Feb. 22 to April 30 - Idaho Shakespeare Festival

Idaho Shakespeare
Festival’s
Shakespearience
production is a part of
Shakespeare for a
New Generation, a
national initiative
sponsored by the
National Endowment
for the Arts in
cooperation with Arts
Midwest.
Feb. 22 to April 30
By:
William Shakespeare
Table of Contents
Topic:
2
Page:
Special Thanks…………………………………
In this Study Guide…………………………….
A Note from the Director………………………
About our Education Program…………………
About the Playwright……………………..…….
An Introduction to Othello………………………..
Plot Summary………………………………….
Meet the Cast…………………………………..
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4
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5
6
7
8
Activity—Curious Questions…………………..
Activity—Soundtrack………………………….
Fun Facts……………………………………….
Activity—Play Poster………………………….
Activity—Paraphrasing Passages………………
Activity—Fifteen-minute Othello………………
Activity—T.V. Reporter………………………..
Activity—National Star Tabloid ……………….
Activity—The Road Not Taken…………………
Activity—Selected Scene………………………
Set Sketches by Josh Frachiseur………………..
Activity—Think Like a Scenic Designer……….
Activity—Think Like a Costume Designer……..
Learn to Insult as Shakespeare Does!...................
Activity—Memory Mnemonics Experiment!.....
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9
9
10
11
12
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Suggestions for Further Study.…………………
Information on Idaho Shakespeare Festival ……
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WELCOME!
In This Study Guide:
You will find background information about William
Shakespeare and Othello to help you and your students
get the most out of the production.
This resource includes a range of information,
discussion topics, and activities. You should also have
received a box of study guide and resource materials
from the National Endowment for the Arts for Shakespeare in American Communities. If you have not received it, please contact Renee Knappenberger, Director
of Education at [email protected].
We encourage you and your students to share your
thoughts with us! Any letters, questions, or artwork you
send will be shared with the actors and artists who created the 2010 Shakespearience production of Othello.
Our address can be found at the end of this study guide.
Thank you so much!
Idaho Content Standards Addressed in this
study guide:
humanities (hum), language arts (la), social studies
(soc), theater (th), and visual arts (va). History (hist),
music (mus)
A Very Special Thank You:
As a part of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s educational programming,
Shakespearience performances have enriched the lives of over one million students
and teachers since 1985 with productions that express the unique and impacting voice
of Shakespeare. The magic of this art form is brought to schools across the State of
Idaho each Winter/Spring semester with assistance from a generous group of
underwriters:
Arts Midwest
Boise City Department of Arts & History
National Endowment for the Arts
Home Federal Foundation
Idaho Community Foundation and the following funds:
Kissler Family Foundation Philanthropic Gift Fund
Gladys E. Langroise Advised Fund
Sara Maas Fund
Perc H. Shelton & Gladys Pospisil Shelton Advised Fund
Miles and Virginia Willard Fund
Intermountain Gas Industries Foundation
Idaho Commission on the Arts
Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation
Idaho Power
OfficeMax Community Fund
Wells Fargo Foundation
Union Pacific Foundation
The Whittenberger Foundation
*Weapon Information/Disclaimer-
Please note that there is a knife used during this performance of Othello. The knife itself, is dulled, the
actors are trained, and it is intended for safe stage use only. There is absolutely no access to the weapon
aside from the actors using it during the show. If you have any questions or concerns please contact
3
Director of Education, Renee Knappenberger, at 208-429-9908 ext. 206 or
[email protected].
About Our Education Program:
The Idaho Shakespeare Festival has become an integral part of the arts
education throughout Idaho. The Festival’s annual Shakespearience tour
brings live theater to more than 25,000 high-school students in more than
50 Idaho communities each year. Since it began touring in 1986,
Shakespearience has enriched the lives of nearly 500,000 students.
In 1999, the Festival assumed the operations of Idaho Theater for Youth
(ITY). This alliance has more than doubled the Festival’s annual
educational programming, resulting in the Festival becoming the largest
provider of professional, performing arts outreach in the state of Idaho. In
addition to the statewide Idaho Theater for Youth school tour, which
brings professional productions to nearly 30,000 students in grades K-6
across Idaho, the Festival oversees year-round Drama School programs.
This series of classes in acting, playwriting and production, for students of
all ages, enrolls over 300 Treasure Valley students each year. Look for
upcoming student productions throughout the summer, fall and spring.
For more information on any of the Festival’s educational activities,
please contact the Director of Education at the Festival offices or by email
at [email protected].
4
A Note from the Director:
This is an exciting play for me to present to you because
it is the first time that Othello has ever toured the schools in
Idaho. As a director, my job is to take the full length version of
the play and cut it down to roughly fifty minutes, which is less
than one third of the original content. Practically speaking, I cut
the script so that it will fit neatly into one of your class periods,
but there are other benefits. This fifty minute version of
Othello gives me, and the other artists involved in the piece, a
chance to present the meat of the play to you. We streamline
the story and essentially deliver the “greatest hits” from the play.
Our hope is that we deliver the perfect sized bite of
Shakespeare to you, one that will engage you, help you hear the
language in a new way, make you feel connected to the
characters and their situations, and make you ask questions.
The performance that you are going to see was built just
for you. We spent weeks designing and building the set and
costumes and about 70 hours rehearsing the play, the entire
time asking ourselves: “what best suits our audience, how can we
reach them artistically and emotionally, how can we best make
Shakespeare’s Othello live and breathe for a predominantly
high school-aged audience?” There is a reason the plays have
not only survived, but thrived over the past 400 years. It’s because they are simply about being human, which means we can
all identify with them. So here’s my challenge to you: how do
you identify with this play? Are you like Iago in that you desire
more status and respect in your life? Are you like Othello, a
clear, strong, intelligent person with a weakness that will undo
him? Maybe you identify with Desdemona and the difficulties
of falling in love; or Cassio who despite his best intentions cannot seem to win? We all have our struggles, just like the characters in this play; we all have hopes, fears, strengths and weaknesses- Othello is your play.
- Sara Bruner, Director
About the Playwright: William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright and poet, is recognized in much of the world as the greatest of all dramatists. Shakespeare’s plays communicate a profound knowledge of the wellsprings of human behavior, revealed through portrayals of a wide variety of characters. His use of poetic and dramatic means
to create a unified aesthetic out of a multiplicity of vocal expressions and actions is recognized as a singular achievement, and his use of poetry within his plays to
express the deepest levels of human motivation in individual, social, and universal situations is considered one of the greatest accomplishments in literary history.
A complete, authoritative account of Shakespeare’s life is lacking, and thus much supposition surrounds relatively few facts. It is commonly accepted that he was
born in 1564 and it is known that he was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The third of eight children, he was probably educated at the local
grammar school. As the eldest son, Shakespeare ordinarily would have been apprenticed to his father’s shop so that he could learn and eventually take over the business, but according to one account he was apprenticed to a butcher because of declines in his father’s financial situation. According to another account, he became a
schoolmaster.
In 1582 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer. He is supposed to have left Stratford after he was caught poaching in the deer park of Sir
Thomas Lucy, a local justice of the peace. Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway had a daughter, Susanna, in 1583 and twins—Hamnet and Judith—in 1585. Hamnet did
not survive childhood.
Shakespeare apparently arrived in London about 1588 and by 1592 had attained success as an actor and a playwright. Shortly thereafter he secured the patronage of
Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. The publication of Shakespeare’s two fashionably erotic narrative poems Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of
Lucrece (1594) and of his Sonnets (published 1609, but circulated previously in manuscript form) established his reputation as a gifted and popular poet of the Renaissance (14th century to 17th century). The Sonnets describe the devotion of a character, often identified as the poet himself, to a young man whose beauty and virtue
he praises and to a mysterious and faithless dark lady with whom the poet is infatuated. The ensuing triangular situation, resulting from the attraction of the poet’s
friend to the dark lady, is treated with passionate intensity and psychological insight. Shakespeare’s modern reputation, however, is based primarily on the 38 plays
that he apparently wrote, modified, or collaborated on. Although generally popular in his time, these plays were frequently little esteemed by his educated contemporaries, who considered English plays of their own day to be only vulgar entertainment.
Shakespeare’s professional life in London was marked by a number of financially advantageous arrangements that permitted him to share in the profits of his acting
company, the Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men, and its two theaters, the Globe Theatre and the Blackfriars. His plays were given special presentation
at the courts of Queen Elizabeth I and King James more frequently than those of any other contemporary dramatist. It is known that he risked losing royal favor only
once, in 1599, when his company performed “the play of the deposing and killing of King Richard II” at the request of a group of conspirators against Elizabeth. In
the subsequent inquiry, Shakespeare’s company was absolved of complicity in the conspiracy.
After about 1608, Shakespeare’s dramatic production lessened and it seems that he spent more time in Stratford, where he had established his family in an imposing
house called New Place and had become a leading local citizen. He died in 1616, and was buried in the Stratford church.
Until the 18th century, Shakespeare was generally thought to have been no more than a rough and untutored genius. Theories were advanced that his plays had actually been written by someone more educated, perhaps statesman and philosopher Sir Francis Bacon or the Earl of Southampton, who was Shakespeare’s patron.
However, he was celebrated in his own time by English writer Ben Johnson and others who saw in him a brilliance that would endure. Since the 19th century, Shakespeare’s achievements have been more consistently recognized, and throughout the Western world he has come to be regarded as the greatest dramatist ever.
“Shakespeare, William,” Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
Contributed By:
Kent Hieatt, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of English, University of Western Ontario.
Author of Chaucer, Spenser, Milton: Mythopoetic Continuities and Transformations.
5
The Context of Othello
soc, hist
Othello was first performed by the King’s Men at the court of King James I on November 1,
1604. Written during Shakespeare’s great tragic period, which also included the composition of
Hamlet (1600), King Lear (1604–5), Macbeth (1606), and Antony and Cleopatra (1606–7),
Othello is set against the backdrop of the wars between Venice and Turkey that raged in the latter
part of the sixteenth century. The story of Othello is also derived from another source—an Italian
prose tale written in 1565 by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinzio (usually referred to as Cinthio).
The original story contains the bare bones of Shakespeare’s plot: a Moorish general is deceived
by his ensign into believing his wife is unfaithful. Shakespeare compressed the action into the
space of a few days and set it against the backdrop of military conflict. And, most memorably, he
turned the ensign, a minor villain, into the arch-villain Iago. The question of Othello’s exact race
is open to some debate. The word Moor now refers to the Islamic Arabic inhabitants of North Africa who conquered Spain in the eighth century, but the term was used rather broadly in the period and was sometimes applied to Africans from other regions. The opposition of black and
white imagery that runs throughout Othello is certainly a marker of difference between Othello
and his European peers, but the difference is never quite so racially specific as a modern reader
might imagine it to be. While Moor characters abound on the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage,
6 none are given so major or heroic a role as Othello.
www.sparknotes.com
The Daily Shakespearian
Spring 2010
Shakespearience News Source
Life Section
Page 1
Great General Murders
New Wife
Then Kills Himself
Venice, ITALY
Venice and Cyprus are in mourning
today after loosing both their brave
general Othello and his wife Desdemona in a terrible domestic incident.
Othello believed that Desdemona was
cheating on him with his trusted Lieutenant Michael Cassio. Deranged with
jealousy, the tragic Moor murdered his
young wife by smothering her with a
pillow. Learning of her innocence after
she was dead then drove Othello to
fatally stab himself.
It soon came out that the Moor’s suspicions of his wife were down to spiteful lies spread about her by his ensign,
Iago. Bitter at being passed over for
promotion in favour of Cassio, Iago
poisoned Othello’s mind against his
rival.
#1 in News
Iago persuaded him that Cassio was
a drunkard who was having a secret
affair with Desdemona. In fact Desdemona, who had married Othello
against her father’s wishes, was just
Cassio’s friend.
One trick Iago used to fool Othello
was hiding a handkerchief he had
given Desdemona in Cassio’s room.
The beautiful Desdemona; painted by
Frederick Leighton
Othello, a war hero who had saved
Cyprus form Turkish attack, hit the
roof when he saw it.
This was a tragic turning point which
led to Desdemona’s end. Othello
killed the blameless beauty when she
wouldn’t confess to cheating. Yet
even as she died, Iago’s wife Emilia
revealed her husband’s treachery,
driving Othello to join his beloved in
death.
Text courtesy of BBC.org
The late general, Othello,; painted by
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Henry Perronet Briggs
Meet Our Players!
Dakotah Brown
Othello
Rod Wolfe
Roderigo,
“The Tempest opened my
world to Shakespeare. Being a
nerd, I was enthralled with the
spirits and monsters that inhabited the island.”
“My favorite Shakespeare
play...hmm..it’s actually a tie between
The Winter’s Tale and Much Ado
About Nothing. The former because it
was the most difficult show I’ve ever
performed—the latter because I know of
no two better matched romantic leads.”
Sara Bruner
Director
Michael Mueller
Seth Asa Sengel
Fight Choreographer
Sound Engineer
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts.”
Jacques—As You Like It A II, S VII
Jennifer Robideau
Emilia, Duke, Montano
“O, learn to read what silent
love hath writ: To hear with
eyes belongs to love’s fine wit.”
- Enough said.
Luke Massengil
Iago
“Hamlet was the first
play I worked on. The
actor playing Horatio
said ‘flocks of seagulls
sing thee to thy rest’
instead of ‘flights of
angels.’ No one could
stop laughing and the
end of the show was
fairly ruined.”
C. David Ketchum
Cassio, Brabantio
My first memory of Shakespeare was watching The
Nicole Frachiseur
Two Gentleman of Verona.
Costume Designer
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How can 400 year-old text
still be filled with life? This
play was a major factor in
solidifying my pursuit as an
actor
Sarah Gardner
Desdemona
“My first experience with Shakespeare was a class taught by our
director, Sara. I had terrible experiences with theater before, and if it
wasn’t for Sara’s class, I wouldn’t be
an actor.”
Josh Frachiseur
Set Designer
Curious Questions:
soc
Activity!
1. Discuss the concept of villain in this play. Does Iago possess any endearing qualities? What character traits make
Iago a villain?
Soundtrack
If you were going to select a musical style or music group/
artist to underscore your production, who would it be?
Why? Pick a theme song for the following characters:
2. What does jealousy mean to you? Do you think someone
could convince you of something, without a single doubt?
Do you think jealousy can lead someone to do something
completely irrational?
Desdemona
Othello
Iago
Cassio
Emilia
3. Talk about the role of women in this play. Do you think
the women are weak or strong characters? Why?
4. How would your feeling about the play change if Othello
didn’t believe Iago and he never gave into jealousy? Would
the story be less interesting?
5. If you were to come in and do a “dispute resolution” with
Othello and Iago, how would you try to resolve their problems? How could Iago’s hurt feelings be resolved before it
was too late?
6. Discuss the role of antagonist and protagonist. Who takes
on either of these titles? Do they stay one or the other
through the entire play or do they ever change?
7. Do you think it’s important to the story that Othello is
ethnic? Why do you think Shakespeare wrote Othello as a
“moor.” How would the story change if he wasn’t of North
African decent?
Tip: Definition: Moor - “a Muslim of the mixed Berber and Arab people inhabiting Northwest Africa.”
hum, mus
Fun Facts!
•
The average American has a vocabulary of about 10,000 words. Shakespeare’s vocabulary was 29,000!
• Shakespeare invented a lot of words including: bedroom, bump,
assassination, apostrophe, bloody, dislocate, frugal, majestic and suspicious.
• Shakespeare died on his 52nd birthday.
• If you were to Google “Shakespeare,” you would get over 15 million
pages!
• Macbeth is performed somewhere in the world once every four hours!
• All of Shakespeare’s family members are thought to have been illiterate.
• Shakespeare had no decendants after all his grandchildren died.
• All the moon’s of Uranus are named after Shakespeare characters.
• No portrait of Shakespeare was ever painted while he was alive.
• The role of Hamlet has nearly 1,500 lines - almost as long as the entire
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play, The Comedy of Errors!
Activity!
Play Poster
va, th
In professional theatre, there is often a person called the ‘art director’ who is responsible for designing all the advertising materials for a production,
including promotional posters, programs, etc. Using any art materials from the classroom or special materials from home (magazines to make a collage, etc.), have
your students design posters for Aesop’s Network. They can advertise the ITY production, or use their imaginations and create their very own productions! Above are
three examples of book covers of Aesop’s Fables you can share with your students for inspiration. Some information they may want to include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
The show’s title
The dates, times, and location the play is being performed
Contact information (phone numbers, addresses, or websites)
Names of actors appearing in the play (could be their friends, celebrities, anybody!)
A tagline or excerpts from imaginary reviews (“Two paws up!”)
A drawing or collection of drawings that highlights a character, scene, location, or theme from Othello that the student feels is important for a potential audience
member to understand about her production.
3 Very Different Examples:
The Public Theater
Shakespeare in the Park
The Birmingham
Shakespeare Co.
The Oyun Atölyesi y
Company
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Paraphrasing Passages
la, mus, va, th
Activity!
Many passages in Othello contain beautiful language; however, they are sometimes difficult for
modern readers. Select one of the following passages and write it in your own words. Finally,
perform your selected passage for the class. You might wish to dramatize the passage using visual aids, gestures and music. Or, you may wish to join with other students for a group presentation.
DESDEMONA
IAGO
And what's he then that says I play the villain?
When this advice is free I give and honest,
Probal to thinking and indeed the course
To win the Moor again? How am I then a villain
To counsel Cassio to this parallel course,
Directly to his good? Whiles this honest fool
O good Iago,
What shall I do to win my lord again?
Good friend, go to him; for, by this light of heaven,
I know not how I lost him. Unkindness may do much;
And his unkindness may defeat my life,
But never taint my love.
Plies Desdemona to repair his fortunes
And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor,
OTHELLO
I'll pour this pestilence into Othello’s ear;
It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul,--
And by how much she strives to do Cassio good,
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars!--
She shall undo her credit with the Moor.
It is the cause. Yet I'll not shed her blood;
So will I turn her virtue into pitch,
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,
And out of her own goodness make the net
And smooth as monumental alabaster.
That shall enmesh them all.
Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men.
Put out the light, and then put out the light:
11
Copy this page!
Activity!
The Fifteen-Minute Othello
th, la
Divide the class into five groups. Each group will select an act for their presentation and will construct a threeminute version of their act. They must use lines from the act. Students will prepare their scripts. (Give a day of
classroom time for group work.) On the following day, the groups perform their scripts. Within fifteen minutes, an
abridged version will be performed. After the conclusion of Act V, have each group explain what events they chose
to include and those events which they chose to ignore.
Act I Group:
Act II Group:
Act III Group:
Act IV Group:
Act V Group:
T.V. Reporter
th, la
You are a reporter for the television tabloid Entertainment Tonight. You have just seen a new production of Othello
at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Your job is to present a two minute “review” of the play and this production.
Write a script and then present your report to the class and your TV audience. You can include:
1. Your opinion of the production
2. Your choices of the best from the production: costumes, scenic design, acting, best scene, best line etc.
3. Your choices of these production elements that did not work.
4. Your recommendation to the audience. Should they see the play? Why or why not?
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Activity!
Copy this page!
National Star Tabloid!
va
You are the editor of the National Star Reporter. You and your staff have completed an investigation
of the murder of Desdemona. Create a front page for your paper that exposes the truth about this
event. Write a headline and three or more lead stories capturing the themes of the play and the
“objective reporting” of tabloid newspapers.
Hint: See page 7 for an example
Use this template to
help get you started!
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Activity!
The Road Not Taken
va
Copy this page!
Many characters face choices as they travel down the highways of the plot. Select a character of your choice from Othello. Create a map of the
choices that he/she made. What alternative paths could have been taken? What would have been the change in the outcome? To give your map
a Venetian flavor use “strada” for road; “montagna” for mountain (could represent a hurdle); “mare” for sea (of troubles); “fiume” for stream
or river; “ponte” for bridge.
CHARACTER:_________________
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th
S
E
L
E
C
T
E
D
S
C
E
N
E
For Your
Class
The following scene work is included to complement your active exploration of Othello. The abbreviated scene is relatively short and can be simply staged. This is the scene where Cassio asks for Desdemona’s help to reinstate his title.
Othello and Iago come upon the two of them together.
Split the class into groups and ask each of them to perform their own version of this important scene. Allow them to get
creative with how they want to present their scenes to the rest of the class!
Enter DESDEMONA, OTHELLO,
EMILIA
DESDEMONA
It is not lost; but what an if it were?
DESDEMONA
How is't with you, my lord
OTHELLO
How!
OTHELLO
Well, my good lady.
DESDEMONA
I say, it is not lost.
EMILIA
'Tis not a year or two shows us a man:
They are all but stomachs, and we all
but food;
To eat us hungerly, and when they are
full,
They belch us.
Is not this man jealous?
DESDEMONA
Well, my good lord.
OTHELLO
Fetch't, let me see't.
DESDEMONA
Alas the day! I never gave him cause.
OTHELLO
That handkerchief
Did an Egyptian to my mother give;
she, dying, gave it me;
And bid me, when my fate would have
me wive,
To give it her. I did so: and take heed
on't;
Make it a darling like your precious eye;
To lose't or give't away were such perdition
As nothing else could match.
There’s magic in the web of it.
DESDEMONA
Why, so I can, sir, but I will not now.
This is a trick to put me from my suit:
Pray you, let Cassio be received again.
EMILIA
But jealous souls will not be answer'd
so;
They are not ever jealous for the cause,
But jealous for they are jealous: 'tis a
monster
Begot upon itself, born on itself.
DESDEMONA
Then would to God that I had never
seen't!
DESDEMONA
In sooth—
OTHELLO
Ha! wherefore?
Is't lost? is't gone? speak, is it out
o' the way?
OTHELLO
Fetch me the handkerchief.
DESDEMONA
I pray, talk me of Cassio.
OTHELLO
The handkerchief!
OTHELLO
The handkerchief! My mind misgives
Exit
DESDEMONA
I ne'er saw this before.
DESDEMONA
Heaven keep that monster from
Othello's mind!
EMILIA
Lady, amen.
DESDEMONA
I will go seek him.
Exeunt DESDEMONA and EMILIA
15
Set Sketches by: Josh Frachiseur
16
Think Like a Scenic Designer!
va, th
Activity!
Here is a stage drawing for reference
17
Copy this page!
Activity!
Copy this page!
Think Like a Costume Designer!
va, th
The director and costume designer of Othello worked together to create costumes that would be colorful,
unique and logical for the storyline of Shakespeare’s great work. They had the challenge of creating
costumes that fit each character and were also interesting for the audience to look at.
Think like a costume designer and choose what colors you would want the costumes to be! They can be
the same as in the Shakespearience production, or completely different. Be creative with color!
18
OTHELLO
IAGO
DESDEMONA
COLUMN A
The Art of the Insult
COLUMN B
COLUMN C
bawdy
bunch-backed
canker-blossom
brazen
clay-brained
clotpole
churlish
dog-hearted
crutch
distempered
empty-hearted
cutpurse
fitful
evil-eyed
dogfish
gnarling
eye-offending
egg-shell
greasy
fat-kidneyed
gull-catcher
grizzled
heavy-headed
hedge-pig
haughty
horn-mad
hempseed
hideous
ill-breeding
jack-a-nape
jaded
ill-composed
malkin
knavish
ill-nurtured
malignancy
lewd
iron-witted
malt-worm
INSULT HURLER:
peevish
lean-witted
manikin
___________________________________
pernicious
lily-livered
minimus
prating
mad-bread
miscreant
purpled
motley-minded
moldwarp
queasy
muddy-mettled
nut-hook
rank
onion-eyed
pantaloon
Directions: Combineth one word or
phrase from each of the Columns below and addeth “Thou” to the beginning. Make certain thou knowest the
meaning of thy strong words, and thou
shalt have the perfect insult to fling at
the wretched fools of the opposing
team. Let thyself go. Mix and match
to find that perfect barb from the Bard.
INSULT:
Thou ______________________________
__________________________________
reeky
pale-hearted
rabbit-sucker
__________________________________
roynish
paper-faced
rampallion
DEFINITION:
saucy
pinch-spotted
remnant
sottish
raw-boned
rudesby
unmuzzled
rug-headed
ruffian
vacant
rump-fed
scantling
waggish
shag-eared
scullion
wanton
shrill-gorged
snipe
wenching
sour-faced
waterfly
whoreson
weak-hinged
whipster
yeasty
white-livered
younker
You _______________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
19
Activity!
Memory Mnemonics Experiment!
sci
MNEMONICS:
Have you ever had to memorize a list of words or an equation for a test at school? Maybe it was a list of the planets or all the state capitals. Think about how many
words the actors in Othello had to memorize! Sometimes it can be difficult to remember long lists of words. This is where memory techniques can help. One memory
technique is called mnemonics. A mnemonic (pronounced nuh-MAH-nick) is a memory aid that uses systems of rhymes, acronyms, and diagrams to help you remember names, dates, facts, and figures. An example of a mnemonic is the word scuba, which is not just a word—each letter in the word stands for something. Scuba
is an acronym for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. Another example of a mnemonic is the rhyme "i before e except after c, or when sounding 'a' as in
neighbor or weigh." This mnemonic was designed to help a person remember the order of the letters "i" and "e" in different words. Mnemonics are a great resource not
just for you as students, but for actors trying to memorize lines, teachers to help remember students names, business people to remember a to-do list and even the
president to memorize a speech!
HISTORY:
The term mnemonic is derived from Greek. It is based on the word mnemonikos which means "of memory." This word refers back to mnema, which means
"remembrance." There are several different types of mnemonics. You can use music, name, expression, model, rhyme, note, image, connection, and spelling mnemonics to help you remember just about anything.
PROCEDURE:
Gather six of your friends and separate them into two groups. One group will be the control group and the other will be the experimental group. The purpose of a control group is to act as a constant and to highlight any effects the variables in an experiment may have on the experimental group. You will ask each member of the
control group to memorize the list below without using a mnemonic, then test them by asking them to repeat the list back. Next, you will ask each member of the experimental group to memorize the same list of words, but using a mnemonic.
QUESTIONS:
LIST OF WORDS:
1. Did the mnemonic help you remember the list better than
the control group, who did not use a mnemonic?
Fish
Coffee
Phone
Scissors
Cane
Treacherous
Snow
X-ray
Girl
Apple
Glue
Dog
Violin
Elephant
Number
Baby
2. What kind of mnemonic did you use?
3. Did you find the mnemonic to be helpful?
4. What areas of study might be a mnemonic device be
helpful?
5. Which words were the hardest to memorize without a
memorizing device? Why?
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Suggestions for Further Study:
BOOKS:
•
BRADLEY, A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on HAMLET, OTHELLO, KING LEAR, & MACBETH. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
•
HATFIELD, Andrew. A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on William Shakespeare’s Othello. London, UK:
Routledge, 2003. ISBN-13: 978-041522733X
•
NOSTBAKKEN, Faith. Understanding Othello. Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0313309861
•
RACCAH, Dominique, Marie Macaisa, Series Editors. Othello (The Sourcebooks Shakespeare; Book & CD).
Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2005. ISBN-13: 978-1402201028
•
ROSENBERG, MARVIN. The Masks of Othello. Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press, new edition 1992.
•
VAUGHAN, Virginia Mason. Othello: A Contextual History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
1994. ISBN-13: 978-0521587082
DVD:
•
“O” (2001), Starring: Mekhi Phifer
•
“In Search of Shakespeare” (2004), PBS
•
“Othello” (1980), BBC Shakespeare Tragedies
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ABOUT THE IDAHO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Idaho Shakespeare Festival
Charles Fee, Producing Artistic Director
Mark Hofflund, Managing Director
P.O. Box 9365
Boise, Idaho 83707
Telephone (208) 429-9908
www.idahoshakespeare.org
The Idaho Shakespeare Festival has evolved into one of the region’s premier, professional theater arts organizations, directly serving over 115,000 individuals annually. It is governed by a volunteer member Board of Trustees, with additional Consulting Members, 2 co-equal executives and a permanent
staff of 9 employees. In addition, the Festival operates as an “artistic home” for over 100 artists and production staff, who are employed during the summer and at other times of the year, such as during the Festival’s spring educational tours.
At the organization’s core is its outdoor summer season which presents classical repertory, focusing on the plays of William Shakespeare, in addition to
some contemporary works including musicals. The Festival’s Amphitheater and Reserve, now entering its twelfth year of operation, is the venue for
over 53,000 audience members who come to Boise from across Idaho and increasingly from other states and countries.
In addition to its seasonal productions, the Idaho Shakespeare Festival provides theater arts programming integrated into the curricula of approximately
95% of the school districts in Idaho, as well as serving parts of Oregon, Wyoming, and Nevada. Through its school tours, Shakespearience and Idaho
Theater for Youth, the Festival annually reaches over 50,000 children at all grade levels, particularly focusing on children in remote and rural communities.
ISF’s Drama School exemplifies the Festival’s attempts to foster life-long learning and appreciation of the theater, providing ongoing classes for students ranging in age from pre-school to adult. The Festival’s Summer Apprentice Program and Residencies are also offered for extended theatrical training. In the tradition of its highly-popular Family Nights, along with Matinees at the Festival serving over 55,000 students in the Amphitheater since
1993, the Festival donates tickets to over 100 non-profit and student groups, has created a special access program for both students and low-income
groups, and now makes low-cost access possible for children and young adults throughout the summer season.
Festival staff members also participate in the community, serving on boards and assisting the activities not only of local and regional organizations, but
also participating at a national level, where Charles Fee is in his seventh year heading the Great Lakes Theater Festival (Cleveland) and Mark Hofflund
served a presidential appointment to the National Council on the Arts (Washington, D.C.). Both Festival executives have been community leaders in
Idaho for the better part of two decades, and both maintain fulltime residency with their families in Boise.
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