Bare Bones Shakespeare School Tour. Two fast-paced, exciting productions bringing William Shakespeare s famous plays to life.

Transcription

1 Bare Bones Shakespeare School Tour Romeo and Juliet Julius Caesar Two fast-paced, exciting productions bringing William Shakespeare s famous plays to life.

2 1 Romeo and Juliet Comedy or Tragedy? William Shakespeare Bare Bones Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet defies genre with this famous tale of two School Tour condenses Shakespeare s two- teenagers who fight against their families, hours traffic down to a hurtling one hour their friends, and themselves in order to be production which emphasizes the heedless together. speed of Romeo and Juliet s tragic romance. When the play opens, the two teens each Two households, both alike in dignity have their eye on someone else. Romeo tries and fails to get over the chaste, pious, and completely disinterested Rosaline. depicts a small community torn apart by feuding, in an intimate setting where the show is not just up close, it s personal. Meanwhile, Juliet s mother informs her that Staged in the round, this play offers each Count Paris, one of Verona s most eligible audience member a unique perspective that bachelors, may soon be Juliet s husband. mirrors the challenges of the play. No two The ancient feud between Juliet s family (the Capulets), and Romeo s family (the Montagues) started so long ago, no one is even sure why they began fighting. But the young men of both houses don t need much of a reason to start brawls in Verona s streets. As words and daggers fly, the play viscerally perspectives are the same, and each event on stage appears different to each person, but even if they are on opposite sides, each audience member is a part of the same community.

3 1 Julius Caesar E tu Brute? Caesar s last words have Bare Bones Shakespeare s Julius Caesar become a cliché for betrayal, but what School Tour casts the audience as the could move a man to conspire against his citizenry of Ancient Rome. They will best friend? Brutus and Cassius, two of witness the rise and fall of great men, and, Rome s noblest citizens, both turn against though they are powerless to alter the Caesar, for very different reasons course of fate, they must all judge the Julius Caesar tells the tale of the fall of one The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves of Rome s greatest leaders. It is a political by those in power. drama of the mighty brought low that is as As the perspectives and attitudes of the familiar as today s headlines but it is also a audience shift, so too do the crowds of deeply personal tale of seduction and Rome, and audience members may find betrayal. themselves at odds with popular opinion. As the play opens, Julius Caesar returns in triumph from a civil war. Even Caesar s closest friends, fear this means the end of democracy in Rome. The crowds demand that Caesar be made a king. But crowds are often fickle, and there are many who think themselves clever enough to sway them. Brutus, the noblest man in Rome, will be drawn into a conspiracy that will end in a bloodbath that engulfs all of Rome. 3 momentous, often tragic, decisions made In the end, all audience members are invited to judge who indeed was the noblest Roman of them all.

4 1 Instead of the headache of getting all of your students onto a bus Just like Shakespeare s own touring company 400 years ago, we for a field trip, why not bring us to you? We have two like to perform without the distractions of high-tech lights and professionally produced shows, plenty of different workshops to sounds, big sets, or huge casts. Five actors play all of the roles in chose from, games, activities, and even study guides and quizzes. our exciting 60 minute productions. Perfect for classroom, Mix and match to create the right package for you and your gymnasium, cafeteria, or performance hall, these shows can go students. We do our best to make sure you have as much fun as just about anywhere. we do. 4

5 Our actors teach a variety of add-on Every performance comes with a free Once you book your performance date, workshops perfect for all ages. Close fifteen minute talkback session you can request any of our reading and problem solving feature included after the show. We can supplemental materials. These include heavily in our Staged Combat, provide some suggestions for topics optional study guides, lesson plans, Audience Interaction, and Soundscape you can discuss with your students and vocabulary lists for before the workshops. Your students can learn to before the performance performance, worksheets and apply rhetoric to their own writing, (recommended for younger programs for during the show, and and discover how actors use verse to audiences), and students and teachers quizzes for after the show. These make performance decisions in the alike can ask their questions and hold materials are designed to complement Shakespeare s Language workshop. discussions with the actors after the our productions and encourage critical Our favorite is the Extreme Character performance. thinking about Shakespeare s workshop, which teaches the performance documents that we used movement styles we use to distinguish to create our shows. between so many characters. 5

6 (14)