Romeo and Juliet (One Hour)

If you’re a drama teacher, Shakespeare should make it onto your stage at some point. But what if you’ve hated him since high school yourself? Shakespeare is a great challenge—one that is easier to embrace than skydiving. On the Drama Teacher Podcast, we heard from two teachers–Heidi Frederic (Romeo & Juliet) and Hilary Martin (Much Ado About Nothing)–about their experiences directing Shakespeare for the first time. They have some great tips to share! 1. Ask for help Heidi says: ‘I was calling all the troops to help me out. “I cannot do this alone!”’ In this day and age, you don’t have to go it alone. Where it’s a workshop in your area, an experienced teacher at a neighbouring school, or even just online—there are many place to access help. Here are a few resources to get you started: • No Fear Shakespeare • Drama Resource • Look for online exercises (like this one on Iambic Pentameter) • The Drama Teacher Academy • eDTA Open Forum through Educational Theatre Association Hilary notes: ‘Your English teacher is your friend…don’t be afraid to collaborate with the English teacher.’ Call on those who’ve taught Shakespeare in a different context, especially when the students are decoding the script. 2. Consider a variety of script options There are so many ways to skin the Shakespeare “cat” and make it manageable, especially the first time. Consider: • Adaptations • Abridged versions • One acts vs. full lengths Here are some Theatrefolk resources and plays to get you started: • Romeo and Juliet 1-hour cut with annotations • Much Ado About Nothing 1-hour cut with annotations • Shakespeare adaptations and parodies including Drop Dead, Juliet! & Much Ado High School • Shakespeare in an Hour • 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, there are ways to find a little comfort. Find something that you connect to and that you relate to, to make your experience smoother. For example, Heidi adapted Romeo and Juliet and set it in 1994 Seattle with a grunge theme. She says: ‘It helped the students understand the story and the language a lot better.’ Hilary’s students identified Much Ado as a soap opera, which helped them latch on to how they could act extremes in the play. She notes: ‘The over the top acting will also help the audience, who may not have had a lot of exposure to Shakespeare.’ • Read this blog post about setting Shakespeare in another time. • Read this one about putting Shakespeare in context. 4. Consider the unique rehearsal process with Shakespeare Consider pre-rehearsal activities to get students more familiar with the material. In Hilary’s case, her group watched film versions of Much Ado About Nothing, browsed lesson plans, and looked at small parts of the language. Expect that you (as a director) and the actors will have to look at the language and analyze the script a lot more closely. Heidi found No Fear Shakespeare books to be helpful, as well as taking the time for a close reading of the material. It’s critical to take an intensive look at the phrasing and wording, so that students aren’t just up there saying the words. They need to know the story and what’s going on. Hilary relates: ‘The key is going slow.’ She and her students spent a lot of time just reading through the scenes and stopping to analyze whenever the language got confusing. Embrace the challenge! Ask yourself: “Why not Shakespeare?” For more inspiration, check out these Drama Teacher Podcasts:• Drama Teachers Directing Shakespeare for the First Time • Teaching, Performing, Directing Shakespeare • Shakespeare from the Outside In

Episode 169: Drama Teachers Directing Shakespeare for the First time If you’re a drama teacher, at some point Shakespeare should make it on to your stage. But what if you’ve hated him since high school yourself? Shakespeare is a challenge, it’s a great challenge and one that is easier to embrace than sky diving. Maybe. Listen to a couple of teachers talk about their first time battling the bard.

This is part three of Script Analysis. You can get part one here and part two here. Here’s an activity that will give you a great amount of detail on your character and their relationship with the other characters in the play. It starts with some pretty simple information gathering. Read the play and while doing so, make three lists: • Everything your character says about every other character. • Everything that other characters say about your character. • Everything your character says about themselves. An ExampleBelow is how I would do this exercise for the character of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo has a huge role so there’s a lot of work involved. I just did it for Act One but someone playing Romeo would do it for the entire play. You’ll see that sometimes I’ve used direct quotes, sometimes I’ve paraphrased, sometimes I just recorded an impression. Record the information in whatever format you will find useful to use as you prepare your role. What Romeo Says About OthersRosaline • “Out of her favour where I am in love” Benvolio • Doesn’t laugh at my pain. Rosaline • Romeo loves her. • She is fair. • She does not love him back. • She is remaining chaste. • “She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair” • “She hath forsworn to love” Benvolio • “thou canst not teach me to forget” Rosaline • “the all-seeing sun ne’er saw her match since first the world begun” Mercutio • “You have dancing shoes with nimble soles” • “Thou talk’st of nothing.” Juliet • “I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” • “Is she a Capulet?” What Others Say About RomeoPrologue • star-cross’d lovers take their life • misadventured piteous • with their death bury their parents’ strife • death-mark’d love Lady Montague (mother, according to Benvolio) • He was not at this fray. Benvolio • walking early in the morning Montague (father) • Often walks early in the morning, crying, sighing • When daylight comes he locks himself in his room and blocks out all light • “Black and portentous” • Does not know the cause of Romeo’s problems. • Romeo is “his own affections’ counsellor” • “So secret and close, so far from sounding and discovery” • Would love to help Romeo, but doesn’t know the problem. Benvolio • They are cousins • Your heart is oppressed • I’ll help you or die trying • Romeo loves Rosaline • You only love Rosaline because you haven’t checked out any other women Mercutio • You are a lover • Queen Mab has been with you Tybalt • Romeo sounds like a Montague • slave • antic face • I am going to kill him • villain Capulet • The whole city brags that he’s “virtuous and well-govern’d” • I wouldn’t disparage Romeo for anything Tybalt • I’ll not endure him Juliet • Pilgrim • “You kiss by the book” Nurse • Bachelor Capulet • “Gentlemen” • “honest gentlemen” Juliet • Doesn’t know who Romeo is • Wants to marry Romeo Nurse • He is a Montague, he is the enemy Juliet • “My only love” • “a loathed enemy” What Romeo Says About Himself• In love with Rosaline • I have heard it all (referring to the fight at the beginning of the play) • “This love feel I, that feel no love in this.” • Griefs lie heavy in my breast • “I have lost myself; I am not here; This is not Romeo, he’s some other where.” • “I do love a woman” • “Shut up in prison, kept without my food, Whipp’d and tormented” • “I can read.” • “I am not for this ambling” – referring to the party • “I have a soul of lead” • I fear that going to this party is going to bring about death. What This Tells YouThere’s a wealth of information here. Imagine you know nothing about the story of Romeo and Juliet. You’ll learn quite a bit about what happens in the play just by reading these small snippets – including how it ends! It’s better to write down too much than too little. Write down things that might not seem immediately important. For example, Romeo’s line “I can read” doesn’t seem significant until you study the time period in which the play takes place. Most people were illiterate so knowing Romeo can read gives you information about his education and the fact that he comes from an upper class family. What if there’s little or nothing there?Good question. What if your role is not a lead and there isn’t much to discover doing this exercise? I’ll cover that in the next article when we look at ways to fill in the details the playwright doesn’t give you. Class ExerciseDo the same exercise, but this time do it for Juliet. For Act One of Romeo and Juliet, create the following three lists: • Everything Juliet says about every other character. • Everything that other characters say about Juliet. • Everything Juliet says about herself. Use the worksheets provided in the PDF (download it below) to record everything.