Shakespeare LIVE! Julius Caesar

Passport TO CULTURE

Teacher’s Resource Guide SCH

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Photo copyright Andrew Murad, 2007

Shakespeare LIVE! Julius Caesar

just imagine The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s educational touring company, Shakespeare LIVE!, in Julius Caesar, 2007.

Generous support for Schooltime provided, in part, by

Arts Education and You

just imagine

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Arts Education Department presents the 14th season of the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series. With Passport to Culture, Verizon and NJPAC open up a world of culture to you and your students, offering the best in live performance from a wide diversity of traditions and disciplines. At NJPAC’s state-of-the-art facility in Newark, with support from Verizon, the SchoolTime Performance Series enriches the lives of New Jersey’s students and teachers by inviting them to see, feel, and hear the joy of artistic expression. The exciting roster of productions features outstanding New Jersey companies as well as performers of national and international renown. Meet-the-artist sessions and NJPAC tours are available to expand the arts adventure. The Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series is one of many current arts education offerings at NJPAC. Others include: • Professional Development Workshops that support the use of the arts to enhance classroom curriculum • Arts Academy school residency programs in dance, theater and literature, and Early Learning Through the Arts—the NJ Wolf Trap Program • After-school residencies with United Way agencies

Foundation Kid Power! Through energy efficiency and conservation, kids can help preserve our planet’s rich natural resources and promote a healthy environment.

In association with statewide arts organizations, educational institutions, and generous funders, the Arts Education Department sponsors the following arts training programs: • Wachovia Jazz for Teens • The All-State Concerts • The Star-Ledger Scholarship for the Performing Arts • The Jeffery Carollo Music Scholarship • Summer Youth Performance Workshop • Young Artist Institute • NJPAC/New Jersey Youth Theater Summer Musical Program

Tip of the Day Because electricity had not been discovered yet, there was no lighting in Shakespeare’s time—not even at the Globe Theatre, where the original production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar was performed. Today, of course, electricity lights our world. Since most electricity is created primarily from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil, electricity generation has an environmental impact.You can help save electricity by turning off lights when you leave a room.

Students have the opportunity to audition for admission to NJPAC’s arts training programs during NJPAC’s annual Young Artist Talent Search. Detailed information on these programs is available online at njpac.org. Click on Education. The Teacher’s Resource Guide and additional activities and resources for each production in the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Series are also online. Click on Education, then on Performances. Scroll down to “Download Teacher Guide in Adobe Acrobat PDF format” and select desired guide.

Made possible through the generosity of the PSEG Foundation.

Permission is granted to copy this Teacher’s Resource Guide for classes attending the 2010-2011 Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series. All other rights reserved.

CONTENTS On Stage

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In the Spotlight

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Theater Talk

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The Remarkable Mr. Shakespeare 6 Before and After Activities

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Teaching Science Through Theater

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Delving Deeper

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To Teachers and Parents The resource guide accompanying each performance is designed • to maximize students’ enjoyment and appreciation of the performing arts; • to extend the impact of the performance by providing discussion ideas, activities, and further reading that promote learning across the curriculum; • to promote arts literacy by expanding students’ knowledge of music, dance, and theater; • to illustrate that the arts are a legacy reflecting the traditional values, customs, beliefs, expressions, and reflections of a culture; • to use the arts to teach about the cultures of other people and to celebrate students’ own heritage through self-expression; • to reinforce the New Jersey Department of Education’s Core Curriculum Content Standards in the arts.

Passport to Culture • Shakespeare LIVE! Julius Caesar


On Stage

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s educational touring company, Shakespeare LIVE!, in Julius Caesar, 2007.

Shakespeare LIVE!’s production of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare follows the epic story of the rise and fall of Julius Caesar, one of the world’s most notorious leaders. Set in a world of political intrigue and strained domestic relationships, the production also explores the moral and political dilemma of Brutus. As the play opens, Cassius approaches Brutus on the streets of Rome while Caesar’s victory procession passes them. They discuss the growing power and ambition of Caesar. Cassius tries to persuade Brutus, Rome’s foremost aristocrat, to follow in his ancestors’ tradition of overthrowing tyrants. Brutus, wracked with doubt and uncertainty, agonizes over his decision. Should he join the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar, Rome’s conquering hero and his trusted friend? Or, should he allow Caesar’s tyrannical ambition to overcome the very ideals that Rome was founded upon?

To ensure that Brutus joins their cause, the conspirators place forged letters in his house. They are purportedly written by Roman citizens who are worried that Caesar has become too powerful. Cassius knows Brutus will support the peoples’ wishes. The conspirators arrive, and Brutus commits to action. He shapes an assassination plan while trying to protect the morality of the action. In the Senate, the true danger and power of Caesar as well as the brutality of the Senators who stab him to death are apparent. Antony, Caesar’s loyal right-hand man, discovers his body and utters a curse of war and destruction on Rome. In his funeral speech, Antony marshals and manipulates the crowd to fierce mutiny and sows the seeds for civil war. Despite their noble intentions, the conspirators fragment and fall apart. Caesar’s adopted son and appointed successor, Octavius, forms a coalition with Antony and Lepidus. They wage a battle against Brutus and

Cassius at Phillipi. After a series of misunderstandings and powerful losses, both men kill themselves to appease the wrathful spirit of Caesar. Though Shakespeare adheres to historical record with unusual scrupulousness in Julius Caesar, the play is anything but a dry and stodgy docu-drama about the idealized world of ancient Rome. For a historical story, the action of the play is intensely personal, emotional and often shockingly violent. The questions Julius Caesar raises about politics versus morality, power and patriotism, manipulations and rhetoric, war and terror are all still incredibly relevant today. Additionally, as a tragedy about the uneasy relationship between our private hearts and the roles we play in public and about our difficulty understanding this relationship in others, Julius Caesar is a play about humanity in any era.


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In the Spotlight The acclaimed Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, located on the campus of Drew University in Madison, NJ, is one of the leading Shakespeare theaters in the nation. Formerly called New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, it serves nearly 100,000 adults and children annually and is the Garden State’s only professional theater company dedicated to Shakespeare’s canon and other classic masterworks. Through its distinguished productions and education programs, the company strives to illuminate the universal and lasting relevance of the classics for contemporary audiences. The longest-running Shakespeare theater on the east coast, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey will mark its 50th anniversary season in 2011.

Alex Lippard (Director) also directed

the Off-B’way productions of The Last Word and Sake with the Haiku Geisha. Off-off Broadway, he was the director of All We Can Handle with Raul Esparza, Cupid & Psyche, Frankie, Hedda Gabler, and Moonchild for which he won the Directing Award from The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC), one of the largest multiarts festivals in North America. His credits at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey include Fun with Rhys Coiro and Machinal.

broadwayworld.com

The company’s mission places a strong emphasis on education. Among its 13 distinct education programs, the most far-reaching is the Shakespeare LIVE! educational touring company that performs at schools and venues throughout New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Alex Lippard

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As the artistic director of Friendly Fire, a not-for-profit theater company based in New York City, Lippard directed Hecuba starring Kristin Linklater, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore with John Douglas Thompson and Touch of the Poet, one of The Wall St. Journal’s top three revivals for 2008. Lippard, who received a M.F.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Yale University, is currently co-writing the book to a musical about Leona Helmsley.

Theater Talk actor - a person who interprets a role

and performs in a play. artistic director - the creative leader of a theater or dance company. He or she takes responsibility for the vision, direction and management of the company including casting, hiring and repertory choices.

climax - the crucial moment or turning

point in the action or plot, usually near the end of a story or play. comedy - a story or play that treats

characters and situations in a funny or amusing way; the opposite of tragedy. costume designer - the person

who creates a visual concept for a production through the design and use of the clothing worn on stage by the performers. dialogue - the conversation in a play

between two or more characters. director - the person who envisions


blank verse - a poetic form preferred by English dramatists in the 16th and early 17th centuries, usually defined as unrhymed iambic pentameter.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s educational touring company, Shakespeare LIVE!, in Julius Caesar, 2007.

interpretation - a particular conception of a role, scene or play. lighting designer - the person who

creates a visual concept for a production through the design and use of illumination.

an overall concept for a production, supervises all elements of the production and guides the actors in their performances.

mime (or pantomime) - actions or

ensemble - a theater company or cast that works in a spirit of artistic equality and cooperation.

monologue - a lengthy speech by one

iambic pentameter - in poetry, a line

playwright - a person who writes a play.

rhythm or meter made of five iambs. One iamb has two beats or syllables: an unstressed beat or syllable (˘) followed by a stressed beat or syllable (´ ). The most common meter found in English poetry, iambic pentameter is the verse form that Shakespeare most frequently used for his poetic dialogue. For example, in Julius Caesar, Act III, sc. ii: The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interrèd with their bones.

gestures without words used as a means of expression. actor.

producer - the person responsible

for mounting a production including selecting the primary creative artists and managers as well as providing the financial resources. props - (or properties) items used on

stage to help create a sense of place, e.g., an envelope, fan, flag, tea set. scene - a division of a play, usually part of an act, in which the action is continuous.

scenery - painted canvas mounted on

wooden frames, drops, cutouts, etc., used in a theater to represent a place of action. script - the written text detailing what

happens and what is to be said during a play or performance. set designer - the person who creates the on-stage environment in which the play takes place, including scenery, furniture and props and their arrangement. set - the arrangement of scenery and props on stage. soliloquy - a speech by one actor

alone on stage that divulges his or her character’s innermost thoughts, feelings and motivations without addressing a listener other than the audience. tragedy - a piece of dramatic literature

in which events move a central character or characters to a fatal or disastrous conclusion. In his Poetics, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first to attempt to define the characteristics of tragedy; the opposite of comedy.


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The Remarkable Mr. Shakespeare

wikimedia.org

at local grammar school. 1582: Marries Anne Hathaway. 1583: Daughter Susanna born. 1585: Twins, a boy, Hamnet, and a girl, Judith, born. 1592: Moves to London. Writes Henry VI, Part 1, his first play. 1595: The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, his acting company, has great artistic and financial success. 1596: Hamnet dies at age 11. 1597: Buys New Place, the grandest house in Stratford. 1599: Writes Julius Caesar. The openair Globe Theater, the home of many of Shakespeare’s plays, opens in London. 1603: Queen Elizabeth I dies. King James I is crowned. The Chamberlain’s Men becomes The King’s Men, playing about 12 performances each year at court. 1609: The King’s Men begins performing indoors at BlackfriarsTheater. 1610: Retires and moves to Stratford. 1613: Writes Henry VIII, his last play. 1616: Dies in Stratford. Now playing at The Globe…

William Shakespeare in 1609

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is considered one of the greatest writers of all time and the greatest of all English dramatists. Scholars and readers alike have marveled that one man could have such a comprehensive understanding of the human psyche. He understood lovers, tyrants, kings and queens, servants, clowns, the lucky, the jealous, and the powerful. He wrote 38 plays including tragedies, comedies, romances, and histories, and 154 sonnets as well as other poetry. He created a pantheon of unforgettable, timeless and complex characters. Shakespeare set his plays all over the world, yet, it appears that he never traveled out of his native England nor did he have a terribly eventful life. He culled and conjured his characters, plots and settings in part from books and his great fund of general information, but most of all from his inspired imagination. Often,

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genius goes hand in hand with a colorful, and sometimes tortured, life. However, this giant among dramatists lived, it appears, a rather prosaic, undramatic life. Shakespeare did not possess a vivid personality; his friends found him genteel, even self-effacing. He was also an extremely practical, sober man of business. Perhaps, his genius had no time to waste in the real world, and William Shakespeare seems to have put all his passion and drama into his work, both as an actor and a playwright. The Romantic poet and critic Samuel Coleridge called Shakespeare “myriad-minded.” He had a gift of insight unsurpassed and the ability to get inside the hearts and minds of all manner of men and women. 1564: Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, the eldest son of John and Mary Arden Shakespeare. 1578: Completes seven years of education


In one of the few surviving contemporary descriptions of Elizabethan theater, Thomas Platter, a visitor to London from Basel, Switzerland, tells about attending a performance of the original production of Julius Caesar in 1599 at The Globe. On September 21st after lunch, about two o’clock, I and my party crossed the water, and there in the house with the thatched roof witnessed an excellent performance of the tragedy of the first Emperor Julius Caesar with a cast of some fifteen people; when the play was over, they danced very marvelously and gracefully together as is their wont, two dressed as men and two as women. Julius Caesar may have been the first production mounted at the newly erected Globe Theater, where Shakespeare’s company, The Chamberlain’s Men, performed, beginning in 1599. The troupe appeared there until 1613, when the theater’s roof caught fire from a stage cannon blast during a performance of Henry VIII and burned to the ground.

In the Classroom Before the Performance 1. Discuss the elements of drama: character, conflict, humor, etc. What makes a story compelling? Discuss the basic differences between comedy and tragedy. (1.1, 1.3)* 2. Have the class read Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The following website, Read Write Think’s “No Fear Shakespeare,” is a resource of Verizon’s Thinkfinity.org. The website, from Sparknotes, provides the text of several Shakespearean plays, including Julius Caesar, side-by-side with a translation into modern English to help students (grades 6-12) interpret Shakespeare’s works. Nfs.sparknotes.com. (1.2, 1.3) 3. Have the students act out a monologue or short scene from the Sparknotes modern English translation of Julius Caesar. (See activity 2 above). Then, ask the students to act out the same monologue or short scene in Shakespeare’s language. (1.1, 1.2, 1.3) 4. Before attending the production, give each student one line from Julius Caesar to listen for. Discuss the meaning of the assigned lines and encourage the students’ input in deciphering Shakespeare’s meaning. Have each student perform his or her line. Why is the line important in the play? Does it advance the plot or give the audience particular insight into a character or relationship? (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)

After the Performance 1. Shakespeare LIVE! tries to make Shakespeare accessible to everyone. Do students feel this goal was achieved in Julius Caesar? How did the audience relate to the story as it was being told? Did the students in your class understand the plot, its turns and language? Discuss what factors, other than words, contribute to understanding what is happening on stage. (1.1, 1.4) 2. Have the students write a review of Shakespeare LIVE!’s interpretation of Julius Caesar. Be sure they include specific information as well their own reactions to the acting, the set and the costumes. What about the production did they like? What did they dislike? Have the students support their decisions. (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4) *Number(s) indicate the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standard(s) supported by the activity.

Teaching Science Through Theater (6-12) By Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D.

Current or historical events can serve as inspiration for immersing students into the creative process as they explore the elements of theater. They can become familiar with the climate and culture of a time period, engage in problem-solving and creative thinking and use diverse media sources and information literacy skills as they research a topic. Given the importance of the environment on the lives of today’s students, this is a topic worthy of exploration. Studying environmental issues through theater is a way to deepen students’ understanding. By writing scripts, students can explore these issues. Climate change, ozone depletion, air and water pollution, maintaining sources of fresh water, threats to our oceans and coasts, shrinking wetlands, deforestation, food supply, toxic chemicals, world hunger, and loss of biodiversity are major environmental issues that face our society today. In the classroom, you can use cooperative learning as the primary instructional strategy. Form teams of four to six students and ask each team to select and research an environmental issue. The information they gather will be used as the basis for writing a script. Researching the issue is an excellent way for students to hone their information literacy skills. Good sources of information are libraries, community resources, special interest organizations, diverse media, and the Internet. Once the research phase concludes, teams can begin to deepen their understanding of the environmental issue. Have them discuss the issue’s psychological and emotional impact. Then, they should think about the story they will tell. What is the primary message they want to get across in the script? What happens in the story? Who are the characters? Are they interesting and inviting? Personal experience, imagination and improvisation can be used as teams write their scripts. As a culminating activity, have all the teams present their scripts for the class to critique, and ask the class to decide which one will be produced. Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D. is Dean of the School of Education and Professor of Teacher Education at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. The Teaching Science Through the Arts content of this guide is made possible through the generous support of Roche.

Additional Before and After activities can be found online at njpac.org. Click on Education, then on Performances, then on Curriculum Materials. Scroll down to “Download Teacher Guide in Adobe Acrobat PDF format” and select desired guide.


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Delving Deeper Websites ShakespeareNJ.org - website of Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey bardweb.net - The Shakespeare Resource Center site, designed to assist students in researching Shakespeare, his work and his world. shakespeares-globe.org - The website of the reconstructed Globe Theater, opened in 1996 on the site of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. DVDs Julius Caesar. Starring Louis Calhern, Marlon Brando, James Mason, and John Gielgud. Warner Home Video, 2006. Julius Caesar. Starring Charlton Heston, Jill Bennett. Republic Pictures, 2007. Books for Students and Teachers Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More. Delta, 1991. Epstein, Norrie. The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Bard. Penguin, 1944. Rozakis, Laurie E. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Shakespeare. Alpha, 1999.

Acknowledgments as of 12/1/10 NJPAC Arts Education programs are made possible by the generosity of: Bank of America, The Arts Education Endowment Fund in Honor of Raymond G. Chambers, Leon & Toby Cooperman, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Amy C. Liss, McCrane Foundation, Merck Company Foundation, Albert & Katharine Merck, The Prudential Foundation, The PSEG Foundation, David & Marian Rocker, The Sagner Family Foundation, The Star-Ledger/Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Verizon, Victoria Foundation, Wachovia, a Wells Fargo Company and The Women’s Association of NJPAC.

Additional support is provided by: C.R. Bard Foundation, Becton, Dickinson & Company, The Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation, Allen & Joan Bildner & The Bildner Family Foundation, Bloomberg, Chase, Veronica Goldberg Foundation, Meg & Howard Jacobs, Johnson & Johnson, Marianthi Foundation, The MCJ Amelior Foundation, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The George A. Ohl, Jr. Foundation, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Pechter Foundation, PNC Foundation on behalf of the PNC Grow Up Great program, The Provident Bank Foundation, E. Franklin Robbins Charitable Trust, Roche, TD Charitable Foundation, Target, The Turrell Fund, Lucy and Eleanor S. Upton Charitable Foundation, Walmart Foundation and The Blanche M. & George L. Watts Mountainside Community Foundation.

Schumacher, Allison. Shaking Hands with Shakespeare: A Teenager’s Guide to Reading and Performing the Bard. Kaplan Publishing, 2004. Spurgeon, Caroline. Shakespeare’s Imagery and What It Tells Us. Cambridge University Press, 1993. Additional resources can be found online at njpac.org. Click on Education, then on Performances, then on Curriculum Materials. Scroll down to “Download Teacher Guide in Adobe Acrobat PDF format” and select desired guide.

NJPAC wishes to express its thanks to Jamie Brink, Associate Director of Education at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and to Shakespeare LIVE! for permitting the Arts Center to duplicate passages of its study guide for Julius Caesar which was compiled and arranged by the Education Department of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Writer: Andrea Masters Mary Lou Johnston Laura Ingoglia Editor: Laura Ingoglia Design: Pierre Sardain, 66 Creative, Inc. 66Creative.com NJPAC Guest Reader: Faye Holmes NJPAC Teacher’s Resource Guide Review Committee: Judith Israel Mary Lou Johnston Amy Tenzer Copyright © 2011 New Jersey Performing Arts Center All Rights Reserved

For even more arts integration resources, please go to Thinkfinity.org, the Verizon Foundation’s signature digital learning platform, designed to improve educational and literacy achievement.

William J. Marino.……............................…………………………………………………………………….Chairman Lawrence P. Goldman …....……..................…………………………………..President & Chief Executive Officer Sandra Bowie………….……….....................……………………………………..Vice President of Arts Education Sanaz Hojreh.……………..................….……………………………..Assistant Vice President of Arts Education Uday Joshi.……………....................….………………………Director of Partnerships and Community Programs Verushka Spirito……........................…………………………………………...Associate Director for Performances Caitlin Evans Jones…………..........................………………………………….…Director of In-School Programs Jeff Griglak......………......................……………….………………………………..……..Director of Arts Training Natasha Dyer…….….........................Administrative Assistant/Office Manager for VP & AVP of Arts Education Laura Ingoglia…………........................………………………....…………....Editor of Teacher’s Resource Guides

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One Center Street Newark, New Jersey 07102 Administration: 973-642-8989 Arts Education Hotline: 973-353-8009 [email protected]
