before or after the play (see the Workshops & School Visits section of this package).

Attend Hamlet

A furious and fast-paced production of Hamlet for our times, Canadian-Pakistani superstar, Ahad Raza Mir, takes the lead in this captivating tale of vengeance and love. Premiering at The Rose, this dynamic reimagining by The Shakespeare Company and Hit & Myth Productions is an exciting way to introduce your students to Shakespeare's most famous play, and the power of live performance. Featuring an allstar cast of local actors, this is show that will be sure to leave a lasting impression on your students.

Key Dates

October 11, 17, 18, 2023 at 11:00 am

Run time: 2 hours + snack/stretch break

Grade range: 7-12

Wednesday, October 11 School Show

Thursday, October 12 Evening Public Performance

Educator’s Professional Learning Day (in person)

Friday, October 13 Evening Public Performance

Saturday, October 14 Public Matinee Evening Public Performance

Tuesday, October 17 School Show

Wednesday, October 18 School Show

Educator’s Professional Learning Day (virtual) Evening Public Performance

Wednesday, November 8 Due date to submit applications to attend TO BE Theatre Fest

Tuesday, November 21 TO BE Student Theatre Fest

Time permitting, there will be a talk back with performers following each school show

Purchase Tickets

• Box Office: 905 874 2844 Ext. 62803 or 62804

• boxofficeEDU@brampton.ca

• We are open Tuesday to Friday from noon to 5pm

• Tickets are $10/student, with free supervisor tickets based on group size and needs

Ticket Subsidy Program

Our belief is that all students should have the opportunity to experience live theatre, without financial barriers. Through the generosity of our donors and community partners, we are able to subsidize the cost of tickets and make the arts accessible to all. Download a Ticket Subsidy Program Application Form or contact rose.education@brampton.ca for more information. Some restrictions apply.

Join Our Mailing List

The Arts Adventures E-Newsletter delivers monthly updates and opportunities on performances, educational workshops, student opportunities, community initiatives, and more. Sign-up today! For More Information: rose.education@brampton.ca, (905) 793-4841

About The Production

The Shakespeare Company is Calgary’s lean and mean classical theatre company, highlighting the best of the Bard in all his comedy, tragedy, and bawdiness. Founded in 1995, by Richard Kenyon and LuAnne Morrow, TSC has brought the Bard alive for Calgarians through both Shakespeare and Shakespeare inspired plays. They are committed to making Shakespeare accessible through innovative performances and inspired directing. Alongside mainstage productions, TSC’s community initiatives are: Page to Stage Outreach Program and DiVerseCity.

Hit & Myth Productions is a professional independent theatre company based in Calgary, Alberta. Hit & Myth was established in 2006, and since that time has produced over 30 professional shows, engaging numerous local actors, directors and designers.

Ahad Raza Mir, Hamlet

Ahad Raza Mir is a Pakistani-born, Calgary-raised actor, producer, singer, and writer. He is the son of Asif Raza Mir, a veteran actor, and producer in the Pakistani film and television industry. Ahad’s breakthrough role in the romantic drama Yaqeen Ka Safar (2017) won him the Lux Style Award for Best Actor as well as the Hum Award for Best Actor. In 2018, he made his film debut with Parwaaz Hay Junoon followed by Aangan. Later in the year, he debuted as a featured artist in the eleventh season of Coke Studio

The Shakespeare Company, in a joint production with Vertigo Theatre, presented a successful run of Hamlet: A Ghost Story, also starring Ahad Raza Mir, at Calgary’s Vertigo Theatre in 2019. He was the first South Asian actor to play the role professionally in Canada. For his performance, he won the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama.

Haysam Kadri, Director

Haysam Kadri has been with The Shakespeare Company since 2012 and has worked to elevate its main stage productions and outreach programs in Calgary. A graduate of the Birmingham Conservatory for classical training at the Stratford Festival, Haysam spent six seasons as a company member with the Stratford Festival. He has worked extensively as a Theatre Arts instructor with Red Deer College, Mount Royal University, and the University of Calgary. Haysam is an actor, director, fight choreographer, and teacher. Since 2012, The Shakespeare Company has enjoyed countless nominations and awards under his leadership.

The Playwright - POP QUIZ!

Ask your students to research Shakespeare's biography online, then engage them with this quiz!

1) In which year was William Shakespeare born?

A. 1464

B. 1564

C. 1674

D. 1764

E. 1864

2) How many children did Shakespeare's parents have?

A. 1

B. 5

C. 8

D. 16

3) What type of work did Shakespeare's father do?

A. Baker

B. Candlestick maker

C. Chimney sweep

D. Glovemaker

4) What did Shakespeare leave for his wife in his will?

A. His second-best bed

B. His book collection

C. 1000 gold coins

D. The deeds to his many houses

5) Where did the name “Hamlet” come from?

A. He is named after Shakespeare’s son Hamnet, who died very young

B. Shakespeare’s mother’s uncle’s cousin’s roommate was called Hamlet

C. Shakespeare loved small villages

A. He is named for the dentist who put in Shakespeare's gold tooth

6) What famous modern story was based on Hamlet?

A. Harry Potter

B. A Christmas Carol

C. The Lion King

D. Mean Girls

Answers: 1B, 2C, 3D, 4A, 5A, 6C

To Study Shakespeare or Not to Study Shakespeare, That is the Question

Alexia Vassos, Caledon-based Actor, Education Consultant, and Disability Activist

Why do we still study Shakespeare? What makes his plays so great that they’re included in high school curriculums across the world? How do his stories still find relevance in the 21st century?

These are all valid questions that I’m sure every student has asked themselves or their teachers at some point in their academic careers. It’s no secret that upon first, second or even a third glance at the lines of iambic pentameter, the text is quite daunting. Pair that with a bunch of “doths”, “thous” and “thees”, and it’s enough to make anyone question how people can make sense of who is speaking and what they are talking about. The language can be dense, yes, but it is also very rich. Shakespeare has a way of turning the simplest of sentiments–such as, “I think this girl is pretty”–into poetic proclamations (“What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun”).

These works continue to be studied and staged hundreds of years after the fact because Shakespeare’s themes are timeless. Take Hamlet, for example. This play speaks to such universal themes, including the nature of human existence, the struggle between good and evil, revenge, the meaning of life and the intricacies of human relationships. These are all topics that seem larger than life when they are coated in Elizabethan English, but when broken down to their essence, are feelings and afflictions we all navigate in some capacity within our own lives.

Shakespeare’s characters experience some of the highest stakes ever written, which is one of the reasons why they are so much fun to play. They love, hate, fight and reconcile in the biggest and boldest ways. As an actor, there are so many layers to work through when you take on a role from one of his classic plays. It’s not just about deciphering and memorizing lines; you have to understand the rhythm of the text, recognize which words match up to emphasized beats and take into account the metaphors and double-entendres that exist within his writing.

Artists today continue to adapt and reinvent Shakespeare’s stories, playing with the language and changing the settings; by doing so, they are showcasing how the themes, emotions, feelings and messages embedded in his plays are still relevant today, some 400+ years later.

Alexia is an actor, writer and consultant currently based in Caledon and Toronto. An alumna from the Theatre and Drama Studies joint program between the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, she holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and an Advanced Diploma in Acting. Since graduating, she’s appeared both on stage and screen in a variety of theatre productions, commercial campaigns (Amazon, PetSmart, McDonald’s) and TV/film ventures (Under the Christmas Tree, Pink Is In). In her recent endeavours, Alexia has been able to combine her love of the arts with her passion for disability advocacy, moderating events and facilitating workshops that feature disabled artists and focus on accessibility within the industry. Presently, Alexia is in the process of creating a solo show centered around growing up disabled in a family that overshares and a world that under-serves.

Context in Brampton

We are thrilled to bring you this dynamic rendition of one of the most famous plays in English theatre.

Brampton On Stage strives to bring diverse experiences to Brampton and Peel students each year, as we proudly claim our place as one of the most racially-diverse cities in the country. Our community creates a rich and vibrant atmosphere where we have the opportunity to learn and grow together, creating a world we’d like to live in.

One of our goals is to present stories in which students can see themselves represented. This raciallydiverse representation of Hamlet, featuring a Canadian-Pakistani star in the title role, will present South Asian students with a role model. It will also reinforce for students from different backgrounds that Shakespeare’s plays are for all of us.

Beyond this production, there is much more work happening within Performing Arts.

In our 23-24 Arts Adventure season, we aim to provide a wide variety of shows that are educational and entertaining. Some plays highlight and celebrate physical differences (Ill-Abilities, Casting Off), some highlight cultural understanding and reconciliation (Walking Through The Fire, Spirit and Tradition: Dancers of Damelahamid, and Th’owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish). Some connect to other areas of the curriculum (Renaissance DJ), while others teach us about history (Shaun Boothe & The Unauthorized Biography Series, Jake’s Gift, and Becoming The Beatles). Some are pure fun and delight, based off of familiar stories (The Wizard of Oz, The Jungle Book). We also produce our own free, virtual show featuring artists whose work aims to make a positive change in the world (HeART Changers), as well as feature the incredible talent of Brampton (Centre Stage). Our goal is to offer an annual education season that presents a rich, diverse, and robust group of offerings with, truly, something for everyone.

Featuring performances by Brampton Music Theatre and Math Thru Music is part of our commitment to supporting local artists and organizations.

Our Heartbeats in Performing Arts co-op and intern program celebrates and uplifts the brilliance of Black and Indigenous youth. Youth in this program moderate the HeART Changers school show.

As part of our commitment to this work, our division has embedded responding to the TRC Calls to Action within our strategic plan. We have begun that work with a set of responses created by our Education department, and consulting with Indigenous artists and community leaders.

To learn more about our 23/24 Arts Adventures season please visit bramptononstage.ca

Themes & Discussion Questions

CHOICE AND AGENCY

Hamlet challenges every student to exercise agency.

When Prince Hamlet seeks revenge for the death of his father, he is racked with indecision. His deeprooted fear of death and his doubt in the legitimacy of the ghost's claims causes him to contemplate whether or not to take action against Claudius. Throughout the play, Hamlet often appears to be driven by a sense of duty, yet he does not truly understand the consequences of his actions. Hamlet’s battle for autonomy reflects the human desire for agency in our world of systems, laws, rules, and norms.

Hamlet is a play about discovering one’s agency, which refers to our capacity to act and make decisions. Agency means that we have a sense of being in control of our lives. We have the ability to handle various tasks and situations, and the power to affect the future. Our sense of agency helps us to be flexible in the face of conflict or change.

Just like Hamlet, most youth are faced with the challenge of making choices. When Hamlet is faced with injustice, he must evaluate his response to a situation and then put that response into action. He is not perfect. He hesitates and wavers, similar as to how any high school student who is discovering their identity would

Discussion Questions:

• Recall a time that you had to make a difficult decision. What factors played a part in your choice?

• Have you ever felt like you had no control over the outcome of a situation? What impact did it have on you?

BEARING WITNESS

Studies indicate that the more people who are nearby in an emergency, the less likely it is that any of them will take action and help. This is called the "bystander effect." There are times when we witness an injustice happening to another person or group and must decide whether to intervene and assist in that moment. It can be difficult to know what to do.

Prince Hamlet is a young man faced with trauma and injustice, and he is struggling to decide what to do: should he act, or do nothing. We all face injustices in our lives. It might not be life-or-death as Hamlet is dealing with, but it may feel like that at the time.

Discussion questions

• What injustices do you see around you in your community?

• What injustices do you see playing out in the larger world?

• In what ways are you a bystander to injustice?

• In what ways do you step in to help?

VENGEANCE

Prince Hamlet's father, the King, is dead. Hamlet learns from his father's ghost that Claudius, the King’s brother and Hamlet’s uncle, has murdered him. Hamlet wrestles with the notion of vengeance.

Discussion questions 1

• What other approaches could Hamlet consider, aside from vengeance?

• What would it take to obtain reconciliation and forgiveness in Hamlet's situation?

Discussion questions 2

• How are the histories of the British monarchy, Canadian government, and Indigenous Nations, connected?

• Is there an opportunity to look at the atrocities that Indigenous Nations have faced, and the notion of truth and reconciliation in modern times? How effective has Truth and Reconciliation been so far?

• Why do or don't Indigenous Nations seek vengeance for these atrocities?

• Unpack with students: What are some of the ways in which Indigenous communities all over have (1) resisted injustice, and (2) supported reconciliation processes?

Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, Text-to-World strategy

Text-to-Text

• Do the themes in Hamlet remind you of another text? (E.g. story, film, video…)

• How are these themes in Hamlet similar and different to that text?

Text-to-Self

• How do the themes in this text relate to your own life?

• Do you agree with Hamlet's choices? Are there any you disagree with?

Text-to-World

• How do the themes in this text relate to what is happening (now or in the past), in the world?

• How are they similar or different?

• What can we learn from the play that could be applied to real life?

TRAUMA AND JOY

Hamlet is a tragedy with heavy themes, and the events within are, at times, traumatic. In life, tragedy and happiness co-exist – and we experience both ends of the spectrum. Can we extract more joyful meaning from this story?

Discussion questions

• Do you think it is important for a story to have a happy ending? Why or why not?

• How could we give Hamlet an ending that avoids violence?

• What is a catalyst that could have prevented anyone from dying?

• If someone had made one different choice, how would the outcome change?

Companion Workshops: Shakespeare in Action

Brampton On Stage is pleased to present Shakespeare in Action's Hamlet companion workshop for your consideration. This is a terrific way to help your students gain a deeper understanding of the language and themes in Hamlet before (or after) you attend the show.

Page to Stage Hamlet

In this fun, participatory workshop, students decode Shakespeare’s text to make it actionable. Led by a professional actor-educator, students engage in interactive language exercises, group translations, and storytelling activities, connecting to rhythm, images, and thematic ideas explored in Hamlet. During the workshop students are given the tools to confidently speak classical text, and develop self-reliance to overcome challenges associated with studying Shakespeare’s language.

This workshop is offered at 3 levels for students with varying levels of experience studying Shakespeare’s text.

• Level 1- Designed for classes unfamiliar with Shakespeare, including students for whom English is their second language.

• Level 2- Designed for English classes and for students with some familiarity with Shakespeare.

• Level 3- Designed for Drama classes and those with an affinity for theatre and Shakespeare.

Duration: 1 hour or 1 high school-length period

Price: $300

Location: In your classroom

Workshops are facilitated by Shakespeare in Action. Book directly with the company.

• Phone: 416-703-4881

• Email: education@shakespeareinaction.org

Shakespeare in Action (SiA) was formed over 30 years ago with a vision of making Shakespeare’s works accessible to youth. For decades, SiA has introduced plays and the playwriting craft to young generations through its school-based programs, multi-year library programs, and educational workshops aimed at making classic theatre accessible and exciting. Today, SiA has matured into an award-winning theatre company with a dedicated home in Artscape Weston Commons. Continuing to focus on youth, they offer a variety of programming including mainstage productions, educational programming, artistic development opportunities, and community initiatives.

Website: https://www.shakespeareinaction.org/

Meet Shakespeare in Action’s Artistic Director: Brampton’s own Cameron Grant

Shakespeare has always been intimidating to me. Like most people I first encountered his plays in my high school English class. The magic of Midsummer Night’s Dream…why did they think running away into a magic forest would solve their problems? The rage of King Lear…why did he have to give up his kingdom? Othello’s deterioration into madness…why didn’t he ever question Iago? Hamlet’s pursuit to avenge his father’s death…why doesn’t he just do it already? I loved the stories, but the text at times felt impossible to understand, and even more difficult to speak. Reading his plays sometimes felt like I was reading another language. It wasn’t until I saw a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Stratford Festival that I understood Shakespeare’s plays are not meant to be read, they are meant to be seen!

When I chose to train as an actor I knew I had to start getting comfortable with Shakespeare. I made more of an effort to read his plays and those of his contemporaries (yes there were other writers who were just as popular as Shakespeare writing at the time). As an actor I have used his monologues for audition pieces and performed in several professional productions of his plays. I have come to realize that once you understand the rules of iambic pentameter and the conventional play structure from the time he is writing in, Shakespeare becomes quite simple. Unlike most modern plays, the text provides the actor everything they need to understand the character and the story.

I am not saying his work isn't challenging. As an actor, engaging with his text requires a level of rigor. My job as an actor is to understand every single word, in order to make the story as clear as possible for the audience. And the audience has a job too. Shakespeare’s plays ask us to listen in a different way. There are words, jokes, references to stories, people, and places that are not readily familiar to a modern audience, and that is okay! In any Shakespeare play the audience is asked to meet the players halfway by activating their imaginations. The themes and conflicts central to his plays still resonate with audiences today.

How does a young man find justice for his father’s wrongful death? What kind of toll does the quest for revenge take on a young mind? What happens to humanity when we put our own interest above morality? I believe these questions keep asking us to find new relevance in Shakespeare’s best-known tragedy of Hamlet.

Cameron Grant is an actor, playwright, theatre creator, artist educator, and the Artistic Director of Shakespeare in Action. As an actor, Cameron has performed in theatres across the country including the Grand Theatre (London), Persephone Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Soulpepper, Stratford Festival, four seasons at the Shaw Festival, Talk Is Free Theatre, Theatre Animal, Theatre Erindale, Secret Shakespeare Series, Canadian Rep Theatre, and Clay and Paper Theatre. He has assistant directed productions at Bard on The Beach, Factory Theatre and Theatre Erindale. His first play, Meet Chloe, a play that explores the challenges Black students face in the education system and the lack of Black curriculum content in the study of Canadian History, received its premiere at Carousel Players. Cameron also works as an artist educator and has developed and facilitated workshops for The City of Brampton Performing Arts, Theatre Direct, The Shaw Festival, The Rose Theatre, Suitcase In Point Theatre, in high schools across Ontario and at Toronto Metropolitan University. He was the co-facilitator for the first cohort of the Heartbeats in Performing Arts program at the City of Brampton Performing Arts in 2021 and supported the program as a mentor in 2022. Cameron completed an internship in Artistic Leadership with the City of Brampton Performing Arts during the 2021/2022 season funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Companion Workshops: School Visits from the Cast & Performing Arts Staff

Performing Arts Brampton is on the DPCDSB’s External Presenters List.

We would love to visit your class to talk more about Hamlet, your experience, about performing arts in general, and to answer any questions! To request a school visit, email rose.education@brampton.ca.

School visits will be confirmed on a first come, first served basis according to availability. Each visit is for a single class and is approximately one period in length.

Ahad Raza Mir

Meet the actor who plays Hamlet! For a few lucky classes who see Hamlet, Ahad will be available for a talk-back to answer questions, share about his career as an actor, and to discuss the deeper themes in the play

Ahad Raza Mir is a Pakistani-born, Calgary-raised actor, producer, singer, and writer. He is the son of Asif Raza Mir, a veteran actor, and producer in the Pakistani film and television industry. Ahad’s breakthrough role in the romantic drama Yaqeen Ka Safar (2017) won him the Lux Style Award for Best Actor as well as the Hum Award for Best Actor. In 2018, he made his film debut with Parwaaz Hay Junoon followed by Aangan. Later in the year, he debuted as a featured artist in the eleventh season of Coke Studio

Steven Schipper

Steven will share about what he loves about Shakespeare, live theatre, and how "the living thought” is the secret to acting.

Steven is Executive Artistic Director for Brampton On Stage. He previously served for 30 years as Artistic Director at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, where he is currently Artistic Director Emeritus. He has directed plays across Canada and the United States, including at the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, and at Mirvish Productions. Steven received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Winnipeg, was appointed to the Order of Canada, and was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. Steven received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Manitoba, and was appointed to the Order of Manitoba. Steven is deeply grateful to the City of Brampton and its citizens for the opportunity to live, play and work together. Steven and his wife, Terri, have made Brampton their home and hope to contribute to its growth and vitality.

• September 13

• September 15

• September 20

• September 22

• September 27

• September 29

Nereé Morgan

Nereé will share about the opportunities for youth to get involved with Brampton On Stage, about career paths in the arts, and of course, there may be poetry!

Nereé is the Community Programming & Outreach Associate for Brampton On Stage. She is a Jamaican-Canadian performance poet and 2018 Canadian National Champion. Her writing is rooted in her lived experiences as an immigrant, mother, & community worker. Exploring the cultural significance of things like race, mothering and love, she often blends historical fact with present realities, making for a poetic experience that is both informational and inspirational. She began exploring performance poetry in 2008 & since then she has shared her stories in classrooms & boardrooms across Ontario. Affectionately known as Reé, she sat as captain of the 2018 Toronto Poetry Slam team who were semifinalists at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago and went on to win the Canadian National Championship in Guelph, Ontario. She has had featured performances at the coveted When Sisters Speak (2019) and at Toronto Poetry Slam (2019). Reé was recently crowned the 2021 Toronto Grand Slam Champion and is currently working on her debut collection funded by the Ontario Arts Council and the coveted Canada Council for the Arts titled, “I Never Asked you to Love me”.

• September 26

• September 29

• October 3

• October 5

• October 10

Danny Harvey

Danny will speak about his career path as an Artistic Programmer, and the language and themes in Hamlet and Shakespeare.

Danny has been a performing arts professional for the past 22 years. Currently functioning as the Programming and Presenting Coordinator for Brampton On Stage, Danny curates the theatre’s presenting series. Performing Arts Brampton manages a multidisciplinary venues providing theatre, music, dance, and comedy. Prior to this, Danny was the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare in the Square Festival as well as the producing wing of the Rose Theatre Brampton. Danny has been a performer and artistic director on amateur and professional stages for the past 19 years, having directed some 30 plays and musicals. Danny is a graduate of Humber College’s Comedy Writing and Performance program, Central Peel Secondary School, and winner of a Sears Festival Award for Performance Excellence in the year 2000.

Schedule permitting, Danny is available September to December, 2023.

PERFORMING ARTS EDUCATION

CONFERENCE: October 12 & 18, 2023

Presented with the support of the Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators

Brampton On Stage presents a new Professional Learning experience!

English teachers will learn new and exciting ways to engage students in texts through drama activities.

Drama teachers will be reinvigorated through workshops that challenge and inspire.

There is something for everyone, whether you teach in secondary or elementary, have a lot of experience or little. This is sure to be an engaging and exciting day for all!

Thursday, October 12, 2023

In-person at The Rose 9:00-5:00 pm

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Virtual (Zoom) 7:00-9:00 pm

For this inaugural year, we are holding the learning day during the run of Hamlet. Workshop content will be connected to and inspired by the play. Your registration can include a ticket to that evening’s performance!

October 12 Agenda

• Keynote address

• Tour of The Rose

• Catered lunch

• Workshops with CODE, Paula Wing, and more!

• Fee: $75 for workshop day only

• Fee: $115 for workshop + ticket

October 18 Agenda

• Keynote address

• Presentation by Renaltta Arluk, playwright of Pawâkan Macbeth, a Plains Cree takeover of Macbeth written by Arluk on Treaty 6 territory. Pawâkan Macbeth was inspired by working with youth and elders on the Frog Lake reserve.

• Fee: $40

If you are with a Peel school board, apply early for STPDL Funding Requests (PDSB) or an external credit request through Professional Learning (DPCDSB).

Goal of the program: To provide rich and stimulating workshops that are experiential and intellectually stimulating, and provide tools, strategies, and resources that you can incorporate into your teaching.

Check our website for more details and registration beginning in August! Reserve your spot now by emailing rose.education@brampton.ca. To download a one page info sheet about this event click here.

Renaltta Arluk

Pre-Show Activity: Get to Know Brampton On Stage

DURATION: Approximately 30 minutes

Overall Objective Students learn about Brampton On Stage before their visit to the theatre.

Learning Objectives

Students gain a deeper knowledge of the geography and scope of a theatre, including backstage and show set up, and the steps required to prepare for a performance.

STEP ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

1 What is Brampton On Stage?

Provide students with an overview of the digital resources below, or allow them to browse through on their own time.

• https://tickets.brampton.ca/Online/default.asp

• https://issuu.com/rosetheatrebram

• https://www.instagram.com/bramptononstage/

• https://twitter.com/bramptononstage

• https://www.facebook.com/BramptonOnStage

Questions: What is Brampton On Stage? What kinds of performances are presented? What other opportunities are available?

2 See Inside The Rose YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bramptononstage

Welcome to Brampton On Stage

Choose from an array of videos that demonstrate the inner workings of our venues:

• Orchestra Shell - Timelapse

• Inside The Rose: Operations

• Behind the Scenes: From Load-in to Showtime

• The Rose Backstage Tour

Questions: What elements make up The Rose or other Brampton On Stage venues? What steps are sometimes involved in putting on a production?

3 Application Discussion Questions:

- Have you been to The Rose?

- If so, what did you notice about the space?

- What knowledge have we gained from the videos about the way this theatre operates?

Written Response:

How might your new knowledge of The Rose shape your experience of Hamlet? What is one thing you will be more aware of?

EDUCATOR ASSESSMENT

Have students gained a deeper understanding of the processes involved before and after a performance takes place in a theatre?

How are students thinking critically about what kinds of performances can take place in a theatre?

Pre-Show Activity: Exploring Themes & Quotes in Hamlet

DURATION: Approximately 3 hours

Overall Objective Students become more familiar with the text from Hamlet. Students gain new strategies for physically and vocally embodying classical texts.

Learning Objectives

Pre-performance: Students predict and anticipate themes in the play. Post-performance: Students compare predicted meanings of quotes to insights gained from watching the play.

STEPS ACTIVITY

INSTRUCTIONS

1 5 minutes Preparation Read the quotes in Appendix A. Print the quotes single-sided, one quote per page, in large print. Select “mood music” that is conducive to group brainstorming and productivity.

2 45 minutes Exploration: Snowball

Select the quotes you wish to work with. Spread the pages throughout the room. Invite students to walk around the room, in silence, to read the quotes. While they are walking, play the mood music softly to promote a thoughtful atmosphere. When you press pause on the music, students stop at the quote they are closest to and form groups of 2 or 3. At this point, the groups will collectively discuss what they think the meaning of the quote is. Once 5 minutes or so elapses, continue playing the music and prompt students to continue moving around the room. Repeat the above steps until the students have participated in discussion groups for 4-5 different quotes.

Question: What do you think is the meaning of each quote? (Teacher adds context as the students respond to this question for each quote)

3 25 minutes Embodying Shakespeare’s text through action

Invite each student to choose one of the quotes. Students are then provided 5-10 minutes to physicalize the text with movement and gesture to create deeper meaning. This activity requires a breakdown and close analysis of the quote, and ultimately yields a deeper understanding of the text.

Example: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.” A student may choose to physicalize the line in a series of abstract movements, dance, symbols and/or gestures that represent each word.

Fun fact: This is often used as a memorization tool for actors!

Question: How did this exercise impact your understanding of the quote?

4 25 minutes Embodying Shakespeare’s text through voice

How many ways can you say it? If following the above activity, have students select a different quote. Invite them to experiment with placing emphasis on different words, one at a time. Observe how inflection changes the meaning of a sentence. Then, have the students assign emotions to shape the meaning of a line and see the way it changes (disappointment, sorrow, anxiety, etc.). Although this exercise can be completed sitting down at desks, it is recommended that the students stand in a circle to complete it.

Variations:

- Teacher selects a quote. Standing in a circle, each student repeats the same line in term, with a different emphasis. Reflect on insights. Repeat with different quotes.

5 30-60 minutes Mini Improvisational Sketches

Divide the students into small groups of 4-5. Assign each group of students with a quote and provide any relevant themes. Task them with creating an original scene that is inspired by that quote.

By doing so, students are challenged to predict what happens in a scene before they see the play. During the play, this exercise will prepare them for being more alert to listen for the quotes that they worked with in class. This exercise can be completed during one class or over the span of a few days.

EDUCATOR ASSESSMENT

Have students successfully predicted the meaning of each quote?

Have students showcased an increased level of comfort with the text? Have students used their voices and bodies to assign meaning to the text?

Activity: Companion Piece

There have been many productions of Shakespeare’s work. There have also been many adaptations, as writers build on the themes according to what is happening in the world and people’s lives. Explore these examples of companion pieces to Shakespeare plays:

Queen Goneril

Written by Erin Shields, produced by Soulpepper Theatre Company

https://www.soulpepper.ca/uploads/Shows/Playbills/2022/22-Goneril-Playbill.pdf

A companion play to King Lear

The playwright, Erin Shields, describes her inspiration for the play: "What if Goneril had a storm? What if she got to vent her frustration with her father; grapple with the unexpected circumstances she finds herself in; confront her fears, doubts and desires in the elements? What would we come to understand about Goneril’s circumstances, her actions, her humanity? What could that storm reveal about us right now?" (Source: playbill)

In the Soulpepper Theatre Company production of King Lear, all three of King Lear's daughters are Black women. It is a retelling of King Lear with a heightened awareness of what it’s like to be a Black woman in a position of power. As Goneril is lesbian, the play also looks at homosexual identity within the construct of a heteronormative narrative.

Pawâkan Macbeth

Written by Reneltta Arluk http://akpiktheatre.com/pawakan-macbeth

A Cree version of Macbeth

Pawâkan Macbeth is set during pre-colonization, when Plains Cree were allied with Stoney Nakoda, and at war with Blackfoot over territory, food, supplies and trade. It's a time when true autonomy existed among Indigenous Peoples and with that their spirits, their wisdom, practices, makers, tricksters, shifters, their darkness and light. A time when the Canadian Government were making their way west with Sir John A. MacDonald as its leader. Harsh environments brought immense fear, starvation, and uncertainty together to awaken the darkest of Cree spirits, the Wihtiko – a being with insatiable greed. Through the exploration of Plains Cree language, history, stories and cosmology Arluk asks, What is it to be human? What makes a human vulnerable to the Wihtiko? Inspired by working with the youth of Frog Lake First Nation, and shared stories from Elders in the Treaty 6 region, Arluk has created a terrifying journey through love, greed, honour and betrayal, with coyote howlers teaching us that resurgence requires balance. (Source: Akpik Theatre)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Written by Tom Stoppard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosencrantz_and_Guildenstern_Are_Dead A companion play to Hamlet

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the main setting is Denmark.

The action of Stoppard's play takes place mainly "in the wings" of Shakespeare's Hamlet, with brief appearances of major characters from Hamlet who enact fragments of the original's scenes. Between these episodes, the two protagonists voice their confusion at the progress of events occurring onstage without them in Hamlet, of which they have no direct knowledge. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Creative Challenge

Dive deeper into one of the characters or situations in Hamlet that you find compelling.

Create a companion piece to Hamlet that:

• Is based around or inspired by one character or situation from Hamlet

• Changes the outcome of the play

• Incorporates elements of your own culture and identity into the plot

Your piece can be:

• Short or long

• Point-form rough draft, or a more final version

• Presented as a song, poem, poster, video, monologue, scene, play, dance, etc.

• Involving one character or many

Ideas:

• Show a day in the life of the character.

• Have the character respond to a situation in Hamlet from their own perspective – perhaps asking questions, challenging a topic, or changing the action, etc.

• Put a totally different spin on the character and have them intervene in Hamlet in a way that drastically changes the plot.

• Introduce a conflict or problem the character has to solve, show how they solve it and the result

• Insert yourself into the play, in real time. What would you do, and how would your actions change the story?

Activity: Cut To

DURATION: Approximately 60 minutes

This activity was provided by Paula Nevins (BA, BEd, MA, OCT); adapted from an activity shared at a past Stratford Festival’s teacher workshop. It can be followed by Soliloquy Remix

Overall Objective Students understand the overall meaning of the soliloquies in Hamlet and gain insight into the essence of the soliloquy by distilling it down to one word.

Learning Objectives Students gain skills in order to comprehend dense and complex text Students rank and evaluate what is most important in the play.

STEPS ACTIVITY

INSTRUCTIONS

1 10 minutes Preparation Print copies of the soliloquies (see Appendix B). Prepare Post-it notes in various sizes (largest, second largest, square, small, flag). Collect writing utensils such as pens, pencils, and markers.

2 5 minutes Assign Soliloquies Divide the class into small groups of 3-5. Provide each group with one of the soliloquies from Hamlet

• “O that this too, too sullied flesh”

• “O what a rogue and peasant slave”

• “To be or not to be”

• “My offence is rank, it smells to heaven”

• “How all occasions do inform against me”

3 10 minutes First Cut Ask each group to cut the soliloquy down to the five lines that best express the meaning and write those lines on the largest post-it.

4 20 minutes Cut and Repeat

1. Switch groups – cut the soliloquy down to three lines (use the second largest post-it)

2. Switch groups – cut to five words (square post-it)

3. Switch groups – cut to three words (small post-it)

4. Switch groups – cut to one word (post-it flag)

Full example below.

5 5 minutes Completion Ask groups to read the final words in order of first to last soliloquy

6 10 minutes Reflection Discussion questions

• What was challenging about this exercise?

• Did the difficulty level change as the exercise progressed?

• How does the one word you chose reflect the larger meaning of the soliloquy?

These questions may be answered in writing or verbally.

EDUCATOR ASSESSMENT

Have students put consideration into what is most important? Have students worked together to communicate and distill the soliloquy down to a single word?

What are students gaining from this experience?

Example from Romeo & Juliet

Original text: (Juliet)

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name.

Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love

And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy:

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

What’s Montague? It is nor hand nor foot

Nor arm nor face nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O be some other name.

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself.

Cut to five lines:

Deny thy father and refuse thy name.

Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love

And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

And for that name, which is no part of thee, take all myself.

Cut to three lines:

Deny thy father and refuse thy name.

And I’ll no longer be a Capulet. And for that name, which is no part of thee, take all myself.

Cut to five words:

Deny father name take myself

Cut to three words:

Deny take myself

Cut to one word: Myself

Activity: Soliloquy Remix

This activity was provided by Paula Nevins (BA, BEd, MA, OCT); adapted from an activity shared at a past Stratford Festival’s teacher workshop. This activity can stand alone or follow the Cut To activity as an extension.

BEFORE SEEING THE PLAY – use the quotes to inspire students to start thinking about what the play might be about. Encourage prediction to build anticipation! Students are challenged to create original scenes or scenarios based on the quotes

AFTER SEEING THE PLAY – use the quotes to delve deeper into the meaning of the play, and to develop the ability of students to embody the feelings and messages in the text.

DURATION: Approximately 45 minutes

Learning Objectives Students demystify and build comfort with the text. Students deconstruct the text for greater insight and understanding. Students bring forth their own voices and interpretations using the text.

STEPS ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

1 10 minutes Preparation Print copies of the quotes found in Appendix A. Select ‘mood music’ that is conducive to group brainstorming and productivity. Set up the space to allow for movement.

2 5 minutes Provide or generate quotes Provide students with quotes from Hamlet, or have the class generate their own list of quotes

3 5 minutes Selecting quotes Each student picks one line that is the most important to them. They memorize it, and practice saying it aloud or silently.

4 20 minutes Remix Students stand in one line or spread out throughout the room, with lights dimmed and mood music playing. The teacher walks throughout the room and, one by one, taps different students on the shoulder. When a student’s shoulder is tapped, they speak their line aloud.

As a group, we hear a remix of the play. The teacher (or designated student “tapper” becomes like a DJ of that speech.

6 10 minutes Reflection Discussion questions

• How did this activity affect your experience of your own quote?

• Did you gain any new insights into the play?

• What did it feel like to be tapped, or to be the one tapping?

Extensions to Soliloquy Remix

The Wave

1. Each student picks one line from Hamlet

2. Students create a pose that embodies the feeling or meaning of the line

3. Students are put into groups of 5-10

4. Students stand in a line in front of an open space that is a pathway long enough for them to walk 20-40 steps, e.g. a hallway, gym, or outdoor space. Students number themselves off, 1, 2, 3, etc. The spectating students stand along the side of the path as viewers.

5. Teacher plays mood music

6. From their starting point, the group slowly starts to walk forward, in sync. After about 3 steps, student 1 freezes in their position and holds it while the rest of the line continues. After about 3 more steps, student 2 freezes, followed by student 3, and so on.

7. When the last student has frozen, you will see a diagonal line of students frozen in their positions.

8. The last student to freeze holds their position for a few beats (perhaps 5-10), then unfreezes, turns around and retraces their steps, slowly, to their starting point.

9. As this last student passes by, each frozen student unfreezes and joins the line, which is now sweeping its way back to the starting point again.

10. Repeat so that all groups perform.

11. Further extension: While all students in the line are frozen, the teacher taps each one on the shoulder. Students they speak out loud an "I" sentence that they are feeling in their character.

Discussion questions

• How did it feel to hold your frozen position? What thoughts went through your mind?

• How did it feel as an audience member to view this? Could you see a story forming?

• Did this activity give you greater insight into the meaning of the quote? If so, how?

Tableau

1. With their chosen lines, students form groups of 4-6.

2. Students assume their positions from The Wave activity and create a frozen image that integrates each student’s position

3. Students may adapt and change their positions to create a new scene. The new scene should contain:

✓ Different levels

✓ Different facial expressions

✓ Tension

✓ And other elements as determined by the teacher

4. Students perform their tableaux for each other.

5. Thinking/speaking “tapping in”. Create predetermined signals that will elicit students’ responses in character. For example, if you tap the top of the head, the student says in role what their character is THINKING. If you tap the shoulder, the student say in role what their character is FEELING.

Discussion questions

• How does this segment differ from the original play?

• Were you faithful to the original context, or did you make up your own context? Why did you make the choices you did?

• What was your experience as a performer?

• What was your experience as an audience member?

• Did this activity give you greater insight into the meaning of the quote? If so, how?

Activity: Deep Truth

What is the value of art?

Works of art, when done well, contain very deep profound truths These truths are usually expressed through what we think of as entertainment or engagement Art can deliver truth in a way that can be more effective than a lecture or sermon In the same way that a story can transform us, this is what art does best, when it does it well. This is why art is so powerful The best art is based on a truth.

Take an example from Romeo and Juliet: What is the deep truth inside this play? It happens toward the end of the play when Montague and Capulet stand next to their children, whom they loved more than anyone in the world, who are now dead, and they discover that they have capacity to end their family feud after more than 100 years. As human beings, no matter what has befallen us, we have capacity to somehow find reconciliation, find forgiveness and way to move forward.

What are the deep truths in Hamlet?

What is happening to truth in this era of false news?

Rumour, gossip, false pretenses. Subterfuge, gossiping people’s backs, surveillance. These themes echo repeatedly in Hamlet They existed in Shakespeare’s time and they exist in ours. However, today we have new forms of technologies that accelerate the harms that can be done. During the last few years, new terms have entered our vocabulary: “alternative facts” and “fake news.” It can be harder to know what is truth and what is a lie, especially as advances in Artificial Intelligence have developed programs that can alter voice and face recognition and allow for “deep fakes.” Just like Hamlet has difficulty deciphering what is true and what is false, we have the same challenges today.

• What technologies were used to spread news in Hamlet's time? How do they differ from today’s?

• List some examples of lies and deceit in Hamlet. Can you think of examples of lies and deceit on a larger scale in our time?

• What happens to individuals or the public when they are exposed to lies and misinformation over an extended period of time?

• Why would people, organizations, or leaders lie or mislead? What could they stand to gain?

• How do we tell the difference between truth and fiction?

• What role do the arts play, or could they play, in helping people navigate between truth and lies?

• How do the arts contribute to a healthy democracy?

Creative Challenges

Students write from the perspective of a news reporter describing an event that took place in Hamlet. The report can include facts about the location, quotes from the character, a description of the event from different perspectives, and more. Build in creative details.

Hamlet, in present-day, observes the news about the war in Ukraine. He hears reasoning from Russia, and listens to a speech from the Ukrainian president. He is asked to make a comparison to the situation in his own kingdom. In Hamlet’s voice, students write a letter to the editor of a major newspaper.

Brampton Artist Profile: Allison Edwards-Crewe, Actor

Allison Edwards-Crewe has been singing and acting from a young age, at Christ Church Brampton and Beatty Fleming. She went on to study voice, participating in numerous Peel Music Festivals, and singing at Caribram's Caribbean Pavilion. During her time at St. Augustine S.S. she continued to surround herself with the arts, playing trumpet, singing in the choir, and performing in their annual plays and musicals. Her first two roles were Grace in Annie and Audrey in Little Shoppe of Horrors. Allison started her postsecondary training in dance, drama, and music in the prestigious Musical Theatre Performance Program at Sheridan College. Graduating early, Allison had the pleasure of starting her professional career at the historic Grand Theatre in London playing a lead in Dreamgirls. Since then, she has been traveling across Canada performing on stage and screen. Her selected credits include: Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing, Les Belle-Soeurs, Little Women, All’s Well That Ends Well (Stratford Festival), Serving Elizabeth (Western Canada Theatre); The Color Purple (Citadel Theatre & Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); School Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play (Obsidian & Nightwood Theatre); How Black Mothers Say I Love You (Factory Theatre); All Shook Up (The Globe Theatre); Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Citadel); Girls Like That (Tarragon Theatre); Da’ Kink in My Hair (Theatre Calgary, National Arts Centre); Dreamgirls (Grand Theatre). Film/TV: The Handmaid’s Tale (MGM/Hulu), Baby in a Manger (BrainPower), Surviving Evil (Cineflix), Black Actress (JungleWild) Audio Dramas: Liming (Expect Theaatre/CBC), Every Second of Every Day (Factory Theatre) Social Media: Insta: @alllisonec Twitter: @allisonecrewe Right now you can watch All’s Well That Ends Well on Stratfest at Home, and see her in Season 4 of Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.

We interviewed Allison for this Teacher Resource Package and asked her to say a few words about her experience with Shakespeare. Here are a few quotes from that discussion

On Shakespeare’s use of language… “I’ve been looking up words from the [Shakespeare] shows I'm doing now, and it’s so interesting how many words in the English language we don’t use. We have all this slang, it’s the easiest way to get our point across. But there is just something about Shakespeare that uses poetry that I love, elevated language. You have to use your whole mouth to speak, and your whole mind to understand. As my director said, you never get every piece, or figure everything out. I love that it's a constant challenge and there's always something to think about.”

On how the stories translate to our present-day realities… “I'm also interested in how tricky some of the stories are in a 2023 reality. There are a lot of problematic ideas. But there's something about the history of us as humanity that is locked into these pieces: what was accepted, what was expected. We get to see these things through the lens of the plays. And the beauty of it is that it’s public domain. You can make adjustments and look at things the way that you would like to.

“For example, I’m doing Much Ado About Nothing this season at the Stratford Festival. My character Hero is going to marry Claudio. There's a rumor that she’s cheated on him. He believes it, and rejects her on their wedding day. In the final scene he's at the altar to marry someone else, and it's actually her who's under the veil. Their interaction is three or four lines and then she marries him. He had previously fully rejected her! But within four lines, she says ‘OK, that's fine, we'll still get married.’ So this production has actually added dialogue written by Erin Shields in order to find a place where we as an audience can feel that, yes, there is a world in which you have a conversation that makes it easier for you to forgive and continue your relationship as opposed to, ‘Well, he says he'll marry me, so I'll do it.’ I love that that there's a history and a time and a place that's locked into these plays, but also the ability to change and explore those ideas.”

Fort William FN & Tkarón:to Artist Profile: Yolanda Bonnell, Playwright, Actor

Yolanda Bonnell (She/They) is a Bi/Queer 2 Spirit AnishinaabeOjibwe, South Asian mixed performer, playwright and multidisciplinary creator/educator. Originally from Fort William First Nation in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Superior Robinson Treaty territory), her arts practice is now based in Tkarón:to. She is Co-artistic leader of manidoons collective, that she runs with Michif (Métis) artist, Cole Alvis. In February 2020, Yolanda’s four-time Dora nominated solo show bug was remounted at Theatre Passe Muraille while the published book was shortlisted for a Governor General Literary Award. In 2018, Yolanda was invited to be part of the Banff Playwright’s Lab with her piece, White Girls in Moccasins, which was produced at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in March 2022.

Yolanda was the Indigenous artist recipient of the Jayu Arts for Human Rights Award for her work and won the PGC Tom Hendry Drama Award for her play, My Sister’s Rage. Yolanda has taught at schools like York University and Sheridan College and proudly bases her practice in land-based creation, drawing on energy and inspiration from the earth and her ancestors.

We interviewed Yolanda for this Teacher Resource Package and asked her to say a few words about their experience in theatre and with Shakespeare. Here are a few quotes from that discussion.

On the role of a storyteller…

“In Anishinaabe culture, you were typically traditionally identified by your role and responsibility in the community. It was what you were giving, and how you were contributing. For me as a storyteller, that is my role.

“Our stories are medicine. The way that we pass on our information, disseminate our history, has often been oral or birchbark scrolls. When I talk about my work, I talk about it from a place of sovereignty. When I write things down, I document things, it's a contemporary form of documentation like on birch bark. Just that this is what we're doing now. I connect all that to my role as a playwright, to my role as a creator. What we know as theater, I call it storytelling because it connects that to my role as an Anishinaabe person.”

On the value of stories, theatre, and representation…

“The importance of it is how we are reaching out to our communities and how we are representing our communities. A lot of the stories that I'm telling are stories about my life. There are stories from my own experiences, predominantly as an Indigenous two-spirit woman (sometimes woman, sometimes not), from things I've witnessed, and from what I know about.

“I think about myself as a young person and not seeing myself anywhere in the world and not seeing myself on stages and all I was seeing was Pocahontas or like this ‘Hoka hey’ or super-Northern reservation life. My lived experience wasn't demonstrated to me. So for me representation is harm reduction. When I think about that within theater, I think about how we need to show our lived

experiences. My lived experiences, my body on stage. These acts of sovereignty put us boldly out there so people can see us and that we're not disappearing, we're still here, our stories still matter. We're telling the truth of this country.

“Documentation and storytelling, oral or otherwise, has always been a way to maintain our history. Indigenous theater artists are just documenting our history. This is our truth right now.”

On the relevance of Shakespeare’s stories today…

“There are opportunities to take those [Shakespeare] stories and reimagine them. You can take themes from so many Shakespeare stories and turn them into a reflection of today.

“There's themes of betrayal, love and desire, lust for power, greed – these are things that we see today all over the place. And it doesn't have to be betrayal of love. It can be betrayal of, like, a treaty.

“You can connect these things to lots of issues that are happening today, to issues that some youth are feeling, especially in this day and age where you can't shield them from any of the truth that's happening. They can see greed. They can see lust for power. They see it in their governments every day. They see it in their households. Some of those themes can be translated, to make it important to people.

“Having a good understanding of Shakespeare and the language will give you an opinion on it. If you don't fully understand it, you can't form a well-rounded opinion. It wasn't until I went to theatre school that I deeply understood it. And I was like, ‘Now I get it. Now I can form a knowledge-based opinion on whether this work is relevant.’ I think that young people need that in high schools.

“The second part to that is not only understanding how it works but then also twisting it. Now that we understand how it works, how does it relate to you? What are what are the things you're pulling out of it? Understand the text, understand the stories, and then understand how to break them apart and find those themes and use them to your own experience.

“Find out what it is you want to say about the world, about your life. If you want to go out there and create, have a point of view. What is your perspective? What is your artistic voice? And that can mean whatever it is to what you want.”

Brampton Culture Worker Profile: Danny

Harvey

Danny Harvey, a lifelong Bramptonian, has been a performing arts professional for the past 22 years. Currently functioning as the Programming and Presenting Coordinator for Brampton on Stage at the City of Brampton, Danny curates the presenting series at The Rose Theatre, Lester B Pearson and Garden Square. This performing arts series is multidisciplinary providing Theatre, Music, Dance, and Comedy to the people of Brampton. Prior to this Danny was the artistic director of the Shakespeare in the Square festival as well as the producing wing of the Brampton performing arts department. Danny has been a performer and artistic director on amateur and professional stages for the past 19 years having directed some 40 plays and musicals. A Graduate of Humber College – Comedy Writing and Performance program, Central Peel Secondary School, and winner of a Sears Festival award for performance excellence in the year 2000.

We interviewed our colleague Danny for this Resource Package. He spoke about his career path in performing arts and why he thinks Hamlet is a meaningful play. Here are a few quotes from that discussion.

On what he does in his job… “As Artistic Programming Coordinator, it's my job to source pieces of theatrical, multidisciplinary programming. I'm looking at drama, dance, all different forms of music, comedy, spoken word, the list goes on. It's my job to source it, see it, and then look at it against the goals of the team. We showcase different artists that could be exciting or new to see, as well as family experiences. We want the whole community to be represented in the performing arts, so they can see themselves on stage, see artists they admire on stage, and have incredible experiences of gathering together in a live space and watching art unfold.”

On his own career path… “I wanted to go to some sort of performance school, and I hate to put it this way, but I was not the best student. I wasn't very focused and didn't do the work as I should have. I didn't have the grades. I'd always been kind of funny, I didn’t mind being the butt of the joke. I figured, why not take a shot at this new program: Comedy Writing and Performance at Humber College. I went did an audition and was invited to be in the class.

It was a beautiful and a hard experience. A room full of class clowns is a heck of a place to be. But the courses in improv writing, stand up, movement and voice for the actor, history of comedy, it all just made me so well-rounded and made me understand not just comedy, but performance in the industry. It can be challenging, but can also be collaborative and a beautiful place to create. It also taught me to have a sense of humor about everything.

On Hamlet… “Hamlet is essentially a perfect story. It has everything you need. And even to this day, even though it's hundreds of years old, it surprises me every time I see or read it. It's not predictable, even though we know how it ends. Everything is led to through kind of a stream of consciousness and an interesting way of thinking. And I think that is how people think. It really shows a human condition where everybody's imperfect, nobody's truly evil. And even though they do evil things or they do good things, there's something wrong with everybody and something good and sincere in everybody. And that's the world as I see it.”

Advice on careers in the arts… “If you like the arts and want to be involved, my biggest piece of advice is see everything, go to everything. If there's a show you don't think you're going to like, go anyway! You're going to find something in it. Always approach everything with an open mind.”

‘Let’s Read The Classics’: Shakespeare & Tagore

Gabriella Sundar Singh

Why continue to study the “classics” in 2023, when there is a plentiful stock of contemporary works to draw from? How can each student and educator relate to the classics, when the air is full of conversation about representation, equity and inclusion? Why this now? The answer requires not only careful listening from educators but demands that we lean into this conversation and prepare to rethink and redefine what the classics are. And forging forward with a willingness to challenge our ideas of drama, theatre and performance, and bring our students into this conversation with us.

Looking to the East, we can look at the works of Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel Prize-winning Bengali polymath, poet, playwright, novelist, and composer whose educational impact still exists. His works deeply impacted and reshaped Indian art and literature, and these works are still being performed, most recently in the Shaw Festival’s 2022 Season. His writing drew from the experiences of everyday people, history, and spirituality and focused on themes such as identity.

So what can we do with these classical works in today’s classrooms? With a piece like Tagore’s Chitra and Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there are endless conversations and explorations to be had. We first need to start with an understanding that language, identity and community are ever-evolving ideas. But what is constant and sure is our ability to know ourselves in the past, the present, and to be able to imagine possible futures. Upon reading and further investigation, we learn that both Hamlet and Chitra were young people born into extraordinary circumstances; they both had a legacy thrust upon them; we meet them in a space of deep contemplation and reverie; and a great journey awaits ahead of them. These are not identical stories: they come from two different writing traditions, from different corners of the world, with very different societal circumstances. But where these two stories meet is in their love for language, their use of the mystical as a vessel of conveying story, and their ability to speak to their younger audiences.

So, why the classics now? Because it is by looking back that we can understand our present and our future. And through the works of Shakespeare and Tagore, and their contemporaries, there is a wealth of stories out there that we can use as a vessel to spur on the kind of conversations that our young people are asking us to have. It is by investigating the classics together that we can imagine and create our possible futures.

Gabriella Sundar Singh is a Toronto-based artist and educator. She trained from a young age in Bharathanatyam, classical piano, and singing. She holds a B.A.H. in Theatre Studies from the University of Guelph; completed her post-graduate studies at Centennial College in Children’s Media; is a graduate of the Acting Program at the National Theatre School of Canada (Montreal); and is currently pursuing her Master’s with the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies at the University of Toronto. She has spent five seasons as an actor at the Shaw Festival and works regularly in TV and film. Her work with young people has been in the capacity of educator, mentor and coach through the City of Toronto’s Recreation programs, TiFF Kids, Shakespeare in Action, and the Shaw Festival’s Education and Outreach programming. Gabriella wishes to bridge the gap between text and embodiment in the drama classroom, by using the element of Play and understanding the impact that young people can have on the world when they feel engaged in the work.

APPENDIX A

Quotes for use with Exploring Themes and Quotes in Hamlet and Soliloquy Remix

To be or not to be, that is the question.

(Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1)

The play’s the thing…wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King

(Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2)

Brevity is the soul of wit.

(Polonius, Act 2, Scene 2)

Listen to many, speak to a few.

(Polonius, Act 1, Scene 3)

Neither a borrower nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

(Polonius, Act 1, Scene 3)

This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.

(Polonius, Act 1, Scene 3)

Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love.

(Hamlet’s letter read by Polonius, Act 2, Scene 2)

If it be now, ’tis not to come: if it be not to come, it will be now: if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all.

(Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2)

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

(Horatio, Act 5, Scene 2)

Though this be madness, yet there is method in't

(Polonius, Act 2, Scene 2)

A little more than kin, and less than kind.

(Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2)

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

(Queen Gertrude, Act 3, Scene 2)

action or inaction, indecision, religious thinking about suicide, metaphysical dilemma of human life

the power of story to influence others and make change, getting your message through to someone

clever people can express intelligent things using very few words

wisdom, discrimination, open-mindedness, secrecy

responsibility, integrity, living a good and stable life, managing finances, debts

identity, integrity, self-knowledge, selftrust, non-conformity, pleasing others

depth of love, everlasting love

delay, revenge, indecision, destiny

prayer, religious expression, heartbreak, nobility and sense of purpose, goodness

madness, deception, appearance versus reality

family relationship, loathing, wit

overacting, guilt and innocence

APPENDIX B

Soliloquies from Hamlet for use in Cut To

(1)

Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 2):

O, that this too too solid flesh would melt

Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!

Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd

His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!

How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world!

Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature

Possess it merely. That it should come to this!

But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two: So excellent a king; that was, to this,

Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother

That he might not beteem the winds of heaven

Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!

Must I remember? why, she would hang on him,

As if increase of appetite had grown

By what it fed on: and yet, within a month

Let me not think on't Frailty, thy name is woman!

A little month, or ere those shoes were old

With which she follow'd my poor father's body, Like Niobe, all tears: why she, even she

O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn'd longer married with my uncle, My father's brother, but no more like my father

Than I to Hercules: within a month:

Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears

Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married. O, most wicked speed, to post

With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!

It is not nor it cannot come to good:

But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.

Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1):

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life;

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,

The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of?

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. Soft you now!

The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons

Be all my sins remember'd

(2) Hamlet (Act 2, Scene 2):

Now I am alone.

Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Is it not monstrous that this player here, But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Could force his soul so to his own conceit That from her working all his visage wanned, Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect, A broken voice, and his whole function suiting With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing For Hecuba!

What’s Hecuba to him or he to Hecuba

That he should weep for her? What would he do

Had he the motive and the cue for passion

That I have? He would drown the stage with tears

And cleave the general ear with horrid speech, Make mad the guilty and appall the free, Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed

The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I, A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak

Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, And can say nothing no, not for a king, Upon whose property and most dear life

A damned defeat was made. Am I a coward? Who calls me “villain”? Breaks my pate across?

Plucks off my beard and blows it in my face?

Tweaks me by the nose? Gives me the lie i' th' throat

As deep as to the lungs? Who does me this? Ha!

'Swounds, I should take it, for it cannot be

But I am pigeon-livered and lack gall

To make oppression bitter, or ere this

I should have fatted all the region kites

With this slave’s offal. Bloody, bawdy villain!

Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!

O vengeance!

Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave, That I, the son of a dear father murdered, Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words And fall a-cursing like a very drab, A scullion! Fie upon ’t, foh! About, my brain. Hum, I have heard That guilty creatures sitting at a play Have, by the very cunning of the scene, Been struck so to the soul that presently They have proclaimed their malefactions. For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak With most miraculous organ. I’ll have these players

Play something like the murder of my father Before mine uncle. I’ll observe his looks.

I’ll tent him to the quick. If he do blench, I know my course. The spirit that I have seen May be the devil, and the devil hath power T' assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me. I’ll have grounds More relative than this. The play’s the thing Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.

(4)

O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder. Pray can I not, Though inclination be as sharp as will: My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent; And, like a man to double business bound, I stand in pause where I shall first begin, And both neglect. What if this cursed hand Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens

To wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy

But to confront the visage of offence?

And what's in prayer but this two-fold force, To be forestalled ere we come to fall, Or pardon'd being down? Then I'll look up; My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer

Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'? That cannot be; since I am still possess'd

Of those effects for which I did the murder, My crown, mine own ambition and my queen. May one be pardon'd and retain the offence?

In the corrupted currents of this world

Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice, And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself Buys out the law: but 'tis not so above; There is no shuffling, there the action lies

In his true nature; and we ourselves compell'd, Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults, To give in evidence. What then? what rests?

Try what repentance can: what can it not?

Yet what can it when one can not repent?

O wretched state! O bosom black as death!

O limed soul, that, struggling to be free, Art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay!

Bow, stubborn knees; and, heart with strings of steel, Be soft as sinews of the newborn babe!

All may be well.

(5)

Hamlet (Act 4, Scene 4):

How all occasions do inform against me, And spur my dull revenge! What is a man, If his chief good and market of his time

Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, Looking before and after, gave us not That capability and god-like reason

To fust in us unused. Now, whether it be Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple

Of thinking too precisely on the event, A thought which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom

And ever three parts coward, I do not know

Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do;'

Sith I have cause and will and strength and means To do't. Examples gross as earth exhort me: Witness this army of such mass and charge

Led by a delicate and tender prince, Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd Makes mouths at the invisible event, Exposing what is mortal and unsure

To all that fortune, death and danger dare, Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great Is not to stir without great argument, But greatly to find quarrel in a straw

When honour's at the stake. How stand I then, That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd, Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I see The imminent death of twenty thousand men, That, for a fantasy and trick of fame, Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause, Which is not tomb enough and continent

To hide the slain? O, from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!

Claudius (Act 3, Scene 3):

Get involved!

Do you love acting, theatre, or being backstage? Want even more experience in these areas? Peel Region is home to many performing arts organizations. Let us know who we’ve missed and we will add them!

• Brampton Music Theatre

• Brampton’s Own Shakespeare Show

• Laal Button

• MonstrARTity

• Naiti Theatre Group

• Punjabi Arts Association

• Sawitri Theater

• The Hive Performing Arts

Opportunities with Brampton On Stage:

• Centre Stage (youth ages 12-18)

• Heartbeats Co-op and Intern Program for Black and Indigenous Youth

• Youth Outreach Team (launching in Fall 2023)

• Arts Inside workshop series (beginning September 2023)

Check out the Shake It Up Radio Play archives on SoundCloud. This recording of a 24-minute version of Hamlet was created by children & youth in 2020: Hamlet: A Shake It Up Radio Play

Contributors

Thank you to these generous theatre artists, educators, and colleagues:

Yolanda Bonnell, Playwright, Actor

Allison Edwards-Crewe, Actor

Cameron Grant, Playwright, Actor, Artistic Director of Shakespeare in Action

Gabriella Sundar-Singh, Actor, Educator

Alexia Vassos, Actor

Tara Burt, Peel District School Board

Paula Nevins, Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board

For Brampton On Stage:

Christina Akrong, Education & Outreach

Danny Harvey, Artistic Programming

Nereé Morgan, Community Programming & Outreach

Steven Schipper, Executive Artistic Director

Lauren Wolanski, Marketing

Contact Us

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https://tickets.brampton.ca/