Teaching and Learning Shakespeare through Theatre-based Practice

Teaching and Learning Shakespeare through Theatre-based Practice
Author: Tracy Irish
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2023-12-28
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1350292079

How can the study of Shakespeare contribute to equipping young people for the challenges of an uncertain future? This book argues for the necessity of a Shakespeare education that: finds meaning in the texts through inviting in the prior knowledge, experiences and ideas of students; combines intellectual, social and emotional learning; and develops a critical perspective on what a cultural inheritance is all about. It offers a comprehensive exploration of the educational principles underpinning theatre-based practice and explains how and why this practice can open up the possibilities of Shakespeare study in the classroom. It empowers Shakespeare educators working with young people aged 5-18 to interact critically, creatively and collaboratively with Shakespeare as a living artist. Drawing on the authors' research and experience with organizations including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe, the Folger and Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, Part One consolidates recent developments in the field and engages in lively dialogue with core questions of Shakespeare's place in the classroom. Part Two curates a series of interviews with leaders and practitioners from the above and other Shakespeare institutions, exploring their core principles and practices. Part Three presents chapters from and about classroom teachers, who share their experiences of successfully embedding theatre-based approaches to Shakespeare in their own diverse contexts.

Teaching Shakespeare

Teaching Shakespeare
Author: Rex Gibson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2016-04-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1316609871

An improved, larger-format edition of the Cambridge School Shakespeare plays, extensively rewritten, expanded and produced in an attractive new design.

Reading Shakespeare through Drama

Reading Shakespeare through Drama
Author: Jane Coles
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2022-07-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1009008773

Reading Shakespeare through Drama arises out of case study research which focuses on reading as a socio-cultural practice. Underpinned by theories of reading, learning, drama and play, it is, nevertheless, rooted in the everyday work of secondary English classrooms. Utilising the dialogic ambiguities inherent in Shakespeare's playscripts, this collaborative approach to reading pays particular attention to adolescent readers as meaning-makers and cultural producers. The authors examine different iterations of 'active Shakespeare' pedagogies in the UK, the USA and Australia, drawing a distinction between 'reading through drama' as an approach and the theatre inflected practices promoted by well-known arts-based institutions. Observational and interview data highlight the importance of addressing issues concerning identity and representation that are inevitably raised by the study of canonical literature. Importantly, this Element situates teachers' practice within broader ideological contexts at institutional and national policy level, particularly from the perspective of England's highly regulated system of schooling.

Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance

Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance
Author: Milla Cozart Riggio
Publisher: Options for Teaching (Numbered
Total Pages: 503
Release: 1999
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9780873523721

Performance pedagogy does more than involve students in the acting, directing, and production work needed to bring a play text to life. It engages them in interpretation; it makes issues of structure or subtext immediate; it deepens understanding of stage history; in film, it demonstrates the role of camera, lighting, sound. Teaching Shakespeare through Performance is designed for teachers of both high school and college English courses who wish to introduce performance strategies into their classroom. The volume illustrates how attention to theatrical detail can give insight into Shakespeare's work and world: the significance of an omitted exit or entrance, the role of stage directions in King Lear, costumes and transvestism on the Renaissance stage, the changing fashions of acting Juliet, how experimenting with the use of different personal props in a scene from Hamlet reveals cultural attitudes, and much more.

Teaching Twelfth Night and Othello

Teaching Twelfth Night and Othello
Author: Peggy O'Brien
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2006-08
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 0743288513

FOLGER Shakespeare Library THE WORLD'S LEADING CENTER FOR SHAKESPEARE STUDIES The Folger Shakespeare Library is one of the world's leading centers for scholarship, learning, and culture. The Folger is dedicated to advancing knowledge and increasing understanding of Shakespeare and the early modern period; it is home to the world's largest Shakespeare collection and one of the leading collections of books and materials of the entire early modern period (1500-1750). Combining a worldclass research library and scholarly programs; leadership in curriculum, training, and publishing for K-12 education; and award-winning performing arts, exhibitions, and lectures, the Folger is Shakespeare's home in America. This volume of the Shakespeare Set Free series is written by institute faculty and participants, and includes the latest developments in recent scholarship. It bristles with the energy created by teaching and learning Shakespeare from the text and through active performance, and reflects the experience, wisdom, and wit of real classroom teachers in schools and colleges throughout the United States. In this book, you'll find the following: Clearly written essays by leading scholars to refresh teachers and challenge older students Effective and accessible techniques for teaching Shakespeare through performance and engaging students in Shakespeare's language and plays Day-by-day teaching strategies for Twelfth Night and Othello that successfully and energetically immerse students of every grade and skill level in the language and in the plays themselves -- created, taught, and written by real teachers

Shakespeare and Meisner

Shakespeare and Meisner
Author: Aileen Gonsalves
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2021-03-25
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1350118427

This practical handbook is invaluable for anyone performing, teaching, studying or simply wanting a new way to enjoy Shakespeare. It provides an outline of Meisner's work and legacy, a discussion of that legacy in the light of the enduring global popularity of Shakespeare, and a wealth of practical exercises drawn from Meisner's techniques. Shakespeare writes about the truth in human relationships and human hearts. Sanford Meisner's work unlocks truthful acting. They would seem a perfect match. Yet, following Meisner's note to his actors that 'text is your greatest enemy', Shakespeare and Meisner are often considered 'strange bedfellows'. The rhetorical complexity of Shakespeare's text can often be perceived as rules an actor must learn in order to perform Shakespeare 'properly'. Meisner's main rule is that 'you can't say ouch until you've been pinched': in other words, an actor must genuinely feel something in order to react in a performance which is alive to the moment. This book explores how actors can use Meisner's tools of 'acting is reacting' to discover the infinite freedom within the apparent constraints of Shakespeare's text.

Teaching Shakespeare with Purpose

Teaching Shakespeare with Purpose
Author: Ayanna Thompson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 191
Release: 2016-01-28
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1472599632

What does it mean to teach Shakespeare with purpose? It means freeing teachers from the notion that teaching Shakespeare means teaching everything, or teaching “Western Civilisation” and universal themes. Instead, this invigorating new book equips teachers to enable student-centred discovery of these complex texts. Because Shakespeare's plays are excellent vehicles for many topics -history, socio-cultural norms and mores, vocabulary, rhetoric, literary tropes and terminology, performance history, performance strategies - it is tempting to teach his plays as though they are good for teaching everything. This lens-free approach, however, often centres the classroom on the teacher as the expert and renders Shakespeare's plays as fixed, determined, and dead. Teaching Shakespeare with Purpose shows teachers how to approach Shakespeare's works as vehicles for collaborative exploration, to develop intentional frames for discovery, and to release the texts from over-determined interpretations. In other words, this book presents how to teach Shakespeare's plays as living, breathing, and evolving texts.

Critical Pedagogy and Active Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare

Critical Pedagogy and Active Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare
Author: Jennifer Kitchen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2023-12-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1108892256

Active approaches to teaching Shakespeare are growing in popularity, seen not only as enjoyable and accessible, but as an egalitarian and progressive teaching practice. A growing body of resources supports this work in classrooms. Yet critiques of these approaches argue they are not rigorous and do little to challenge the conservative status quo around Shakespeare. Meanwhile, Shakespeare scholarship more broadly is increasingly recognising the role of critical pedagogy, particularly feminist and decolonising approaches, and asks how best to teach Shakespeare within twenty-first century understandings of cultural value and social justice. Via vignettes of schools' participation in Coram Shakespeare School Foundation's festival, this Element draws on critical theories of education, play and identity to argue active Shakespeare teaching is a playful co-construction with learners and holds rich potential towards furthering social justice-oriented approaches to teaching the plays.

Transforming the Teaching of Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company

Transforming the Teaching of Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company
Author: Joe Winston
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2015-02-26
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1408185873

This book tells the story of the Royal Shakespeare Company's acclaimed and influential project to transform the teaching of Shakespeare in schools. It examines their approaches to making his plays more accessible, enjoyable and relevant to young people, describing the innovative classroom practices that the Company has pioneered and locating these within a clearly articulated theory of learning. It also provides evidence of their impact on children and young people's experience of Shakespeare, drawing upon original research as well as research commissioned by the RSC itself. Authoritative but highly readable, the book is relevant to anyone with an interest in the teaching of Shakespeare, and in how a major cultural organisation can have a real impact on the education of young people from a wide range of social backgrounds. It benefits from interviews with key policy makers and practitioners from within the RSC, including their legendary voice coach, Cicely Berry, and with internationally renowned figures such as the writer and academic, Jonathan Bate; the previous artistic director of the RSC, Michael Boyd; and the celebrated playwright, Tim Crouch.

Bringing Forth the Bard

Bringing Forth the Bard
Author: Zoe Enser
Publisher: Crown House Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2022-05-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1785836331

Foreword by Professor Emma Smith.The more you explore the plays of Shakespeare, the more you realise how they are an interrelated network of ideas and themes - linked to his context, his audience and his understanding of the world. In Bringing Forth the Bard, Zoe Enser equips busy teachers with the core knowledge that will enable them to make links between the themes, characters, language and allusions in Shakespeare's oeuvre. Each chapter includes tips on how to bring his plays to life in the classroom, and features case studies from practising teachers in a range of contexts to illustrate how they can ensure that their students develop an appreciation of his work - moving beyond the requirements of exams and empowering them to engage in the discussion around his influence and enduring appeal.Underpinned by the author's academic enquiries on the subject, at both undergraduate and master's level, the book enables teachers to access the information they need in order to enrich their teaching beyond a single play and begin to unpick the threads of Shakespeare's work as a whole. The link between subject knowledge and pedagogical approaches runs throughout the book, focusing on the Shakespeare plays most popularly taught in the classroom and how we can enrich students' understanding of these by looking both at the links across the domain and the bigger picture his work presents.Zoe builds a detailed schema of Shakespeare's work, his world, his ideas and his influences - and offers signposts to further reading and provides an appendix which will support teachers to rapidly find references to the plays they are teaching, and the ideas related to them.Suitable for teachers of English in all phases.