Passport. Shakespeare LIVE! Teacher s Resource Guide. just imagine

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1 Passport TO CULTURE Teacher s Resource Guide S C H o o l T i m e P e r f o r m a n c e Grades 7-12 S e r i e s S c h o o l Y e a r Macbeth Shakespeare LIVE! Generous support for Schooltime provided, in part, by just imagine

2 just imagine Arts Education and You The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Arts Education Department presents the 12th season of the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series. With Passport to Culture, Verizon and NJPAC open up a world of culture to you and your students, offering the best in live performance from a wide diversity of traditions and disciplines. At NJPAC s state-of-the-art facility in Newark, with support from Verizon, the SchoolTime Performance Series enriches the lives of New Jersey s students and teachers by inviting them to see, feel, and hear the joy of artistic expression. The exciting roster of productions features outstanding New Jersey companies as well as performers of national and international renown. Meet-the-artist sessions and NJPAC tours are available to expand the arts adventure. The Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series is one of many current arts education offerings at NJPAC. Others include: Professional Development Workshops that support the use of the arts to enhance classroom curriculum Arts Academy school residency programs in dance, theater and literature, and Early Learning Through the Arts the NJ Wolf Trap Program After-school residencies with United Way agencies In association with statewide arts organizations, educational institutions, and generous funders, the Arts Education Department sponsors the following arts training programs: Wachovia Jazz for Teens The All-State Concerts The Star-Ledger Scholarship for the Performing Arts The Jeffery Carollo Music Scholarship Summer Youth Performance Workshop Young Artist Institute NJPAC/New Jersey Youth Theater Summer Musical Program Students have the opportunity to audition for admission to NJPAC s arts training programs during NJPAC s annual Young Artist Talent Search. CONTENTS On Stage 3 In the Spotlight 4 Theater Talk 5 Macbeth and the Spooky Supernatural Before and After Activities 7 Teaching Science Through Theater Delving Deeper Detailed information on these programs is available online at njpac.org. Click on Education. The Teacher s Resource Guide and additional activities and resources for each production in the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Series are also online. Click on Education, then on Performances. Scroll down to Download Teacher Guide in Adobe Acrobat PDF format and select desired guide. Permission is granted to copy this Teacher s Resource Guide for classes attending the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series. All other rights reserved. To Teachers and Parents The resource guide accompanying each performance is designed to maximize students enjoyment and appreciation of the performing arts; to extend the impact of the performance by providing discussion ideas, activities, and further reading that promote learning across the curriculum; to promote arts literacy by expanding students knowledge of music, dance, and theater; to illustrate that the arts are a legacy reflecting the traditional values, customs, beliefs, expressions, and reflections of a culture; to use the arts to teach about the cultures of other people and to celebrate students own heritage through self-expression; to reinforce the New Jersey Department of Education s Core Curriculum Content Standards in the arts. 2

3 Photo: Léon Gniwesch On Stage Macbeth duels with Macduff William Shakespeare s Macbeth is the story of a man who is foretold by prophecy and later urged by his wife to kill a king in order to gain power. Like all of Shakespeare s tragedies, it is a character-driven play. Unlike his other works, however, this tale contains no sub-plots, little comic relief and no extravagant detail so that there is a constant, searing focus upon the title character and his motivations. Macbeth can be interpreted as a play that depicts the demise of a man who chooses evil as his good. The witches promise Macbeth that he will be king, yet he, driven by his power-hungry wife, believes that his only path to the crown is through the murder of King Duncan. With Duncan dead, Macbeth is crowned king, and the prophecy is fulfilled. Once enthroned, however, Macbeth continues on a path of murder fueled by his paranoia and determination to hold the throne. The tale of Macbeth s swift rise and fall from power can be simultaneously viewed as a fictionalized history play, a tale of a man trapped by fate or a cautionary tale of the consequences of unchecked ambition. Regardless of these various possible interpretations of the play, the themes of ambition, corruption, destiny, and power that are depicted are meaningful even today. Modern audiences can relate to the lust, power and ambition that drive Macbeth and Lady Macbeth because their desires are, on a basic level, all too human. This universality may be one of the reasons why Macbeth has remained one of Shakespeare s most popular tragedies for nearly four centuries. 3

4 In the Spotlight Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey s Shakespeare LIVE! The acclaimed Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, located on the campus of Drew University in Madison, NJ, is one of the leading Shakespeare theaters in the nation. Formerly called New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, it serves nearly 100,000 adults and children annually and is the Garden State s only professional theater company dedicated to Shakespeare s canon and other classic masterworks. Through its distinguished productions and education programs, the company strives to illuminate the universal and lasting relevance of the classics for contemporary audiences. The longest-running Shakespeare theater on the east coast, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey marks its 47 th anniversary season in The company s mission places a strong emphasis on education. Among its 13 distinct education programs, the most far-reaching is the Shakespeare LIVE! educational touring company that performs at schools and venues throughout New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York. William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( ) is considered one of the greatest writers of all time and the greatest of all English dramatists. Scholars and readers alike have marveled that one man could have such a comprehensive understanding of the human psyche. He understood lovers, tyrants, kings and queens, servants, clowns, the lucky, the jealous, and the powerful. He wrote 38 plays, including tragedies, comedies, romances, and histories, and 154 sonnets as well as other poetry. He created a pantheon of unforgettable, timeless and complex characters. Shakespeare set his plays all over the world, yet, it appears that he never traveled out of his native England nor did he have a terribly eventful life. He culled and conjured his characters, plots and settings in part from books and his great fund of general information, but most of all from his inspired imagination. Often, genius goes hand in hand with a colorful, and sometimes tortured, life. However, this giant among dramatists lived, it appears, a rather prosaic, undramatic life. Shakespeare did not possess a vivid personality; his friends found him genteel, even self-effacing. He was also an extremely practical, sober man of business. Perhaps, his genius had no time to waste in the real world, and William Shakespeare seems to have put all his passion and drama into his work, both as an actor and a playwright. The Romantic poet and critic Samuel Coleridge called Shakespeare myriadminded. He had a gift of insight unsurpassed and the ability to get inside the hearts and minds of all manner of men and women. 4 william-shakespeare.us William Shakespeare

5 Theater Talk Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and pronounces that she cannot wash her hands clean of bloodstains. actor - a person who interprets a role and performs in a play. artistic director - the creative leader of a theater or dance company. He or she takes responsibility for the vision, direction and management of the company including casting, hiring and repertory choices. blank verse - a poetic form preferred by English dramatists in the 16th and early 17th centuries, usually defined as unrhymed iambic pentameter. climax - the crucial moment or turning point in the action or plot, usually near the end of a story or play. comedy - a story or play that treats characters and situations in a funny or amusing way; the opposite of tragedy. costume designer - the person who creates a visual concept for a production through the design and use of the clothing worn on stage by the performers. dialogue - the conversation in a play between two or more characters. director - the person who envisions an overall concept for a production, supervises all elements of the production and guides the actors in their performances. ensemble - a theater company or cast that works in a spirit of artistic equality and cooperation. iambic pentameter - in poetry, a line rhythm or meter made of five iambs. One iamb has two beats or syllables: an unstressed beat or syllable ( ) followed by a stressed beat or syllable ( ). The most common meter found in English poetry, iambic pentameter is the verse form that Shakespeare most frequently used for his poetic dialogue. For example, in Macbeth, Act I, sc. iii: So foul and fair a day I have not seen. interpretation - a particular conception of a role, scene or play. lighting designer - the person who creates a visual concept for a production through the design and use of illumination. mime (or pantomime) - actions or gestures without words used as a means of expression. monologue - a lengthy speech by one actor. scene - a division of a play, usually part of an act, in which the action is continuous. scenery - painted canvas mounted on wooden frames, drops, cutouts, etc., used in a theater to represent a place of action. script - the written text detailing what happens and what is to be said during a play or performance. set designer - the person who creates the on-stage environment in which the play takes place, including scenery, furniture and props and their arrangement. set - the arrangement of scenery and props on stage. soliloquy - a speech by one actor alone on stage that divulges his or her character s innermost thoughts, feelings and motivations without addressing a listener other than the audience. playwright - a person who writes a play. producer - the person responsible for mounting a production including selecting the primary creative artists and managers as well as providing the financial resources. tragedy - a piece of dramatic literature in which events move a central character or characters to a fatal or disastrous conclusion. In his Poetics, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first to attempt to define the characteristics of tragedy; the opposite of comedy. props - (or properties) items used on stage to help create a sense of place, e.g., an envelope, fan, flag, tea set. 5

6 Did You Know? Macbeth and the Spooky Supernatural The Curse of The Scottish Play To this day, many actors are very superstitious about saying Macbeth or quoting from the play in a theater. Supposedly, to do so is a guarantee of bad luck (or even deadly mishap), so Macbeth is often referred to as The Scottish Play. One popular legend about the origins of the curse holds that Shakespeare based his depiction of the witches on actual black magic rituals that he spied on and even quoted directly from their incantations. While this notion seems pretty absurd, it is true that theater lore is replete with tales of disasters large and small that have occurred during or around performances of Macbeth. For example: Photo: ggpht.com muspe.unibo.it In 1849, a bitter rivalry between the American actor Edwin Forrest and the British actor John Macready boiled over into a riot outside the theater where Macready was appearing in Macbeth. Thirty-one people were killed. In 1934, a production at London s Old Vic went through four different lead actors in a week: one caught laryngitis, another developed the flu and a third was fired. The next production at the Old Vic, in 1937, starring Laurence Olivier, had its director nearly die in a taxi accident, its star narrowly dodge a sandbag and its opening night delayed when the set could not be made to fit on the stage. Shortly thereafter, the founder of the theater, Lillian Bayliss, died suddenly. Eighteen years later, the Old Vic was holding opening night for yet another Macbeth when the portrait of Bayliss in the lobby fell from the wall and shattered. The curse could cross oceans as well. A 1938 production at Canada s Stratford Festival saw an old man run over by his own car in the parking lot, the car of the actress playing Lady Macbeth crash through a storefront and the actor playing Macduff fall off a horse. Lawrence Olivier in Macbeth If the name of the play is mentioned within the theater walls, the remedy to ward off evil requires that the person who broke the taboo must leave, spin around three times while swearing, spit over his or her left shoulder, and then knock on the door and wait for permission to return. Dude, That s Wyrd! The weird sisters in Shakespeare s Macbeth can represent many things. Some believe that they represent the classical Fates. In fact, the Old English word wyrd (pronounced weird ) meant fate or destiny. The Elizabethan audience had little connection to the classical image of the Fates. They did, however, hold a strong belief in witches and the power that witches possessed. Shakespeare may have used a familiar word to indicate that his witches are somehow instruments or enablers of Fate. Boy, Oh Boy In Shakespeare s England, it was against the law for women to perform on the public stage. For this reason, the female roles in the plays were always performed by males, usually teenage boys who were of slighter build than the adult male actors, had higher voices and no facial hair. In Macbeth, however, the unique appearance of the witches (you should be women, yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so) probably indicates that they, at least, were played by adult actors in the company. 6

7 In the Classroom Before the Performance 1. Discuss the elements of drama: character, conflict, humor, etc. What makes a story compelling? Discuss the basic differences between comedy and tragedy. (1.1, 1.4)* 2. Have the class read Shakespeare s Macbeth. The following website, Read Write Think s No Fear Shakespeare, is a resource of Verizon s Thinkfinity.org. The website, from Sparknotes, provides the text of several Shakespearean plays, including Macbeth, side-by-side with a translation into modern English to help students (grades 6-12) interpret Shakespeare s works. Nfs.sparknotes.com. (1.4, 1.5) 3. Have the students act out a monologue or short scene from the Sparknotes modern English translation of Macbeth. (See activity 2 above). Then, ask the students to act out the same monologue or short scene in Shakespeare s language. (1.1, 1.2, 1.3) 4. Before attending the production, give each student one line from Macbeth to listen for. Discuss the meaning of the assigned lines and encourage the students input in deciphering Shakespeare s meaning. Have each student perform his or her line. Why is the line important in the play? Does it advance the plot or give the audience particular insight into a character or relationship? (1.1, 1.3, 1.4) After the Performance 1. Shakespeare LIVE! tries to make Shakespeare accessible to everyone. Do students feel this goal was achieved in Macbeth? How did the audience relate to the story as it was being told? Did the students in your class understand the plot, its turns and language? Discuss what factors, other than words, contribute to understanding what is happening on stage. (1.1, 1.4) 2. Have the students write a review of Shakespeare LIVE s interpretation of Macbeth. Be sure they include specific information as well their own reactions to the acting, the set and the costumes. What about the production did they like? What did they dislike? Have the students support their decisions. (1.1, 1.2, 1.4) Teaching Science Through Theater (6-12) By Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D. Education in the arts allows students to refine their perceptual, physical and technical skills by creating theater, music, dance, and/or visual arts. The New Jersey Core Curriculum Content (NJCCC) Visual and Performing Arts Standards indicate that by the end of grade 12, students will be able to demonstrate originality, technical skills and artistic expression in the creation, production and performance of theater and create works of art that communicate personal opinions, thoughts and ideas. Using theater to teach science engages students as they show what they know, use their imaginations and demonstrate performance and participation skills by working and creating with others. The NJCCC Science Standards say that all students will develop an understanding of the environment as a system of interdependent components affected by human activity and natural phenomena. By the end of grade 12, students will develop knowledge of environmental issues, including management of natural resources, production and use of energy, waste management, and the interdependence of ecosystems. In the classroom, students can use theater to illustrate some of these principles. Use picture play to bring together theater and the environment. Gather photographs depicting different environmental scenes. Have students work in pairs, and give each pair a photo to study. Have them enact a dramatic work that conveys their personal opinions, thoughts and ideas about the photo. Ask the class to critique the performance of each pair of students to assess whether they communicated the essence of the photograph. For another activity, have students demonstrate the effect of varied actions on animate and inanimate objects. Select one student to be the clay, the second the sculptor. Have the sculptor direct the clay in assuming a statue-like position. Ask them to demonstrate the impact of natural phenomena and physical processes such as earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires, floods, and hurricanes on the sculptor and the statue, then the effect of acid rain on the statue. Have the class critique each performance, then compare and contrast the effects of environmental events created by nature and by humans. Discuss the environment s impact on the statue and the sculptor. This can introduce a discussion about understanding and solving problems related to environmental issues. Individuals and groups may have differing points of view on environmental issues. Were different points of view evident in the students dramatic works? How was this communicated? Sharon J. Sherman is a science and mathematics education professor at The College of New Jersey and co-author of Science and Science Teaching: Methods for Integrating Technology in Elementary and Middle Schools (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004). The Teaching Science Through the Arts content of this guide is made possible through the generous support of Roche. *Number(s) indicate the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standard(s) supported by the activity. Additional Before and After activities can be found online at njpac.org. Click on Education, then on Performances. Scroll down to Download Teacher Guide in Adobe Acrobat PDF format and select desired guide. 7

8 Delving Deeper Websites ShakespeareNJ.org website of Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Folger.edu the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, home of the world s largest and finest collection of Shakespeare materials. Books for Teachers and Students Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More. Delta, Epstein, Norrie. The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Bard. Penguin, Rozakis, Laurie E. The Complete Idiot s Guide to Shakespeare. Alpha, Schumacher, Allison. Shaking Hands with Shakespeare: A Teenager s Guide to Reading and Performing the Bard. Kaplan Publishing, Shakespeare, William. Burton Raffel, ed. Macbeth (The Annotated Shakespeare). Yale University Press, Spurgeon, Caroline. Shakespeare s Imagery and What It Tells Us. Cambridge University Press, DVD/Video Macbeth. Starring Gary Sweet and Steve Bastoni. Starz/Andor Bay, Macbeth. Starring Ian McKellen and Judi Dench. (Thames Shakespeare Collection). A&E Home Video, Macbeth. Starring Jon Finch and Francesca Annis. Sony Pictures, Classes/Workshops Schools may register for the NJPAC Artist-inResidencyPrograms - Dance Academy, Theater Academy and Early Learning Through the Arts - or sign up for Professional Development workshops by contacting the NJPAC Arts Education staff at x 3115 or via at artseducation@njpac.org. Acknowledgments as of 12/11/08 NJPAC Arts Education programs are made possible by the generosity of: Bank of America, Allen & Joan Bildner & The Bildner Family Foundation, The Arts Education Endowment Fund in Honor of Raymond G. Chambers, Leon & Toby Cooperman, The William Randolph Hearst Foundations, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Johnson & Johnson, Lehman Brothers Inc., McCrane Foundation, Merck, Albert & Katharine Merck, The Prudential Foundation, Richmond County Savings Foundation, David & Marian Rocker, The Sagner Family Foundation, Schering-Plough, The Star-Ledger/Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, TD Charitable Foundation, The Turrell Fund, Verizon, The Victoria Foundation, Wachovia, and The Women s Association of NJPAC. Additional support is provided by: Advance Realty Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Frank & Lydia Bergen Foundation, Bloomberg, The Bodman Foundation, The Citi Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Veronica Goldberg Foundation, Independence Community Foundation, Meg & Howard Jacobs, Kraft Foods, The MCJ Amelior Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, New Jersey Cultural Trust, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, New Jersey Department of State, National Endowment for the Arts, The George A. Ohl, Jr., Trust Foundation, Pechter Foundation, Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, PNC Foundation on behalf of the PNC Grow Up Great program, PSE&G, E. Franklin Robbins Charitable Trust, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, The United Way of Essex & West Hudson, Andrew Vagelos, The Edward W. & Stella C. Van Houten Memorial Fund, and The Blanche M. & George L. Watts Mountainside Community Foundation. For even more arts integration resources, please go to Thinkfinity.org, the Verizon Foundation s signature digital learning platform, designed to improve educational and literacy achievement. Additional resources can be found online at njpac. org. Click on Education, then on Performances, then on Curriculum Materials. Scroll down to Download Teacher Guide in Adobe Acrobat PDF format and select desired guide. Arthur Ryan....Chairman Lawrence P. Goldman.....President & Chief Executive Officer Sandra Bowie.....Vice President for Arts Education Sanaz Hojreh......Assistant Vice President for Arts Education Donna Bost-White.....Director for Arts Education/Special Projects Jeffrey Griglak Director for Arts Training Verushka Spirito......Associate Director for Performances Ambrose Liu......Associate Director for Residencies Caitlin Evans Jones.... Associate Director for Residencies Faye Competello......Associate Director for Arts Training Mary Whithed Program Coordinator for Residencies Porsché Hardy Program Coordinator for Arts Training Darlene Gidney... Program Assistant Marie Thompson......Arts Education Sales Associate and Program Administrator Joanna Gibson...Manager of Wachovia Jazz for Teens Mary Lou Johnston & Laura Ingoglia......Editors of Teacher s Resource Guide 8 One Center Street Newark, New Jersey Administration: Arts Education Hotline: artseducation@njpac.org NJPAC wishes to thank Shakespeare LIVE! for permitting the Arts Center to duplicate major portions of its study guide for Macbeth which was compiled and arranged by the Education Department of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Writers: Andrea Masters Mary Lou Johnston Laura Ingoglia Editor: Laura Ingoglia Design: Pierre Sardain, 66 Creative, Inc. 66Creative.com NJPAC Guest Reader: Caitlin Evans Jones Curriculum Review Committee: Judith Israel Amy Tenzer Copyright 2009 New Jersey Performing Arts Center All Rights Reserved