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Part of the Drama Two Curriculum

Performing Shakespeare

Created by Matt Webster

In this unit, students are introduced to a series of lesson plans that explore non-traditional approaches to performing the works of William Shakespeare. By the end of the unit students will be exposed to a unique set of tools they can utilize as the foundations for analyzing, staging and performing a scene from Shakespeare’s canon. Students will then rehearse and perform a two-person Shakespearean scene.

Overview
The overview lays out the objectives, description, and lessons for the unit, including pre-knowledge requirements and review.
Additional Attachments
1: Shakespeare: Finding Emotion and Action in Text
Students will analyze a Much Ado About Nothing monologue to identify clues about emotion and action. Students can then use the Shakespeare tools to analyze and present assigned Shakespeare monologues.
Attachments
2: Shakespeare: Tableaux
Students will create stage pictures in tableaux as a way to interpret the stories of Shakespeare. By putting their analysis into action, students will lay the foundation for simple blocking of their Shakespearean scenes.
3: Acting Shakespeare Style
Students will explore the historically accurate way that scripts were distributed, rehearsed, and performed in Elizabethan times. Students will then perform a short script in this style of “rolls” and “sides.”
4: Shakespeare Setting and Soundscape
Students will use found and common objects to create an obstacle course setting for a Shakespearean play based on sounds.
5: Culminating Project: Performing Shakepearean Scenes
Students will perform two-person Shakespeare scenes using the concepts introduced over the course of the unit, to enhance the performance and staging of the scenes.

Standards Addressed

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