characters s/he will be performing, and how many total lines they have. If you fail to include this you will be deducted 10 points.

Transcription

1 Romeo and Juliet Schedule At the end of which brilliantly performed scenes from Shakespeare s tragedy will be enjoyed by a vast and sundry swath of River Dell s general population. Due May 15 th -16 th (whichever day your class meets FIRST, meaning that if you have class with me on the 15 th this is due the 15 th regardless if you have me the 16 th ) Your edited scenes with modern day translations are due. Each actor must have a minimum of 40 lines designated to them. Your scenes may be cobbled together from a number of Shakespeare s if need be (meaning that you can take parts of one scene and add them to another). Scenes must be coherent in their editing. Edits, transitions, and/or jump cuts that muddle the narrative and/or characters will result in the loss of points. In order to receive full credit each sentence from your edited scenes must be translated by you; there must an undisturbed progression of thought, conversation, plot, and character within the scene; and, you must ensure that every actor has, at least, 40 lines to perform. If the scenes are not translated by you (i.e. you plagiarize from No Fear Shakespeare etc. everyone in your group will receive a zero. If one or more actors has less than 40 lines everyone on your group will receive a 50. At the top of the page please list the name of the student, the

2 characters s/he will be performing, and how many total lines they have. If you fail to include this you will be deducted 10 points. Finally, for each poorly executed edit you will be deducted 10 points. Moments where thoughts go unfinished, characters do not respond to actions and words that preceded, and non-sequiturs of the general kind are edits that I would deem poorly executed. The edited scene will be graded as a Writing Grade worth 100 points. Everyone in your group will receive the same grade. Please, allow enough time during the writing process to stem possible problems before they result in your grade plummeting. Furthermore, your group must submit a structural breakdown on your edited scene which locates where the exposition begins and ends, where the rising action starts, the scene s climax, where the scene s falling action concludes, and where the resolution begins. This should be handed in as an infographic of your own design. Your group must also write, in 50 words or more, a rationale of why they have labeled the moments they did. Failure to label one of the five parts will result in a loss of 10 points. Mislabeling and otherwise having a faulty rationale will result in the loss of 7 points for each infraction. The structural breakdown will be graded as a Classwork grade worth 50 points.

3 May 17 th -18 th Each student will write a description of the scene through their character s eyes. If a student is performing multiple characters, then he or she should write the description from the perspective of their primary character. This creative piece is a creative exercise and is meant to allow for the students to explore the character s range of emotions throughout the scene. In order to receive full credit your description must: Be a minimum of 450 words, not counting Shakespeare s language. If you fail to meet the minimum word requirement you will receive a zero. Be submitted in the following manner: you are to include a word document. Every time your character or someone else speaks, you surround that text with a comment box and describe what it is that your character is thinking during this line s delivery. You will receive minus ten points every time you fail to do so. Note: The only time you do not have to write what your character is thinking is when your character is not on stage. This will count as a 100 point Writing Assignment. Here is an example below:

4 In this scene Benvolio is trying to ascertain why Romeo is so bummed. I m going to write what Romeo is thinking. Again, this is just my interpretation and you could think something different. BENVOLIO In love? ROMEO Out-- BENVOLIO Of love? ROMEO Out of her favour, where I am in love. BENVOLIO Alas, that love, so gentle in his view, Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof! Commented [DS1]: I mean, you get it Ben; but, you so don t get it. Commented [DS2]: I need you to understand the depths of my pain so I ll try to spell it out to you by being so very over-dramatic. I think you ll get it. Commented [DS3]: Bravo, Ben! You did understand. Commented [DS4]: Now that I think you get it I can be a little more playful. Commented [DS5]: What do you know about the pains of love? You don t love the way I do! You love carefully and slowly! Only a lover, a true lover, like myself could understand the pains I endure. May 22 nd -23rd Your set design and blocking is due. Also, a list of all props and costumes is needed. Blocking is another word for stage directions. So, what each actor needs to do is look at the comments they made concerning what their character is thinking and then figure out what emotion underlies that thought and come up with an action that connotes that emotion. So, take a look at the last comment I wrote when Benvolio says: Alas, that love, so gentle in his view,/ Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof! I wrote that Romeo was thinking: What

5 do you know about the pains of love? You don t love the way I do! You love carefully and slowly! So, I m thinking Romeo feels frustrated with Benvolio that Ben is trying to pretend that he gets how bad Romeo feels so Romeo might turn his back on Ben or, if there is a chair, Romeo might shake his head and sit down and bury his face in his hands and shake his head, or simply he might cross his arms in disgust. Any of these (and many more) can connote a frustrated attitude. You are required to have a minimum of five motivated movements throughout the scene. Think about these five movements as the five parts of the story structure (they help show the audience the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and conclusion). I want these five movements per character to be described in 75 words or more using claim, proof, rationale as a guide. Claim: What your movement is. Proof: The emotion your character is feeling at the time and why s/he is feeling that. And Rationale: Why should you do this movement and not some other movement. Each of the five blocking descriptions counts for 20 points towards a 100 point Writing Assignment. Failure to include a claim, a proof, or a rationale will result in your receiving a zero in that instance.

6 In addition to the blocking you need to include a picture/map of what the stage will look like in terms of props and set up and a list of all props needed. Also, you must include a description of what the characters will wear. Each character must have a distinct look and maintain the tone of the overall piece. This list will be a 50 point classwork grade. May 24 th -25 th All props and costumes must be on site (at the school) in a box labeled with all the group member s names and period. For each item you are missing you will receive minus 10 points. This will count as a 50 point classwork grade. Also, at this time you will be required to recite, from memory, your scene. I will be there to prompt you if needed. Each time you make a mistake (mistakes include saying the wrong thing and/or forgetting words/lines) you will receive a minus 5 points. You will receive two buffer mistakes so you only start accruing negative points after the second time you mess up. This is counts as a 100 point Classwork grade.