Drama Teachers Directing Shakespeare for the First Time

If you’re a drama teacher, Shakespeare should make it onto your stage at some point. But what if you’ve avoided The Bard at all costs and have no idea where to start? Shakespeare is a great challenge but it’s important to find ways to make the experience more enjoyable not only for your students but for yourself.

Where do you start when it comes to directing Shakespeare? 

1. Ask for help. In this digital day and age, you don’t have to do this alone! Search online for resources to help you understand the language. Watch videos of a certain scene you’re struggling with. Reach out to an experienced teacher at a neighbouring school or in another department. Don’t be afraid to collaborate! Call on those who’ve taught Shakespeare in a different context, especially when the students are decoding the script. That English teacher may be able to provide the exact insight you need. 

2. Consider a variety of script options. Search for the Shakespeare version that will fit your directorial needs, your situation, and your students. You don’t have to stick with a four-hour Hamlet; there are options! Consider:

• Adaptations and parodies. There are so many modern language versions of Shakespeare. Theatrefolk has a few you can check out.
• Abridged versions. You don’t have to do the whole thing! Consider a one-act version of your chosen play.
• Start small. Don’t think you have a full play in you? Present a collection of scenes or monologues.
• • Solo-Speare a collection of Shakespeare Monologues
  • Scene-Speare a collection of Shakespeare Scenes

3. Find something to connect to and pull it into your comfort zone.

When you’re doing something far out of your comfort zone, like directing Shakespeare, find comfort through connection. Find something that you relate to or connect with to make your experience smoother. For example: 

• Stage your chosen play in a specific modern era to help students understand the story and language. Read this Theatrefolk blog post about setting Shakespeare in another time.
• Connect the story of your Shakespeare play to a modern style of acting: Much Ado About Nothing as a soap opera, for example.  
• Do modern acting exercises like the character reframing exercise in the download below that help students think about their character beyond Shakespeare’s language. 
• Help students connect with Shakespeare by understanding what it would have been like to go to the theatre during his lifetime. Read this post about putting Shakespeare in context.

4. Consider how you start rehearsing the play. Day one of your rehearsal should not involve a long stint of language analysis. You’ll lose students before you start. Watch a film version of your chosen play. Start with one scene and analyze it together as a cast. Read a synopsis so that everyone is on the same page with the story. Study the characters.

It’s essential that students understand what they’re saying, and they will have to look at the language and script more closely than a modern play. Just keep an eye on your students and decide when to do the language deep dive and when to do something more lighthearted like ensemble-building games. 

You can direct Shakespeare! Take your time, tackle the script in small chunks, let your students know when you’re struggling too. Go through this experience together and you’ll end up with a worthwhile and rewarding experience!