The Blog

Shakespeare’s romantic couples are legendary: Romeo and Juliet; Antony and Cleopatra; Beatrice and Benedick – among so many others – continue to capture our hearts and imaginations. Yet some of Shakespeare’s most beautiful words can be found not in his plays, but his Sonnets. (Read and listen to one of his most famous here.)

This beauty was born of great difficulty. In 1592, all of the theatres in London were closed because of the plague; but it is believed that Shakespeare wrote the sonnets, a collection of 154 short poems, around that time. By 1594, when the theatres reopened, Shakespeare’s poems were popular and highly anticipated. But writing for the theatre remained Shakespeare’s most enduring love, and where he devoted his genius thereafter. Shakespeare and the theatre: A marriage of true minds, as it were.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, “Shakespeare For Our Children” bring you one of Shakespeare’s loveliest Sonnets. Highly romantic and yet accessible to children with its compelling imagery, the sonnet offers an excellent point of departure for Valentine’s class discussions. And for ideas about performance and how to capture the rhythm of the piece, be sure to listen to Janice Salzberg’s audio recording of the Sonnet as an accompaniment to early readings!

In his day, William Shakespeare was considered “a total man of the theatre.” Along with his position as the legendary playwright, it is important to keep in mind that he was also an accomplished and acclaimed actor. At the very time that he was creating his masterpieces for the ages, he was performing in the works of other Elizabethan playwrights who are now long forgotten.

Appropriately, then, the Bard offers sage advice to all actors in Hamlet’s famous speech to the players (Act III, Scene 2). These are indeed words to act by, reminding us to “suit the action to the word, the word to the action.” Indeed, children should be taught to speak their dialogue naturally, without affectation, interpreting the author’s work for the audience as if they were speaking to a friend. Remind the children that actors use their complete selves to tell the playwright’s story: spirit and intelligence to animate their characters; voices that shade and color the dialogue to heighten its impact; and bodies that move confidently on the stage. There is no more powerful or effective instrument than the total commitment of the actor to the play – for in each of us, we have it all.

We at Shakespeare For Our Children wish you a very Happy New Year! In honor of Twelfth Night – the Feast of the Epiphany – we have rounded out our trilogy of scenes from the play of the same name (click here).

The scenes from Twelfth Night that we have published in the latest blog posts could stand alone, or be performed together to create a dramatic arc featuring four characters – the Duke, Viola, the Captain, and the Narrator. In past classes, we would often explore the evolution of characters from a particular play in this fashion: taking key moments and linking them together in order to give the students more breadth in their performances, but without the pressure of staging the play in its entirety.

However you decide to approach these materials, SFOC is always happy to offer advice or answer questions – please feel free to contact us by using the form in the yellow menu column at left.

Always stress relaxation and natural movements in the Stage Directions. A primary part of the Director’s job is to oversee movement and flow; that is, to direct each actor precisely where they are to be on stage and how they should move as they deliver their lines. This is known as “blocking” the production. With children it is essential to explain the reasoning behind the direction, and to have them be a part of it. Explain that blocking helps develop the characters they play – so much is expressed through body language, on-stage and off!

When we say Stage Right and Stage Left, it is exactly that: As we are standing on the stage looking at our audience, Stage Right is our right; Stage Left, our left. Upstage and Downstage are likely self-explanatory (with Downstage being closest to the audience).

Please see here for our second scene from Twelfth Night, and note how Stage Directions are incorporated to add a dynamic quality to the exchange between Viola and the Captain. Also have a look at the Theatre Games link under Resources for more fun techniques that will help the children become more comfortable with moving on-stage.

Nothing can damage the rhythm of a performance like an unscripted silence! In all of our productions, we have included a Narrator to provide the guarantee and reassurance of a safety net for our fledging performers. As well as serving as one of the key characters in the production, the Narrator holds a copy of the play and follows along “on book,” always ready to instantly supply a line when and if necessary. This role could be filled by a teacher or an older student.

The Narrator and a podium (a simple music stand can also serve) should be positioned at either Stage Right or Left, where the children can easily look over and get help if they forget a line. The children’s confidence and self-esteem should never be at risk, and a responsive figure such as the Narrator helps to ensure that the young actors have everything in their favor to be comfortable on stage.

Speaking of Narrators – see how we incorporate that role in this scene from Twelfth Night!

Written around the year 1600, Twelfth Night, or What You Will (as the breezy subtitle proclaims) is one of the most charming of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies. It is a work filled with merry-making, high spirits, and ― of course ― love!

Twelfth Night is as delightfully festive as the Season it celebrates: January 6, the “twelfth night of Christmas,” the Feast of the Epiphany . . . and a time for Fun! One of our most treasured memories is a performance that our Montessori children gave at the Old Dominion University’s Stables Theatre on that very night, January 6. As our audience arrived at the theatre, lovely snowflakes began to fall. The children were inspired and celebrated by all; and after the show, the children had their cast party backstage ― with frequent trips out the Stage Door to play in the glorious snow.

Now, how is that for “the Magic of Theatre’?

Watch this space for postings of monologues and scenes from the play, specially edited with young actors in mind.

One of our favorite books about Shakespeare is Marchette Chute’s 1949 classic, Shakespeare of London.

We found it years ago in a lovely second-hand bookshop, and Chute’s balancing of historical context and personal insight was instantly enchanting.

As Chute writes: “This book is an attempt to bring a very great man into the light of common day. It is an attempt to show William Shakespeare as his contemporaries saw him, rather than as the gigantic and legendary figure he has become since. He was once life-size, and this is an attempt at a life-size portrait.”

This a highly readable and hugely informative work — find it here on Amazon.

©2016

In honor of Halloween – certainly one of the most theatrical times of year! – Shakespeare For Our Children offers a glimpse of the Bard’s most chilling play: Macbeth. (Or, as it is known among more superstitious theatre folk, “that Scottish play.”)

There is no doubt that this violent work of obsessive ambition, murder, and fate reads as very mature for our young friends; but there is still some scope for age-appropriate spooky play-acting. With this in mind, we have edited here a scene between Macbeth and the Three Witches who foretell his fate.

Bringing together dialogue from Scenes 1 and 3 in Act I, this scene provides roles for four children. The rhythm of the words is bewitching indeed – and is emphasized by the eerie drumbeat in the middle of the scene. (We have had children clap in time offstage to create the effect of a drum!) The intertwining of the Three Witches’ lines also offers a great opportunity for children to develop the collaborative spirit of performance.

Happy Halloween from SFOC!

For performers, audiences, and scholars across the centuries, Hamlet endures as one of Shakespeare’s most compelling plays. A tale of murder, madness, revenge, and corrupted family loyalties ― it is also, in certain ways, a ghost story.

Just in time for Halloween, we at Shakespeare For Our Children have included here an edited version of the early scene between Hamlet and his father’s ghost.

Here, Hamlet learns that his father has been murdered ― a revelation which sets the tragedy in motion.

This is a scene of high drama ― so when you stage this scene with the children, feel comfortable letting the words speak for themselves. For example, a plain black curtain as a backdrop sets the grim mood of the piece, as do block-color costumes for the children. (Perhaps black for Hamlet, grey or white for his father’s ghost.) Stay tuned for more Halloween-themed posts!

©2016

For Shakespeare fans, there is no denying the benefits of living in a highly digitized-world. Library archives, filmed stage performances, scholarly works – not to mention this blog! – are all available online at the click of your mouse.

But sometimes, there’s nothing like the real thing. Case in point: the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC has begun a touring exhibition of Shakespeare’s First Folio. This revered text, published in 1623, was the first publication of 36 of Shakespeare’s plays – all of which were compiled by members of his theatrical company.

Visit the Folio at the University of Virginia this month, where it compliments their current exhibition ‘Shakespeare by the Book: Four Centuries of Printing, Editing and Publishing’. You can read about both  here or view a gallery of some of the beautiful items on show at the UVA Library gallery here.