UNIT TITLE Romeo & Juliet Rehearsal LESSON PLAN TITLE Character Exploration in Romeo & Juliet GRADE

Middle School 51 – Spring 2013 Student Teaching Mollie Lief Abramson, Observation #2

UNIT TITLE Romeo & Juliet Rehearsal LESSON PLAN TITLE Character Exploration in Romeo & Juliet GRADE 8th (1 hour, 25 minute class)

CENTRAL QUESTION: How can we, as actors, further explore our characters through Process Drama?

LINE OF INQUIRY: Why is it important to the rehearsal process to explore our character’s backstory?

LESSON OBJECTIVES Students will: § Write and speak in Elizabethan/Shakespearean language § Will explore the theme of love in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet § Make text to self connections § Participate in a process drama § Make acting, directing and playwriting choices § Use body and voice in exploring character

MATERIALS NEEDED § Elizabethan “Cheat Sheets” § “Cupid’s Arrow” Survey I and II § Writing utensils § iPhone, Flip Camera or other filming device

STUDENTS’ PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE Students will be familiar with: § Warm-Up § Ensemble expectations § Pantomime, tableau, improvisation § Students will have previously performed in at least three play productions § Process Drama § Cold Reading § Memorization § The themes and characters in Romeo & Juliet § Students will be in the middle of rehearsing a production of Romeo & Juliet

STANDARDS NYS Learning Standards: TH 1:C, 3:A

NYC Benchmarks: Developing Theater Literacy: Understanding Dramatic Texts Making Connections through Theater: Connecting Theater to Personal Experience, Community and Society through Explorations of Themes, Culture and History

Common Core: CCS L.8.2 CCS L.8.5

1 Middle School 51 – Spring 2013 Student Teaching Mollie Lief Abramson, Observation #2

WARM-UP (5 minutes) § Students stand in circle and warm up bodies and voices as facilitator leads

HOOK (25 minutes) § Pre-Survey Suggested Discussion Questions o “What would you do for love?” o “How desperate is your character?” o “Who were your characters one year ago?” o “Was Mercutio always wild?” o “Was Benvolio always protective of Romeo?” o “Can Paris only find love if it’s set up through his parents?” o “Who did Romeo date before Rosalind?” o “Has the nurse ever been in love?” o “Does Lady Capulet regret being married so young? Is she jealous of Juliet?” § Pretext o Students are told they will be going into role as their character in Romeo & Juliet a year before the play begins. o The fighting in the streets has begun and the tensions are rising between the two families Capulet and Montague. o There is a brand new, big-time, reality TV show about finding love in Verona, called “Cupid’s Arrow.” o This is the most exciting thing to happen to Verona in years. o The casting director for the show are looking for the 10 most exciting Verionians and because everyone is looking for love, everyone auditions. o The facilitator will first be playing the show’s casting director. o In order to be accepted to the audition, everyone in Verona must compete to prove he/she wants love the most. o Everyone must answer honestly and use authentic dialogue. § The facilitator hands out both the Elizabethan “Cheat Sheets” and the “Cupid’s Arrow” Survey I. § Students are instructed to use the “Cheat Sheet” to answer – in role – the survey questions but they must use at least one word or phrase per answer. § Students – in role – then share their survey answers.

MAIN ACTIVITY (45 minutes) § Change the shape of the students in the room § In role as their given character in Romeo & Juliet, the students audition for “Cupid’s Arrow, Verona” in front of the casting director § A student can be selected to come up with a theme song – now in role as the best musician in Verona – for “Cupid’s Arrow.” § The students have 20 seconds to prove that he/she wants love. § The facilitator can “stop the drama” and prompt the students with deeper questions about their characters: i.e. “Has your character experienced unrequited love and if so, how has that affected his/her view of love?” “What does it mean if your character has chosen not to find love? Will he/she look for it elsewhere?”

REFLECTION (5-10 minutes) § Change the shape of the students in the room § Reflection Questions o “Did this activity help you better understand your character?” o “Do you feel like you relate to your character? To what he/she wants?”

2 Middle School 51 – Spring 2013 Student Teaching Mollie Lief Abramson, Observation #2

o “Why do you think it might be important to the rehearsal process to explore our character backstory?” o “How does the theme of love relate to the theme of hate?”

HOMEWORK § Finish survey questions that were not completed in class. § As students continue to memorize lines and review blocking, they must also think about how their character feels about love.

THEATER LITERACY – Elizabethan language, process drama, character history, character want, in role, projection, enunciation, cheat out.

CULTURAL CONNECTIONS: In this lesson, the students will be asked to use Elizabethan words and phrases. They will also be asked to make connections between their lives and those of the characters they are playing in Romeo & Juliet. If the facilitator wishes, he/she can make a connection the play’s themes of love and hate and to the issue of marriage equality in the United States. (i.e. “Why do so many people have hatred toward this idea?” “What drives this hate?”)

ASSESSMENT: The discussions throughout the lesson and reflection at the end will serve as the assessment for the information the students will have retained throughout the class as well as their level of engagement.

DOCUMENTING THE LEARNING: The “screen tests” filmed at the end of class can serve as documentation as well as the surveys and monologues completed by the students.