Feb 01 Shakespeare Connect Unit
Shakespeare Connect Unit
Following a heavy science and math unit, our third Connect Unit was a study of Shakespearean poetry and prose. The unit aligned with The Shakespeare Theater’s production of Hamlet in their 2018 season. Mysa School hosted actors from The Shakespeare Theater to do two full-day workshops committed to the scene study and analysis of the story of Hamlet, as well as stage combat and blocking techniques.
We began the unit by studying Elizabethan England and reading Bill Bryson’s Shakespeare: The World as Stage, in which we learned that record keeping was so sparse that there is very little factual evidence supporting what we assume about the author. We examined the historical political atmosphere of the time and made suppositions about details in Shakespeare’s plays and how they would have impacted an audience.
Students read Romeo and Juliet and wrote a comparative essay of the story to one of its modernized counterparts, A Westside Story, in an attempt to understand universal theme and plot. For our final project, students read and acted out an abridged version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for family and friends. We did dramaturgical work on character development and scene study and explored how what a character wants can propel plot.