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Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

  • 1.  Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-28-2019 17:33
    I teach a grad course for teachers on teaching Shakespeare. I have a lot of random articles and materials but I haven't found a really great definitive source text book yet. My students are about 50% theatre teachers and 50% non theatre teachers, so I need something accessible but still engaging and fun. Open to suggestions. Thanks!

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    Jennifer Little
    N Bergen NJ
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  • 2.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-29-2019 07:22
    Check out the Royal Shakespeare Company's Toolkit for Teachers. It offers plans and exercises for exploring several of the most commonly studied plays, Macbeth, R&J and Midsummer.  Certainly useful for theater teachers, but classroom teachers would find much good in it too.

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    Ron Sopyla
    Beacon NY
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-29-2019 08:43
    John Barton's book, Playing Shakespeare is a must. Mastering Shakespeare (lousy title) by Scott Kaiser has many great chapters and is an active resource. Will Power by John Basil is excellent.  Clues to Acting Shakespeare by Van Tassel is quite good. And, Freeing Shakespeare's Voice by Kristen Linklater is fantastic too. National Theatre has great clips on YouTube and these can help you and students. Lucky you, and enjoy!

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    Kent Burnham
    Director of Theatre Arts
    Trinity-Pawling School
    Pawling, NY
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-29-2019 09:11
    Get in contact with the education director at the Stratford Festival in Canada. They have outstanding materials that they use with their teacher outreach (K12) and in the schools.  While I haven't spent much time with it (and it is geared for parents, not teachers) it may be worth checking out Ken Ludwig's "How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare."  Playing off the contrast of home and school approaches could be interesting for your students.

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    Suzanne Katz
    Washington DC
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-29-2019 11:56

    You might want to check out Ken Ludwig's http://www.howtoteachyourchildrenshakespeare.com/

    or the resources of the Emily Jordan Folger Shakespeare Library
    https://www.folger.edu/teach-learn

    They also publish "Shakespeare Set Free - Teaching Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth & Midsummer Night's Dream"



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    Douglas "Chip" Rome
    Theatre Consultant
    Educational Stages
    Burke VA
    http://bit.ly/EdStages
    http://bit.ly/RWTEOview
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-29-2019 13:52
    I will second Shakespeare Set Free as a great book. It has set unit/lesson plans for Midsummer, Macbeth, and R&J. The units are about a month long, but flexible enough that there are options that allow you to cut them down to 2 weeks or so if that's what you need. The philosophy focuses on the students performing and watching Shakespeare instead of just reading it, which I think is essential to understanding it. There are also other editions for Twelfth Night and Othello, and Henry IV Part I and Hamlet (but I have not used them).

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    Christopher Hamilton
    Drama Teacher
    Kennewick WA
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-30-2019 08:19

    I agree Playing Shakespeare is really great! I also would check out "Acting in Shakespeare" by Robert Cohen. I started reading that and enjoy it quite a bit. 



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    Brendan Moser
    Theatre Teacher
    West Chester PA
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-30-2019 11:21
    I loved the CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL SHAKESPEARE series of books, but I heard that they went out of print.
    Then my students discovered that there is a fabulous website:
    https://cambridgeschoolshakespeare.com

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    Rosalind Flynn
    Head of the M.A. in Theatre Education
    Director, The High School Drama Institute
    The Catholic University of America
    Washington, DC
    drama.cua.edu/graduate/MATE
    drama.cua.edu/summer
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-30-2019 15:46
    I'm a big fan of Secrets of Acting Shakespeare by Patrick Tucker, published by Theatre Arts in 2001. I believe Patrick started out with John Barton and the RSC, and his "cue-script" approach is a fascinating response to the question of the rehearsal process in Shakespeare's day. It's a good read and full of information.

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    Arlene Hutton, playwright
    Letters to Sala
    I Dream Before I Take the Stand
    Kissed the Girls & Made Them Cry
    As It Is In Heaven
    Susie Sits Shiva (EdTA commission)

    faculty, The Barrow Group, NYC
    arlene@barrowgroup.org
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-31-2019 10:27
    I'm in the middle of Will Power by John Basil and it is great! It has relatively short chapters that focus on one skill or concept, and each builds upon the last. The ideas are very practical, easy to understand and easy to put into practice. I think this is one of the few books that high school actors could read on their own. I will definitely be using this with my students (we're starting Macbeth in January).

    Freeing Shakespeare's Voice by Kristin Linklater has some good practical information in the middle of it, but I find it to be, for lack of a better word, very New Age-y. She talks about finding the color of a vowel sound, moving it around in your body and finding its energy, and then thinking about how it makes you feel. It's not my cup of tea and she dives off the deep end at the end by supporting Edward DeVere because, when she looks at his portrait, she cares about him. That kind of sums up the book for me - it is more about the actors feelings than it is performing.

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    Ken Buswell
    Drama Teacher
    Peachtree City, GA
    http://mcintoshtheater.org/

    Theater kills ignorance
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 01-01-2020 15:46
    Shakespeare Set Free (https://www.folger.edu/shakespeare-set-free)

    These books are about using a performance-based method to teach a number of Shakespeare's plays. The methods could easily be adapted to teach scripts that they have not produced various hand outs and lesson plans for:

     The texts can be used like cook books, or as inspiration.

    They are inspiring, freeing cookbooks.

    The books are reasonably priced and full of reproducible worksheets and hand outs. And many fun ideas!






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    Nathan Rosen
    Baltimore MD
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    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-31-2019 12:40
    Thanks everyone for some great suggestions. Some I had but some were new to me! I appreciate all the help and I am sure my students will too. Last semester, I found my non-theater grad students came in very resistant to the bard, so I really want to continue to find resources for them to make his work accessible. If they get excited, they'll create excitement in their students 😎. So again, thank you all!

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    Jennifer Little
    N Bergen NJ
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    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 12-31-2019 12:47
    Find clips of multiple versions of the same play/moments to immediately make clear both the emotional power of the words and the incredible variety of how the same words can create distinctly different impressions.
    I know these are all out there:
    Midsummer...
    Macbeth
    Hamlet
    R & J
    oh, and Henry IV, pt.1 which is both "pro-war" in Olivier's version circa WWII, and anti-war in Kenneth Brannaugh's !

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    Douglas "Chip" Rome
    Theatre Consultant
    Educational Stages
    Burke VA
    http://bit.ly/EdStages
    http://bit.ly/RWTEOview
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    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 01-01-2020 04:11
    Although you asked for a book, I'd like to recommend a website: myshakespeare.com.
    It has audio, modern language conversion, video of scenes, and pop-up information. 
    When I teach Shakespeare, I have always begun with a lesson on common language of the period, including quizlets on thee, thou, etc., and adding a short lesson on the Bard's insults (we call him the "master blaster") is always a winner. 
    Talk about how many modern words and phrases he invented, and of course, how many popular movies and shows are based on his plays. Such as "Ten Things I Hate About You" for "Taming of the Shrew," and, of course, "Lion King" for "Hamlet." Analysis and comparisons are a breeze using these. 
    Finally, Shakespeare's plays must be seen, not just read, to help understand them.
    If you want to add the historical information about the Mediterranean - English business connection, and the intrigues of France, Spain and English rulers' religious and political climate of Shakespeare's time, it adds depth and context to his writing. I find that fascinating, and so will your students. 
    Sorry, it looks like I just wrote a book! Good luck!



    Original Message


  • 15.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 01-01-2020 10:10
    Good morning!  Happy New Year!
    I presented my workshop "Shakespeare Whispers Into Your Ear" at the 2019 Convention.
    Shakespeare in my passion.  I teach what we call First Folio Technique - which is the method John Barton (Playing Shakespeare) from the RCS used (he didn't call it Folio Technique), Patrick Tucker (Secrets of Acting Shakespeare) and Barry Edelstein (Thinking Shakespeare) use.  

    I teach at Harper College in Palatine, IL (a suburb of Chicago) and also teach the technique for the Education Department of Chicago Shakespeare.  I have been presenting this work nationally for many years.  I just co-authored a book called, "Bring on the Bard" with Mary T. Christel.  The book was published November 2019 by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).  I have been working with teachers to bring this practice into their classrooms in order to help make Shakespeare immediately come to life.  I'll help you "crack the code" of Shakespeare.  This work is amazing.  You will obtain immediate results.  The book features testimony from many of the teachers I have worked with - attesting the immediate results of this work.  

    I hope you might consider purchasing the book.  You can find it on Amazon.com.  https://www.amazon.com/Bring-Bard-Approaches-Shakespeares-Diverse/dp/0814103820/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=bring+on+the+bard+kevin+long&qid=1576385474&sr=8-1

    You can also find out more about me at: www.kevinlongdirector.com.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions.  I hope this helps.  And I hope you have a grand new year!

    All my very best,
    Kevin

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    Kevin Long
    Palatine IL
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    Original Message


  • 16.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 01-01-2020 18:59
    Hi Jennifer! (And anyone else who is interested)

    I would be happy to send you a test copy of "Acting at the Speed of Life; Conquering Theatrical Style," if you like. (You can check out its reviews on Amazon.)

    Just drop me a note to the address below.

    Tim
    tim_mooney@earthlink.net

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    Tim Mooney
    www.timmooneyrep.com
    www.moliere-in-english.com
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    Original Message


  • 17.  RE: Any Excellent Books on How to Teach Shakespeare out there?

    Posted 01-10-2020 08:52
    In addition to the great resources that you all have mentioned, I would also like to highly recommend a book called Shakesfear and How to Cure It by Ralph Allan Cohen who is a founding member of the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA. The guide is really accessible and has information about all 38 plays and  practical suggestions about how to tackle each one with students. It is readily available on Amazon.

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    Elizabeth Lent
    Epsom NH
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    Original Message


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