Acting Out Class Summary 4/1/13

Warming Up to Hamlet

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"What a piece of work is man!"   

Such was the consensus of The Bard as we dove into Shakespeare this week! We spent time analyzing why Shakespeare was so extraordinary and why he is so relevant today. Students were given a handout of common sayings coined from Shakespeare's works and we discussed how we may find them familiar in our day to day language.  Next time you catch yourself saying, "For goodness sake!" don't be surprised if your budding Shakespearean actor/actress quotes you as reciting a line from Henry VIII!  

We went on to discuss why some students really find Shakespeare fascinating as he twists and turns our language to capture the essence of a feeling, i.e., "to dance canary" instead of using a more mundane phrase like "to feel better." Or perhaps a student might find Shakespeare to be too difficult to understand and hard to follow, or too obscure. Maybe it's been too long since our language has been used in this way and "What's the point really?" Either way, William Shakespeare brings with him a mysterious and very popular past -- one that evokes great discussions for us today.

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Homework

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Students then shared their terrific research homework on William Shakespeare. This helped them get familiar with the famous writer. Did you know Shakespeare died on his 52nd birthday? All of this led us to our next reader's theatre play, "Hamlet," from the book "Shakespeare for Reader's Theatre" by John Poulsen. Hamlet is possibly the most famous play in the world and this abridged version helps the student recite Shakespeare without getting too lost in translation. Our discussion centered on the young prince of Denmark who is robbed of his youth in order to avenge his father's death, his struggle between good and evil, and ultimately the meaning of life. The students were then asked to do an exercise that gave them a "warm up" to Hamlet and Shakespeare's language. Each student picked from a pile one index card containing a different phrase from the play and then pondered its meaning. For example, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" is a classic line from the play. They were then asked to get into two groups and put their phrases together to form a short skit of their own. It was a delight to see the students get creative and imaginative with their lines, and it was even more interesting to watch them try to get their ideas across to the audience. Very tricky! From there, we jumped right into the play itself. This proved more challenging than expected, because while we may understand the story of Hamlet and its deep meaning, Shakespeare's words don't easily assimilate in our minds and roll off as well as we might like.  

The homework assignment this week is to read through the script three times:  

1. The first read through should be done silently as students highlight their part(s) and read the "acting notes" to better understand what they are saying. They should also reference their "Shakespeare terms" handout with definitions to some of the text that is not common, for instance, "anon" means "right now" OR "I come right away."

2. The second read through should be read aloud so they can play with the text rolling off their tongue and work on diction and inflections. Be creative and really try to get your meaning across.

3. The third time's a charm! This, too, should be read aloud (perhaps to a family member or maybe even your pet!) this time with more character in your voice and with lots of expression vocally and physically. Have fun with it!

Next week we will look into our characters more and get to know them a little better. Have a great week!

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Greetings From Texas!

Aidan and Piper

Half of the Harris Family arrived safely outside of Houston, Texas, on Easter Sunday; the other half is crossing the Louisiana swamps as we speak, stopping at various Visitors Centers in the area and trying to understand what the people are saying. They are also having some interesting culinary experiences (see: boudin).

We thought of everyone yesterday and are busily trying to adjust to our new way of life. At left, Aidan enjoys one of our extended family's three horses (named Piper, Renegade, and Trinity).

We look forward to seeing and visiting you each week via Mosaic Minutes and hold all of you in our hearts and thoughts. Until next week!

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