Titus Andronicus: Day 3 Conclusion

Please complete the viewing of Titus Andronicus. Turn in your graphic organizers by end of class today.

HOMEWORK: None. Continue writing your play scripts.

Titus Andronicus: Day 2

Please continue watching the film adaptation of the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus. Information about the film was provided to you on the handout.

While we're not exactly ready to discuss the finer elements of film, Julie Taymor's film is an effective visual work.

Notice what the camera is doing while watching the film. The camera provides POV in a film and conveys meaning, both literally and symbolically. As you watch look out for examples of:

Motifs
Frequency
Synechdoche

Listen to how TONE is created by the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound elements. As you watch, also keep in mind the key themes and development of plot and characters Shakespeare uses in this play.

HOMEWORK: None. Keep writing your play projects! (See post below for help on developing character, plot, or theme)

Play Project Writing Time; Titus Andronicus

This morning either finish reading Titus Andronicus or work on your play projects.

Play around with any of these prompts/exercises to flesh out your ideas or characters when you get stuck or have no idea where to go next. You may find these exercises are just as good for writing poetry and fiction!

To develop CHARACTER, try one of these:

• Choose a character in your play. What does your character feel or believe about the following topics: 
• Money
• Sin
• Religion
• Beauty
• Children
• Family
• Success
• Justice
• Sex
• Politics
• Choose a character in your play. Describe in as much detail as possible (consider imagery & the five senses) where your character lives now. You might consider how this is different from where your character grew up or lived before this location. If you can, find photographs or images from the internet of a place similar to where your character lives.
• Choose a character in your play. Describe in as much detail as possible where your character works. What do they spend their day doing? Why did the character choose this kind of job? What else has your character done (what other jobs) or what would your character RATHER be doing?
• Write a short freewritten monologue from the POV of one of your characters (it does not have to be included in the play, but could...) answering any of these questions:
• What makes me so angry?
• What scares me the most?
• What do I love most in this world?
• Choose a character in your play. In ONE word describe this character from the CHARACTER'S POV--what do they think of themselves?
• Once you have the word, try one or more of these:
• Describe the character as a metaphor
• If this character were an animal, what animal would the character most likely be?
• If this character were an object, what object would this character most likely be?
• Describe in 10 words or fewer what will happen to this character in 10 years
• Describe in 10 words or fewer what this character needs to change about him/herself

To develop PLOT/SCENES, try one of these:

• Summarize the scene you are writing in one sentence. What is the scene about? What is the single most important action that drives this scene? 
• Consider the timing of your scene. What exciting event happens...
• Just before a certain character arrives in the scene?
• Just after a certain character exits the scene?
• During the scene that affects the future of the characters or has an impact on a particular character's life?
• Choose a character in your scene. 
• In one word, describe how the character is feeling when he/she enters the scene.
• In one word, describe how the character will feel at the end of the scene. 
• What physical elements (props or set pieces) on stage are important in this scene? Come up with a list of ways in which a character might interact with this object or set piece?
• Draw a flow chart of the consequences of a character's actions. If a character does X, what are the possible consequences of this action? Sketch your flow chart for this scene so you can be ready for what decisions your character(s) make in it.

To develop IDEAS/THEMES, try one of these:

• Try this AFTER you've written some dialogue to bring your story to an universal level:
• Read the scene you wrote over, and identify each topic the character's talk about. 
• Chart these topics so that you know consciously what you are creating as your theme.
• Add an opinion about what the characters are talking about in the scene. 
• Give each character in the scene a chance to throw in their opinion about what another character should do given the situation.
• Find an appropriate quote or refer to a classical or well-known literary text to defend why a character has said or done something that other characters question.

During period 2, please go next door to take a quiz on Titus Andronicus & to watch Julie Taymor's adaptation of the play starring Jessica Lange, Anthony Hopkins, Harry Lennix, and Alan Cumming. 

HOMEWORK: None. Continue writing your play script(s).

Elizabethan Research Due! Brainstorming Ideas for the Play Project!

This morning complete the graphic organizer (to be turned in at the end of period 1 as participation credit & for your notes for our final exam) please use your time in the lab to take notes on the following topics:

1. Elizabethan actors & acting troupes
2. Elizabethan writers/playwrights
3. Elizabethan stage craft & theaters
4. Elizabethan audiences
5. Elizabethan sports & leisure activities (apart from the theater)
6. Elizabethan clothing & costumes
7. One other area that you found interesting about the time period/setting (see last link below for some ideas...)

Some information has been given to you already in the text or the film links above.

More information about all of this can also be found here.

and here...

and here...

and here...

Use your time wisely as you research. Review the instructions for the play project. You may use the rest of period 1 to brainstorm, outline, freewrite an idea for a play.

All plays start with a character in a place (setting: remember that setting is not only location but time period, time of day, season, and weather!) wanting to accomplish something, a goal. This goal could be internal and abstract like finding 'love' or exacting 'revenge' but it could also be a physical object or award/recognition: a sack of money, a wedding ring, winning a beauty contest, getting a promotion at work, straightening up your house for your mother before you kill yourself, making your boyfriend/girlfriend tell you that they love you and really mean it...etc. Then you add a few "buts", or "whoops", or "uh ohs" that complicate the situation so that the goal is delayed and difficult to achieve. 

You may find it helpful to look back at your list of premises or characters and previous scene work to see if there's anything in those exercises that spark your imagination now. If not, start fresh.

• Who will your play be about? Who is the protagonist?
• What does this character want to achieve or what is this character's goal?
• What stops this character right now from getting what he/she wants?
• Where will the action of the story take place? If you can, connect your setting to your theme or your character's goals. 'Night Mother, for example, takes place the evening Jessie is planning to kill herself. She wants to use her father's gun to do it, tell her mother, and keep the house tidy so mama doesn't have to worry after she's gone. The living room and kitchen is a good location for the setting because its ironic: living rooms are for living...not for committing suicide, for example. In Agamemnon, Clytemnestra needs to wait until her husband comes home before she can kill him. The action takes place just outside their palace (exterior) so that the chorus of old men makes sense in this case--representing the public, the chorus wouldn't be invited INSIDE--that's interior, as opposed to a social crime--like a war or taking law into your own hands. Outside or exterior settings are good when you want to talk about societal issues. Inside or interior settings are good when you want to talk about personal or character-specific issues. What kind of play would you want to write?

Create a few premises and sketch out or outline your ideas a bit before you start writing. You'll have to figure this stuff out anyway, better to do it now than start writing with a half-cracked idea that you will have to change when you realize it isn't an interesting story. But then, rest assured anything can be interesting if you have an interesting, well-created character.

If you have these basic ideas in mind, (again before writing) take some time to get to know your character. Do a "character interview" today by writing down the answers to these 15 questions from the POV of your new created character:

1. What is your character's full name?
2. What is your character's nick-name or childhood name? Why was this character given this name?
3. What matters most to your character?
4. What is the most important physical event that happened in your character's life so far?
5. What is the most important internal or private event that happened in your character's life so far?
6. Who is your character's best friend or friends?
7. Why does your character like these people or this person?
8. Who or what does your character not like or find difficult to spend time around? (this can also be an activity or a place/setting)
9. Why does your character not like this person or place?
10. What does your character say to the world that he or she wants?
11. What does your character REALLY want?
12. What is at stake for you character if he/she does not get what he/she wants?
13. Who is your character's family or what is this family like?
14. What personality trait does your character possess that others criticize?
15. Describe the physical space or setting your character spends the most time in.

PLOT IDEAS/PROMPTS: 

For other ideas connected to what we're studying, consider: if I were to write a play in the Elizabethan period (or using an Elizabethan setting) what kind of story would I tell from what I learned last class and today!

Shakespearean Diversions (see homework):

Watch any of the following scenes from some of Shakespeare's work. Notice how theme and character is developed in the language:

• Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth in Act 5, Scene 1 of Macbeth
• The Quality of Mercy monologue from The Merchant of Venice
• Henry V monologue from The Globe production of Henry V
• Richard II: Deposition scene from Act 4 of Richard II (The Hollow Crown)
• Jeremy Irons as Henry IV, shaming his son Hal in Henry IV, Part One (The Hollow Crown)
• Othello's monologue from Act 5, Othello (directed by Trevor Nunn)
• Hermione & Leonte's scene from Act 3, Scene 2 of The Winter's Tale
• Viola's speech from Act 2 of Twelfth Night
• The Blinding scene from King Lear, Act 3
• Rowan Atkinson & Hugh Laurie (Shakespeare Sketch, an example of a 10-minute play in 6 minutes)
• Roman Atkinson (Pink Tights & Plenty of Props, another sketch/10-minute play example)

HOMEWORK: Please read Titus Andronicus (see handout). Help reading can be gained by checking here or here or online. Begin writing plays.

Play Project Instructions

By the end of the marking period (January 22) the following assignment must be completed to complete and pass this course. You will have a variety of options.

Option 1: Write a full length play. Full length plays are typically two full acts (each act being about 25-30 pages of script, so you're looking at completing about 50-60+ pages of a single play script story line--most contemporary full length plays are between 60-80 pages in length so you're not expected to that much--but this is a challenge, not for the faint-hearted). Think about this: if you wrote only 1-script page per day until the end of the marking period, you'd have about 56 pages written. Genre and style is completely up to you. If you have a big story with important human themes in mind, this may be a good option. The plus side is that you get to develop a cast of characters and really flesh them out. Writing a good full length play will likely get you into any theater program you are applying for--and most likely with a scholarship. We will be able to workshop your play along the way (usually scene by scene) and can discuss production or readings if you'd like to pursue this option.

Option 2: Write 2 full one-act plays. This option allows you to explore two different ideas, themes or styles. One act plays sustain a longer story line and plot, usually with fewer characters than full-length plays, but complete their climax sooner and take less time to write than full length plays. One full one-act play should focus on one important action (although side plots can be included) and usually develop characters to a greater extent than 10-minute or short one-act plays. Each full one-act play would typically be around 20-30 pages in length, so you're looking about a total page count of 40-60 pages. Workshopping individual plays once you have a draft written would be doable. Having written 2 substantial play scripts will likely get the attention of college programs in writing or theater. Longer plays may be given a public reading or production during the playwrights' festival in January.

Option 3: Write 1 one-act play, and two (2) 10-minute plays. This option allows you to dabble with a variety of casts, styles, and ideas. One act plays should be around 20-30 pages in length, with 10-minute plays about 7-12 pages each. Workshopping one or two of your drafts is expected. The shorter plays can be entered into Geva's young playwrighting contest. 10-minute plays are about the length we are looking for during the playwrights festival in late January and will count toward your page length requirement if you join us. The one act might be given a public reading or production.

Option 4: Write 4 (four) 10-minute plays. This option allows you to dabble with many different short plays and scenarios for students who have trouble sustaining a storyline or plot. You've done these before so there's no mystery here. Each 10-minute play should be somewhere around 7-12 pages in length. Workshopping one or more of your plays is expected. 10-minute plays are about the length we are looking for during the playwrights festival in late January and will count toward your page length requirement if you join us.

Start your process by taking some time to write some premises. Outline and sketch out ideas (mind-maps or other graphic organizers can help!) to see if they might work and what length might be the best option for the story you want to tell. If you already have a full-length play written and would like to develop it further, you can do that. You can also take a short story you have written (or read) and turn that into a play for the stage. If you're a poet, consider writing a poetic or verse play. Monologue plays and historical plays are also options we have already explored, but feel free to use the form if you'd like.

Some professional advice:

Grading and rubric information will be forthcoming, but what I'm looking for here is growth. Prove to me that you have learned how to write a play. That's all you need to do to pass this course. Quality counts, but it's not as important as your growth as a writer. For those of you who would like a challenge, challenge yourself by doing something out of the ordinary, something creative or unusual. For those of you who are having trouble writing or shouldn't have been a creative writing major, try to find the love of writing you once had by writing about subjects and characters you care about. What do you want to say to the world? Not all plays come out as perfect works of art. We will be workshopping and helping you succeed along the way during class. Most of the writing time, though, is on your own clock. Start today!

NOTE: you can always change your mind about the options. Say you are writing your 10-minute play and everything's clicking. You're on a roll. You write 12 pages, then 15, then 20. You can decide what option you want to fulfill after you write.

Extra credit is available by a). going to see live theater and writing a short review, b). being in a production of live theater and writing a short reflection about the process, and c). writing an additional play script (length would be completely up to you (which would include sketches or very short plays...!) So if you screw up and write something crappy, don't worry. Again, I'm looking for growth and effort, not perfection! Most plays suck until we workshop them, so...chill.

The next few classes as we explore Elizabethan theater we will be reading, writing, brainstorming, and gathering advice about writing plays. Feel free to use the exercises we have already completed as starting points for your own ideas. Impress me and you'll pass. Ignore this project or put it off until the last moment and you will likely fail.

HOMEWORK: None. But you can get started on this project today! Consider your options and begin a plan. Write. Nothing is stopping you from being successful but you.

Agamemnon conclusion; Elizabethan Theater Research

Please see the post above this one about the play project requirement for this course.

Let's finish watching Agamemnon. Then it's off to the lab to research Elizabethan theater. The research notes and the questionnaire are due by the end of class today.

Unsure of how my colleagues cover Shakespeare each year (and whether or not you come from a tradition that includes the study of Shakespeare) it's my duty to give you a little info. We'll start with a quick, if dry, overview of the time period.

Renaissance Theater video (4 min)

Theater as we know it in Shakespeare's day as being performed in a typical PLAYHOUSE didn't occur until 1576. It was James Burbage who built the first playhouse called, appropriately, "the Theater"--a permanent building dedicated to showing plays for commercial interest. Before then, plays were generally performed in courtyards, tennis courts, inns or guild houses. Private showings for the nobles or upper classes would be commissioned as well in indoor theaters where any one could afford a ticket.

Actors joined an acting company. Shakespeare, for example, first belonged to the Chamberlain's Men, then to the King's Men (after Elizabeth's death). Only men were allowed to act in the Elizabethan theater. Younger actors (boys) often played the female roles because they would have looked more like women (i.e., no beard). This helps to explain why so many of Shakespeare's plays include cross-dressing. Consider that Juliet, for example, would have been played by a boy to the older actor playing Romeo. New actors were often given smaller roles so as to train with the experienced actors--who often played the major roles. Shakespeare himself was recorded as playing various small roles in his plays. The most famous example was the ghost of Hamlet's father in Hamlet.

Plays were written (often in collaboration) by the actors in the company (who also doubled as the house manager, director, props master, producer, etc.) This helps to explain why some characters in Shakespeare's plays disappear mid play or return as new characters in the 4th or 5th acts. It's hard to be on stage while also taking money at the door.

Lines for a play were written on sides and distributed to the company members. It would be rare for an actor to have a complete script (the writer would, of course) but printing costs money, so copies were kept to a minimum. This helps explain why there are A sides and B sides to Shakespeare's works. Some lines or sides were changed by the actors or the writer during the performances. Famous actors might even change the author's lines by slipping in a bit of well-rehearsed and well-known comedic business for the audience's benefit.

Finally, having one's works collected in a folio book or quarto would have been rare. Scripts that got out of the hands of a company could be stolen by other theater companies, so copies were not passed around generally. The King's Men must have thought a lot about Shakespeare to have his works printed and bound! Luckily they did--or we could not frustrate future high school students by forcing them to read his plays!

On your graphic organizer (to be turned in at the end of class as participation credit & for your notes for our final exam) please use your time in the lab to take notes on the following topics:

1. Elizabethan actors & acting troupes
2. Elizabethan writers/playwrights
3. Elizabethan stage craft & theaters
4. Elizabethan audiences
5. Elizabethan sports & leisure activities (apart from the theater)
6. Elizabethan clothing & costumes
7. One other area that you found interesting about the time period/setting (see last link below for some ideas...)

Some information has been given to you already in the text or the film links above.
More information about all of this can also be found here.
and here...

and here...
and here...

Use your time wisely as you research. Consider: if I were to write a play in the Elizabethan period (or using an Elizabethan setting) what kind of story would I tell from what I learned today!

HOMEWORK: None. Complete your research and notes if you did not do so already. Feel free to begin writing or gathering ideas for your play project (see post above this one!)

Agamemnon: Conclusion

Today, after our writing prompt, please watch the rest of the Greek play Agamemnon.

As you watch, please complete the form sheet for participation credit. I'll collect this at the end of the viewing.

When we return from Thanksgiving Break, we will be moving into Elizabethan theater and beginning our play project(s).

HOMEWORK: None. Have a nice holiday.