Acting Out Class Summary 4/22/13

Happy Birthday, Will! - April 23rd, 1564

What a fun and creative class this week due to all the unique and original projects, skits, and readings! Bravo…Brava!   

We got off to a great start with an awesome "rap" about Hamlet that got the whole class feeling the beat! Then, on to some creative power point presentations based on The Ghost of Hamlet's Father, Hamlet's close friend Horatio, and Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, plus, a slideshow on Hamlet's evil Uncle Claudius. We also heard some lovely poems about Ophelia, Hamlet's girlfriend, enjoyed seeing a poster of the crazier side of Hamlet, as well as a cleverly drawn Facebook page on Gertrude with a current message included about gender roles of those times and how women were perceived in the 1600's (I love this class!). We engaged in a few discussions on each project and why the students chose their character and how their research may have shifted their views on the play or character. Thank you all for sharing your projects and your heart and soul with the class. You were amazing.

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Clever Dumbshows

We then opened up the space and moved on to our "Dumbshow" skits. The students practiced first what they had put together from last week's class, they collaborated a bit more on how the skit should play out, prepped their music, and proceeded to perform their pieces. They all seemed really jazzed about playing their parts in pantomime and letting the music and their acting tell the story. And it was just as exciting to watch their dedication in relaying their stories. I applaud you all!  

As if our acting muscles weren't stretched enough…we also had our final reading of Hamlet this week! We discussed the juxtaposition of being on our feet and pantomiming the story with the use of grand gestures and body language to interpret the scene, as opposed to sitting in our chairs and creating the same intensity of the story only through voice and vocal inflection, as well as more subtle gestures. This proved to be a little more challenging after all that pantomiming and outward energy that we had just experienced. But, after a bit of direction and guidance the students really got the hang of it.  

This and more we will attempt to bring to our next reader's theatre play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" where we will ultimately present the play to YOU, the parents!  

Mark your calendars for Monday, May 20th, to be in attendance as our finely seasoned Mosaic actors give you a little bit of Shakespearean prose!

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Until then, lots more practice and more HOMEWORK

Students were given a Part II handout to the Shakespearean Web Quest assignment from early April. They are to gather information from the several websites given and find out more about the mysterious William Shakespeare. Go to each site where instructed, and read the information given in that site. Then, answer the questions asked.  

Note* You may need to go beyond the first page of the site to find the information! We will share and discuss your findings in class next Monday. Also, please note, Question #9 may require a software download -- therefore, YOU MAY SKIP #9!

Treasure hunt alert! *If you find an interesting nugget of information about Will outside of your research, write it down and bring it with you. Let's see who finds the most interesting tidbit. Have a great week everybody!

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