 Get into groups of three or four students. Go!

 Each group will perform one of the scenes from the paper I distribute.  You will have about ten minutes to prepare and share ideas. You need not write down lines or try to memorize lines. Please speak in your natural voices.  I will choose two or three groups to present their performances to the class.

 What did we get from acting out/watching the skits?

 To act out scenarios that are modeled after those presented in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  To build context for the reading/viewing of a new play, Hamlet.  To watch Hamlet, taking notes on the main events that occur in each act that we watch.

 Answer these questions:  1. A play in Shakespeare’s day was not considered a “preservable” art form. The playwright concerned himself with the popularity of the performance, not on the strict adherence to the text. Does it surprise you that Shakespeare’s plays were more about popularity than reverence? How might that knowledge change your approach to Hamlet?  2. Shakespeare’s theater company did not attempt to be historically correct in costuming. Today, some theater companies like to set his plays in places as diverse as Vietnam and Hollywood. Hamlet has even been set in twenty-first century Manhattan! Other Shakespeare companies are “purists” and try to re-create the look of the plays as closely as possible to what Shakespeare’s portrayal might have been. What do you think are the strengths and weakness of both styles of staging?  3. Shakespeare reportedly was forced to leave school at age 15. Likewise, his character Hamlet also had to leave school under difficult conditions. How would you feel if you were not allowed to return to high school or college?  4. Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, died at age 11. In the play, Hamlet is dealing with a death, and not doing so particularly well. Do you think writing is cathartic? In what ways have you, or someone you have known, coped with an unexpected death?