Simply Shakespeare: Readers Theatre for Young People (Readers Theatre)

244 Pages·2003·3.12 MB·English

by  Jennifer L. Kroll

Simply Shakespeare:
Readers Theatre
for Young People
Jennifer Kroll
Editor
Teacher Ideas Press
Simply Shakespeare

Weekly Reader’s Read Magazine Presents
Simply Shakespeare
Readers Theatre for Young People
Edited by Jennifer Kroll
2003
Teacher Ideas Press
361 Hanover Street
Portsmouth, NH 03802-6926
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2003 by Weekly Reader Corporation
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher. An exception
is made for individual librarians and educators, who
may make copies of activity sheets for classroom use
in a single school or library. Standard citation information
should appear on each page.
ISBN: 1–56308–946–7
First published in 2003
Teacher Ideas Press
361 Hanover Street, Portsmouth, NH 03802
www.lu.com/tips
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright Acknowledgment
Illustrations used courtesy of Getty Images.
Contents
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................vii
As You Like It...........................................................................................................................................1
Hamlet:PrinceofDenmark.......................................................................................................................17
Julius Caesar............................................................................................................................................33
King Lear.................................................................................................................................................51
Macbeth...................................................................................................................................................69
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.................................................................................................................91
The Merchant of Venice........................................................................................................................107
Much Ado About Nothing.....................................................................................................................121
Othello...................................................................................................................................................139
Romeo and Juliet...................................................................................................................................161
TamingoftheShrew...............................................................................................................................179
The Tempest..........................................................................................................................................199
Twelfth Night........................................................................................................................................213
Index of Scripts.............................................................................................................................233
v

Introduction
Introducing Shakespeare to Young Readers
EffectiveandappropriateearlyencounterswithShakespeare’sclassicstoriesandcharac-
ters can create a positive feeling about the Bard and his works that will remain with students
throughouttheirschoolyearsandtherestoftheirlives.Theplayadaptationsinthisvolumeare
designedtoprovidejustsuchapositiveintroductiontotheworksofShakespeare.Theseadapta-
tions, culled from the pages of Read magazine, have been favorites with our teacher subscrib-
ers—and their students—for years. Every year, teachers write to tell us how well these
adaptationsworkintheclassroomandtoaskustoprintmore.Here,finally,arethirteenReadad-
aptations of some of Shakespeare’s greatest and best-known works, collected conveniently in
onevolume.Intheseadaptationswe’vemodernizedShakespeare’slanguagesothatyoungread-
ers,aswellasolderreaderswithcomprehensiondifficulties,willimmediatelybeabletograsp
andappreciateplotdevelopmentsandcharacters’motives.We’veworkedtopreservetheflavor
vii
viii \ Introduction
ofShakespeare’swonderfuloriginalswhileprovidingage-appropriate,simplifiedversionsthat
yourstudentscanreadorperforminjustoneortwoclassperiods.Theseadaptationscanbeused
independentlyorasausefulprecursortoaclassroomreadingorviewingofoneofShakespeare’s
playsinitsoriginalversion.
The Role of Readers Theatre
ReaderstheatreplayshavebeenafavoritefeatureofReadmagazineforyears.Inreaders
theatre,theprimaryfocusisonaneffectivereadingofthescriptratherthanonadramatic,mem-
orized presentation. Students are thus able to enjoy participating in play presentations without
needingtoattendlengthypracticesessionsbeforehand.Generally,onlyminimalpropsorstage
movementsareinvolved,althoughaddingsuchtouchesdoestendtoenliventheproductionand
invitemoreactiveparticipation.
Readers theatre can easily be incorporated into any language arts program. It provides
teacherswithanexcitingwaytoenhancetheprogram,particularlyintoday’sclassroomsthatem-
phasizeavarietyofreadingandlisteningexperiences.Readerstheatreencouragesstrongoralskills
andpromotesactivelisteningforstudentsintheaudience.Perhapsmostimportant,readerstheatreis
enjoyableforstudentsandteachersandpromotesinterestinandenthusiasmforliterature.
Vocabulary in Scripts
Beforeusingthescripts,assesseachonefordifficultyandappropriatenessofcontentand
forvocabularythatmightbechallengingtoyourparticularstudents.Priortobeginningaclass-
room reading with a group of students, you may wish to have individuals pre-read their own
parts,lookingforwordstheydon’tunderstandorknowhowtopronounce.
Preparing the Scripts
Onceascriptischosenforreading,makeacopyforeachcharacter,plusanextrasetortwo
for your own use and a replacement copy. To help readers keep their place on the page, high-
lightermarkerscanbeusedtodesignateacharacter’slineswithinthecopy.
Photocopied scripts will last longer if you use a three-hole punch (or copy them on
pre-punchedpaper)andplacethemininexpensivefolders.Thefolderscanbecolorcoordinated
withtheinternalhighlightingforeachcharacter’spart.Thetitleoftheplaycanbeprintedonthe
outsideofthefolder,andscriptscanbestoredeasilyforthenextreading.Preparingthescripts
andfoldersisagoodtaskforavolunteerparentorastudenthelper.Thepreparationtakesamini-
mumofinitialattentionandneedstoberepeatedonlywhenafolderislost.
Presentation Suggestions
Forreaderstheatre,readerstraditionallystand—orsitonstools,chairs,orthefloor—inan
informal presentation style. The narrators may stand slightly off to one side with their scripts
placedonamusicstandorlectern.Thereadersmayholdtheirscriptsinfolders.
Thepositionofthereadercanindicatetheimportanceofhisorherrole.Forexample,inRomeo
andJulietthetwotitlecharacterscouldbepositionedinthefrontcenterofthestagearea,with
theminorcharacterstothesidesandslightlybehindthem.Suggestionsforpossibleplacements
aregivenforeachindividualplay.
To keep the stage area from becoming overly crowded, you may wish to have readers of
briefpartsenterorleavetheareapriortoandfollowingthereadingoftheirparts.Alternatively,
readersmaystandupforareadingandsitdownfortheremainderofthescript.
Introduction / ix
Becausethesescriptsareappropriatefordevelopingandremedialreaders,itisimportant
that the students be comfortable with the physical arrangement. Students may have their own
ideasaboutpresentationstrategies,andtheirinvolvementshouldbefostered.
Props
Readerstheatretraditionallyhasfew,ifany,props.However,youmaywishtoaddsimple
costuming,suchashatsandscarves,aswellasafewprops,tolendinteresttothepresentation.
Suggestions for simple props or costuming are included with each play; however, students
shouldbeencouragedtodecidehowmuchorlittletoaddtotheirproduction.Theuseofpropsor
actionsmaybeoverwhelmingtosomereaders,andinsuchcasesemphasisshouldremainonthe
readingratherthanonanoverlycomplicatedpresentation.
Delivery
Somesuggestionsforthedeliveryoflinesareincludedinparentheseswithintheplays.Stu-
dentsshouldbeencouragedtorespondtothesesuggestionsandtobrainstormdeliverystrategies
foralllines.Avarietyofwarm-upscanhelpstudentsfeelmorecomfortablewiththeideaofdra-
matic delivery. For example, you might have the entire class respond to the following Shake-
speareansituations:
• Seeingaghostlyfigureappearbeforeyou
• Suspectingthatothersareplottingagainstyou
• Learningthatyouhavebeenthebruntofajoke
• Discoveringthatalong-lostfamilymemberisstillalive
• Baskingintheadmirationofothersafteranaccomplishment
• Refusingtogiveotherstheinformationtheydesperatelywant
Duringtheirfirstexperienceswithpresentingascript,studentsaretemptedtokeeptheirheads
buried in the script, making sure they don’t miss a line. Students should learn the material well
enoughtolookupfromthescriptduringthepresentation.Theycanlearntouseonstagefocus—to
lookateachotherduringthepresentation.Thisismostlogicalforcharacterswhoareinteractingwith
oneanother.Theuseofoffstagefocus—wherethepresenterslookdirectlyintotheeyesofthe
audience—ismorelogicalfornarratorsorforcharacterswhoarespeakingtothemselves.
Simple actions, such as hand gestures or turning, can easily be incorporated into readers
theatre.Generally,theaudienceshouldbeabletoseethereaders’facialexpressionsandanyof
theiractionsduringthereading.Onoccasionitmightseemlogicalforacharactertomoveacross
thestage,facingtheothercharacterswhilereading.Inthiseventthecharactersshouldbeturned
sothattheaudiencecanseethereader’sface.
The Next Step
OncestudentshaveenjoyedtheprocessofpreparingandpresentingtheseSimplyShakespeare
scripts,youmayfindyouwanttocapitalizeontheirenthusiasmandinterestbyextendingthelearn-
ingexperience.Followingaresomepossibleextensionactivitiesthatyoumightwishtotry:
• Havestudentsread,listento,orwatchatleastpartoftheplayinitsoriginalversion.
• AttendaliveShakespeareproductionwithyourstudents.