Dreamcatchers Popejoy Hall Schooltime Series Teaching Guide Schooltime Series Always new worlds to explore. A midsummer night s DREAM Presented By The Actors Gang written by william shakespeare Directed by Tim Robbins Monday, April 20, 2015 Grades: 7-12 1 Dreamcatchers Teaching Guides align with the Common Core State Standards and New Mexico State Learning Standards. Courtesy of The Actors Gang
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. - Martin Luther King, Jr Courtesy of The Actors Gang We strongly suggest students read at least some of A Midsummer Night s Dream to become familiar with the characters, language and plot before seeing the performance. Introduction http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jill-robinson/midsummer-magic_b_3759042.html A folly of a forest, filled with dancers and spirits, swinging from branches in a tumble of energy of scampering and spells. Puppets jig on the hands of woodland characters (clues to who they shall become). You will find yourself surrounded by original, madcap, and completely engaging characters. There is no arch pretension, not a moment when you feel you are not in the middle of this woodland, reaching for one of the vines, wafting around the players, spinning to at least one of the maypole dances spellbinding as this play. You ll pick out your favored dancers, their astonishing individual moves and styles. After the intermission, it s enchanting to watch the cast reassemble, like kids around lockers, putting all their wands, their flowers and branches, together. When you watch this performance, you re in Shakespeare s own time. The music makes this a show filled with robust ribald rhythm. A jovial time has never been so well spent. Standards Addressed By Attending the Performance NMCCSS English Language Arts: Speaking and Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL) New Mexico Content Standards: Fine Arts/Theatre: Content Standards 3 & 5 2
Things to look for: The theme of a daughter who wants to marry against her father s desires was a common one dating from Greek and Roman times. The mysterious people of the forest in folk lore were described as doing household chores, being mischievous, playing pranks and causing illusions, being sinister, stealing babies, and personifying nature. This play breaks the theatrical fourth wall in that players will talk to the audience about the play itself. Watch for instances where emotions, no matter how irrational, color the character s perceptions of reality. This play has many instances where fantasy and imagination influence how the characters see the world. Note the use of magic potions to control people s behaviors. Shakespeare uses mistaken identities in many of his plays to create comedic situations. How does he use it here to advance the story? Synopsis Theseus, the duke of Athens, is planning the festivities for his wedding to Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons. A band of players have decided that the entertainment at the wedding will be a play entitled Pyramus and Thisbe, in which a particularly enthusiastic actor, Nick Bottom, suggests that he play all the main characters, as he is ever so talented. Meanwhile, Hermia and Marc Chagall A midsummer night s dream (1939) her lover, Lysander, plan to flee Athens due to her father s decree that she must marry another man, Demetrius. Enraged by this slight, and in love with Hermia as well, Demetrius follows the lovers into the forest. Demetrius is in turn followed by Helena, who is desperately in love with him. In the midst of the forest, Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the fairies, are deep in argument over the fate of a changeling boy. They observe the plights of Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius respectively. Oberon pities Helena s unrequited love for Demetrius, and orders Robin, in other versions known as Puck, to put drops of potion into Demetrius eyes before he sleeps so that when he awakens, he will fall in love with the first living creature he sees. However, Robin makes a mistake, putting the potion into both Demetrius and Lysander s eyes, causing both to profess their undying love for Helena, who believes they are mocking her. Poor Hermia is reasonably taken aback by Lysander s sudden change of affections, and accuses Helena of stealing her man. Still upset over their disagreement, Oberon also orders the same potion to be used on Titania, who awakens to see the actor Bottom, whose head has been transformed into that of an ass for his bragging. After much hilarity, misunderstandings and general confusion, Oberon and Titania set things right, lifting the enchantments on Lysander and Bottom respectively, leaving Demetrius to remain in love with Helena. They put the lovers into a deep sleep, and when they awake, believe that the transpired events were merely strange dreams. Theseus and Hippolyta stumble across the lovers in the forest, and the duke declares Hermia s arranged marriage to Demetrius to be null and void, and calls the double-wedding of Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius to take place alongside his own. Bottom and the players perform Pyramus and Thisbe, but, having no time to practice, are laughably bad, turning it into a comedy befitting A Midsummer Night s Dream. The play ends as it should, with everyone merry, and with an added hint of mischief from Robin. Here s the link to a fun cartoon video of the highlights of the play (6:47) 3
Vocabulary Beguile: to attract, often by sly means Discourse: conversation Dissemble: to pretend, intending to deceive Dote: to love with foolish fondness Enmity: hostility Extenuating: make (guilt or an offense) seem less serious or more forgivable Feign: to pretend Flout: to mock Idolatry: extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone Paradox: a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory Paragon: model of perfection Progeny: offspring or children Recompense: payment Revelling: enjoying festivities; partying Wanton: shameless; not following societies morals Interesting Facts for Everyone People paid a penny (half the price of a pint of good ale) to enter the Globe Theatre. Those who wanted to sit paid another penny. A seat with a cushion cost a third penny. The people who stood in the theatre yard were called groundlings. The Globe was a twenty-sided theatre that held about 3,000 people. If a play was late in starting, the audience showed their disapproval by hurling nuts and apples at the stage. Audiences expected a different play every day of the week and demanded new ones all the time. In return for letting a company of actors use a building, the landlord expected half their takings. The other half was divided among the sharers or those who had provided money to start the company, and were therefore entitled to a share of the profits. The leading players in a company were also sometimes sharers. They made the decisions about whom to hire, what plays to perform and how to manage the company s budget. Boys played all the female roles because acting was considered a most unsuitable occupation for women. The rigid shape of 16th century women s fashions make it easy to give a boy a woman s figure. Courtesy of folger.edu Hired men were the actors (in minor roles), musicians, and people working backstage. This included the: Bookkeeper, who was responsible for the book or text of each play working in the position of today s stage manager. Tireman (for attire), who looked after the costumes. This took the largest part of the company s budget. Stagekeepers did all manner of jobs, such as carrying props on stage, wheeling in scenery and keeping things clean. The texts, of what were considered good plays, were kept under lock and key to keep rival companies from stealing them. Morley, Jacqueline. A Shakespeare Theatre. Illus. John James Brighton, UK. Book House. 2007. Print. An actor might have begun about the age of ten, by being apprenticed to a leading player. When not acting he was sent on errands. By his late teens he had to persuade the company to keep him on for male parts. Gentlewomen of well-to-do families who wished to see a play had to be accompanied by a man (even if it was a servant) in order to remain respectable. They could not be spoken to by anyone who did not know them. Performances at early theatres, like the Globe, were open to the sky and began about 2pm in the afternoon. There were no intermissions, so bread, ale and fruit sellers traded with the audience throughout the play. Later, as with Blackfriars Theatre, indoor theatres were candlelit because they did not let in enough natural light. There had to be breaks in the play to allow the candles to be trimmed and this led to the custom of having intervals or intermissions. There was no stage scenery of the sort we are used to today. The setting of a scene was indicated by bringing an appropriate object on stage, such as a throne, a general s tent, or a box hedge to hide behind! 4
Tips for Teachers from The Folger There is a wonderful chart of character connections for the play on page 5 of this pdf file. Shakespeare is for everyone. Students of all ability levels, all backgrounds, and at all grade levels can (and do) successfully engage with Shakespeare s works. Shakespeare, done right, inspires. The plays are full of explosive family situations and complex relationships that adolescents recognize. Performance is particularly crucial in teaching Shakespeare, whose naked language on the page may be difficult to understand. Performance in this sense, means getting students up on their feet, moving around a classroom as characters, and speaking lines themselves. Remember, enthusiasm is more important than expertise - there is always more for everyone to learn, so enjoy the ride with your students! If you ve never read the play before, learn along with your students - model for them the enthusiasm and excitement that comes with authentic learning. Trust Shakespeare s original language, but don t labor over every word. Pick out key scenes that speak most clearly to your students. You do not have to start with Act 1, Scene 1. For AMND, we recommend 1.2 where the rustic actors are introduced. Use the text to explain the life and times, not vice versa. It s much better to integrate some facts about Elizabethan life when they come up in the play. For example, when Francis Flute protests, Let me not play a woman. I have a beard coming in AMND, that s the perfect opportunity to explain the Elizabethan stage convention of young men playing the female parts. Language For many students today, reading Shakespeare can be a challenge. Getting students comfortable with the language used is essential. They need practice and preparation to deal with inverted word order ( Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung ) and such words as methinks, and doth, that might be strange to adolescent ears. Language is seductive, and the delight in sound, rhythm, and words can transform students from reluctant participation to ultimate comprehension. A Midsummer Night s Dream is a delightful play to teach because it has characters and plot lines that appeal to all ages: mismatched and quarrelsome lovers, foolish stooges, powerful spirits, and magical transformations. When you help students unlock the language so that they can hear, see, and understand this romantic comedy, you allow them to participate in a timeless play. Things to pay attention to in A Midsummer Night s Dream: unfamiliar words or words whose meanings have changed and unfamiliar word order. Some of Shakespeare s words are no longer used. For example, in the opening scenes, you ll find mewed (caged), beteem (grant, give), and collied (coal black). Words whose meanings have changed might be more problematic, such as blood, which used to mean passion or feelings, and well possessed, when today we might say wealthy. Shakespeare uses language to build three dramatic spaces within the play: the classical Athens of Theseus and Hippolyta; the world of the workingmen; and finally, Fairyland ruled by Oberon and Titania. Ask your students to be attentive to how language shifts in each of these Courtesy of folger.edu worlds. In A Midsummer Night s Dream, Shakespeare often uses sentence structures that separate words that normally appear together, most often the subject and verb. This is often done to create a particular speech rhythm, or emphasize a certain word. Occasionally, words are omitted to create iambic pentameter lines. Puns and wordplay are used infrequently in A Midsummer Night s Dream. 5
Grades: 7-12 Adapted from: http://www.folger. edu/edulesplandtl. cfm?lpid=950 by Caitlin S Griffin and Carol Ann Lloyd Stanger NMCCSS: English Language Arts: Reading Standards for Literature (CCSS. ELA-Literacy.RL): Key Ideas and Details Craft and Structure Integration of Knowledge and Ideas Speaking & Listening (CCSS. ELA-Literacy.SL): Comprehension and Collaboration New Mexico Content Standards: Fine Arts/Visual Arts: Content Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 Activity 1 Shakespeare the Player: Illustrating Elizabethan Theatre through A Midsummer Night s Dream This activity will take one or two class periods. Objectives Students will: Explore Elizabethan stage practices as the rustic yet enthusiastic amateur actors from Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream. Explore Shakespeare s world through his own eyes as they present themselves in his text. Gain new insights into the text, providing them with a deeper appreciation for Shakespeare s world. Materials Copies of scenes from A Midsummer Night s Dream: Act 1, Scene 2 Act 3, Scene 1 Act 5, Scene 1 Optional: A Smartboard or Computer display for links shared in What to Do to the Folger s Digital Texts, Luna Image Database, and Discover Shakespeare pages. Procedure 1. Distribute copies of the three scenes to your class, and assign the roles for each scene. It s not necessary for the same students to play the same characters in all three scenes. 2. Begin by reading the scene aloud, stopping to highlight and discuss the illuminating moments of stage practice below. While some answers or leading links are included for you, wait and see what answers your students come up with in discussion first. (A possible homework assignment could be to take home these questions to research and discuss their findings in the next class.) 3. Act 1, Scene 2 a. (line 11) Quince tells his assembly what play they will produce: The most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe. b. Ask the students, What kind of play do you, as an audience, want to see? Why would the play be both lamentable and a comedy? What does this title make you think of the players? Look up some of Shakespeare s play s title pages, like Romeo and Juliet. How does this title compare? c. (line 20) Quince assigns the roles in the play. Bottom asks if Pyramus is a lover or a tyrant? Shakespeare s audience was used to seeing plays about kings and lovers. Provide or have students get a list of Shakespeare s plays and figure out how many he wrote that weren t about kings or lovers. d. (line 45) Francis Flute protests playing a woman on the Elizabethan stage, women s roles were played by young men and boys. Ask students, Why do you think that is? e. (line 75) Why are the players concerned about the Lion being too frightening? Ask students, What could happen to you if your play displeased the king or queen at the time? f. The Lord Chamberlain s Men, Shakespeare s company, were once in danger of their lives when Queen Elizabeth I saw herself as the deposed monarch in Shakespeare s play Richard II. 4. Act 3, Scene 1 a. (line 9) Bottom is concerned that their play is too violent. Ask students if they can relate to that today. Who in the audience is he most concerned about? What solution does he propose? What would they do? b. (line 46) During their rehearsal, Quince says that he hopes to have the moon shining on the night of their performance because Pyramus and Thisbe meet by moonlight. Ask students if it is actually necessary for the moon to be out for the play to be believable? At Shakespeare s Globe Theatre, plays were performed in the afternoon without much in the way of scenery or lights to show time and place. Discuss devices Shakespeare had available to him to tell the audience where they were and what time it was. (ie: Midsummer) *This invites students to find information in other textual material, opening a connection to Common Core Standards for Reading Informational Text. c. (line 61) Quince also points out the need for a wall through which the lovers will whisper. What is their solution? Ask your students how would they solve this issue. d. (line 90) Flute speaks all his lines at once. In the 16th century, actors learned their lines from sides papers that contained their lines only, and perhaps a cue or two. Why do they think this was? Continued on page 7 >>> 6
Activity 1 continued Shakespeare the Player: Illustrating Elizabethan Theatre through A Midsummer Night s Dream Procedure 5. Act 5, Scene 1 a. (line 134) The mechanicals play begins with a Prologue. Discuss with students where else have they seen a Prologue, and what is its function? Have them find another Prologue in another of Shakespeare s plays (ie: Romeo and Juliet, Henry V.) Discuss: how does Quince s compare? b. (line 179) The O in Shakespeare s lines encompasses all of the emotion the character is feeling. (ie: O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! ) Have students discuss: what emotion is Bottom/Pyramus playing here with all of these O s? Have them ham it up and make a big noise with each O. This part is especially fun for the best over-actor in the class. c. (line 260) Throughout the play, the married couples add their own comments and interjections. Live theatre includes a live audience with live reactions. Ask students if they have ever experienced something like that today; if so, describe it. Did they participate? What were their reactions? Did they see or hear people who didn t agree with them? d. (line 291) Even more fun bad rhymes and stage deaths for Pyramus and Thisbe! What did the audience enjoy about the play? What did they not enjoy? 6. Summing up. Ask students: a. What differences and similarities between 16th century entertainment and our own culture were you able to recognize? b. What did you discover about Elizabethan theatre? c. Were you able to find new layers of meaning in the humor of the play? d. What do you think it means, now, to be a playwright or performer? Assessment Quality of participation. Students demonstrate increased understanding of Elizabethan stage practice following performance of scripts. Students connect their own ideas to those of Shakespeare and his Elizabethan contemporaries. Courtesy of folger.edu 7
Selected Activities from The Folger Shakespeare Library We believe that students learn Shakespeare best by experiencing Shakespeare. Performance helps bring Shakespeare alive, and listening to his words being spoken brings them off the page and into a new relevance for students. Performing Shakespeare even at the most rudimentary level, script in hand, stumbling over the difficult words can, and usually does, permanently change a student s relationship with the plays and their author. Performance in this sense does not mean presenting memorized, costumed, fully staged shows, although those can be both satisfying and educational. Performance means getting students up on their feet, moving around a classroom as characters, and speaking the lines themselves. Using practical, classroom-tested exercises developed by teachers and The Folger Shakespeare Library Education, you and your students do not need any theater experience to be successful with these lessons. Have Fun! Courtesy of The Actors Gang Select from these video clips for a look at what that means in the classroom: http://www.shakespeareinamericanlife. org/education/schooldays/playing.cfm Living Iambic Pentameter Tableaux Vivants (Making Pictures) Is That Your Sandwich? Occupation Romeo Performing Modernized Shakespeare Students will use video clips to help them reflect on the issues surrounding updating and modernizing Shakespeare. Then they will prepare their own text for modernizing or updating. Their performances will spark a discussion on the various ways to present effective Shakespeare today. Shakespeare On a Dime Choose a Shakespeare play and distribute the script to actors a month or so in advance - but only meet for rehearsal the day of the show. The performance then happens that same night. Listen to a podcast of one group s experiment with this technique! Shakespeare Was A Black Woman This is an introductory lesson for students first encountering a Shakespeare play or sonnet and/or in conjunction with Civil Rights studies. Some Excellent Dumb Discourse: Caliban as Native American In many ways, The Tempest is one of the earliest pieces of American literature. Shakespeare was influenced by accounts of journeys to the new world, and scholars have long seen Caliban as a stand-in for Native Americans. Students will explore some of the colonial implications of The Tempest, analyzing how language and power interrelate in the play and using another American voice, American Sign Language, to consider the different forms of communication available to Caliban before the arrival of Prospero. By translating some of Caliban s speech into ASL, students will also explore grammar issues and the relationship between thoughts and words. 8
Bonus Explorations Websites www.folger.edu The Folger Shakespeare Library is a national leader in the way Shakespeare is taught in American classrooms. Folger Education offers a world of online resources for teachers, from individual teaching modules to curriculum guides to videos. They also have the comprehensive Shakespeare Set - Free Toolkit. The Folger Shakespeare Library has also launched a new series of Shakespeare audio editions, which gives access to the unabridged texts, including the sonnets, from the gold standard Folger Editions performed by a full cast of Shakespearean actors and expertly produced by Folger Theatre. http://www.storybird.com/about/ Free visual storytelling for everyone. A platform for writers, readers, and artists of all ages. Teachers can start a class for free by clicking here. http://nfs.sparknotes.com/ No Fear Shakespeare puts Shakespeare s language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English the kind of English people actually speak today. Courtesy of folger.edu Movies Should you start with the movie? One disadvantage with watching a film version first is that students equate this version with the play and have difficulty realizing that scenes and lines can be interpreted and enacted in many different ways. One way around this is to start with one scene which your students read and perform. Follow this activity by showing clips from several film versions of the same scene. This strategy allows for some meaningful discussion about possible interpretations. A Midsummer Night s Dream (1999, Fox Searchlight Pictures). Directed by Michael Hoffman. Cast includes Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, and Christian Bale. A Midsummer Night s Dream (1935, Warner Bros.). Directed by William Dieterle and Max Reinhardt. Cast includes James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Dick Powell, Mickey Rooney, Victor Jory, and Olivia de Havilland. Related Movie Get Over It (2001, Ignite Entertainment). Directed by Tommy O Haver. Cast includes Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Sisqó, Shane West, Colin Hanks, Swoosie Kurtz, Ed Begley, Jr., Zoe Saldana, Mila Kunis, Carmin Electra, and Martin Short. Books F. Murray Abraham. A Midsummer Night s Dream. Actors on Shakespaere series. London: Faber and Faber, 2005. Jay L. Halio. A Midsummer Night s Dream: a Guide to the Play. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Irene G. Nash. Women s Worlds in Shakespeare s Plays. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997. Stuart M. Tave. Lovers, Clowns, and Cogitations After seeing the show, ask your students to answer these questions: Before seeing this show, I didn t know that This show made me think about The part that most grabbed my attention was While watching the show, the strongest feeling I had was Overall, the show made me feel The question I have about the show is One change I would make in the show is If I could talk to the creative team or actors, I would say After seeing the show, my friends and I talked about Something I want to share with my family about the experience is Fairies: An Essay on Comedies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. Mark Taylor. Shakespeare s Imitations. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2002. Gary Jay Williams. Our Moonlight Revels: A Midsummer Night s Dream in the Theatre. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1997. About the Company The Actors Gang s mission is to present new, unconventional and uncompromising plays and dynamic reinterpretations of the classics, to restore the ancient sense of the stage as a shared sacred space, to introduce theatre to children and help them find their own creative voices, and to bring the freedom of self-expression to the incarcerated. 9
Schooltime Series Always new worlds to explore. The Schooltime Series is a proud member of The Popejoy Schooltime Series is supported in part by awards from: The Eugene and Marion Castiglia Popejoy Children s Schooltime Endowment The Popejoy Schooltime Education Endowment Dreamcatchers are teaching guides produced by the Education Department of Popejoy Hall, New Mexico s premier nonprofit venue for the performing arts and entertainment located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Selected Dreamcatchers Teaching Guide materials provided by the Folger Shakespeare Library, The Actors Gang, The Kennedy Center s Artsedge and other resources noted within this guide. Popejoy Hall s Mission: To provide access to the performing arts for all New Mexicans. The Popejoy Schooltime Series is a program of The University of New Mexico. Popejoy Hall, New Mexico s premier nonprofit venue for the performing arts and entertainment. About the Popejoy Hall Schooltime Series We present national and international touring companies and performers that you will not see anywhere else in or around Albuquerque. These companies are selected with youth and family audiences in mind, from titles and materials that reflect the cultural diversity of our global community. These professional performing artists create educational experiences designed to encourage literacy, creativity, communication and imagination. Etiquette The performing arts - theater, music and dance - are all collaborative endeavors. They require the cooperation of many skilled people: playwrights, directors, performers, designers, technicians, lyricists, choreographers, musicians and the audience. Live performances can transport you to other times and places but to do so, they require you, the audience, to listen, observe, discover, and imagine. The inside of a theatre is called a house. There are rules inside the house to make the experience smooth and enjoyable for everyone. A poster of Theatre Etiquette is available on our website. Please post it and discuss it with your students before attending this show. House Policies Please visit our website for detailed information about House Policies safety, special needs, food and drink, backpacks, cell phones, photography, recordings, and more. Find us at: schooltimeseries.com schooltime@popejoypresents.com Join our community and sign-up for our monthly newsletter at: facebook.com/schooltimeseries - click on Join My List or send an e-mail with your name and e-mail address to schooltime@ popejoypresents.com requesting to be added to the newsletter list.