Aquila Theatre’s Hamlet Welcome! We are so excited that you are able to Tuesday, November 7th, 2017 join us for the 2017-18 Bemis Education 9:30 AM Series. Throughout this season we will Approx run time: 2 Hours 15 celebrate and recognize generations who Minutes have paved the way and those yet to Grades: 8-12 come. Join us as we explore the cultures, experiences and memories that have influenced and shaped us as individuals. With each unique performance we will learn, live and hope while we grow together through the performing arts. INSIDE THIS GUIDE We look forward to telling each unique Welcome 3 story and providing a platform for expression through the arts. From lesson Standards 4 ideas and professional development About 5 workshops to backstage tours, the Bemis Lesson Plans 6 Education Series allows us to partner Discover the Arts 12 with you to provide students with In the Spotlight 9 exciting educational opportunities! Resource Room 16 For questions contact the education sales department (920) 730-3726 or [email protected]. Community Partners Series Partner With additional support from WELCOME TO THE FOX CITIES P.A.C. We are in need of an audience – are you up for the part? THEATER ETIQUETTE •When entering the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, remember to show respect for others by waiting your turn and speaking quietly. •Remember that during the performance the live performers can see and hear you. Even the smallest sounds can be heard throughout the theater, so it is best to remain quiet so everyone can enjoy the performance. •Applause is the best way to express how much you enjoyed the performance! This study guide was created for you by the Education Team •Important things to remember: as a part of The Boldt Company Beyond the Stage Education •Student backpacks, gum, drinks and program. To download copies of this study guide or to find food are not allowed in the theater. additional resources for this performance or view past study •Cell phones should be turned off and guides please visit: www.foxcitiespac.com. stowed. •Note that recording or taking photos Questions about your show reservation? Contact our in the theater is strictly prohibited; education sales team at [email protected] however, photos may be taken in the or call (920) 730-3726. lobby. •It’s a long way down – please do not ENJOY THE SHOW! drop items off balconies. INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS DID YOU KNOW? Be prepared to arrive early – You should plan on arriving to the •The Fox Cities PAC has over 148 Center 30 minutes before the show. Allow for travel time, miles of electrical wiring. That’s parking and trips to the restroom. enough wiring to go back and forth from Green Bay 3 times. Know your needs – To best serve the needs of you and your students, please indicate in advance if you have individuals •The Thrivent Financial Hall is 5,000 who require special services or seating needs upon making square feet, bigger than any stage in your reservation. New York City’s historic Broadway district. Seating – Seating is based on a number of factors including when the reservation is made, size of group, students’ ages •The glass chandelier in Thrivent and any special seating needs. Financial Hall is powered by 400 35- watt light bulbs. WISCONSIN ACADEMIC STANDARDS To assist you in your planning the Wisconsin Academic Standards that are most likely to connect with this performance are listed below. ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS READING/LITERATURE: Students in Wisconsin will read and respond to a wide range of writing to build an understanding of written materials, of themselves, and of others. ORAL LANGUAGE: Students in Wisconsin will listen to understand and will speak clearly and effectively for diverse purposes. LANGUAGE: Students in Wisconsin will apply their knowledge of nature, grammar and variations of American English. SOCIAL STUDIES HISTORY: Students in Wisconsin will learn about the history of Wisconsin, the United States, and the world, examining change and continuity over time in order to develop historical perspective, explain historical relationships, and analyze issues that affect the present and the future. POLITICAL SCIENCE AND CITIZENSHIP: Students in Wisconsin will learn about political science and acquire the knowledge of political systems necessary for developing individual civic responsibility by studying the history and contemporary uses of power, authority, and governance. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES: Students in Wisconsin will learn about the behavioral sciences by exploring concepts from discipline of sociology, the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions; the discipline of psychology, the study of factors that influence individual identity and learning; and the discipline of anthropology, the study of cultures in various times and settings. THEATER PLAY READING AND ANALYSIS: Students in Wisconsin will attend live theater and read plays, be able to analyze and evaluate the play and articulate (create meaning from) the play’s message for individuals and society. RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS: Students in Wisconsin will research and analyze methods of presentation and audience response for theater, the interconnections of theater, community, other cultures and historical periods for use as general knowledge. Fox Cities Performing Arts Center Education | [email protected] | (920) 730-3726 ABOUT THE COMPANY PRAISE FOR Founded in 1991, Aquila Theatre Company is renown as one of the AQUILA foremost national and international classical theatre companies in the United States. Their mission is to bring the greatest works to the greatest THEATRE number- enabling audiences to passionately engage with quality classical drama at an affordable price. Aquila endeavors to create bold Aquila “makes reinterpretations of classical plays for contemporary audiences that free Shakespeare the spirit of original work and recreate the excitement of live performance. perfectly Celebrating over 25 years, Aquila reaches 50-60 cities annually, as well as comprehensible.” offering workshops and educational programming in New York City. They - New York Times are funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for Humanities, New York State of Councils for the Arts and Humanities, Aquila Theatre’s and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Productions are “beautifully spoken, dramatically ABRIDGED SYNOPSIS revealing and Hamlet the Prince of Denmark, begins with the arrival of the ghost of crystalline in effect.” Hamlet’s father, former King of Denmark. The ghost tells Hamlet he was -New Yorker murdered by Claudius, his brother and current King of Denmark. Hamlet vows to avenge his father. He begins to feign madness, creating tension “Sanchez (director) with his mother Gertrude, betrothed Ophelia, and creating anxieties in the is wildly inventive, court. Hamlet beckons traveling players to perform a show that reenacts and the production his father’s murder, Claudius storms out. Hamlet then confronts his mother choices made were in her chamber, and in a moment of rage, unknowingly kills Polonious, carried out Ophelia’s father and Claudius’ advisor. Claudius orders Rosencrantz and beautifully” Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England, with a letter ordering Hamlet’s - DC Metro execution. Overcome with madness, Ophelia drowns. The ship is overtaken by pirates, and Hamlet returns to Denmark. Laertes, brother of Polonius and son of Ophelia, is convinced by Claudius to duel Hamlet to avenge his family. The duel goes awry, Claudius’ guilt is revealed, as Claudius, Hamlet, Laertes, and Gertrude die. Fox Cities Performing Arts Center Education | [email protected] | (920) 730-3726 LESSON ONE: I Get Where You’re Coming From DID YOU KNOW? OBJECTIVE: Students will explore differing characters, perspectives and conflict as Beyond his plays and sonnets, they relate to the action of Hamlet. Shakespeare was also an inventor. Shakespeare added Materials over 1,700 words we use to Four Humors Worksheet the common vocabulary. Here are a few of those words and Opening Discussion the works where they Throughout stage and film, audiences relate to characters’ motivations appeared first. and actions. Similar to ourselves, characters on stage set out with the • Accused (Richard II) • Addiction (Henry V) best intentions, but situations and emotions knock them off balance and • Advertising (Measure for in tragedies like Hamlet, have fatal consequences. We trace back the Measure) story in an attempt to answer “Where did it all go wrong?” Where was • Amazement (King John) the balance lost, and how could it have been restored? How can we, as • Arouse (Henry VI Part II) people, apply these lessons in our own day to day lives? • Assassination (Macbeth) • Barefaced (Hamlet) Warm Up • Blushing (Henry VI Part III) • Buzzer (Hamlet) Share a relatable story with students about differing perspectives, and • Champion (Macbeth) lead them through considering both sides. For example, Sam just moved • Compromise (Merchant of into a duplex- Mark lives on the other side. Sam, works early in the Venice) morning while Mark works later in the afternoon. The walls of the duplex • Courtship (Love’s Labour’s are very thin. Mark is in a band, and late night rehearsals are keeping Sam Lost) up at night. It’s becoming increasingly hard for Sam to focus at work, and • Dauntless (Henry VI Part III) his boss is starting to notice. What should Sam do? Is Mark at fault? • Deafening (Henry VI Part III) • Discontent (Titus Andronicus) • Dishearten (Henry V) Activity • Dwindle (Henry IV Part I) • Divide students up into four equal groups, assigning each group one of • Fashionable (Troilus and the four major characters: Claudius, Hamlet, Ophelia or Gertrude. Cressida) • Hand out the Four Humors worksheet and ask students to identify the • Hobnob (Twelfth Night) humor-mix of their character at the beginning of the play. • Lackluster (As You Like It) • Have each of the groups discuss how their character’s humors have • Lustrous (Twelfth Night) • Madcap (Love’s Labour’s Lost) changed during the following points in the play.