A Theatrical Review

Shakespeare, often a daunting author to study for any student, can be taught and evaluated in greater depth by using an evaluative process that forces students to dig deeply into the literature from a playwright’s perspective.  By doing this, students will gain a stronger appreciation of the text as well as the theatrical components of any Shakespearean play.

The goals of this type of evaluation are as follows:

1. Gain a clear understanding of one scene that will be performed
2. Visualize set, props and traffic patterns
3. Analyze actors’ lines and determine how to read them
4. Think about appropriate costumes for each character
5. Understand your character

To accomplish goal #1 – Students read through their chosen scene and underline words they are unfamiliar with and paraphrase the lines in their scene.  Students should know what happens in their scene , like the main events; they should understand the purpose of the scene, in relation to the entire play, and note what reactions they may have to this particular scene.

To accomplish goal #2 – Students will draw their stage set, after studying theater terms for staging.

To accomplish goal #3 – Students may make copies of their text and paste those pages into a notebook, where notes can be taken on the side.  Cuts may be made to the scene that are justifiable.  And, students should create notes that include: facial expressions, gestures, movement diagrams, tone of voice, and pauses.

To accomplish goal #4 – A drawing or description of each character’s costumes should be provided with reasons for each choice.

To accomplish goal #5 – The following questions may be considered:  What obstacles are in the way of your character? What happens when the obstacles are confronted?  What is the character thinking in this scene?  What is the goal of this character within this particular scene?  What motivation does your character have for his/her actions?