| Lesson Plans |
| Lesson Plan 1: Creative Writing Why say it simply when you can jazz it up, Shakespeare Style? Shakespeare never took the easy way out when he wrote. He tried to make even the most commonplace statements elegant and poetical. Read the quotes from the plays below and try to figure out the simple meaning of the lines. 1. The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Act v. Sc. 1. _______________________________________________________________________ 2. A goodly apple rotten at the heart: O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath! The Merchant of Venice. Act i. Sc. 3. _______________________________________________________________________ 3. And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun. Romeo and Juliet. Act iii. Sc. 2. ________________________________________________________________________ 4. Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain-tops. Romeo and Juliet. Act iii. Sc. 5. ________________________________________________________________________ Write your own Shakespearean version of the statements below: It is very cold outside. ________________________________________________________________________ The night was dark and stormy. ________________________________________________________________________ The dog would not stop barking at the cat. |
Lesson plan 3 - Hut Hut! How is Theater like Football? Grade level: 6-12 Producing a play takes many people with different skill sets. If you look at the jobs that make up a football team, you will find a coach, a quarterback, regular players and special teams. Players set aside many hours of practice to prepare for the big game. Theater is not so very different. Look at the pairs of jobs below then draw a line from the football jobs to the theater job that most closely match. Coach/Director A football coach can be compared to the director of a play. The coach plans the strategy, picks players and calls the plays during the game. The director in a Theatrical production selects the play to be performed; she picks the actors and directs them throughout the rehearsal period. Quarterback/Lead Actor In football, the quarterback is the lead team member. He sets the example for the entire team and carries the game through his quick wits and knowledge of the opposition. The Lead Actor in a play carries the weight of having the most lines and usually carrying the largest emotional or physical burden of the play. Football players/Actors Members of a football team follow the coach’s directions; memorize plays and practice in order to hone their football skills. They occasionally study ballet or yoga to build stamina and flexibility. Actors in a play take direction from the director. They memorize their lines and learn their blocking (which movements go with which lines in the play) they learn new skills like Fencing, dance, singing and foreign accents. Special Teams/Technical Crew Special teams in the game of Football such as kick off teams, punt return and the field goal teams all have very specialized jobs. They must be practiced and ready to go at a moment’s notice. In a play, the Technical Crew is made up of the Sound, Lighting, Construction, Costume and Hair/Make-up crews. Each crew learns specialized jobs and a play cannot be performed without these crews working in unison with the actors and the director. Referee/Producer The referee’s job is to make sure that the game goes according to the rules of the game. Referees need to learn the complex rules of the game and enforce them without playing favorites. A Theatrical Producer’s job is to make sure that the play is following the budget set up for the play. A budget is the amount of money set aside to pay for everything from the actor’s pay, the costumes, theater rental, and technical staff. The producer needs to make sure that the entire cast and crew follow the rules of the budget so that the play makes money. Draw a line from the Football job to the matching Theater job. Football Theater Coach Producer Punt Return Lead Actor Quarterback Actors Referee Director Football Players Sound Director |
| Click the box to the right to access the excellent website from Public Broadcasting System. This site includes multi media and lesson plans |
| Ye Olde Extra Credit Ye Olde Resource Center |
| Photos from the 2011 Free Schools Show |
From the Page to the Stage Shakespeare Miami announces their annual Free School Shows & Workshop The free schools workshop Miami-Dade County were held on: January 28, 2010 10:00 am - 11:30 pm at the Barnacle State Historic Site in Coconut Grove |

| A mock up of the initial stage design is above Using the theme of water, the stage's main feature is a 20' infinity waterfall. The simple design has red fabric columns topped by propane torches. A center platform slides over the 'river' to be used as a bed, a banquet table and a platform for the throne. The river is used by the Witches as their cauldron, for battle scene drownings and of course, for Lady M's famous hand-washing scene. The main stage is bare, permitting free movement of the actors and plenty of room to swing those broadswords. Our stage is low to the ground to accomodate audience members at ground level. |
| Designing the set |
| Advanced Lesson Plans are below. Scroll down for the advanced lesson plans. |
| How To Sign Up NOTE: Our website has been spammed by bots using our email forms. Sigh... Please email us: Shakesmiami@gmail.com Please include your Name Grade level, Special interests, Number of students Which date/show you are attending. Your Contact information We will email you back with a confirmation and lesson plans Thanks so much. |
| These programs are made possible in part by the State of Florida Culture Builds Florida grant and by the Miami Dade county Department of Cultural Affairs, The Mayors and Commissions of Miami Dade County, The City of Miami, The City of Hollywood, Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, TARGET corporation, Shell Lumber, Shake-a-leg Miami, Publix, ShoreCrest, |
| VOCABULARY WORDS: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW |





