How we do Shakespeare
We feel like Shakespeare was meant to be said, not read. We want kids to know the stories and get experience with some of the language. We use edited scripts roughly 30 mins in length. We use some narration and some dialogue. This gives the students a positive experience without it feeling too overwhelming.
Our focus is to create a fun easy-going atmosphere where students can LOVE Shakespeare's plays and be actively involved in the production of the play. They help with interpretation or modernization, they help with costumes and make-up and sets. It is very play-based and kid driven. We are not here to be the Royal Shakespeare Company, we're here to encourage creativity and ownership of their experience.
“Shakespeare was meant to be said, not read.”
In the class we will work on building an ensemble. We will discuss the play, it's characters and themes. We will go though the script line by line "translating" from Elizabethan english to modern english. It is important to fully understand what they are communicating. We will talk a little about how language changes over time. We will cast, block, costume and design the play and perform it at the end of the class.
Seems like a lot to do in just a few weeks, but I keep things fun and light so they have no idea how much they are really learning.
Take a peek into the final production day of Macbeth as the camera follows us from final rehearsals to show night.