Shakespeare Performance Exercises for Theater and Classroom: Understanding through Staging by Theatre for a New Audience

SHAKESPEARE PERFORMANCE EXERCISES FOR THEATER AND CLASSROOM:

Understanding through Staging

Shakespeare Performance Exercises for Theater and Classroom: Understanding through Staging

Resources containing exercises and explanations aimed at teaching Shakespeare from a performance/theatre perspective. Includes exercises for exploring plot/story structure, characters and their motivations, worldbuilding and setting, conflict and theme, as well as language.

1 The Basics: Shakespeare’s Words, Krista Apple

A resource for teachers and students alike which introduces some of the noncontemporary uses of language that you’ll find in Shakespeare’s plays

5 Exploring Shakespeare’s Language: “Reading” with Punctuation, Krista Apple

A guide, including exercises, to using punctuation to “shape” thoughts and ideas in Shakespeare’s texts

9 Exploring Shakespeare’s Language: “Shakespeare Charades”, Krista Apple

A great exercise for “reading” a Shakespeare speech for the first time

12 Introduction to Scene Analysis, Claudia Zelevansky

A guide to using “given circumstances” (a theatrical term) to understand character and what is happening in a scene

13 Staging Characters & Relationships: Tableau and ‘Reading’ Stage Pictures, Claudia Zelevansky

Exercises and discussion questions for learning about the importance of “status” in a play and how tableau can be used to explore it

15 Status and Tableaux in Shakespeare, Claudia Zelevansky

A companion to the previous document that gives examples for each conversation and exercise using the play, ‘Macbeth’

17 Exploring Shakespeare’s Language: Paraphrase & Translation as learning tools, Krista Apple

A guide, including exercises, to using paraphrasing and translation as tools to understanding the language in Shakespeare’s plays

19 Exploring Shakespeare’s Language: Paraphrase & Translation (Handout), Krista Apple

A companion handout to the previous document to practice paraphrasing and translation

21 Interpreting Character: Wants & Actions, Claudia Zelevansky

A set of exercises that exploring a character’s wants, motivations, and obstacles through the use of tactics and objectives

23 The Great Debate: Using debate and discussion tools to analyze soliloquy, Krista Apple

A guide to an exercise used to explore a play’s themes, conflicts, and moral/ethical dilemmas, as well as to analyze a monologue or soliloquy, using ‘Macbeth’ as an example

26 Exploring Tactics in Shakespeare, Claudia Zelevansky

A brief exercise aimed at exploring tactics used by characters as evidenced in text

27 Appendix: Basic Action Verbs, Claudia Zelevansky

A companion list of action verbs for use in the previous exercise or general use

28 Exploring Shakespeare’s Language: Imagery and the Art of Mental Pictures, Krista Apple

An explanation on how the use of imagery (both literal and mental) can be useful for teaching Shakespeare, particularly to inspire close reading and imagination, as well as providing a way to reach visual learners

31 World Building: Concept and Design Exercises, Claudia Zelevansky

A set of exercises using various types of “design” to get to know the world of a play (include setting) and the structure of the story

33 Concept Design with Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Claudia Zelevansky

A companion to the previous document showing how to do the “Concept Design” exercise with the play Macbeth

35 List of Great/Accessible Productions, Krista Apple

Excellent productions available to stream online for free (or < $10), with suggested adaptations to watch as well.

Click titles above to be taken to that section.

THE BASICS: Shakespeare’s Words

A primer to reading and comprehension

Krista Apple

Below is a resource for teachers and students alike which introduces some of the non-contemporary uses of language that you’ll find in Shakespeare’s plays. Knowing what you’ll encounter along the way can improve your ability to navigate and interpret the text!

Verb Tenses: Contraction, Expansion & Elision

Since Shakespeare was writing in verse and rhythm, he took liberties with word length. Here are some word forms that were common in Shakespeare’s day, and that you’re guaranteed to come across:

Contraction is when a two-syllable word (“over”; “even”) gets condensed to one syllable (“o’er”; “e’en”).

Elision is like contraction on steroids: two full words that get smushed together into one word and syllable: “On it” becomes “on’t”; “It is” becomes “’Tis”.

(Today, contraction and elision remains in words like don’t [do not], can’t [cannot], etc.)

Expansion is just the opposite: a word gets stretched, and an extra syllable gets added at the end. You’ll know expansion by its trademark: an accent mark over the final syllable.

Banishèd (normally pronounced BA-NISHD; now BA-NI-SHED)

Deliverèd (normally DEE-LI-VRD; now DEE-LI-VU-RED)

Other words you might come across

In addition to contracted, elided and expanded words, here’s a brief list of words common in Shakespeare’s day to become familiar with, along with typical pronunciations:*

Adieu = “goodbye”

uh-DYOO

Ay / Aye = “yes” / word of agreement rhymes with ‘eye’

Doth = “does”, as in “she doth protest” same vowel sound as ’cup’

E’en = “even” one syllable – “eeyun”

Ere (“before in time / when in time”) rhymes with ‘hair’

Err (“to mistake”) same vowel sound as “bird”

Liege (“lord, sovereign” rhymes with ‘siege’

Ne’er (“never”) rhymes with ‘hair’

Sirrah (“sir)

SEAR-uh

Troth = (“truly”) rhymes with ‘oath’

Trow = (“swear”) rhymes with ‘know’

Other pronunciations –

Amen (ahhh-MEN)

Either/neither (EYE-thur, not EE-thur)

I’ll (as in “aisle”)

Leisure (LEH-zur, not LEE-zur)

Our (like “hour”)

Poor (POO-er, one syllable; not like “pour”)

Your (YORE, not ‘yer’

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Pronoun & Verb Forms

• [You – your – yours] often becomes [thou – thee – thy – thine]

• The endings [-est, -‘st or -st] often gets added in second person familiar (“you go” becomes “thou goest”)

• The ending [-s] often gets replaced with [-th] in third person singular (“she goes” becomes “she goeth”)

• The articles [a, an, and the] also often get dropped.

• And there are the odd verb forms:

So….

You are wonderful becomes Thou art wonderful You were the most wonderful

Thou wast most wonderful Give me your hand

You all should return home

Give me thy hand

Thou shouldst return home

My love wast thine, and thine alone I give them all to you

My love was yours, and yours alone

“Words, words, words”

I give them all to thee

When Shakespeare couldn’t find the right word for what he wanted to express, he just made it up! As a result, his plays included many words that had never been recorded in writing before (though many may have been in the vernacular). We believe he coined many of the words and phrases we use today, including:

accessible accommodation

admirable amazement

anchovy arch-villain assassination barber

baseless bubble to cater (as “to bring food”)

catlike to champion

circumstantial clutch

cold-blooded

coldhearted colourful to comply courtship critical day’s work to dishearten to dislocate

downstairs to educate

embrace (as a noun – ‘a hug’) employer & employment engagement

epileptic eventful exposure eyeball farmhouse fashionable fortune-teller full-grown to grovel

half-blooded hint (as a noun)

hostile

hot-blooded to humor to hurry

ill-tempered impartial to impeded inaudible

indirection indistinguishable invitation lackluster lament to lapse

laughable love letter madcap majestic manager marriage bed

misquote money’s worth monumental moonbeam

motionless muddy to negotiate

never-ending noiseless to operate outbreak

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Scholar James Shapiro describes Shakespeare’s process as chemistry: he would smash two existing words together to make a brand new one (“eyeball”; “bedroom”). His tendency to expand a word or smush two words together to fit the poetic meter, as discussed above, was also part of his invention. He was messing with the English language in a way that none of his contemporaries were doing.

Listen to James Shapiro on NPR’s Radiolab (22 minutes into the program): http://www.radiolab.org/story/91728-words-that-change-the-world/

Exercise: Invent a word that doesn’t exist – but should – to describe something about your current day-to-day experience.

References: Shakespeare often references some or all of the following, so be prepared to reference them:

Greek & Roman mythology / Ovid’s Metamorphoses

The story of the Trojan War / Homer’s Iliad & Virgil’s Aeneid

The workings of the natural world – plants, trees, birds

Body humors (considered scientific fact at the time)

Music of the Spheres and the Great Chain of Being

Word Order

A mark of Shakespeare’s artistry was his manipulation of word order. It’s new for us, reading it; and, in ways, it was also new for his time. It was part of his innovation: that the English language of poetry didn’t have to follow the rules everybody thought/said it did.

Manipulating word order served two main purposes:

• It allowed the structure of his plays to mirror the structure of Latin grammar, which was the popular thing to do at the time

• It allowed him to fit the structure of metrical rhythm, while still saying what he wanted to say.

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

From Wikipedia’s entry on Word Order:

In Latin, the endings of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and pronouns allow for extremely flexible order in most situations. Latin lacks articles (a/an/the)

The Subject, Verb, and Object can come in any order in a Latin sentence, although most often the verb comes last.[28] Factors such as topic and focus play a large part in determining the order. Thus the following sentences each answer a different question:[29]

• "Romulus Romam condidit." ["Romulus founded Rome"] (What did Romulus do?)

• "Hanc urbem condidit Romulus." ["Romulus founded this city"] (Who founded this city?)

• "Condidit Romam Romulus." ["Romulus founded Rome"] (What happened?)

In Classical Latin poetry, lyricists followed word order very loosely to achieve a desired scansion.

So:

“I saw your son walking early this morning” becomes “So early walking did I see your son.”

“He’s been seen there many mornings” becomes “Many a morning hath he there been seen.”

“Do you mean the king?” becomes “Mean you his majesty?”

“Are you riding this afternoon?” becomes “Ride you this afternoon?”

Exercise:

Describe an event from your day yesterday, intentionally inverting word order for dramatic/linguistic effect.

Exercise: Tell a friend how much you appreciate them, using thee/thy/thine.

Exercise: Find all the unfamiliar language in your text. Make notations in your text as necessary to make it ‘familiar.’

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

EXPLORING SHAKESPEARE'S LANGUAGE: “Reading” with Punctuation

Krista Apple

There are many useful tools for analyzing Shakespeare’s text; punctuation is one of our favorites! The exercises below introduce punctuation as a way of ‘shaping’ the thoughts and ideas in Shakespeare’s texts, and are inspired by the work of renowned vocal coach and teacher Cicely Berry.

Use this exercise to:

● Encourage slow reading, and help students find the smaller thoughts and ideas

● Discover the ‘shape’ and journey of a character’s thought

● Experience the difference between reading Shakespeare’s plays and embodying them by speaking the character’s words

● Analyze characters’ inner subtext, motivation and ‘state of mind’

Preparing for the exercise:

● Clear desks and chairs from the center of the room, so that students have ample room to walk and move around as they work.

● Hand out a physical, printed copy of a speech to each student. Be sure that the font and spacing is large enough to read easily. (We’ve provided Claudius’ speech from Act 3 scene 3 of HAMLET below.)

● For this exercise, we recommend that all students work - and speak! - simultaneously. Being able to read the words aloud while no one is actively listening can ease the pressure off for students, who are often nervous or scared to ‘perform’ in front of each other, and who may have varying levels of comfort with reading Shakespeare’s language.

The exercise: “Walking” the text and punctuation:

● Give the speech a ‘first read’ - speak the speech aloud while standing still.

● Speak the speech a second time while walking around the room.

Pause and check in with students - where can you build vocabulary, and look up words you don’t immediately understand?

● Speak/walk the speech again; this time, each time there is any kind of punctuation, change direction before you continue walking.

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

● What do you hear? What rhythms (or changes in rhythm) do you notice? Where is the speech difficult to ‘walk’ – where does the punctuation get erratic, constant, etc.? What might that communicate about the speaker’s state of mind or ability (or inability) to find the right words?

● Walk the speech again; this time, mark the difference between end stop punctuation and everything else (“end stops” are anything that end a sentence: periods, question marks, exclamation marks.) Notice how many - or how few - complete sentences there actually are.

● How does the punctuation help shape the character’s thoughts and ideas, and provide clues to their inner state of mind?

Working with the HAMLET speech below:

● Notice how the punctuation changes, and gets more irregular, over the course of the speech. How is this a reflection of Claudius’ state of mind? Why?

● How many questions does he actually ask, and what are they?

● What are the complete, unbroken thoughts (no punctuation)? Why is Claudius able to speak these thoughts so easily and clearly?

Variation: for Performance

Punctuation helps parse meaning, and can help us find the initial ‘frame’ of the thoughts. It is also a barometer for pace, energy, and rhythm. (Shakespeare used punctuation like contemporary playwrights use stage directions: as indicators of emotional, physical and dramatic effect.)

Be sure to consult multiple editions and choose your preferred punctuation. MIT Shakespeare is usually reliable; the First Folio is definitive.

● Full stops/end stops indicate completion of a thought. (periods, exclamation marks, question marks)

● Commas and hyphens indicate thinking and elaboration of thought. You, the speaker, are working something out in real time as you speak.

● Colons and semi-colons are like gear shifts. They mark the end of a phrase, but not the end of the full thought. They tell the actor that a shift in energy is needed.

● Question marks are a legitimate query, and demand an answer of the listener(s).

● Note: Be cautious of exclamation marks in contemporary texts. These are often editorial additions.

A note about punctuation in Shakespeare: Most punctuation that we see in Shakespeare today has been emended by contemporary editors. If you read different editions of the same Shakespeare play, you might come across very different versions of how punctuation is used.

For more on different versions of Shakespeare, including the original ones, click here!

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

HAMLET Act 3, scene 3

From MIT Shakespeare online

King Claudius has just watched - and run away from - the performance of “The Murder of Gonzago,” which Hamlet had the players perform for the court. While watching the performance, Claudius’ guilt starts to catch up with him for killing his brother and taking his crown. Here, he’s trying to convince himself to pray to God/Heaven for forgiveness.

CLAUDIUS:

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;

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

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.

Created

Krista

Apple,

Associate

Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

EXPLORING SHAKESPEARE'S LANGUAGE: “Shakespeare Charades”

Krista Apple

This is a GREAT exercise for ‘reading’ a speech for the first time. A lot of the words and phrases that can be difficult in reading comprehension are often easily illuminated by the physical and kinesthetic impulses that the exercise requires.

Works best with text that includes a lot of active verbs and/or imagery.

Use this exercise for:

● Slow/close reading of a monologue or short scene

● Initial comprehension

● Engaging visual and kinesthetic learning

Preparing for the Exercise:

● Choose a monologue from the play you’re reading that you’d like to unpack/discuss with students. (We’ve provided Romeo’s monologue from Act 2 scene 2 of ROMEO & JULIET below.)

● Hand out a physical, printed copy of a speech to each student. Be sure that the font and spacing is large enough to read easily.

● Read the monologue out loud together as a group. Briefly discuss any new words or vocabulary.

● Talk about the game ‘charades,’ and engaging body language to communicate meaning. How can you “show” the meaning of words physically with your body, objects, space, etc? (Encourage students to move/travel, and to use props or objects as they work.)

Playing the Game:

● Pair students up in the classroom, with space to stand and move. Assign a line or phrase from the monologue to each pair.

● In each pair, one student will agree to be the ‘reader’; the other will be the ‘mover’/performer.

● Give everyone time to invent the best possible ‘charade’, or physical expression, of their assigned text. How can they perform the image or the idea physically?

● Now read - and act out! - the speech together. As the ‘reader’ from each pair reads their text aloud, the other partner acts out the physical expression.

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Variations:

● Provide single key words/phrases from a piece of text, and assign the physicalization of those specific words.

● Have pairs or groups collaborate on longer sections of text, and invent the BEST POSSIBLE physical demonstration of their text to rehearse and share with the group

● For more advanced students: Have one person read the full text while 3-4 other students all act it out / physicalize it simultaneously. (The fun of this version is seeing different interpretations!)

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

ROMEO & JULIET

Act 2 scene 2

Text from MIT Shakespeare online

Romeo and Juliet met and kissed earlier in the evening at the Capulet’s ball. Romeo has snuck into Juliet’s back yard to try and get a glimpse of her; when she appears in her bedroom window, this is what Romeo has to say:

ROMEO:

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief,

That thou her maid art far more fair than she:

Be not her maid, since she is envious;

Her vestal livery is but sick and green

And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.

It is my lady, O, it is my love!

O, that she knew she were!

She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?

Her eye discourses; I will answer it.

I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:

Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes

To twinkle in their spheres till they return.

What if her eyes were there, they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!

O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays

through Scholarship & Performance

INTRODUCTION TO SCENE ANALYSIS

Claudia Zelevansky

Exercise: Given Circumstances

If working on Shakespeare or other text, the teacher can introduce the concept of the Facts or Given Circumstances as a way to begin to understand the text. The facts have to be just that: things that are IN THE TEXT (not an opinion or an interpretation). For example, if the text says, “Peter loves candy.” a fact would be just that. An opinion or interpretation would be, “Peter has cavities.”

Categories:

Who - facts about the characters in the scene (what do people say about them? What do they say about them?)

What - any facts related to the circumstances or events of the scene

Where - location, any reference to physical realities

When - time of day, time of year, time period?

Misc. - any other facts you find

The instructor can break the class into small groups and have them dig through the text for Givens. Create a comprehensive sheet of givens as a class.

Applying Given Circumstances to Shakespeare:

Especially given the unfamiliarity of the language, searching for Givens in a Shakespeare play or scene can be a great way to get to engage with the text. Depending on the grade level of the students, the teacher can either assign scenes to the students in small groups or work with the whole class to dig for Givens. Here is an example below of a few lines from MACBETH, Act V, i.:

Below you’ll see highlighted words or phrases that capture different kinds of Givens: characters, actions (“she rubs her hands”), and objects/scenic elements (light, taper etc.).

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

STAGING CHARACTERS & RELATIONSHIPS: Tableau and ‘Reading’ Stage Pictures

Claudia Zelevansky

Introduction: Status

The question of status, or our place in any given society, is one of the building blocks of drama. Look at any Shakespeare play and you will find characters fighting for higher status, trying to maintain status, or being deeply impacted by how slippery the nature of status is

Introductory Exercise: Think of a time and circumstance in which you had very high status. Where were you? Why did you have such high status? And then, ask yourself to think of a time in which you were or felt you were, close to the bottom of the power pyramid. What changed?

Quick exercise: Have your students share examples of feeling high or low status. As you generate a list, ask if anyone has any examples of experiencing a big range within the same environment? School, for example, is often a place in which the conditions (age, grade, grades, social cliques) can turn on a dime.

Staging status and relationship:

Staging status, or creating a stage picture in which the viewer can see that some people have more power, authority, or status than others, is a great first entry point to staging.

Exercise: “Great Game of Power”

- Clearly define the boundaries of the performance space. Put a few simple pieces of furniture there - chairs, maybe a table. If the furniture is sturdy enough to stand on, all the better.

- Ask one volunteer to enter the space, and put their body in the place - and the physical position - that gives them the most possible ‘power’ in the space. Ask them to consider the “audience” as well as the room itself.

- Ask a second volunteer to enter the space, and put their body in the place - and the physical position - that gives them the most possible power, and takes it from the first volunteer.

- Repeat as desired, up to 5-6 people.

- Debrief: Discuss the tactics people used, and what tools are available in a theatrical setting to give a particular character/performer/body more or less power/focus/status onstage.

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Introduction: Tableau

A tableau is a frozen picture, a staged photograph of a moment in time. Tableaux allow us to stage a moment that can show us relationship, power, status, environment, and even conflict! Once you have explored status, you can apply that to the tableaux, or pictures, you make to tell a story.

As you explored in the GGP, you can show status in a variety of ways, from position relative to the audience or actors, literal height or levels, body languages and facial expressions.

Exercise: Three Tableaux

Have the class come up with a simple story everyone knows, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Then break the students up into small groups of 3-4 people. Have each group stage three tableaux: the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Ask them to consider the following question:

Who are the characters? What is their status relationship to each other? Does it change?

Where are they?

What is the event of each frozen moment?

Have each group perform their three tableaux in order and then discuss what story they told and what choices really made the story pop!

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

STATUS AND TABLEAUX IN SHAKESPEARE

Claudia Zelevansky

The previous exercises on Status and Tableaux can be applied to Shakespeare’s plays directly. Here are some examples for working on status in Macbeth:

Quick discussion: What is status? What is the definition of status? What are some other words that describe status? Work together as a group to generate a list: For example: Power, authority, position, privilege, access, wealth, etc.

Discussion: Status in Shakespeare’s plays

Looking at one of Shakespeare’s plays, who has the most status at the beginning of the play? How does that change over the course of the story? Does anyone go from lower to higher status?

Exercise: Status and Macbeth (or any Shakespeare play)

High status at beginning: King Duncan

How does his status change? He’s killed, so he loses status. He gives status to Macbeth, which undermines his own power

Who’s status changes over the course of the play? Macbeth goes all the way from the middle to top, but then loses power. How?

Other questions: How would you rate the Witches’ status? Does it change? How much of status is perception?

Applying Status to Staging: Macbeth and the Great Game of Power

- Clearly define the performance space in the room. Put a few simple pieces of furniture therechairs, maybe a table. If the furniture is sturdy enough to stand on, all the better.

- Ask for a few volunteers and assign them roles from Macbeth and agree on whether you are staging the status at the beginning, middle or end of the play.

- Have the first actor (perhaps Duncan) enter the space, and put their body in the place - and the physical position - that gives them the most possible ‘power’ in the space. Ask them to consider the “audience” as well as the room itself.

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

- Ask a second actor (perhaps Lady M) to enter the space, and put their body in the place - and the physical position - that gives them the most possible power, and takes it from the first volunteer.

- Ask a third actor (perhaps a Witch) to enter the space, and put their body in the place - and the physical position - that gives them the most possible power, and takes it from the first and second actor

- Debrief: Discuss the tactics people used, and what tools are available in a theatrical setting to give a particular character/performer/body more or less power/focus/status onstage

Exercises: Status & Tableaux in Macbeth

Definition: Tableau

As you explored in the GGP, you can show status in a variety of ways, from position relative to the audience or actors, literal height or levels, body languages and facial expressions.

Exercise: Three Tableaux and Macbeth

Have the class talk through the beginning, middle and end of either a scene from Macbeth or the whole play. Then break the students up into small groups of 3-4 people. Have each group stage three tableaux: the beginning, middle, and end of that story. Ask them to consider the following questions:

Who are the characters? What is their status relationship to each other? Does it change over the three pictures?

Where are they? What is their location? Does it change?

What is the event or action of each frozen moment? What is happening in each picture?

Have each group perform their three tableaux in order and then discuss as a class what story they communicated and what choices really made the story pop!

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays

through Scholarship & Performance

EXPLORING

SHAKESPEARE'S LANGUAGE:

Paraphrase & Translation as learning tools

Krista Apple

Some people balk at the idea of saying Shakespeare with any words other than Shakespeare’s. But we all know how challenging comprehension can be, even for the savviest reader. Subject-verb order is often switched; many words and phrases have complex meanings; and there are those pesky Thee’s and Thou’s! (Professional actors always ‘put Shakespere into their own words’ as part of their rehearsal process!)

This is the work that is usually done by companion texts like No Fear Shakespeare; but encouraging students to do the translations themselves is a great way to slow down reading and encourage close analysis.

Use this exercise to:

● Encourage close reading of the text

● Parse subject-verb agreements of Shakespeare’s sentences

● Uncover important words and phrases

● Discover the throughline of character thought

Individually or in pairs/groups, have students re-write a line or section of Shakespeare text in their own words. Consider splitting up a famous monologue or scene among the class, so that the final ‘translation’ can be performed by the full group.

We’ve provided Cassius’ monologue from Act 1 scene 2 of JULIUS CAESAR as an example, in a companion handout The monologue has been split up into relatively equal parts, for assigning to different groups and students.

Some guidelines:

Be sure that the translations honor the full complexity of the original.

“He’s a big statue” is NOT an accurate paraphrase of “Why man, he doth bestride the world like a Colossus.”

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Don’t confuse paraphrase with subtext.

“Men at some time are masters of their fates” does NOT translate to “We should kill Caesar.”

Don’t worry about verse/poetic structure. Keep thoughts and ideas together, but a translation doesn’t have to ‘fit’ the structure of any particular line of verse. (This exercise can help you discover how single thoughts flow across multiple lines of verse.)

Variation for Performance: “Shakespeare Sandwich”

If you’re working with students who will be performing Shakespeare for an audience, or would like to reinforce verbal reading fluency, continue the exercise by having them speak their own translation, one phrase at a time, then returning to Shakespeare’s text.

Ideally, their translation will help them find useful vocal intonations, appropriate word emphasis, etc.

(The “sandwich” is made up of Shakespeare’s words on either side, and a contemporary interpretation in the middle.)

Example: (the speaker says everything below):

“Men at some time are masters of their fates…. Sometimes we’re in charge of our own destiny…. Men at some time are masters of their fates.”

Associate Professor

Acting, Created by Krista Apple, of and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

EXPLORING SHAKESPEARE'S LANGUAGE: Paraphrase & Translation

Krista Apple

From JULIUS CAESAR, Act 1 scene 2

1 Original: CASSIUS

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world

Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonourable graves.

2 Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings. Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that'Caesar'?

Why should that name be sounded more than yours?

3 Write them together, yours is as fair a name; Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;

Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with 'em, Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar.

Paraphrase: CASSIUS

Aw, man, he stands like a giant with his big legs straddling the tiny world between his feet, and us little guys have to walk around under his gigantic legs and peek around to find ourselves a place to die in shame.

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023. Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

4 Now, in the names of all the gods at once, Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!

Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!

5 When went there by an age, since the great flood, But it was famed with more than with one man?

When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome, That her wide walls encompass'd but one man?

Now is it Rome indeed and room enough, When there is in it but one only man.

6 O, you and I have heard our fathers say, There was a Brutus once that would have brook'd The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome As easily as a king.

INTERPRETING CHARACTER: Wants & Actions

Claudia Zelevansky

Exercise: Tactics & Objectives Please/No

A cornerstone of the actor’s process is exploring what the character wants, what motivates them to want it, and what obstacles are in their way. The following exercises are designed to open up that process:

● Have two volunteers sit or stand facing each other.

● Actor A and Actor B are going to carry out an improvisation. In the improvisation, actor A can only say the word “please.” Actor B can only say “no.”

● Brainstorm with the class on a situation and objectives for actor A and actor B. Actor A should have a very specific objective - something that they need very badly when they are asking “please” (i.e. student needs an extension from a teacher on an upcoming paper). Actor B should have some reason that is equally important for saying “no.”

● Make sure that the relationship between the two ‘characters’ is very clear and potent. As in Shakespeare, the more tied the characters are to each other, the higher the stakes and the higher the potential for conflict.*

● The object of the game is for Actor A to get Actor B to change their mind and say “yes.”

● Brainstorm with the class on different actions and tactics that Actor A and B can try in order to achieve their objectives. Write these actions on sheets of paper.

Please/No pairings with Shakespeare:

Lady Macbeth/Macbeth ( Act I, sc 7) Lady M wants Macbeth to kill Duncan,; Macbeth does not want to…at first

Helena/Demetrius (Act II, sc i) Helena wants Demetrius to love her/be with her; Demetrius is bound to Hermia)

Romeo/Mercutio (Act III, sc i) Mercutio wants Romeo to fight Tybalt and he refuses

*Directions are the same as above. Have the class articulate the conflict, what the “Please” character wants and what the “No” character wants based on the given circumstances, before the students begin the improvisation.

Further suggestions:

Nominate two directors from the class, and pair them each with an actor. Each director will choose which actions their actor will use, and in what order; during the improvisation, the directors will hold up the “action” signs, signaling to the actor the choices they should make during the scene.

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com

Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Tactics: Pairs & Scenes

Tactics are the HOW that the character (or person!) uses to get what they want. Unless the character achieves their objective immediately, tactics change depending on how well or poorly they are working.

Introductory Question: Ask your students to think of a time that they asked a parent or caregiver for a toy or gadget they wanted. HOW did they try to get their parent to yes? What are some of the different tactics they used?

For example, did they….

(All active verbs!)

Exercise “Upping the Stakes”:

● Pair students up.

● Create a basic scenario: Student A has $100 and wants to keep it; Student B wants to get the $$$ from Student A.

● Guide each student to concoct a really juicy, high-stakes reason why they need the money.

● Let students improvise the scene. Encourage them to make shifts in their tactics and strategies when one strategy doesn’t work…try something else!

● Brainstorm a list of action verbs that describe their different strategies (pleading, demanding, threatening, sweet-talking, etc.) Share & discuss.

Stakes and Strategies: Upping the Ante

Another exercise that helps to illustrate the way that tactics change and accelerate when the stakes are raised.

● Have volunteers come up, and place a chair in the room.

● Explain that one actor is a teacher and the other is his or her student, and that we are going to look at the same improvised scenario three different ways.

● Whisper the instructions each time to the volunteers’ so that the rest of the class does not hear.

● Scenario 1:

○ Tell the student that s/he needs an extension on a paper. Tell the teacher that s/he likes the student and to go easy on them. Play out the improvisation.

● Scenario 2:

○ Tell the student that s/he REALLY needs that extension in order to pass the class. Tell the teacher that this student is regularly late on work, but that they seem to be trying to improve.

● Scenario 3:

○ Tell the student that s/he MUST GET THE EXTENSION because otherwise s/he will fail the class and not graduate! Explain that s/he has five minutes to resolve this before the principal locks in the final grades. Tell the teacher that this student is always making excuses, blaming others, and not delivering with no growth in sight.

● After the three improvisations, discuss the differences among the scenes, including:

○ Tactics

○ Time urgency and pace

○ Range of tactics

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Beg

Argue Charm Negotiate Exhaust Plead Intimidate Convince Bully

THE GREAT DEBATE: Using debate and discussion tools to analyze soliloquy

Krista Apple

This exercise, also called “Angel/Devil,” is a TFANA favorite, and can be used in many different plays and speeches to highlight character choices, and engage students in debating the moral and ethical issues of the play.

We’re providing Macbeth’s monologue from Act 1 Scene 3 as an example; but the exercise can be used with any speech or monologue where a character is working out a problem, or trying to decide what to do. (Other great options include Macbeth’s speech in Act 1 scene 7, “When ‘tis done, ‘twere well it were done quickly”, and Isabella’s speech in Act 2 scene 4 of MEASURE FOR MEASURE, “To whom should I complain?”)

Use this exercise to:

● Engage with the moral/ethical dilemmas of the play

● Spark class discussion about the play’s issues, themes and conflict

● Analyze a character’s monologue or soliloquoy (a monologue spoken alone onstage, usually directed toward the audience)

Preparing for the exercise:

● Identify a character who has a difficult moral dilemma or choice to make. Read a speech or scene where the dilemma is particularly charged. (We recommend a speech.)

● Discuss the different sides and points of view for the character, both for the characters and for the students themselves, setting up the opposing sides of a ‘debate’ of the issue.

The great problem in Macbeth’s speech below is: Should he believe what these witches told him? Is magic real? Or is it just superstition, and everything that’s happening is just coincidence?

● Help students make contemporary and personal connections to the problem.

Possible connections and conversations for Macbeth’s speech below: Has anyone ever had a supernatural, magical, or unexplained experience? Ever had a fortune telling that came true? Should we believe in things that we can’t understand, or should we only rely on what we can observe clearly? Etc.

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Playing the game:

● Choose one student to play the character. Have them stand in the middle of the room. NOTE: For this exercise, the ‘character’ won’t actually have to do any talking - it’s a great opportunity for engaged but shy students.

● Choose two volunteers (or two groups) to argue the opposing sides. Place them on opposite sides of the room. The opposing teams might represent different characters in the play; or they might simply represent the two sides of the character’s mind or conscience - the ‘angel’ and ‘devil’ on opposing shoulders.

● Ask the full class to list possible talking points for both sides.

● Allow both sides to debate the issue, giving each side one minute at a time to talk.

● As the debate happens, the ‘character’ standing in the center of the room should walk back and forth between the two sides, always moving closer to the side that is ‘winning’ them over at any given moment.

Variation: Play the game using the words of the actual speech or scene. Bring a speaker up into the space and have them speak through the text as they stand in the center. In this variation, instead of speaking their own arguments, the opposing ‘angel’/’devil’ sides should repeat the words or phrases from the speech that they believe support their point of view.

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

MACBETH Act 1, scene 3

From MIT Shakespeare online

Macbeth has just heard the prophecy from the three witches that he would become Thane of Cawdor, then King. He scoffed at their words and thought it was impossible. But moments later, his fellow soldiers Ross and Duncan arrive and say that the prior Thane of Cawdor was just killed in battle, and he - Macbeth! - has been awarded the title.

This is his response to the news, which he delivers as a private ‘aside’ to the audience.

MACBETH (Aside)

Two truths are told,

As happy prologues to the swelling act

Of the imperial theme. This supernatural soliciting

Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor:

If good, why do I yield to that suggestion

Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair

And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears

Are less than horrible imaginings:

My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man that function

Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is But what is not.

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

EXPLORING TACTICS IN SHAKESPEARE

Claudia Zelevansky

Just as in real life, characters are always using (and changing!) tactics to try and get closer to their objectives. Here are a couple of scene from three different plays in which the characters employ a range of tactics to get closer to their want:

Romeo/Juliet: Balcony scene (act II, sc ii)

Helena/ Demetrius “I am your spaniel” (act II, sc i)

Lady M/Macbeth Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan (act I sc vii)

Exercise: Use a scenario or provide basic text (4-6 lines) from any of these Shakespeare scenes. Choose a scene where the stakes are super-high, the situation is clear, and the characters’ objectives are easily identified, as with the scenes listed above.

Option: Allow students to ‘rehearse’ the scene with their partner a few times. Have volunteers share their scenes with the class.

Have the class name the different tactics each actor/character used and what was most effective.

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com

Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Cajole

Shame Manipulate

Insist

Cheer Bribe

Confess

Threaten

Flatter

Worship

Comfort Seduce Instruct

APPENDIX: Basic Action Verbs

Claudia Zelevansky

Implore Encourage Alarm Calm Defend

Proclaim

Appease

Inspire

Mock Beg Demand

Blame

Plead

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com

Scorn

Guide Ignore Accuse Argue Scare

Tease

Dazzle Charm Entice Punish Warn

Flirt

Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

EXPLORING SHAKESPEARE'S LANGUAGE: Imagery and the Art of Mental Pictures

Krista Apple

“Words to an actor are not mere sounds, they are designs of visual images. … Communicate to others what you see on the screen of your inner vision… It is up to you to convert these images into reality.” -

Konstantin Stanislavski

When we speak, we constantly evoke mental pictures and images not only to describe literal/visual events, but to describe our inner experiences and interactions with others. Images help us to ‘see’ things that aren’t there – like our feelings. They help us understand and describe our inner experiences, and those of others… and in fact, they’re the only way we possibly can.

When it comes to Shakespeare, describing these images with words was even more important, since there was no film, television, or even photography yet to evoke these experiences.

Inspiring your students to engage in the imagery of Shakespeare’s plays can:

● Inspire close reading

● Engage imagination

● Reach visual learners

There are two kinds of imagery you’ll find in Shakespeare’s plays: literal images (descriptions of actual things), and evocative images (visual descriptions used as metaphor or connective idea). Both are valuable to discover.

Regardless of the kind of imagery you’re finding, the exercise we always recommend is to have students draw the picture that they see Shakespeare describing. You’ll find specific text examples and recommendations below.

Literal Images. We use literal imagery to describe incredible events, intense dreams, and any people, places or things that aren’t immediately present:

He veered up the side of the mountain, over the first bridge, under the second one, and finally screeched his way into the station.

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titania uses extensive literal imagery as she explains to Oberon all the terrible weather changes happening in the human world that have happened as a result of his jealousyshe blames him for the wind “piping in vain,” and causing all of the fog and overflown rivers (and drowned farm fields):

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

TITANIA

These are the forgeries of jealousy: And never, since the middle summer's spring, Met we on hill, in dale, forest or mead, By paved fountain or by rushy brook, Or in the beached margent of the sea, To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind, But with thy brawls thou hast disturb'd our sport. Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain, As in revenge, have suck'd up from the sea

Contagious fogs; which falling in the land

Have every pelting river made so proud That they have overborne their continents: The ox hath therefore stretch'd his yoke in vain, The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn Hath rotted ere his youth attain'd a beard; The fold stands empty in the drowned field, And crows are fatted with the murrion flock…..

Evocative Images. We employ evocative terms – often using similes and metaphors – to communicate an emotionally charged observation or inner feeling. It can employ many other literary devices as well –personification, hyperbole, etc.

I love you like peanut butter loves jelly. Watching that five hour lecture was like falling down an empty well for a million years. She was a comet bolting through the room.

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more.

Below are our favorite examples of rich, evocative imagery from Shakespeare’s better-known plays. But you will find it throughout all of his canon.

Try drawing any or all of the images below on your own, or with your students - let your creativity go wild - you’ll be glad you did!

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM:

Helena: For ere Demetrius looked on Hermia’s eyne, He hailed down oaths that he was only mine; And when this hail some heat from Hermia felt, So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt. (Act 1 scene 1)

MACBETH:

Macbeth: If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? (Act 1 scene 3)

Macbeth: Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red. (Act 2 scene 2)

JULIUS CAESAR:

CASSIUS Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonourable graves. (Act 1 scene 2)

ROMEO & JULIET:

ROMEO: But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she… (Act 2 scene 2)

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

WORLD BUILDING: Concept and Design Exercises

Claudia Zelevansky

Exploring what the world of the production might look, sound, smell, and feel like can be a terrific portal into exploring the play. Especially for students who may be less at ease with text-based work, working in an artistic space can be a great and equally fruitful practice.

In the theatre, we traditionally work with a range of design elements: sets or scenic, props, lights, sound, costumes, and (increasingly) video or projection.

Design Exercise: Making Design Choices (also called Design Slam)

● Identify the main types of design: set (including props), costumes, lights, sound we use in the theatre. Discuss how video and projection design are also becoming regular parts of the theater design scheme.

● Using a fairy tale, story you all know, or the text you are working on, discuss the FACTS (similar to the Given Circumstances for actors). Write everything down on a large piece or paper or split the students into small groups. For this exercise, the physical paper matters.

o If using a text, mine the text as a group for anything that gives us information about sets, costumes, lights, and sound. Stick to the facts (discuss the notion of Embedded Stage Directions if working on Shakespeare and look to explicit Stage Directions, as well).

o If using a story or fairy tale as a guide, go over the practical needs of the story and identify which design ‘category’ those needs fall under (Sets- two houses and breadcrumbs; Lights – difference between day and night; etc.).

● Discuss the ‘metaphorical’ or emotional needs of the story. What’s the mood of the story? Does it change? If so, how/where?

● Finish the following phrase: “This is a world full of __________” or “This world feels like_______”. Encourage students to complete the phrase with emotion words, objects, kinds of people, etc. Encourage the students to move away from the literal or practical and into the experiential.

Exercise: Designed Tableaux

● Split the class up into groups of 4-6 students. Give each group one moment of a familiar story or scene from a play. Have them discuss the “essence” of the story or scene.

● Have each group create three tableaux that communicate the beginning, middle, and end of their moment from the story. Have each group make intentional choices about the set, lighting, costume, and prop requirements for their interpretation of the scene. Encourage students to use what’s available to them in the classroom.

A word about materials: It can be useful to guide the students through an imaginative exercise for design in which the “sky’s the limit” in terms of budgets. However, given both the budget realities for most schools and theaters, it is equally helpful to follow up the first exercise with a discussion about how to turn big ideas into effective theatrical gestures. For example, if you interpret the world at the end of MACBETH as full of black/darkness, perhaps the abstract use of a black piece of cloth can be deployed in compelling ways. Not only are more metaphoric design strategies typically more accessible, they can also be the strongest theatre-makers, since theatre comes from a world of metaphor.

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Exercise: Concept Design

(This exercise is related to design slam, but its agenda is different: to get to the essence of the students’ imagined production and in getting to the essence of the production, to understand the world of the play more deeply. While both exercises can accommodate different levels and learning styles, it is fair to say that Design Slam is better for younger students and Concept work more easily suited to older ones.)

● Pick a scene from a play and have the group re-through it together.

● Divide the group into smaller groups and ask each group to find THE FACTS of the scene, which should include:

○ Imbedded stage directions (separate the ones specific to acting from the environmental ones)

○ Imbedded props

○ Indications of time of day, place, season, any sensory information

● Come back together and make a master list.

● Ask the group to identify words in the scene that feel the most operative, juicy, or essential to the story of the scene. (Hint: could be words or phrases which are repeated, typically nouns or verbs). Make a master list of those, and, if there are a lot, have the group vote it down to the strongest 6.

● Ask the group to make a final list that uses their imaginations, filling in the phrases:

○ If this scene were a smell, it would be ____

○ If this scene were a sound, it would be _____

○ If this scene were an image, it would be ____

● Ask the group to land on one or two key ideas from this final list and use that as the launch for the scene (or play’s) concept. “This scene is going to be like a rotting peach in the sun”- nonliteral, but based on text! And ripe (pun intended) for imaginative work for directors, actors, and designers.

Additional prompts: What moment or exchange or line in the scene feels like the essential moment (like the operative line)? Does the scene feel constrained or expansive? Small space or large? Do the characters have too much or too little space? (Again, focus on the nonliteral; do not solve the logistics of staging, but ask yourself: what does it feel like?

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

CONCEPT DESIGN WITH SHAKESPEARE'S Macbeth

Claudia Zelevansky

Exercise: Concept Design

Here’s an example of working with Macbeth and concept exploration:

● Have the group read-through Act II, sc ii together, the murder of Duncan.

● (Macbeth is in general a great play for design and concept, since it’s got a lot of mood, weather, witches, etc!)

● Divide the group into smaller groups and ask each group to find THE FACTS of the scene, which should include:

○ Imbedded stage directions (separate the ones specific to acting from the environmental ones)

○ Imbedded props

○ Indications of time of day, place, season, any sensory information

○ You can include other basic facts if you think that’s useful, including characters names, etc.

● Come back together and make a comprehensive list.

● Ask the group to make a final list that uses their imaginations, filling in the phrases:

○ If this scene were a smell, it would be ____

○ If this scene were a sound, it would be _____

○ If this scene were an image, it would be ____

● ADD ON: if you have the time and inclination, have the students divide into jobs (designers, actors, directors, etc.) and stage the scene with this concept in mind. The primary question for each of them would be “How does this choice support our conceptual vision?”

Created by Claudia Zelevansky, czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

Here is a page from the scene, as an example, with key words, images, and givens highlighted or marked, including repeated phrases:

Created

Claudia Zelevansky, by czcoaching.com Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship & Performance

LIST OF GREAT/ACCESSIBLE PRODUCTIONS

Krista Apple

MACBETH - A film version of the Tony-nominated 2010 stage production, starring Patrick Stewart and directed by Rupert Goold

TWELFTH NIGHT - Shakespeare’s Globe London 2012 production, starring Mark Rylance (filmed stage production; original practices with an all-male cast)

ROMEO & JULIET - Baz Lurman’s 1996 film, starring young Leo DiCaprio & Clare Danes

JULIUS CAESAR - 2012 film directed by Gregory Doran

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING - the classic Emma Thompson / Ken Brannagh version

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING - a ‘noir thriller’ take directed by Joss Whedon

HAMLET - a film version of the 2009 Royal Shakespeare Company production, starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart

Also consider these adaptations -

Ten Things I Hate About You (TAMING OF THE SHREW)

West Side Story (ROMEO AND JULIET)

She’s the Man (TWELFTH NIGHT)

Disney’s Lion King (HAMLET)

Created by Krista Apple, Associate Professor of Acting, and the TFANA Education Team, 2023 Inspired by TFANA’s 2022 NEH Institute: Teaching Shakespeare’s Plays through Scholarship and Performance

Shakespeare Performance Exercises for Theater and Classroom: Understanding through Staging