“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.”

(Romeo & Juliet, II, iii, 101)

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet

A Tragedy

Our Reading Schedule

Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Act 4
Act 5

Additional Resources


Assignment

The Shakespeare Performance!

You will be one or more of the following roles:

  1. An actor – Especially if you have done only one presentation this semester.
  2. A director – If you’d like to work with actors and earn a Creative Work credit.
  3. A critic – If you’d like to watch and review the choices made by the actors/directors and write a brief review of their work for an academic essay credit.

The performed scene will fit the following requirements:

From Acts I-IV And be a scene we have not yet blocked or performed
Length ~2 mins/actor This is performance minutes, not speaking minutes. Three actors will have a 6 minute scene; one a 2 minute scene; five a 10 minute scene.
Speaking 10+ lines / actor Memorization not needed; meaningful familiarity is needed. Think Poetry Out Loud quality. 
Movement Yes, please! Rehearsed and meaningful
Editing Make any changes needed to meet above requirements, but do not change the storyline significantly. 

Actors:  Presentation and Novel/Play Standard if you perform meaningfully, so that we understand the character through your performance choices, vocally and physically.

Directors: If the scene has a director (not required), Creative Work and Novel/Play Standard if you create a Prompt Book of the scene which shows your creative choices for the scene and you assist the actors in their performance. Each of your choices in the Prompt Book should add something meaningful and relevant to the play.

Critics: To achieve the Academic Essay and Novel/Play Standard. All critics should immediately choose a group to review (their permission is not required). Sit in and eavesdrop on their work, read their scene thoroughly to decide if the group is understanding the meanings, missing any key points, or editing the scene poorly. You will write a 2-4 paragraph review following the performance critiquing the meaningful choices they made and if the play is best understood through their work. (You will not critique or review the acting ability!)

 


And More. . .