Resources for Teachers

by William
Shakespeare
Resources for Teachers
compiled by Sarah Stephenson
and Allie Spencer
Contents
• Introduction
• Synopsis of the Play
• Cast & Characters
• William Shakespeare
• Shakespearian Theatre
• Interview with Designer Libby Watson
• Rehearsal Photos
• Discussion Suggestions
• Education Resources and Lesson Plans
• Warm-up Ideas
2
Introduction
Welcome to this teachers’ resource pack for Twelfth Night by William
Shakespeare.
The play is one of Shakespeare’s most captivating comedies, featuring
mismatched lovers and devious tricks on the shores of Illyria. This version,
directed by Paulette Randall, brings a new flavour and style to the original
script, making it a must-see for students studying the text.
This pack contains information relating to the play and ideas for further
exploration of the themes, including Edexcel lesson plans to meet GCSE
criteria. It also contains an interview with designer Libby Watson.
We hope you find it useful.
Allie Spencer and Sarah Stephenson
Nottingham Playhouse Education Officers
August 2010
Roundabout & Education
Nottingham Playhouse
Wellington Circus
Nottingham
NG1 5AF
Box Office: (0115) 941 9419
Roundabout & Education Direct Line: (0115) 8736231
Email: [email protected]
www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk
3
Synopsis
Viola has been shipwrecked in a violent storm off the coast of Illyria; in the process she
has lost her twin brother, Sebastian. She disguises herself as a boy and assumes the
name Cesario for protection. Thus disguised, Viola becomes a page in the service of
Orsino, the Duke.
Orsino is having little luck courting Olivia, for whom he is sick with love, as she is in
mourning for the deaths of her father and brother. As Orsino's proxy, Viola (as Cesario)
is sent to Olivia with love letters. Viola refuses to go away until she is let in to see
Olivia; Olivia, intrigued by the impudent young ‘boy’, contrives to get ‘Cesario’ to come
back by sending her steward, Malvolio, after her with one of Olivia's rings. Viola
realizes to her dismay that Olivia has fallen for her ‘Cesario’ rather than Duke Orsino –
further complicated by the fact that Viola has stirrings herself for Orsino.
In the two major subplots of the play, Sebastian (Viola's twin, whom she presumes
dead) comes ashore in Illyria thinking that Viola has drowned in the shipwreck. A man
named Antonio rescued him from the surf, and continues to aid him – at some risk to
himself, as Antonio fought against Orsino at one time.
Meanwhile, in Olivia's house, Sir Toby Belch (her uncle) has hoodwinked a foppish Sir
Andrew Aguecheek into supporting him by convincing him that he could be a suitor to
Olivia. There is a running feud between Malvolio and Belch; with the help of Maria,
Olivia's maid, and Feste, a clown, Belch plots to make a buffoon of the steward. Maria
writes a love letter to Malvolio that will make him think Olivia has fallen for him.
Malvolio falls entirely for the sport, which eventually leads to his confinement as a
madman. All the while, Belch is egging Sir Andrew into a duel with Viola's ‘Cesario’
character as she departs from Olivia; Olivia is now entirely smitten with Cesario, even
though Viola continues to press Orsino's cause. As Viola and Sir Andrew prepare for a
duel that neither of them wants, Antonio happens upon the scene. Believing Viola to be
Sebastian, he intervenes and is arrested. Viola, of course, does not recognize Antonio.
Later, Belch and Sir Andrew encounter Sebastian, who doesn't back down from
Aguecheek when challenged and resoundingly beats him. Olivia intervenes in the
matter, and – mistaking Sebastian for Viola/Cesario – presses her suit for him. A
bemused Sebastian agrees to marry her.
Antonio is brought before the Duke for questioning, and Viola relates the events of the
duel. Antonio tells everyone how he dragged ‘this man’ from the surf, saving his life.
Then Olivia enters, searching for her new husband – which she thinks is Viola (as
Cesario). Adding to this confusion, Belch and Aguecheek enter claiming that
Viola/Cesario has violently assaulted them. In the midst of Viola's denials, Sebastian
appears. The brother and sister recognize one another and are reunited; Sebastian
helps to clear the confusion as to who fought and married who. At the end, Orsino and
Viola pledge their love, Olivia and Sebastian will remain satisfactorily wed, and Olivia
rebukes Belch and Maria for their abuse of Malvolio, who vows his revenge upon the
whole lot. Belch agrees to wed Maria to make up for getting her in trouble, and all –
except the disgruntled Malvolio – will apparently live happily ever after.
4
Cast & Characters
Feste/as cast: Anthony Ofoegbu
Feste, the Fool in Twelfth Night, is a very different character from the
Fools in other Shakespeare comedies. Other Fools are straightforward
comedy turns, sent on to crack jokes, give high-speed monologues and
mix things up. Feste, by contrast, doesn’t make lame puns. His first
foolings are a barrage of mock-learning to Olivia. When he does get
down to cracking jokes, they are on decidedly unusual topics.
Malvolio/as cast: Marcus Powell
Malvolio is Olivia's steward. Just as there is a downside to Sir Toby, there
is an upside to Malvolio. To be sure, Olivia's steward is a self-inflated,
pompous man, and it is precisely these character traits that make him
vulnerable to the joke set up by Toby, Maria and the other light-hearted
figures of the play and amplifies the humour when the plot reaches its
climax.
Sir Toby Belch: David Webber
Sir Toby Belch is Olivia's uncle and a co-director of the play's subplots
involving Aguecheek and Malvolio. Sir Toby embodies the riot of the
Christmas season. He is drunk throughout the play and gives full vent to
his whims and passions. In this sense, Uncle Toby is a positive character
who is placed in opposition to the grumpy Malvolio.
Sebastian/as cast: Curtis Cole
Sebastian is Viola's twin brother. The two of them were victims of a
shipwreck, and each believes the other has been drowned at sea. Unlike
his sister, Sebastian makes only a few, short appearances in the play.
He is essentially a minor character and first enters accompanied by his
devoted rescuer, Antonio. Mourning the apparent death of Viola and feeling
aimless in the foreign country of Illyria.
Fabian/Captain/as cast: Ashley J
Fabian is one of Olivia's servants as well as a character in the play's
subplot. Fabian is invited by Sir Toby Belch to join him in spying on
Malvolio when he finds and reads the phony love-note forged by Maria to
look as though it were written to the steward by Olivia. Like Maria and Sir
Toby, Fabian resents Malvolio for bringing him ‘out o' favour’ with the
countess.
5
Sir Andrew Aguecheek: Nicholai La Barrie
Sir Andrew is a stereotypical fool, who is goaded into unwisely duelling
with Cesario and who is slowly having his money pilfered by Sir Toby
Belch. His role in the play not only provides comedy through his pathetic
situation and his slow speech, but also by his distinct, long-faced
appearance and garish dress sense.
Orsino/Officer: Steve Toussaint
Orsino is the ruler of Illyria. In the play, he is sometimes referred to as a
duke, and at other times as a count. At the beginning of the play, Orsino
is in love with Olivia, but his love is unrequited because Olivia is
mourning for the death of both her father and her brother.
Olivia: Tracey Saunders
Olivia is the main female role, the object of amorous intentions by the
Duke, by Sir Andrew, by Malvolio and, eventually, by Sebastian. She is a
beautiful young woman and her kindness is also evident in Olivia's
efforts to bring Malvolio back into the wedding society at the play's end.
On the other side of the coin, Olivia is a moody woman whose
reclusiveness seems more a matter of posturing than of genuine mourning.
Maria: Velile Tshabalala
Maria is Olivia's lady-in-waiting and is a balancing character. She scolds
Toby and Andrew for their drunkenness, but she also tolerates them and
shows her own capacity for pranks by initiating the phony love letter ploy
against her supervisor, Malvolio.
Antonio/Curio: Seun Shote
Antonio is the sea captain who rescues Sebastian and is more of a fullfledged character than Viola's twin, Sebastian. Antonio is a helping
character who demonstrates the Christian quality of placing his own life in
jeopardy for the sake of his friend.
Valentine/Priest: Michael Ellis
One of Orsino’s serving men, alongside Curio.
Viola: Rebecca Herod
Viola is the protagonist of the play, her actions producing all of the play's
momentum. She is a young woman of Messaline, (a fictional country
invented by Shakespeare) the play begins she is found shipwrecked on the
shores of Illyria separated from her twin brother, not knowing whether he is
alive or dead.
6
William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's reputation as dramatist and poet actor is unique and he is
considered by many to be the greatest playwright of all time, although
many of the facts of his life remain mysterious.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire and was
baptised on 26 April 1564. His father was a glovemaker and wool merchant and
his mother, Mary Arden, the daughter of a well-to-do local landowner.
Shakespeare was probably educated at Stratford's grammar school. The next
documented event in Shakespeare's life is his marriage in 1582 to Anne
Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer. The couple had a daughter the following
year and twins in 1585. There is now another gap, referred to by some scholars
as 'the lost years', with Shakespeare only reappearing in London in 1592, when
he was already working in the theatre.
Shakespeare's acting career was spent with the Lord Chamberlain's Company,
which was renamed the King's Company in 1603 when James succeeded to the
throne. Among the actors in the group was the famous Richard Burbage. The
partnership acquired interests in two theatres in the Southwark area of London,
near the banks of the Thames – the Globe and the Blackfriars.
Shakespeare's poetry was published before his plays, with two poems
appearing in 1593 and 1594, dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothesley, Earl of
Southampton. Most of Shakespeare's sonnets were probably written at this time
as well. Records of Shakespeare's plays begin to appear in 1594, and he
produced roughly two a year until around 1611. His earliest plays include Henry
VI and Titus Andronicus. A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice
and Richard II all date from the mid to late 1590s.
Some of his most famous tragedies were written in the early 1600s including
Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. His late plays, often known as the
Romances, date from 1608 onwards and include The Tempest.
Shakespeare spent the last five years of his life in Stratford, by now a wealthy
man. He died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in
Stratford. The first collected edition of his works was published in 1623 and is
known as 'the First Folio'.
7
Shakespeare’s Theatre
Elizabethan Theatre
Elizabethan theatre and the name of William
Shakespeare are inextricably bound together, yet
there were others writing plays at the same time
as the bard of Avon. One of the most successful
was Christopher Marlowe, who many
contemporaries considered Shakespeare's
superior. Marlowe's career, however, was cut
short at a comparatively young age when he died
in a tavern fight in Deptford, the victim of a knife in
the eye.
Theatre had an unsavoury reputation. London
authorities refused to allow plays within the city,
so theatres opened across the Thames in
Southwark, outside the authority of the city
administration.
The first proper theatre as we know it was the Theatre, built at Shoreditch in
1576. Before this time plays were performed in the courtyards of inns or,
sometimes, in the houses of noblemen. A noble had to be careful about which
play he allowed to be performed within his home, however. Anything that was
controversial or political was likely to get him in trouble with the crown!
After the Theatre, further open air playhouses opened in the London area,
including the Rose (1587), and the Hope (1613). The most famous playhouse
was the Globe (1599) built by the company in which Shakespeare had a stake.
The Globe was only in use until 1613, when a canon fired during a performance
of Henry VIII caught the roof on fire and the building burned to the ground. The
site of the theatre was rediscovered in the 20th century and a reconstruction
built near the spot.
These theatres could hold several thousand people, most standing in the open
pit before the stage, though rich nobles could watch the play from a chair set on
the side of the stage itself.
Theatre performances were held in the afternoon because, of course, there was
no artificial lighting. Women attended plays, though often the prosperous
woman would wear a mask to disguise her identity. Further, no women
performed in the plays. Female roles were generally performed by young boys.
8
Interview with Libby Watson, Designer
Why did you make the decision to become a theatre designer?
I took an A-Level in Theatre Design at Clarendon College, along with English
and Art. After that I did a two-year course in stage management at Bristol Old
Vic theatre school and after that worked as a carpenter for a freelance set
builder. My strength had always been in design and even though I loved
building I felt that I needed to do a degree in Theatre Design at art school. I
have had always had a natural ability to draw but not in the same way as an
artist. I would always 'reference'. Also, from an early age I worked in 3D, which
is a major part of designing stage scenery, i.e. the scale model box that’s
produced for every show. It's technical but enjoyable and one of the reasons for
wanting to be a designer is because of this aspect of the job, and doing
something I enjoy.
How many years have you been working with Paulette?
I think it's about 12.
What are the major challenges for a designer?
Concept, accuracy, originality and keeping calm.
How much is a design your idea, and how much the director’s? I know
this can very from director to director but please could you give some
examples?
With Paulette we initially work collaboratively, so the concept is always a joint
idea. Most directors will have an initial input but then you're on your own for a
while and you just have to jump in at the deep end and come up with something
to show them, either in model form, on paper, or as photographic or art
references.
Have you ever had an occasion when you have shown a director your
work and then had to start all over again?
Yes. But, because you go through an unfinished ideas stage (white card model,
rough costume sketches) it's not disastrous. It just gives you time to meet in the
middle. It hasn't happened when I've finished everything and they've hated it. If
so, they didn't tell me!
Why the decision to set the play in Brazil?
Several reasons, but mainly the love of music and food and dancing. We
specifically chose Salvador, the old capital of Brazil. It is steeped in history and
it’s on the coast. The weather can be extreme, hot and then torrential rain, and
people live in poverty and great wealth. There is always the sound of music
being played somewhere and the street has its own everyday theatre going on.
What impact has this had on your design?
In the set I've referenced the architecture and the spirit of Salvador. In the
colours I have chosen, and in the decay of the buildings contrasted with the
fertility of the plant life, that will try and grow in any nook and cranny available.
9
In the costume (1940s inspired), the heat, and the tradition of the Bahian
traditions.
What research did you undertake?
For this particular project we travelled to Brazil (Salvador) for two weeks to
experience the life and culture of the town. I took many photographs and have
since bought other relevant books that are specific to this area of Brazil
What have been the greatest challenges about this particular play/design?
Making the play fit into another culture and time is the most obvious problem.
There are references that are very much Elizabethan.
Is designing for Shakespeare harder than designing for modern plays?
Why?
It is difficult to say. But, if you decide to set Shakespeare out of its time, it gives
you the opportunity to be creative in a different way – to, say, a modern play
that has a very described setting.
10
Rehearsal Photos, September 2010
Nicholai La Barrie
Curtis Cole and Marcus Powell
Tracey Saunders
Steve Toussaint
Rebecca Herod and Michael Ellis
Anthony Ofoegbu
11
Velile Tshabalala
David Webber
Ashley J
Seun Shote
Marcus Powell
12
Ideas for Discussion
Love
‘If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it,’
In this play there is a web of love that affects almost everyone. What different
types of love can you see in the play? What do you think Shakespeare is saying
about romantic love? Can you draw a love-web linking the characters together?
Tragicomedy
‘For the rain it raineth every day’
Do you think the end of Twelfth Night is straightforward? What difficulties are
the characters left with at the end? Is everybody happy at the end of the play?
The Fool
‘Thou art a foolish fellow, Let me be clear of thee’
How do you imagine a clown to look and behave? Is this like the ‘clown’ Feste
in Twelfth Night? In what way is he different to other clowns?
Madness and Folly
‘Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun, it shines everywhere’
Who is called ‘mad’ in Twelfth Night? Are there more than one types of
madness in this play? How many times does the word ‘mad’ occur in the text?
Twelfth Night
‘A great while ago the world begun, With a hey, ho, the wind and the rain, But
that’s all one, our play is done, And we’ll strive to please you every day.’
What do you do on Twelfth Night? Why do you think the play is called Twelfth
Night? What do this think about the play’s sub-title Or What You Will?
13
Six Lesson Plans
Conventions
/Activity
Plan 1
1.1
15 mins
Warm up
To introduce students to the main Twelfth Night plot and
characters
Resources
Group Discussion:
If you were on a ship that was sinking, what one thing would you rescue and
bring with you to shore (other than any life saving equipment)? And why?
Introduce students to the fact that they are going to be studying a text that
starts with a shipwreck. Also introduce to them that it is a piece that involves
disguises and a woman dressing up as a man.
Fruit bowl: 3 categories: stockings, cross garters, rings. On the word
‘disguises’, everyone changes places.
Zip Zap Boing/Oy! (see warm-ups for instructions):
Zip: Thou art a man. Zap: Draw thy sword. Boing: Send thee a Beard.
1.2
1.3
1.4
10mins
5 – 10
mins
10 mins
1.5
10 mins
1.6
Plenary
Plot
Whole group
image
Thought
tracking
Discuss story line. Read through basic plot with students. Identify main
characters
Synopsis
page 4 of pack
Students sit in a circle. Create Olivia's court of mourning one at a time. Put on
some funeral music. Position Olivia in the court; then students have to
position themselves appropriately one at a time. Thought track the students,
who are they? What are they doing in the court? Are they a friend? Servant?
Funeral music
Students in
role
Students divided into twos. A= Viola, B= Captain. Teacher gives As and Bs
background info and separate instructions: A needs a job and wants to find
brother. Wants to disguise herself as a boy. B cares for A and wants to
protect her. Advises her to join Orsino’s court.
Students work in role to find a way forward for Viola after the shipwreck (cf
Act I, Scene i)
Text
Read through short excerpt between Olivia and Viola in Act I, Scene iv
Divide into twos. Run through short scene. Actor playing Olivia has back
turned. Caesario’s character has to get the actor playing Olivia to turn round
through the tone/imploring of his/her voice.
Is Viola’s situation relevant to today’s society? Are there some
countries/cultures where she would need to dress up as a man to survive?
What have we learnt? What have we enjoyed?
Text excerpt 1
To introduce students to the sub plot
Plan 2
2.1
10 mins
2.2
10 mins
2.3
10 mins
2.4
10 mins
Warm up
Text
Role on the
wall
Still image
Zip Zap Boing
Game in groups of five plays Grandma’s Footsteps. Try playing it with the
player who is averting their eyes, walking slowly with the others following
As a whole class, read through edited version of Act II, Scene iii in
Shakespearean or modern language. Discuss what is happening.
Divide into groups with each group taking on a character: Malvolio, Maria,
Toby, and Sir Andrew. What do they know about these characters? Each
group draws an outline of a body; inside the outline they write the character‘s
feelings, and outside they write things that other characters say about them.
In a different colour write down questions: what don’t we know about them?
In groups create five images of Malvolio throughout play, with quotes. How
does he change? Show to the other groups.
Quotes
Text excerpt 3
2.5
15 mins
Text
Look at the scene where Malvolio is reading the letter. Characters listening
are supposed to be in a tree. How else could it be performed? Students might
like to try playing the amended version of Grandma’s Footsteps, with Maria
and co freezing every time Malvolio turns round. How could this scene be
performed in a modern context?
2.6
5 mins
Plenary
What have we learnt about Malvolio?
What have we learnt about comedy?
Plan 3
Set
design
To introduce students to the roles of designer and other
production roles
15 mins
As a class read through the interview with Libby. What are some of the
problems she might encounter? (E.g. putting actors in trees.) Then discuss
costumes. Are there any quick changes necessary? What period do the
costumes represent? How do the class feel about the time setting?
3.2
Text excerpt 2
Interview; Set &
costume drawings
(available on
request); Photos of
Salvador, Croatia;
Manor houses
15
3.3
10 mins
Group work
Divide class into groups of designers, stage managers, production managers,
wardrobe managers, painters and props makers. Look at the design and
decide what questions they would need to ask the designer in a design
meeting to help them create the right set, props and costumes.
3.4
15 mins
In role
Stage a design meeting, with either the whole class, or several meetings at
the same time with a representative from each department in each meeting.
Class members to stay in role.
3.5
5 mins
Plenary
What job most interests you within the production team? Why?
Plan 4
To introduce students to soliloquies and soundscapes
Warm up
Game – passing the ring from person to person. Detective to guess who has
it. Extension: Passing it in different ways – spies, lovers, friends, bomb.
4.1
10mins
4.2
5 mins
Vocal work
‘I left no ring with her.’
How many ways can you say this line? Practise with a partner, as if you are
having a conversation.
4.3
10 - 15
mins
Text
As a whole class read through the ‘Ring’ speech – speak it word by word, line
by line, then just using punctuation, then emphasising all the verbs. Explain
the context and any words the students don’t understand.
4.4
10 mins
Soundscape
Soundscape. Use the first eight lines. Get into groups of four and create a
soundscape using the these lines through repetition, echo, changes in pace
and volume, and additional sounds to create atmosphere.
4.5
15 - 20
mins
Text
In twos look at piece again. Divide into A and B. A reads the Shakespeare, B
interprets it into modern day English, a phrase at a time. A and B could even
over lap slightly. Practise. Perform to other groups. Group discussion. Which
one had the greatest effect on the audience? Why?
4.6
5 mins
Plenary
Do you prefer Shakespeare in its original text, or interpreted into modern day
English? Why?
Text excerpt 4
16
To explore the characters of Sebastian and Antonio
Plan 5
5.1
5.2
10 mins
10 mins
Warm up
Group
discussion
Text
Rescuers.
As a class discuss the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian – that
Antonio is in love with him. Then read short excerpt, Act II, Scene i, where
Antonio talks of his love and says he will follow Sebastian. How might a
crowd in the early 17th century have reacted to this declaration? Is it
friendship love, or love of a more sexual nature?
5.3
15 mins
Pre story
Planned
improvisation
What happened for Antonio to be disliked by Orsino’s court? In small groups
improvise a scene to show this. Share with other groups.
5.4
10 mins
Conscience
Alley
Should Antonio risk danger and follow Sebastian and his heart? Two lines
facing one another giving advice. Student playing Antonio walks down middle.
5.5
5 mins
Text
As a class. Teacher to explain the context of Act III, Scene iv (Antonio has
given Sebastian money to find lodgings but now he is arrested he needs the
money back). Read script excerpt.
5.6
5 mins
Whole group
image
Create a whole group image around Antonio, Viola and the guards. Thought
track the central characters and the onlookers. Add in the other main
characters. Has this changed Olivia’s or Orsino’s feelings about Caesario/
Viola?
5.7
5 mins
Plenary
To recap/ consolidate understanding. Shakespeare created these characters
400 years ago. Do they still have relevance?
1.1
10 mins
Warm up
Choose an appropriate high energy game from suggested list
1.2
5 mins
Discussion
At the end of the play Olivia finds she has married Sebastian by mistake, and
Orsino finds that Viola is a woman, and so proposes to her. Do you think
Orsino’s behaviour is appropriate? How would you feel if you were Olivia?
Text excerpt 5
Text excerpt 6
Plan 6
17
Students divide into small groups. They are given a list of events from Twelfth
Night. They put them in order (they can also divide them into plot and sub plot
if they like). Extension: teacher could also provide some cards with quotes on
and the students have to put the quotes in order.
1.3
10 mins
Story re-cap
Group work
1.4
10 mins
Improvisation
Status game/ improvisation:
Maria is hosting a party. Characters enter one at a time and through the way
they behave, the student playing Maria has to guess who they are.
1.5
15 mins
Tableau
Two or three groups. Students place themselves on stage in relation to where
the characters of Viola and Sebastian are standing. Other group have to
guess through where they are standing and the tableau they are frozen in,
which character they are. (This could be done more than once, at different
point of the play.)
1.6
10 mins
Hotseating
Hotseat 4 characters at the end of the play : Viola, Orsino, Olivia and
Malvolio. Do they feel they have been treated fairly? Are they happy? How
do they see their future?
1.7
5 mins
Plenary
Would you read another Shakespeare, or go to see another Shakespeare
play? Why?
18
Script Excerpts
1: Act I, Scene iv (edited)
VIOLA
The honourable lady of the house, which is she?
OLIVIA
Speak to me; I shall answer for her.
Your will?
VIOLA
Most radiant, exquisite and unmatchable beauty-- I
pray you, tell me if this be the lady of the house,
for I never saw her.
OLIVIA
Whence came you, sir?
VIOLA
Good gentle one, give me
modest assurance if you be the lady of the house,
that I may proceed in my speech.
OLIVIA
Are you a comedian?
VIOLA
No, my profound heart:
Are you the lady of the house?
OLIVIA
If I do not usurp myself, I am.
VIOLA
Most certain, if you are she, you do usurp
yourself; for what is yours to bestow is not yours
to reserve. But this is from my commission: I will
on with my speech in your praise, and then show you
the heart of my message.
OLIVIA
Come to what is important isn’t: I forgive you the praise.
VIOLA
Alas, I took great pains to study it, and 'tis poetical.
OLIVIA
It is the more like to be feigned: if
you have reason, be brief:
VIOLA
Tell me your mind: I am a messenger.
OLIVIA
Speak your office.
VIOLA
It alone concerns your ear. I bring no overture of
war, no taxation of homage: I hold the olive in my
hand; my words are as fun of peace as matter.
OLIVIA
Yet you began rudely.
Give us the place alone: we will hear this divinity.
Now, sir, what is your text?
2: Act I, Scene iii
SIR TOBY BELCH
[Sings] 'O, the twelfth day of December,'—
MARIA
For the love o' God, peace!
Enter MALVOLIO
MALVOLIO
My masters, are you mad? or what are you? Have ye
no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like
tinkers at this time of night? Do ye make an
alehouse of my lady's house, that ye squeak out your
coziers' catches without any mitigation or remorse
of voice? Is there no respect of place, persons, nor
time in you?
SIR TOBY BELCH
We did keep time, sir, in our catches. Sneck up!
MALVOLIO
Sir Toby, I must be round with you. My lady bade me
tell you, that, though she harbours you as her
kinsman, she's nothing allied to your disorders. If
you can separate yourself and your misdemeanors, you
are welcome to the house; if not, an it would please
you to take leave of her, she is very willing to bid
you farewell.
SIR TOBY BELCH
'Farewell, dear heart, since I must needs be gone.'
MARIA
Nay, good Sir Toby.
MALVOLIO
Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady's favour at any
thing more than contempt, you would not give means
for this uncivil rule: she shall know of it, by this hand.
Exit
MARIA
Go shake your ears.
Sweet Sir Toby, be patient for tonight. For Monsieur Malvolio, let
me
alone with him: if I do not gull him into a
nayword, and make him a common recreation, do not
think I have wit enough to lie straight in my bed:
I know I can do it.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Possess us, possess us; tell us something of him.
MARIA
Marry, sir, sometimes he is a kind of puritan.
SIR ANDREW
O, if I thought that I'd beat him like a dog!
SIR TOBY BELCH
What, for being a puritan? thy exquisite reason,
dear knight?
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SIR ANDREW
I have no exquisite reason for't, but I have reason
good enough.
SIR TOBY BELCH
What wilt thou do?
MARIA
I will drop in his way some obscure epistles of
love; wherein, by the colour of his beard, the shape
of his leg, the manner of his gait, the expressure
of his eye, forehead, and complexion, he shall find
himself most feelingly personated. I can write very
like my lady your niece: on a forgotten matter we
can hardly make distinction of our hands.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Excellent! I smell a device.
SIR ANDREW
I have't in my nose too.
SIR TOBY BELCH
He shall think, by the letters that thou wilt drop,
that they come from my niece, and that she's in
love with him.
MARIA
My purpose is, indeed, a horse of that colour.
SIR ANDREW
And your horse now would make him an ass.
MARIA
Ass, I doubt not.
SIR ANDREW
O, 'twill be admirable!
MARIA
Sport royal, I warrant you: I know my physic will
work with him. I will plant you two, and let the
fool make a third, where he shall find the letter:
observe his construction of it. For this night, to
bed, and dream on the event. Farewell.
Exit
SIR ANDREW
Before me, she's a good wench.
SIR TOBY BELCH
She's a beagle, true-bred, and one that adores me:
what o' that?
SIR ANDREW
I was adored once too.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Let's to bed, knight. Thou hadst need send for
more money.
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3: Act II, Scene iv (edited)
SIR TOBY BELCH
Here comes the little villain. Enter MARIA
How now, my metal of India!
MARIA
Get ye all three into the box-tree: Malvolio's
coming down this walk: he has been yonder i' the
sun practising behavior to his own shadow this half
hour: observe him, for the love of mockery; for I
know this letter will make a contemplative idiot of
him. Close, in the name of jesting! Lie thou there,
Throws down a letter
for here comes the trout that must be caught with tickling.
Exit
Enter MALVOLIO
MALVOLIO
'Tis but fortune; all is fortune. Maria once told
me she did affect me: and I have heard herself come
thus near, that, should she fancy, it should be one
of my complexion. Besides, she uses me with a more
exalted respect than any one else that follows her.
What should I think on't?
SIR TOBY BELCH
Here's an overweening rogue!
SIR ANDREW
Pistol him, pistol him.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Peace, peace!
MALVOLIO
What employment have we here?
Taking up the letter
FABIAN
Now is the woodcock near the gin.
SIR TOBY BELCH
O, peace! and the spirit of humour intimate reading
aloud to him!
MALVOLIO
By my life, this is my lady's hand
[Reads] 'To the unknown beloved, this, and my good
wishes:'--her very phrases! By your leave, wax.
Soft! and the impressure her Lucrece, with which she
uses to seal: 'tis my lady. To whom should this be?
FABIAN
This wins him, liver and all.
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MALVOLIO
[Reads] Jove knows I love: But who?
Lips, do not move;
No man must know.
'No man must know.' What follows? the numbers
altered! 'No man must know:' if this should be
thee, Malvolio?
SIR TOBY BELCH
Marry, hang thee, brock!
MALVOLIO
[Reads] I may command where I adore;
But silence, like a Lucrece knife,
With bloodless stroke my heart doth gore:
M, O, A, I, doth sway my life.
FABIAN
A fustian riddle!
SIR TOBY BELCH
Excellent wench, say I.
MALVOLIO
I do not now fool myself, to let imagination jade
me; for every reason excites to this, that my lady
loves me. She did commend my yellow stockings of
late, she did praise my leg being cross-gartered;
and in this she manifests herself to my love, and
with a kind of injunction drives me to these habits
of her liking. I thank my stars I am happy. I will
be strange, stout, in yellow stockings, and
cross-gartered, even with the swiftness of putting
on. Jove and my stars be praised! Here is yet a
postscript.
Reads
'Thou canst not choose but know who I am. If thou
entertainest my love, let it appear in thy smiling;
thy smiles become thee well; therefore in my
presence still smile, dear my sweet, I prithee.'
Jove, I thank thee: I will smile; I will do
everything that thou wilt have me.
Exit
SIR TOBY BELCH
I could marry this wench for this device.
SIR ANDREW
So could I too.
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4: Act II, scene ii
VIOLA
I left no ring with her: what means this lady?
Fortune forbid my outside have not charm'd her!
She made good view of me; indeed, so much,
That sure methought her eyes had lost her tongue,
For she did speak in starts distractedly.
She loves me, sure; the cunning of her passion
Invites me in this churlish messenger.
None of my lord's ring! why, he sent her none.
I am the man: if it be so, as 'tis,
Poor lady, she were better love a dream.
Disguise, I see, thou art a wickedness,
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much.
How easy is it for the proper-false
In women's waxen hearts to set their forms!
Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we!
For such as we are made of, such we be.
How will this fadge? my master loves her dearly;
And I, poor monster, fond as much on him;
And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me.
What will become of this? As I am man,
My state is desperate for my master's love;
As I am woman,--now alas the day!-What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe!
O time! thou must untangle this, not I;
It is too hard a knot for me to untie!
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5: Act II, Scene i (edited)
Enter ANTONIO and SEBASTIAN
ANTONIO
Will you stay no longer? nor will you not that I go with you?
SEBASTIAN
By your patience, no. My stars shine darkly over
me: the malignancy of my fate might perhaps
distemper yours; therefore I shall crave of you your
leave that I may bear my evils alone:
ANTONIO
Let me yet know of you whither you are bound.
SEBASTIAN
No, sooth, sir
ANTONIO:
If you will not murder me for my love, let me be
your servant.
SEBASTIAN
Fare ye well at once:
I am yet so near the manners of my mother, that
upon the least occasion more mine eyes will tell
tales of me. I am bound to the Count Orsino's court: farewell.
Exit
ANTONIO
The gentleness of all the gods go with thee!
I have many enemies in Orsino's court,
Else would I very shortly see thee there.
But, come what may, I do adore thee so,
That danger shall seem sport, and I will go.
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6: Act III, Scene iv
Enter Officers
First Officer
This is the man; do thy office.
Second Officer
Antonio, I arrest thee at the suit of Count Orsino.
ANTONIO
You do mistake me, sir.
First Officer
No, sir, no jot; I know your favour well,
Though now you have no sea-cap on your head.
Take him away: he knows I know him well.
ANTONIO
I must obey.
To VIOLA This comes with seeking you:
But there's no remedy; I shall answer it.
What will you do, now my necessity
Makes me to ask you for my purse? It grieves me
Much more for what I cannot do for you
Than what befalls myself. You stand amazed;
But be of comfort.
Second Officer
Come, sir, away.
ANTONIO
I must entreat of you some of that money.
VIOLA
What money, sir?
ANTONIO
Will you deny me now?
O heavens themselves!
Second Officer
Come, sir, I pray you, go.
ANTONIO
Let me speak a little. This youth that you see here
I snatch'd one half out of the jaws of death,
Relieved him with such sanctity of love,
And to his image, which methought did promise
Most venerable worth, did I devotion.
First Officer
What's that to us? The time goes by: away!
ANTONIO
But O how vile an idol proves this god
Thou hast, Sebastian, done good feature shame.
First Officer
The man grows mad: away with him! Come, come, sir.
ANTONIO
Lead me on.
Exit with Officers
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Warm-up Ideas
I am a Tree
Students sit in a circle. One student creates a still image in the middle of circle
and announces what he/she is, eg ‘I am a tree’ or ‘I am a river’ or ‘ I am an
apple’ and the rest of the group in turn have to enter the circle and add to the
image, announcing what they are.
This can be adapted to specific themes, eg in Twelfth Night it could be on the
themes of a ship wreck, or a more surreal beginning could be ‘I am a ring’ etc
etc.
Upstage Downstage
(This is in the style of the Port/Starboard game but uses theatre
terminology.)
•
Upstage
All run upstage
•
Downstage
All run downstage
•
Stage Right
All run stage right
•
Stage Left
All run stage left
•
Director’s present/
Director’s gone
Freeze/thaw
•
Murder
Dramatic death
•
Spotlight
Freeze as an actor or singer in the spotlight
•
Green Room
Lie on floor (actors rest in a green room)
•
Gantries in groups Straight lines (gantries run above a stage, lights
of 3,4,5…
hang off them)
•
Change a light
One on the other’s back, or a safer alternative
depending on group
Oy!
(Passing the energy.)
Vocal physical warm up similar to Zip Zap Boing, on the theme of Eastenders.
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Stand in a circle. Point at the person in circle next to you in a telling off
gesture, saying ‘Oi!’. They then pass it on using ‘Oi’ or ‘What’s goin’ on’, or
return it with ‘Shut it’.
Point across the circle at someone in a threatening way and say ‘What’s goin’
on?’ The person places both hands in front of you in the position of fending
someone off and says ‘Shut it!’. This returns the action to the sender and they
have to try someone else.
If one player makes a mistake or is too slow everyone points at him or her and
shouts ‘Get out of my pub!’
This game is used in Plan One with phrases taken from the scene.
Zip Zap Boing link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A491708
Rescuers
(This game is used by Frantic Assembly.)
Split the group into two teams. One will be rescuers and the other will be
walkers.
The walkers are free to walk around the space as much as they like. At any
point they can drop down 'dead' and must remain there until helped up by two
rescuers.
The rescuers must remain in a specified part of the hall watching the walkers,
and in a queue. As soon as a walker drops down dead, the two rescuers at
the start of the queue must run into the space and help them back on to their
feet, then run straight back out again, and back to the back of the queue.
The main condition for the rescuers is that they must spend as little time as
possible in the space – straight in, straight out. They must always rescue in
pairs, and can only rescue the person they went in for – if someone else drops
down while they are in the space, or the person they rescued immediately falls
down again, they still have to return to the back of the rescuer's queue.
This exercise is great just for getting students to run around a lot, warm up,
and initiate physical contact with each other. It's also great for observing
changing dynamics depending on how mean the walkers group decide to be,
how supportive the rescuers are to each other, and how changing the
proportions of walkers to rescuers alters things.
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