Children's Theatre My Journal - Shakespeare Study Break One

In the construction of my Culture and Everyday Life project, I will be collecting New Historicist references. I have reduced the research of media to primarily include only television citations, as the television apparatus is the most prominent ideological tool of current society. As a result, to avoid a ‘doubling up’ of research, I will no longer be referencing any examples of New Historicism moments found on television. I will only cite such examples if they directly pertain to the classroom itself. I think two units on Shakespeare, parallelled, will be interesting, thought provoking and make me go a little bit nuts. It won’t be the first time!

Textual references, such as today’s Australian article, will continue to be included as they represent a link between Shakespeare and popular culture. Although the article, ‘New clue to Marlowe murder’,[19] was not directly about Shakespeare, it provided information about an important event of Shakespeare’s time. Such an activity of ‘New Historicist Hunting’ could be great to encourage a student’s awareness of the past, the world around them, and their media.

'Dear Play-goer... Imagine you have been transported to the England of William Shakespeare's time. On the banks of the River Thames is the Globe Theatre, the wooden building where all the plays in this book are to be performed. See if you can spot Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare among the spectators.' [20]

Auditions and casting on the same day… that was different! I received the part of the overacting coarse actor… that should be a stretch for me as I’m so shy! Well… anyway… it will be interesting as I am unsure of the exact approach; am I going to be a confident bad actor, or a good actor ‘hamming it up’? Either way, it is a good role for the purpose of my research, as it will highlight the comedic aspects of the text as well as the various characters. This script offers a nice step into the writing of Shakespeare, without going the full way. In a class situation, the script offers a number of great aspects to analyse.

The notions of the wise jester, the unrequited (and unseen) love, the sword fights and the deception of sex could be analysed and decoded by students. Furthermore, the conventions of music, magic and language are easily identified and even explained through the parody. Such a ‘weird’ text offers a great insight into a variety of plays and themes that could also be identified in such an exploration. Although the script is a parody (‘taking the mickey’), it does it in a way that recognises and employs aspects of the original Shakespearean text. I feel it would be problematic to create this into a production within the school structure (as it has no ‘high’ literature base), however, as an end of the year reflection it could prove to be useful.

Shakespeare can be intimidating, so such a ‘reflective’ reading of ‘All’s Well That Ends As You Like It’[21] could allow students the opportunity to re-study. I think the implementation of the parody could reiterate key Shakespearean themes, plots, characters and humour, although not to the same degree. Such a reading would allow reflection over a non-threatening and readable text; but most of all is fun. If students are not having fun, or feel anxiety, enjoyable (yet educational) activities should be employed. With this in mind I discovered some great examples on the Internet today with regards to Shakespeare in the classroom.

Catharine Hall-Schor has written, at this moment in time, three books of Shakespeare’s plays. They include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale.[22] They are all reduced versions, scripted to last about an hour and designed for years 3-8. As stated on the site, the productions are ‘an excellent introduction to Shakespeare for children of all ages’. Each volume includes ideas for getting children excited about Shakespeare and practical notes for performing his plays’.[23] Although there is the exclusion and reduction of long pieces of dialogue, the narrative structure and main themes are still visible. Hall-Schor’s agenda was to ‘keep the stories clear’, and in turn she has done a brilliant job.

After seeing only basic excerpts of each script, I think they are wonderful. The scenes are brief, with an even spread of lines for each actor, indications of which character is talking to whom are included and even a warning that alerts the actor’s of an upcoming entrance. I feel the earlier a child can interact with scripts, even Shakespeare’s, the reduction of fear and anxiety could be achieved. Familiarity of structures and styles could be one of the first steps to making Shakespeare accessible. With that in mind, I would think another fear of Shakespeare is the length of the speeches and the plays themselves.

In our parody, the production notes state that ‘a lot of the lines are deliberate gibberish’ (Green, 1978:44). Although such referencing is only satirically mimicking Shakespeare’s writing, it serves to point out that his speeches can be quite long and normally only address one topic or theme. Personally, I enjoy the challenge of learning a soliloquy, however, it is a really long and sometimes stressful journey. Is it possible to ask an over-stressed and over-worked high school student to learn and perform such a task in a short period of time? To what benefit can such an activity have? These questions are not to be answered now; they are for further deliberation and thought.

On a different train of thought, the book, as quoted at the beginning of today’s entry, Mr William Shakespeare’s Plays (Williams, 1998), is my New Historicist example for this week. This ‘glossy comic-strip’ offers the reader a short 4 or 6 page reading of seven of Shakespeare’s plays. As with Messer’s (2005) examples, this book offers a great comic book introduction and synopsis for each play, and ‘rowdy remarks of the audience’. Again, although seemingly unconnected with this week’s topic, I present my Women’s Day lesson plan. Essentially it is based on the concept of Shakespeare, and his fictional characters being ‘celebrities’. How would they appear in gossip magazines? How would we perceive them? Once again, I believe this works because it uses established and recognised social artefacts as a basis for investigating Shakespeare.

To begin with this week, I wanted to start with my lesson plan. This idea, and last week’s too, was conceived during discussions in the refectory while waiting for the tutorial class to begin. In fact, both concepts were first floated by Rohan… a sincere thank you for two reasons. The major appreciation is to Rohan for the ideas inspiring two sound lesson plans; the second is a point of discussion…literally. I believe that strong teachers are the ones that discuss their ideas, successes and failures with others. Talking about lesson pedagogy is the first step to improvement. For instance, I eventually will hope to publish this journal on the web. This intention is not as a sign of my self-presumed excellent, or contrite, work, but as a means of sharing ideas… warts and all! It is not purely for the display of my bad grammar and spelling either, it is so others can read, comprehend and reflect on my ideas however simple or complex they may be.

Now to the lesson plan… kids love to swear! I know, I was shocked too when I found out! The concept itself came out of a discussion where we reflected on how the first thing people try to learn with a new language, is the swear words. As immature as this probably sounds, why not investigate Shakespeare’s language in the same way. As Shakespeare’s language was used to speak directly with the ‘lower-class’, the terms, more than likely, would have been culturally known and understood. Although it may not have been directly swearing, these insults where deliberately used by the Bard to reflect common assumptions, views and, of course, the language of society.

The lesson (Swearing Shakespeare) I have created would be conducted over the period of one class, however it could be introduced over the course of many. It involves the use of an insult list[25] that I discovered last year in my search for New Historicist Gold. I feel this lesson would be primarily an introduction to performance, namely emphasising the emotional aspects of Shakespeare’s language in modern settings. I expect it would be a fun class that would allow student’s to use the Bard’s language in a recognisable setting, and therefore to be able to extract the true, or possible, meaning of the text.

I believe Shakespeare’s characters and situations have great relevance within today’s culture. It seems the issues, dilemmas and situations reflect events within our current time, and I hope to reflect this in my pedagogy. Just as I am a product of my culture, Shakespeare was ‘a product of his culture, and he is, moreover, merely one voice amongst many which we can hear speaking from it and showing us how it worked’ (Hopkins, 2005:65). New Historicism offers a way of investigating Shakespeare’s time based on clues, gathered information and inferred ideologies. ‘Knowing about the times in which Shakespeare wrote, however, is useful, although the amount of information you need is very small indeed’ (Peck & Coyle, 1985:13). I believe the key in the classroom is to reflect these same issues and situations in lessons that investigate Shakespeare’s culture. I feel you would have a better chance by first comparing and workshopping a current similar issue, and working back to Shakespeare’s text, than starting directly with the text itself.

‘Shakespeare’s plays are centrally and repeatedly concerned with the production and containment of subversion and disorder’ (Hopkins, 2005:73). To investigate a text like Henry the Fifth, three time periods could be considered. Investigations could include the exploration of current society, including similar events, characters and points-of-view, and then the investigation of the past. Key terms and study could involve examinations of the good and Christian moral worth and even the grand narratives as discussed in today’s lecture, including the so-called ‘glory of war’! This could include a historical investigation of not only Shakespeare’s era, but also Henry V’s time as well. Notions of masculinity, stress and self-destruction are prevalent issues that could be discussed in all three eras.

The term of most interest in today’s tutorial was that referring to the Bard’s work as a monolithic, or basic, text. The first step in any lesson should be to demythologise his work. How I do this? I’m not sure. I assume the introduction and comparison of popular culture and a text is a good first step. In a recently aired episode of Boston Public (2000 – 2005),[26] Mr Guber (Anthony Heald) is found to be teaching a bunch of unreceptive students in the ‘dungeon’. To attract the students’ attention in his class, Mr Guber asks his class to prove why they believe that ‘Shakespeare Sucks’… through verse. To pass this assignment, each student must rap his or her ‘essay’ on Romeo and Juliet. This is particularly relevant as Rygiel (1992) compares Shakespearean verse to the analogy of ‘modern rap’ (p.35). The episode highlights the relevance of Shakespeare’s characters and situations, and mirrors them in the class. For instance, the most ‘receptive’ student in the classroom, Duane (GQ II), is dead by the end of the episode… Romeo-style. The episode even quotes the line, ‘Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man’ (Act 3, Scene 1), just seconds before Mr Guber learns of the student’s death.

'The actors offer this lifeline to anyone who has been tortured in an English class into studying and dissecting Shakespeare's words as though they were fragile pieces of fine porcelain: The Bard "was never meant to be read or studied in an English class" Marble said. "The truth is, it was only meant to be performed." [27]

Today was a great lecture for a number of reasons, namely it was the first lecture conducted by Darren. Besides doing a brilliant job, his lecture focused on vital issues circling around my ISC. Darren discussed great ways of approaching the performance of Shakespearean text, including the double spacing of lines to provide room for notes, and the exploration of different editions of the same text. He also suggested something that I unconsciously do, namely to speak to the punctation marks, not just to the end of the line. It was perhaps the confirmation of many approaches that I found most helpful from Darren’s lecture. He even suggested a great website (http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/educators/lessonplans.html) for a variety of Shakespearean based lesson plans for all age groups.

I thankfully did not have to sit the in-class test today, so I am therefore a happy man ‘as today you will not find me a grave man’. I have not written a lesson plan for this week, however, in its replacement I have created an aid that I hope will encourage teachers to think beyond their set text. Based on a concept floated last week, namely how to demythologise Shakespeare’s work, I have created a template that I hope will illustrate the importance of teaching culturally relevant concepts. The Shakespearean Ladder reflects the ‘High-class’ Shakespeare on the top run, as apposed to the representation of popular culture at the base. The concept involves the breaking down of Shakespearean plays or characters to a more recognisable and simpler composition, and in turn the same breakdown for current events. The idea is to establish a middle ground by which a project, assessment or performance is accessible from both levels.

I am finding that a lesson plan or a piece of assessment is either too much Shakespeare or too much popular culture. I hope by visualising this conundrum, a change in approaches could encourage a new assessment of a teachers’ pedagogy. Just as most students, I am a visual learner. A ‘checklist’ such as The Shakespearean Ladder provides a way for me to visualise, query, justify and improve my approach within the classroom environment. How do you make the Formal Shakespeare and the Rapping Shakespeare accessible to all? While I think about it, such a visual approach could be useful for all subjects, as it’s all about making the topic relevant. With this in mind, although I don’t have any examples for this week, I shall continue to include my examples of Shakespeare ‘sightings’ that have been recorded in my Culture and Everyday Life research. These examples are relevant to both assignments; as long as I don’t re-write the same responses on both, I believe it should be fine.

Today was a great rehearsal day; our group is coming along really well. One of the main reasons, I believe, is the success of our extra out-of-class rehearsals that the group has organised. As a result of our group’s strong commitment to creating a professional looking piece, we are all weeks ahead. We can therefore develop and improve on the presentation of the scenes, the characterisations and the interactions between characters.

Darren suggested a great improvement for the Much Ado About Nothing scene on Monday. He suggested that that my character, Benedick, could use the balcony in Nexus Theatre as a means of ‘hiding’ out of sight. This is clever as it gives the scene a new dimension of space, as well as emphasising and framing Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato’s staged ‘trap’. Like Darren has shown, the key to successful teaching is the continuous suggestions for improvement and development.

A teacher should always be able to provide the basic foundation for a group to develop their performance. At the same time however, that teacher should also be looking at the big picture. The final location or stage for the production could hold many great ideas for improvement. Simply having a character enter from the audience or deliver lines from the balcony could allow the production to have a greater depth. It appears to me that one reason Shakespearean productions can seem irrelevant is because of the simple division between the audience and the actors. Could the ‘fourth wall’ act as a barrier between understanding and appreciation?

During a school production, I think a drama teacher should take their students through a preliminary initiation process with the theatre space. Assuming the group has been rehearsing before hand, the teacher could initiate a brainstorming session that encourages the students to use aspects of the stage to improve their production. How can we use this curtain differently? Is there a legitimate reason for a character to enter through, or even sit in, the audience’s area? In this situation, the students can help direct their production and therefore make it their own. They may even come up with something you have not thought of yourself.

With this kind of brainstorming in mind, an extension of such discussions could include this week’s lesson plan. The idea is based on some of my notes from my summer unit, Drama and the Curriculum. I thought of a great project as an introduction to understanding the Greek or Roman theatres, namely the model construction of the stage. Such a diorama would require knowledge and the use of the chosen stage, as well as the promotion of research techniques and the implementation of these concepts. The project is also valid with the construction of an Elizabethan stage.

Through such a project (Globe Theatre), students could research the importance of each of the audience levels, the limiting size of the stage and the close proximity between the actor and the audience. ‘This kind of stage emphasizes close contact with the audience, and certain conventions like soliloquy and aside depend on the actor’s being able to come all the way downstage and address the audience directly’ (Charney, 1971:9). Such a project could help to develop ideas for presenting a production or even be an arena for such a presentation. The project could include the final presentation of the stage with a performance of puppets, figurines, cut outs or finger puppets. Ideas would only be limited by a group’s ability to reflectively justify their group’s choices in the construction and presentation of their performance. I believe this will be a great activity, as it will challenge the students to communicate issues of the Elizabethan era; an interesting activity to successfully meet the Arts in Society objective.

[18] Rove McManus talking to Tamsin from the Bell Shakespeare Company, on Rove Live (2000 – current), Network Ten, 2^nd August, 2005.

[19] ‘New clue to Marlowe Murder’, in the Arts section of The Australian, contributed by The Times, Thursday August 25 2005, p.12.

[20] Presented and illustrated by Marcia Williams (1998) Mr William Shakespeare’s Plays, Walker Books: London.

[21] Michael Green (1978) Four Plays for Coarse Actors, Samuel French: London.

[22] Young People’s Shakespeare Series, http://www.youngpeopleeshakespeare.com/, accessed on the 1^st of September 2005.

[23] Young People’s Shakespeare Series, http://www.youngpeopleeshakespeare.com/, accessed on the 1^st of September 2005.

[24] Mark Holden explains to a contestant the depth and meaning of the song they just sang, on Australian Idol, (2003 - current) Network Ten, 4^th September 2005.

[26] Boston Public, (2000 – 2005) ‘Chapter Sixty-Five’, Network Seven, on the 25^th August, 2005

[27] John Moore, (2003) ‘Shakespeare and Modern Audiences’, accessed on the 14^th September, 2005, http://www.theatre.com/modules/news/articles.php?storyid=39

[28] I Dream, (2005) broadcast on the Australian Broadcast Corporation, on the 22^nd September 2005.

	Investigate suggested reasons for the division (or the myth) between Shakespeare and popular culture. (Using the lecture, tutorial and researched information, I will explore, investigate and theorise suggested reasons for the division between popular culture and Shakespeare ideology). So far on this subject I have done fairly well. I’ve been able to communicate my Shakespearean fears as well as speculated and transcribed the views, and fears, of others. I still need to research more on the topic, which shall be increased over the next month.
	Develop approaches for introducing Shakespearean text and performance into secondary classrooms. (I will suggest, draft and construct possible lesson plans, approaches, ideas and pedagogies for deployment in a future classroom situation). Once again, only just started, however, I am very happy with my progress. I have noticed that most of my ideas are more theory based rather than performative which will become a problem if I continue in this manner. I need to locate and construct some fun creative performative lessons, namely because Shakespeare’s plays were indeed made to be performed.
	Develop these approaches into performing, presenting (and eventually) teaching Shakespeare. (I will offer both a written critique of my investigations and my own practical/performative interpretation). Obviously my journal is a good beginning, however, I am only just starting on this area and it will not be fully completed for a while. I will be able to make observations in the workshops, refer to rehearsal techniques and eventually interpret my performances as a means of addressing this objective.