Shakespeare group project
The purpose of this project is to allow you to explore a specific Shakespeare scene in depth. You will investigate the performance, and perhaps the textual, history of the scene, analyze the scene for performance, and demonstrate the fruits of your investigation in a classroom presentation and in a short co-authored paper.
You have already signed up for a specific scene. You should meet with your group members and plan how you will divide the work and when you will meet to study and rehearse.
On your own, you should:
Memorize the lines. Write a word-for-word paraphrase into your own language to turn in with your collaborative paper. If you aren't sure what you are saying, check! Renaissance actors did not have the entire play, but memorized their parts using only their own lines and a few words before--the "cue line." They did not even necessarily know who would be saying the cue line. Try memorizing your role this way. Other tips: make a tape of yourself reading the lines and listen to them over and over, watch a videotape (being sure not to copy the staging), and listen to audiotapes. I can't say it too many times: memorization is critical, and the earlier you begin, the better you will do.
Consider the character you are playing. Is the way you are portraying the character
consistent with other scenes in the play? (If you are playing a character like
First Murderer, you won't be able to do this, of course, but do think of how
other characters like this are depicted).
Practice the physical movements you will be doing in the staging your group
has decided on.
Do the tasks you have agreed to do as your share.
As a group, you should:
Plan a few study, planning, and rehearsal meetings. You may wish to designate one person as "contact person" in case someone gets sick or cannot make it to a meeting.
Do some research on the scene. Looking at Shakespeare by Dennis Kennedy might give you some staging ideas. Look for some books on the play-there are books called _______ in Performance which might be helpful. Look at the volumes of Shakespeare Survey which deal with your play. Try searching the Lexis-Nexus database for newspaper reviews of the play. In other words, get some sort of idea how others have staged the scene in the past.
Stage the scene. Do the "blocking"-i.e. who will move where when. There was no such thing as a director until the nineteenth century--Shakespeare's theater didn't have them--but you might choose one person in your group to be the director, if that makes sense to you. If you are doing a scene with a lot of physical running around, do be careful! Pay attention to what you are doing with your body. Avoid swinging your arm, shifting from foot to foot, allowing your eyes to wander--look at the person who is talking unless you have a good reason not to (e.g. your character is supposed to be dead.)
Select and collect whatever very basic props and costumes you will use. In theater workshops, the actors often wear basic black clothing. The women often wear long "rehearsal skirts" so they can convey the length and movement of period clothing without wearing costumes--I have myself worn a big denim skirt over my regular clothing for this purpose.
Rehearse.
Prepare a few brief remarks for the classroom presentation. Explain what you discovered and why you made the performance decisions you did.
Write a short, collaborative paper, including brief remarks detailing your work for the project, explaining who did what, how you went about rehearsing it, describing the scene, and including a brief bibliography. You should add a brief stage history of the scene.
On the exam date, you will be presenting the scenes and handing in the paper. If we have time, we'll be able to have a class discussion after each scene.
Yes, it is a lot of work, but it's in lieu of a final exam, and should be a lot more fun!
Also: Memorize the lines. Your grade will depend on it.
Return to the Shakespeare 403 web page.
Return to the Shakespeare 404 web page.
Return to the Intro Shakespeare Web Page.
Return to the English 552 Web page--the Hamlet Project.
maaron@csupomona.edu