SWBAT:
Remember important information on the times and life of William Shakespeare, Elizabethan England, and artistic conventions of that time.

• Brief historical background of Elizabethan England. The teacher may use the resources available to the social studies teacher. Use maps, pictures, movie fragments, music (Haendel) to portray the "spirit" of the 16th century.
• Will Shakespeare, the man and the creator. Present biographical elements; give out a biographic timeline.
• The theater during Queen Elizabeth. Present relevant facts about theater and poetry during that time (theatrical and artistic conventions, scenes and theater houses, acting profession, sponsors, the church regulations, the crown, the public).

The teacher will present, in a chart format, the main differences among different genres: poem, story, and theater:
 

	POEM	STORY	THEATER
creator	poet	storyteller, writer	playwright
parts	stanzas, lines	parts, chapters, acts	acts, scenes
main literary devices	similes, metaphors	narration, point of view, plot	dialogue, plot

Romeo and Juliet. The plot
The teacher will summarize, in the form of a story, the plot in R &J.
If the movie "Shakespeare in Love" is available, a new direction can be added: Will's life determines changes in his creation. R & J started as a romantic comedy with pirates and  a happy end, but evolved into a tragedy.

Homework:
1. Summarize R&J in your own words.
2. Characterize the main characters in this play.
3. What are the elements in R & J that can repeat today? Can people die for love today?

The teacher will distribute original scenes from R & J. Ex: Introduction, Act I, the Carnival Scene, the balcony scene. Each scene will be thoroughly annotated and explained. Vocabulary lists will be presented.
Initially, the teacher will read most of the scenes, with some help from the students. Gradually, students will read the acts, taking turns and interpreting different parts.
Boys may interpret the other gender parts, because theatrical conventions that time allowed this procedure.
The teacher will then discuss the production of the theatrical performance. Therefore, the students will organize in groups. Each group will have members performing these assignments: screenplay writer, director, choreographer, costume director, makeup artist, lights technician, setting, actors, music director.

As an exercise in theatrical production and cooperative learning, the teacher will ask each group of students to select one scene (The Carnival, the Balcony, the Final, etc.) and adapt it for the needs of a high school audience.
Ex: The Balcony scene:
 

Function	Role
Screenplay writer	Adapts the dialogues
Director	Coordinates play production
Choreographer	supervises the moves and dances of actors
Costume designer	Chooses the clothes worn by actors
Makeup artist and hair stylist	Chooses makeup and hairstyle
Light engineer	Coordinates lights
Actors	Interpret the parts
Music director	Chooses music and sounds

Each group will present a folder with their own interpretation of that specific act or scene: adapted dialogues, directions for actors, drawings of costumes and scenes, information on selected music and sounds, makeup and lights arrangements. Each group will also set up a presentation in class of their act or scene.

As additional resource, the teacher may show the part in the movie "Shakespeare in Love" where the company rehearses the show.

An important addition to the lesson is going to be a video camera that will record the progress in the production of each group's scene. The tapes will be played back to encourage comments and constructive criticism. If two VCR's and TV's are available, then both of them may be used simultaneously by two different groups to increase the independence of each group.

Every school has acting or drama groups that compete for attention. The teacher may consider to invite such groups for a class performance. Additionally, more and more outside non-profit acting/artistic groups want to perform in public schools for different reasons: arts education, anti-violence message, health and sex education. It would be rewarding to bring in outside performers and groups that will provide your classes with the motivation to discuss play production and message, acting and performance, art and reality.
 
 

Aim: What are the differences between plays and movies?

The teacher will brainstorm using the following chart:
 

	Plays	Movies
Author	Playwright	Writer, director
Coordinator	Director	Director
Finance (money)	Producer	Producer
Performance	Actors-live	Actors-taped
Setting	Stage	Studio and outdoors

Ask questions:

• What do people today like more, movies or plays? Why?
• Have you ever seen a play or a live show? Narrate your experience, if yes.
• If you'd like to be a famous actor/actress, would you like to be on the stage or on the studio? Why?
• Are there other careers in theater/movie industry that are as interesting as acting?

The students will see segments of the two Romeo and Juliet movie productions.
During each screening, students will be asked to take notes on what they see. These notes will help them complete future assignments (such as comparison and contrast essays) and will be part of class evaluation.
This is a model of a Note Sheet that the students can use during viewing of movies and plays:
 

	Description/Observations
Setting
Actors' performance: Romeo Juliet Others
Costumes
Scene
Music
Lights
Makeup and hair design
Choreography

Resources:

• Excellent personal page dedicated to the 1996 movie: http://geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/8591/
• "Official page" of the 1996 Romeo and Juliet movie: http://romeoandjuliet.com/
• William Shakespeare's complete text: http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/