Another time, another place, another Brutus!

~by Carol Kelly

Paterson Joseph as Brutus at the RSC

Twenty minutes into watching  the recent RSC all black production of Julius Caesar, my overall sense was, “Why hasn’t this been done before?”. The play makes a seamless transition from Ancient Rome to modern day Africa, a continent which has seen numerous violent uprisings and civil crises in the last few decades. Echoes of Uganda, Rwanda, Zaire are brought to mind as the play explores the temporary nature of government and the fickleness of the mob. The undertones of the corruption are reinforced by the large gold watches worn by some of the lead characters. This production revitalizes some of the themes in Julius Caesar which have perhaps been lost through the traditional setting of the play in ancient Rome. This is achieved by adding sinister layers of ambiguity to the main protagonists as they debate and argue over the nature of leadership. The drums and rhythms of Africa provide a vibrant energy to the play, especially at the beginning as we are introduced to the characters and the political scene is set. The all black, predominantly male, cast wear African robes which effortlessly replace Roman togas and a witch-doctor provides the foreboding words about the Ides of March, again a perfect transition from the Roman soothsayer.  The back of the stage is dominated by a huge statue with his back to us-all we see is his torso and right arm raised in a defiant upward thrust. After Caesar’s assassination, the statue is toppled and it leaves a gaping ashen void for the rest of the play. Setting the play in Africa struck me as an inspired choice not only because of the contemporary echoes that  resonate but also because I felt that anyone coming to see the play for the first time, with no knowledge of the “original”, would be totally engaged and be likely to believe that this play was written for this setting.

Shakespeare’s plays live on precisely because they can be transposed to a different time and location. The truth in them and the richness of the language ensure their longevity. However I was just blown away by how this particular transition seemed to work so well. Has anyone else experienced this at a particular production? Love to hear!

Carol Kelly is Folger Education’s Festivals and Programs Manager. She arranges workshops for teachers around the country, and organizes our Secondary School Festival each spring, as well as our appearances at National Conferences like NCTE.

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HAMLET: Q&A

Hamlet (Michael Benz) duels Laertes (Matthew Romain); photo by Jeff Malet

After student matinees at the Folger, we’re usually able to offer a brief “talk-back” with actors from the show to discuss what the students have just seen. (We’ve discussed previous Folger Theatre talk-backs for Othello and Comedy of Errors here.) The actors of the Globe’s touring production of Hamlet, currently playing in our Theatre, were kind enough to agree to stay for some questions after this week’s student matinees, and our audiences didn’t disappoint with the great questions for them! Below is a sample of some of our favorite questions and answers (paraphrased):

Q:  Have you ever messed up in front of a live audience?

A: Did you notice?
(the student nodded and pointed to Michael Benz, who played Hamlet)
A: I was hoping you wouldn’t notice! Ah, but it does happen all the time, you’ll trip up, or miss a beat or mix up your words… but that’s the beauty of live theatre! You never know what can happen!

Q: When did you decide that Hamlet goes crazy in the play?

A: I looked to the text – it gives me little clues here and there about my actions and about my mindset. In the soliloquies, sometimes, I get to say exactly what I’m thinking or feeling, and the rhythms and words tell me where to go.

Q: Does the show change with each theatre you travel to?

A: Every new venue is a new show. We’ve performed this play together over 80 times now, but none of us are bored with it. When we were in England on the tour, it was all outdoors and we were competing with the elements to be heard and seen and to just get through the show – we’re used to that at the Globe! Here at the Folger, this is our first indoor venue, so our first night here we were still very <ROAAAR> and LOUD and I think that first night we really blew the audience away… literally. They looked like they’d been run over by a freight train by the end! Dominic [our director] told us afterwards to just bring it down.

Q: Why did you decide to use only eight actors when there are so many parts?

A: Being on tour means it’s easier for fewer people to do the traveling, and it happens a lot in Shakespeare that some actors will double or triple (or further multiply) the number of roles they have. Not every character is onstage all the time, and while it was sometimes challenging for us, we have a great time running around swapping from gravedigger to priest to courtier to player and moving the show forward.

Q: What was it like to put comic elements in a tragic play?

A: Well that’s really interesting because we didn’t. Shakespeare did. You know, there’s sometimes this whole pre-conception that the tragedies have to be very dark and tragic the whole time, but the reality is Shakespeare knew that it was only the end of the play that made it either tragic or comic. The rest was just human behavior. It also helps the tragedy land with you emotionally if you get the contrast with a lot of levity before everything bad happens. Yes, we have a very light-hearted production, but the comedy is in the text.

Thanks so much to the actors: Michael Benz, Peter Bray, Miranda Foster, Tom Lawrence, Carlyss Peer, Matthew Romain, Christopher Saul, Dickon Tyrrell; and to Charlotte Hall and the stage management team for making arrangements for us.

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It’s Hamlet Once Again

Folger Theatre Production, 2010

Thanks to the efforts of Folger Theatre, the Globe’s Theatre’s production of Hamlet is currently in residence at the Folger.  The reviews have been good, and audiences are deeply engaged in the work.  This collaboration between the Folger and the Globe has prompted Folger Education to re-release four video podcasts that focus on the play, including an insider’s guide for all audiences and three others that focus on teaching the play.  The vide0s are based on Folger Theatre’s 2010 production of the play, and  were filmed by Alabama Public TV thanks to a partnership between the two institutions.  When the videos were posted to the Folger’s YouTube page, there were no lesson plans for teachers to help them make the most effective use of the videos, but that’s now been addressed.  A series of lesson plans created by English teacher, Kevin Costa, specifically designed for use with the videos, and complete with Common Core State Standards references, has made them an indispensible resource for teachers.  As Hamlet observes, “The Play’s the thing.”

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Seeing Shakespeare

from HAMLET, Folger Theatre 2010

To quote our Bill’s Buddies mantra: “Shakespeare wrote plays, which means they were meant to be Seen and Heard.”

Not read silently to oneself.

And not simply read aloud in a round robin in class. Part of the experience is watching how characters interact, and how the words can be used to inform action. Getting students on their feet with the language, looking for action clues in the text to inform their movements, helps them to understand that performing Shakespeare isn’t how it looks on TV: planting your feet and declaring your lines – it’s full of the action and excitement we still get in modern entertainment!

A great way to show this to your students is to take them to a performance. Seeing actors performing Shakespeare’s plays brings it home that these are vital and humanly connected pieces of theatre – not just old words on a page.

While you’re planning your field trips for the year, consider your local theatre companies: do they perform Shakespeare? Do they have student matinees, or evening performances your students could get to on their own? Will you be teaching the play they’re performing, or can you relate it to the one you are teaching? Shakespeare’s plays are public domain – which means anyone, anywhere can perform one of his plays for free – so across the world thousands of companies from amateur to professional will be performing Shakespeare at any given time!

It’s worth looking at this list of Shakespeare Festivals and Theatres compiled by the Shakespeare Fellowship, but just as worthy is looking at your local culture scene. Community theatre, college theatre, high schools, professionals, touring houses… If anyone is putting on a Shakespeare play, consider taking your students to see it and discussing the performance with them as part of your Shakespeare unit. What about the performance worked? If it was modernized – how did the text support their changes – or did it not work? What connections did your students feel with the characters, and was that any different from how they felt when reading it themselves?

Seeing Shakespeare in performance opens up an entirely new discussion field for your class. What sort of performances are available in your area? Do you take your students to see performances? Let us know in the comments!

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Henry V in Performance

By Carol Kelly

Arguably there are two memorable film productions of Henry V. Thefirst  appeared in 1944 and was directed and produced by Laurence Olivier who also took the title role. The film was produced during World War 2 and sets a patriotic, even jingoistic note, with the beleaguered English troops on the eve of the battle clearly reminiscent of Dunkirk. Deliberate omissions (such as Henry’s order to kill all the prisoners) paint the English as brave and courageous, overcoming the odds to defeat the arrogant French. Given the critical moment in European history, the use of this play as wartime propaganda is clear and understandable.

The second film starred and was directed by Kenneth Branagh in 1989. This version, while still presenting Henry as a brave leader of his troops, reveals the harsh and gruesome side of warfare. Branagh sets the battles on rainsoaked fields and plays down the comedic moments to create a consistently dark, brutal and gritty atmosphere. Due to the nature of film, Branagh is able to use flashbacks to include  insights into Henry’s personal journey from fun-loving adolescent to responsible Prince and leader of men.

The current production of the play currently in performance at the Globe in London offers a slightly different take. Although the patriotic element is still evident, the production presents a nuanced depiction of all the ambiguities of human nature that Shakespeare loved to explore. The horror and the honor are both present  but they are depicted alongside each other with subtlety and humor. The Chorus, delivered by a serving woman, sets the tone that we are part of her story and the audience is drawn into the drama as it unfolds. The rallying cry unites a diverse nation of Welsh, Irish and Scots, aristocrats and rogues alike, against a common enemy but more importantly behind their King. The call to arms has some element of reluctant resignation but is powerful and so personal that I felt that had Henry marched out of the theatre, half the audience would have marched with him! Perhaps this can be attributed in part to Jubilee fever, combined with the spike in national pride brought about by the celebrations of  London 2012!

The centerpiece of the call to arms is the St. Crispin Day speech and the delivery of this speech is key to the interpretation of the play. As such, it is a perfect place to introduce young students to Shakespeare’s language. Experimenting with subtext, tone, and inflection when speaking these words aloud and on their feet will allow students to appreciate the power of language, to discover layers of meaning and most importantly, to appreciate the glorious poetry. How did the past film productions speak to their own moment? Which interpretation rings true for students today? How do students living in a country fighting a distant war react to such a call? What would their own production look like?

Find out more about how performance-based teaching can bring Shakespeare’s words to life at www.folger.edu

Carol Kelly is Folger Education’s Festivals and Programs Manager. She arranges workshops for teachers around the country, and organizes our Secondary School Festival each spring, as well as our appearances at National Conferences like NCTE.

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“All The World’s A Stage”: The Globe to Globe Shakespeare Festival

South Sudan – CYMBELINE (photo: Steve Rowland)

Steve Rowland who, with Robert Miller, is working a documentary project called ShakespeareIS, just returned from a seven-week trip to England where he took in all that the Globe to Globe  Shakespeare Festival had to offer.  Thirty-six plays, along with Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis were presented in thirty-five languages, “plus one play in ‘American Hip Hop’ — the re-telling of Othello by four rappers, sometimes in drag  …  Love’s Labours Lost was told entirely in British Sign Language … .”  Steve writes that “thirty-four countries, two performances from China — one in Mandarin (Hong Kong) and one in Cantonese (Beijing); two from India — All’s Well That Ends Well in Gujarati and Twelfth Night in Hindi,” and an additional one from England —  Dominic Dromgoole’s Henry V. Steve conducted over 60 interviews in HD video which he expects will serve as a broad international perspective on what Shakespeare means, “from an incredible variety of sources — from the sunny and optimistic, folk cultured-based visions of South Africa, from Mumbai, from South Korea and Mexico — to the darker angst-filled post modern visions from Italy, Poland, Germany and Russia.”

 

South Korea, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Photo: Steve Rowland)

According to Rowland, “What the festival did was bring the world together, day after day, on the South Bank of the Thames, only a few hundred yards away from the original Globe — in a part of town that was once lawless and the haven of a vibrant but seedy underworld — where the brilliance of Shakespeare’s words hit the ears and minds of people in lower, middle and upper classes simultaneously, delighting them with stories, provocative ideas and unforgettable characters.”

If you’re interested in viewing some performances from the festival, check out Mike LoMonico’s Making a Scene blog entry.

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Summer Shakespeare Festivals

Now that summer is here, why not think about taking in a Shakespeare performance? Perhaps you’re thinking about teaching one of the Bard’s plays you’ve never taught before and would like to see it on stage before you do. Or, maybe it’s been a while since you’ve seen A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed on a starry summer night.  How can you find out about a Shakespeare performance near you?  Well, there is a website devoted to summer Shakespeare festivals.  The website lists theaters across the country and around the world where Shakespeare is being performed. So, whether you’re traveling a short distance from home, or planning to travel far, check out the listings before you go to see if there will be a Shakespeare performance where you’ll be landing.  And, if you go, write about it as a response to this blog. It would be great to read about the productions of the plays being seen and how they might help to inform your teaching plans for the fall.

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Shakespeare at His Best

Shakespeare for Students with Special Needs
~by Christopher Shamburg 

On  June 5th the students of A. Harry Moore School in Jersey City gave two public performances of Macbeth.   A. Harry Moore a special education school that services students ages 3-21 with various medical, physical, and cognitive disabilities.  It is the laboratory school of New Jersey City University and offers comprehensive academic, therapeutic, pre-vocational and social programs.

For the past 4 years high school age students at the school have been participating in the Actors Shakespeare program.   The program is led by Seth Reich, an actor from Actors Shakespeare Company, the University’s resident acting company.

Each week the students work on a specific play, and perform it in Shakespeare’s language at the end of the year.   The Actors’ Shakespeare Program at A. Harry Moore gives the students an opportunity to learn many of the steps involved in putting on a production–from learning their lines to designing the sets and costumes.  The program facilitates strengthening reading skills, comprehension skills, speech pronunciation, breathing control and volume control.  In addition the program works on building their self-confidence.

This production was one of the most powerful productions I’d ever seen.  Many of the lines and scenes were sending chills down my spine–parts that never had done that before! It brought the victories, setbacks, dares, and determination of the characters to a whole new dimension.  They owned it!

The students, faculty, and staff (and myself) look forward to next year and continued success with this program!

Christoper Shamburg is an Associate Professor of Educational Technology at New Jersey City University.  He is the author of Student-Powered Podcasting: Teachingfor 21st Century Literacy (2009)  and National Educational Technology Standards:Units for the English Language Arts (2008).

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Thematic Shakespeare

Students perform a scene from Much Ado About Nothing in the 2012 Folger Seconday School Festival

I’ve written about student festivals before, but I want to come back to the topic again and,  this time, look at the thematic lines being explored by students and teachers in their festival performances.  Recently, I attended Shakesperience: NJ at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.  Two days of absolute delight watching students engage the text and make meaning of Shakespeare’s language.  What is not to like about that opportunity?  While many of the schools presented selected scenes from the plays, or reduced versions of the play (keeping Shakespeare’s language in tact), some looked at thematic lines and explored them through excerpts from a number of the plays.  Among those performances was one on “love’s confusion,” taking scenes from Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Another explored the “trilogy of evil” in Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Titus Andronicus.  What is interesting about these thematic choices is that the students were directly involved in selecting the scenes used to explore the themes, demonstrating that close reading of the text has a direct link to performance-based work on the plays.  Love and evil are two common thematic links to Shakespeare’s plays, to be sure. I wondered what others there were and what plays might be used to present them in performance.  So, if you and your students have presented a series of scenes from Shakespeare’s plays linked to a theme, share what you did with the rest of us. It might be a great way to introduce your students to several plays without taking them through the complete work.

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“Have I had children’s voices?”

I’ll admit. I was wary of my first Children’s Festival. And each year I’m still a little wary. I know they can do it. They know they can do it. But will they do it? Will they speak the speech?

And every time I am pleasantly surprised. Yesterday we had a 9 year-old Lear who howled as heartbreakingly as any RSC alumnus. We had a tiny Lady M who covered for a missed line and blocked exit by grabbing her “husband”‘s daggers and shoving him out of the way to finish the bloody deed. There was even an incredibly emotive Ophelia and regal Gertrude who, though English was their second language, gave so much character to their roles that it could have gone on for 4 hours and no one would have complained. Today as I watched an impassioned 4th grade Brutus defend his treasonous actions in an oration, his teaching artist leaned over to me and whispered, “He has ADHD and can barely sit still to read a book.” Yet here he was, listening to his fellow actors, speaking loudly and clearly, and injecting his speeches with feeling.

Yes. They can get nervous. So can you, as their teacher. But elementary students CAN and WILL read and perform Shakespeare. It’s just up to us to give them the opportunity to.

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