Unit

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Created by Drama Teacher Academy

Shakespeare is sometimes avoided in the drama classroom because not only do the students not want to take on the language difficulties but neither do the teachers. Monologue and scenework becomes more challenging and a lot of times, students falter in their blocking action and character development because they are so challenged. How do we give students the opportunity to rehearse and present Shakespearean text as they would modern text?

In this play study unit, students will read a Shakespeare play while learning specific tools and techniques in order to stage text from that play. And more often than not, these techniques are ones that they have already used with other plays. It’s all about reframing Shakespeare so that students enjoy the experience of bringing the characters and stories to life.

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The overview includes the objective, description, and outline of the unit, as well as a link to the online version of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

1
Lesson 1

Pre-Read Exploration

In this lesson, students will explore a variety of methods for learning about Shakespeare from a specific character warm-up, fast facts, using Shakespeare’s words as the jumping off point for a tableau, and reflecting in role as they take on acting “Shakespeare style.” Finally, students will read a synopsis of A Midsummer Night’s Dream so that everyone is on the same page with the story and characters.
- Slide Deck Lesson 1
2
Lesson 2

Character Development in the Shakespearean Monologue

There are many things to pay attention to when preparing a Shakespearean monologue. So much so that character development often falls by the wayside. In this lesson, students apply exercises to a character from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by examining the character’s foreground and background, answering character questions, and creating the character’s physicality. This will demystify the process of preparing a Shakespearean monologue and give students the modern tools they need to prepare a monologue on their own later in the unit.
- Slide Deck Lesson 2
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Lesson 3

Reading Act I | Analyzing Punctuation

Students have spent time being introduced to the story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, studied a monologue, and reviewed some character development exercises. It’s time to read through the play. We will be reading Act I in sections, making sure students fully comprehend the characters and story. Students will also go through an acting technique that can help students become confident performers of Shakespeare. In this lesson, students will analyze the punctuation in A Midsummer Night’s Dream from an acting perspective.
- Slide Deck Lesson 3
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Lesson 4

Reading Act II | Keywords

In this lesson, students will read Act II in sections. Students will also go through an acting technique that can help them become confident performers of Shakespeare. Students will learn about keywords and how they can help student actors with Shakespeare.
- Slide Deck Lesson 4
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Lesson 5

Monologue Performance

In this lesson, students will choose a monologue from Act I or II and apply the performance elements they’ve have learned so far: character development exercises, punctuation, and keywords to develop, memorize, and perform a monologue.
- A Midsummer Night's Dream Monologues
- Slide Deck Lesson 5
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Lesson 6

Reading Act III | Finding Emotion and Action

In this lesson, students will read Act III in sections. Students will also go through an acting technique that can help them become confident performers of Shakespeare. Students will use analysis to explore finding emotion and action in the text.
- Slide Deck Lesson 6
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Lesson 7

Reading Act IV | Character Interpretation

In this lesson, students will read Act IV in sections. Students will also go through an acting technique that can help them become confident performers of Shakespeare. Students will research and discuss character interpretation.
- Slide Deck Lesson 7
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Lesson 8

Reading Act V

In this lesson, students will read Act V in sections. You can either move on to Lesson 9 and the culminating project, or you can add a class period and have students work in groups on the Pyramus and Thisbe section.
- Slide Deck Lesson 8
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Lesson 9

Culminating Projects and Reflection

There are two choices for a culminating project for the play. You can have everyone complete the same project, which is to have groups work on a reimagined version of the play for the 21st century, OR you can give students a choice board of activities and have them choose their final projects.