WELCOME TO OUR 2014-2015 SEASON Dear Teachers, Thank you for your interest in Seattle Shakespeare Company! As you no doubt know, there are many fantastic online resources to help you teach Shakespeare to your students as effectively as possible. In this age of online media, there are videos, teaching tutorials, shared curriculum guides, and more available to teachers. However, it is as true now as it ever was that Shakespeare is best experienced by watching live performance. Videos can help students understand his plays, but we here at Seattle Shakespeare Company feel that they fall just a little bit short of the live theatrical experience that Shakespeare had in mind when writing his works. This is where Seattle Shakespeare Company comes in! As a local, Puget Sound-area nonprofit theater company, we can help you to connect your students to a live, in-person experience of Shakespeare. We can send professional teaching artists to your school to help students get up on their feet and act out some Shakespeare. We provide discounted student matinee tickets for schools to bring their students to our productions. And we can send our 6-actor touring performances to your schools, all across the state of Washington, from Greys Harbor to Spokane and everywhere in between. This guide is intended to supplement your teaching of Shakespeare with a little about why we at Seattle Shakespeare Company think Shakespeare is relevant today, and includes a few of our favorite in-class activities to do with students at the beginning of their Shakespeare unit. We’ve also included information about this season’s upcoming productions, so you can get a taste of what we do here at Seattle Shakespeare Company, and consider bringing your students to see a live performance of Shakespeare. Finally, we have included some play-specific information as an example of the sort of articles we include in our study guides when you book a student matinee with us. We hope you enjoy this free guide, and that you’ll get a feel for what Seattle Shakespeare Company can do for you! Thank you for all you do for your students, and for connecting your classroom with live Shakespeare performance. We couldn’t do it without you! Best, Michelle Burce Education Director www.seattleshakespeare.org/education 206-733-8228 ext. 251 or [email protected] STUDY GUIDE CONTENTS PLOT SYNOPSISES Waiting for Godot . 1 Twelfth Night . 2 Measure for Measure . 3 Tartuffe . 4 Macbeth (tour) . 5 Romeo and Juliet (tour) . 6 Othello . 7 REFERENCE Macbeth Glossary . 8 REFLECTION & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Romeo and Juliet (tour) . 9 Othello . 10 ACTIVITIES The Art of Tableaux . 11 Themes: Twelfth Night . 12 Shakespearean Compliments and Insults . 12 Cross the Line: Themes and Quotations . 12 ACTIVITY WORKSHEETS Themes: Twelfth Night . 13 Shakespearean Compliments and Insults . 14 Cross the Line: Themes and Quotations . 15 PLOT SYNOPSIS Waiting for Godot September, 2014 Best for: 10th grade and up Curriculum Connections: Existentialism, Theatre of the Absurd Two friends, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), meet near a tree. They talk and soon it is revealed that they are meeting someone named Godot at that very spot. Didi and Gogo try to amuse themselves to pass the time, bantering, bickering, trying to recall old jokes. Gogo often wants to leave, but Didi always says they must wait for Godot. Their conversation is interrupted by Pozzo, a merchant, and his silent servant, Lucky. The arrogant Pozzo talks to Didi and Gogo about his travels while he eats lunch, which is torture for the hungry Gogo. Wanting to entertain his new friends, Pozzo commands Lucky to dance, which Lucky does awkwardly. Pozzo then tells Lucky to think. Lucky begins to speak, but his words quickly turn into mindless nonsense and he is only interrupted wheh Didi removes Lucky’s hat. Pozzo and Lucky Sir Patrick Steward and Sir Ian McKellen in a 2013 Broadway production of leave, as Didi and Gogo wonder if they have met them before. Waiting for Godot. A boy comes in with a message from Godot, who says he will come tomorrow. Didi asks the boy questions before releasing him. Didi and Gogo resolve to leave the tree and find shelter, yet make no attempt to do so. The next day, Didi and Gogo are at the same spot. Gogo says he slept in a ditch and was beaten, yet seems to be uninjured. Didi tries to talk to Gogo about the previous day’s events, but he can’t recall them at first. As they wait for Godot, they play games and even pretend to be Pozzo and Lucky. Suddenly Pozzo and Lucky appear. Pozzo is blind and cannot remember meeting them yesterday. His arrogance is gone and he seems to be in utter despair. Lucky eventually leads him away and Gogo goes to sleep. The same boy from the day before enters and informs Didi that Godot will not come today, but will tomorrow. Desperate, Didi begs the boy for more, but the boy has no memory of talking to him before. He exits and Didi and Gogo sit at the tree to wait. They mull over the idea of killing themselves and resolve to bring some rope tomorrow in case Godot doesn’t appear. They keep on waiting. Playwright Samuel Beckett (second from left) poses with the cast of the original 1953 production of Waiting for Godot. 1 PLOT SYNOPSIS Twelfth Night October–November, 2014 Best for: All Ages Curriculum Connections: The Shakespearean Fool, Classic Shakespeare Comedies, Twins in Literature Twelfth Night begins on the shore of Illyria, where Viola has survived a shipwreck but fears that her twin brother, Sebastian, has drowned. After learning about her new surroundings from the ship’s captain, Viola disguises herself as a young man and sets out to find employment from Duke Orsino. Orsino has been sending messengers to court the Lady Olivia. He is convinced, from what he hears, that she is his ideal match. After Viola (disguised as ‘Cesario’) arrives at his court, it only takes a few days to become a favorite of Duke Orsino. The Duke imagines that ‘Cesario’s’ youthful face will appeal to Olivia and sends ‘him’ to woo her on his behalf. Viola dutifully takes on the task, even though she has fallen in love with Orsino herself! Meanwhile in Olivia’s house, Olivia refuses to see any suitors because she has dedicated herself to seven years of mourning for her recently deceased brother. Her uncle Sir Toby Belch thinks that his niece is being foolish and brings his friend Sir Orsino, Cesario (Viola), and Feste in Seattle Shakespeare Company’s 2012 free Andrew Aguecheek, a foolish knight, to woo Olivia. They are outdoor production of Twelfth Night. reprimanded by the maid, Maria, for drinking late into the night and making merry in a house of mourning. Only the fool, Feste, Sir Andrew is discouraged by Olivia’s continued favor toward can lift Olivia’s spirits. ‘Cesario,” so Sir Toby convinces Sir Andrew to challenge the youth to a duel. Just as they are about to fight, Antonio They are interrupted by news that a messenger from Orsino happens upon the scene and, believing Viola to be her is waiting at the gate. ‘Cesario’ enters and is granted private brother Sebastian, intervenes and is arrested. Later Sir Andrew audience with Olivia. It becomes clear, as ‘Cesario’ tries to encounters the real Sebastian on the street and re-issues his convince Olivia of Orsino’s worthy love, that Olivia is instead challenge, but Sebastian soundly beats him. Olivia arrives and falling for ‘Cesario.’ When Viola leaves, Olivia sends her mistakes Sebastian for ‘Cesario,’ asking him to marry her. He is melancholy steward Malvolio to bring a ring to the youth and immediately smitten by her beauty and agrees. say it was left behind. The appearance of Sebastian in town sends everyone into Malvolio intercepts Viola on her way back to Orsino’s and presents confusion. Antonio accuses ‘Cesario’ of not repaying the money the ‘forgotten’ ring, telling her only to return to tell Olivia of how he lent to Sebastian. Olivia embraces ‘Cesario’ saying they have Orsino takes the news of her rejection. Viola accepts the ring in been married, much to Viola’s shock. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew confusion, but realizes to her dismay that this is a sign that Olivia accuse ‘Cesario’ of assaulting them in the street. In the midst of all has fallen in love with ‘Cesario’ instead of Orsino! Viola’s denials, Sebastian arrives. The twins recognize each other, Elsewhere in Illyria, Viola’s twin brother, Sebastian, has survived Viola is revealed as a woman, and they clear up the confusion. the shipwreck but believes that Viola has perished. He too In the end, Viola marries Orsino, Sebastian and Olivia remain sets off for Duke Orsino’s court. Sebastian’s friend, the sea happily wed, and Sir Toby offers to marry Maria to make up for captain Antonio, has enemies in Orsino’s court, but pledges to all the trouble he has given her. It is only vengeful Malvolio who accompany Sebastian to keep him safe. does not live happily ever after. At Olivia’s house, more late night merrymaking is interrupted by the disapproving Malvolio. After he leaves, Maria concocts an elaborate trick to be played on him. Forging a love letter from Olivia, she will encourage Malvolio to take on a series of ridiculous behaviors --- all carefully planned to put him out of Olivia’s favor. Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Feste all agree to help with the trick, which leads to Malvolio falling for it entirely and being confined as a madman.