TABLE OF CONTENTS: - Colorado Shakespeare Festival

EDUCATION - STUDY GUIDES 2013 | coloradoshakes.org
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF
STUDY GUIDE
SHAKESPEARE
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
WILLIAM
(abridged)
Directed by Gary wright
Plot Synopsis ..........................................1
About the Play..........................................1
Dramaturg Note......................................1
About the Authors..................................2
Meet the (Original) Author................3
Discussion Points.................................4
Classroom Activities...........................5-8
Activities Answer Key..........................9
Timeline.....................................................10
Plot Synopsis
Three actors have decided that they shall undertake to perform all of Shakespeare’s plays in one performance. Things start out well with Romeo and Juliet, but get a little weird in Titus Andronicus. We make our way
smoothly through a few more tragedies (don’t worry about Othello) before the gang attempts to make the comedies
funny…er. We start to lose our way a bit with Troilus and Cressida but get back on track with a spectacular round
of the history cycles. Watch out for the moments of academic learning, it is (in fact) possible to learn something
about Shakespeare! Oh yeah, and Hamlet. We totally cover Hamlet. Because it’s a super important play that, like,
everyone knows, so we can’t do The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) without Hamlet…right?
About the Play
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) was the result of experimentation, improvisation,
and collaboration by its three originators, Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield. In the beginning Long,
Singer, and Winfield wrote and performed a twenty-minute long version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Two years
later, they added an abridged version of Romeo and Juliet. When the three men wanted to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987, they discovered that they needed a minimum of sixty minutes. They decided to do
an abridged Complete Works. They kicked off their show at the Paramount Ranch in Agoura, California on June
19, 1987. Their play soon rose to high renown. It ran for a record-breaking nine years at the Criterion Theatre in
London and has been performed in many different languages.
Dramaturg’s Note
A farce, a farce, my kingdom for a farce!
Audience members who attended Noises Off! last summer will already be quite familiar with farce. Designed to make the audience laugh, farces such as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) are not
concerned necessarily with realistic characters or dramatic situations, but with the ridiculous and the hilarious.
In The Complete Works, we get the best of reality and hysteria. The actors play themselves (along with most of the
characters in the canon), and sometimes, their real lives bleed onto the stage.
Of course, Shakespeare himself knew the value of a good farce. The Comedy of Errors is filled with improbable situations and clownish characters. This summer’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream features the play within
the play, “The Most Lamentable Comedy, and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe,” presented by a group
of rude mechanicals whose attempts at theatricality prove side-splittingly funny. However, it is doubtful Shakespeare ever knew the comic value of Titus Andronicus – it took an entirely different sort of genius to realize that!
Developed by the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC), this script is the result of intense research (two
whole books!), years of performing Shakespeare, and a tendency to improvise in performance. Of course, this
means that we’re not quite sure what you’ll see on the stage in a few minutes. But the result is sure to be a hysterical romp through all of Shakespeare’s plays, with even a few (probably true) historical facts along the way. So sit
back, relax, and enjoy all 37 plays in 97 minutes!
1
About the Authors
Adam Long (Founding Member/Writer/Performer) began his
professional life as an accountant for an anti-nuclear political action
committee by day and bassist for an acoustic punk band by night. Then
he put on a skirt and wig and became a founding member of the Reduced
Shakespeare Company. Adam toured with the RSC, spent five years
following The Grateful Dead, performed stand-up comedy in Canada,
became a Buddhist, and finally settled in England where he lives in London
with wife Alex, son Joe, daughter Tilly, friend John, four guinea pigs, a fish,
two tortoises, a cat, and a small grey rabbit called Willard.
Daniel Singer (RSC Founder/Writer/Performer), a native Cali-
fornian, trained in London for a career as a theatrical impresario. Following the creation of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged),
Daniel hung up his doublet-and-hose to design theme park attractions for
Walt Disney Imagineering. He’s particularly proud of his work on Disneyland’s Toontown. After 12 years as an Imagineer, Daniel left Disney to
become a freelance bohemian; these days he restores old houses, sculpts,
gardens, and continues to write plays in hopes of
another hit.
Jess Winfield (Founding Member/Writer/Performer) was an
original member of the RSC, co-author of The Complete Works of William
Shakespeare (abridged), and performed with the troupe from its founding
in 1981 until 1992, when he realized he’d played the title role of Hamlet
more times than John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier combined and
suddenly felt very old. He left the troupe to write and produce animated
television for the Walt Disney Company, which made him feel young again
— until he’d been there for ten years, at which point he felt old again. …
He now lives in Hollywood with his wife (and original RSC costume
goddess) Sa, and is working on his second novel… which makes him feel
like he’s in his forties.
(From the Reduced Shakespeare Company website at www.reducedshakespeare.com)
2
MEET THE
(Original) AUTHOR
by Joe Bicknell
Shakespeare’s Life
Based upon baptismal records, scholars believe
that William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564,
in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. He died on
that same date, April 23, in 1616, in the community of
his birth. His body was interred in the chancel of the
Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, where his tomb can
be viewed today. Varying amounts are known about
Shakespeare’s life in the intervening years.
The Early Years
William Shakespeare was the son of John
Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Mary came from a
prominent Warwickshire family, something that no
doubt helped her husband gain a number of local political positions, in addition to being a glove maker and
tanner. It is likely that young William, the third-born
of the family, attended the best grammar school in the
area, since, as an Alderman, John Shakespeare was
entitled to free public education for his children. It was
here, at King Edward IV Grammar School in Stratford,
that it is believed the playwright learned much of the
history, language and geography that form the backdrop for many of his plays.
At eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, the
daughter of a well-known and prosperous land owner
in Warwickshire, a woman eight years his senior. Six
months later, their first daughter, Susanna was born.
Twins Hamnet and Judith soon followed in February
1585. Hamnet later died at age eleven, which affected
Shakespeare deeply. Both Susanna and Judith, as well
as Anne, survived Shakespeare and were mentioned in
his Last Will and Testament.
The Move To London
It appears that Shakespeare left Stratford in
1584, and under cloudy circumstances. His father had
run into both financial and political difficulties (some
suggest because of his continuing Roman Catholic
sympathies), and there is some evidence that the young
3
man had been accused of poaching from the estate of
the wealthy Sir Thomas Lucy, said to be the later object
of satire in The Merry Wives of Windsor. From the time
of Shakespeare’s leaving Stratford, until he re-surfaced
as an actor in London in 1592, almost nothing is
known. It is also at about that time that the authorities
closed the theaters due first to riots, and then to the
plague. They remained closed for two years, until 1594.
It is also about this time that it appears that
Shakespeare first published his verse, including Venus
and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece, and The Sonnets.
Publishing was still in its infancy at this time, as literacy was beginning to increase among the middle class.
So it clearly was a departure from his already growing
reputation as a playwright – and likely a way to try to
supplement his income while the theaters were closed.
From 1594 onward, Shakespeare worked as
a playwright and performer for the acting company,
Lord Pembroke’s Men and later the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. At the accession of James I, in 1603, upon
the death of Elizabeth I, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men
became known as The King’s Men. The records are
clear that Shakespeare’s company was the most favored
at Court, with more numerous performances than any
other company for a king who loved the theater even
more that his predecessor, Elizabeth, also an avid fan
of Shakespeare’s work. It is likely because of this royal
interest and patronage that Shakespeare prospered in
the theater world of London, becoming part owner of
several theaters, including the Globe and the Blackfriar’s Theater, as well as retaining a financial stake in the
various companies for whom be both wrote and acted.
The Return to Stratford
Because of the ensuing financial success and
widespread acclaim as a royal favorite, Shakespeare
was able to redeem himself in Stratford by the year
1596. In 1597 he purchased a house and gardens,
New Place, in Chapel Street in Stratford. It was to this
home that, in about 1510, Shakespeare returned from
London. Though there is evidence that several of his
last plays were written while in Stratford, he seemed
to have lived the life of a retired gentleman, engaging
himself in local affairs, as well as in the lives of his surviving children. Both had married: Susanna to a local,
well-regarded Stratford physician and Judith, but two
month’s before Shakespeare’s death, to a local vintner.
It may well have been in response to this nuptial that
Shakespeare drafted his Last Will and Testament on
March 25, 1616. The document, seemingly prepared in haste, with many erasures and editions, contains three of
the only six known true signatures of William Shakespeare. Other than a fragment of a play called Sir Thomas
More, a collaboration with one or more other Renaissance playwrights of uncertain identity, nothing exists in
Shakespeare’s actual hand.
Death and the First Folio
William Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52 years. Despite his fame and good fortune,
in reality, most of Shakespeare’s plays were never published during his lifetime. In 1623, several of Shakespeare’s
partners in the King’s Men acting company, and some associated publishers, published the First Folio of Shakespeare’s works, the first publication of over half of the known works of Shakespeare. It was done to try to capitalize on the continuing fame of Shakespeare’s works, especially among the rising middle class. The publication of
the First Folio highlights the great success Shakespeare had enjoyed, not only commercially, but also artistically.
His plays carried important messages for the audiences of his day, but they also speak to lovers of theater and
great literature of all times and places.
Discussion Points
The Fourth Wall:
Theatre has four metaphorical walls. The first three box in the stage; there is an imaginary wall on stage
right, stage left, and up stage. The fourth wall is between the actors and the audience. Denis Diderot first made
the Fourth Wall explicit in the 19th-century. The idea is that the audience experiences a play without being a
part of it—they are the fly on the wall but have no interaction at all with the action. In modern theatre, however,
actors tend to breach the Fourth Wall more often. Mostly in comedy or children’s theatre, actors will talk directly
to the audience, sharing jokes or asking for advice. As you will notice, the play you are about to see breaks the
Fourth Wall many times.
•What do you think are the benefits theatrically of this breach?
•Does it help move the action or does it distract from the audience’s experience?
•Why do you think that, until just recently, the unspoken theatrical rule was upheld and why is it now broken?
Actor vs. Character:
When we go to the theatre, we typically assume we are going to see actors playing specific characters (unless you’re going to an improv troupe or stand-up comedy night). However, in this play, the actors play themselves for a good portion of the evening, even referring to each other by their given names.
•Have you seen any other plays, television shows, or movies where actors play themselves?
•How does it change the play to have real people on stage instead of fictional characters?
• How do you imagine these three actors feel playing themselves instead of a character?
[continued on page 5]
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Source Material:
37 five-act plays by William Shakespeare (and a few sonnets thrown in for good measure) is certainly a
lot of material to condense down into one evening’s performance, particularly when it is done with only 3 actors.
The original adapters of the script used a variety of techniques to cover everything, but they still had to leave a lot
out.
•How well do you know the Shakespearean canon? Is there anything you didn’t understand?
•What did you think of the different adaptations? For example, the comedies all lumped to
gether, the Macbeth with “perfect Scottish accents”, or the rap of Othello?
•Is there anything in particular you felt shouldn’t have been left out? Why?
To read or to play?
Did you know that there are multiple versions of this script? The original authors continued to rework,
revise, and revisit this script after its initial performance. In fact, they published a version of the script specifically
for readers (not just actors), which is heavily annotated. For example, they insist that Hamlet is Shakespeare’s
magnum opus on lunch meat, which we see demonstrated in the title of the play, as well as lines such as Hamlet’s
“thy funeral baked meats.” Oh, and “Words, words, words” was Shakespeare’s note to himself to write something
better later on – he just never did, so generations of scholars have attempted to analyze the meaning behind
those three little, well, words.
•How different do you think the experience of reading this play would be from seeing it?
•Are you going to go read the play now, to see what else the authors added?
•Why do you think the authors would revise this script?
“Hear My Soul Speak”
Match these famous quotes with
their speaker and play:
1) ____
2) ____
3) ____
4) ____
5) ____
6) ____
7) ____
8) ____
9) ____
10) ____
11) ____
12) ____
13) ____
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a) Othello, Othello
b) King Lear, King Lear
c) Mark Antony, Julius Caesar
d) Witches, Macbeth
e) Polonius, Hamlet
f) Richard II, Richard II
g) Jacques, As You Like It
h) King John, King John
i) Richard III, Richard III
j) Titus, Titus Andronicus
k) Romeo, Romeo and Juliet
l) Hamlet, Hamlet
m) Tybalt, Romeo and Juliet
1
“All the world’s a stage, and the men and women merely
players: they have their exits and their entrances; and
one man in his time plays many parts.”
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”
4
3
2
“Now hark, villain. I will grind your bones to dust,
And of your blood and it I’ll make a paste.”
“To thine own self be true.”
7
“O I am slain!”
6
5
“I have of late—but wherefore I
know not—lost all my mirth.”
“Speak of me as I am; let nothing extenuate
Of one who loved not wisely, but too well.”
8
“Did my heart love ‘til now? Forswear it, sight.
For I ne’er saw true beauty ‘til this night”
“Double, double, toil and trouble.”
10
9
“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!”
11
“My soul hath elbow room.”
12
“My gross flesh sinks downwards!”
“Give me the map there. Know that we have divided
In three our kingdom; and ‘tis our fast intent
To shake all cares and business from our age.”
13
6
“Let Us Assay Our Plot”
Match these plotlines with their play:
1) ____
2) ____
3) ____
4) ____
5) ____
6) ____
7) ____
8) ____
1
9) ____
10) ____
11) ____
12) ____
13) ____
14) ____
15) ____
a) Othello
b) Hamlet
c) Twelfth Night
d) King Lear
e) Richard III
f) A Midsummer Night’s Dream
g) Romeo and Juliet
h) Comedy of Errors
i) The Tempest
j) Much Ado About Nothing
k) Cymbeline
l) The Taming of the Shrew
m) Henry V
n) Macbeth
o) As You Like It
I had a major crush on this girl but she doesn’t even seem to notice me. I snuck into a party to
see if I could dance with her but I found this other girl who I fell in love with. The only problem
is, there’s no way we can date. When I found out she loved me back, we decided to get married.
Sounds like happily ever after, right? No such luck….
I can’t believe my luck. My dad died while I was away at school and my mom started dating my
uncle. Then I got this weird message from my (dead) dad saying, “Revenge me!” So I’ve taken it
upon myself to see what I can do. Only problem is, I kind of drove my girlfriend crazy, killed her
dad (and some other people), and made my friends think I’m nuts, too. I just hope I can get my
uncle once and for all!
3
My little sister wants to get married but my dad won’t let her until I do (which I have absolutely
no intention of doing!). Some guys who like my sister bribed this dweeb to date me. Like, really?
There’s no way I’m falling for him. …Right?
I am really upset. My dad used some magic and made this big storm trash a ship. All of the poor
people are now stranded on the island. The only good part is that one is this good-looking boy
who likes me and asked me to marry him once we get back to his kingdom. My dad has been acting strange recently, toying with some weirdoes and a group of royalty. He keeps mumbling about
revenge and talking to air. What’s his big plan?
5
4
My dad just died and left me the kingdom. Some of my most trusted men started giving my
secrets to the French. The king over there thinks I’m weak and asked me to back down. I’m not
weak and want to prove it. So I packed up my army and set sail for the continent. We are outnumbered and outgunned but I hope the bravery of my men will prevail.
I was in line for a promotion but was pushed aside in favor of a new kid. Since I don’t like being
ignored, I’ve decided to take revenge on the man who hurt me. I’ve planted the rumor that his
wife is disloyal to him. I think he is going mad. Oh, this is too much fun!
7
2
6
7
We just won a big battle. I fought very well, if I say so myself. I was walking in the hills with my
friend when we came along this group of really ugly women. They told me I would become king.
It’s hard not to believe them when so much of what they said is true. I did become king, but I
might have killed someone to get there. I feel really bad about it. What should I do?
I am getting old and want to divide my kingdom between my three daughters. I asked them how
much they loved me. Two flattered me and they got a good portion of my kingdom. My youngest
daughter, however, told me that she loved me “according to her bond”. I became angry and exiled
her. I was wrong about my two eldest daughters, though, and they kicked me out of my castle. I
am now wandering in the wilderness with a few loyal subjects, slowly losing my mind.
9
8
I just arrived in town with my servant. The people are acting really strangely, calling both me and
my servant by name, when I don’t know any of them! There is this forceful woman who says she
is my wife. But I think I’ve fallen in love with her sister. What is going on?
I was just in this huge shipwreck. Since I’m a girl, I didn’t think I’d be able to get a job. I decided
to dress as a boy to get a job with the local official whom I have fallen deeply in love with. He
asked me to woo this rich woman for him. Just one problem: I think she’s in love with me.
11
I am in love with one boy, but my dad wants me to marry another. He took his problem to the
local official who told me I could either marry my father’s choice or become a nun. Neither option seemed enticing so I ran away with my boyfriend. Before we left, I told my best friend. She
went behind my back and told the other boy about it. He came after my boyfriend and me. My
best friend has a crush on him but he doesn’t like her back; she followed him. The four of us got
caught in the forest and some strange things happen…
The prince and his soldiers just arrived back from war. They are staying at my dad’s house, which
is okay with me because I like one of the soldiers a lot. He asked me to marry him. My dad,
fiancé, the prince, and I decided to make my cousin and her nemesis fall in love so we can have a
double wedding. The prince’s brother, though, is determined to make our lives miserable. Will he
succeed?
13
12
I married behind my father’s back and when he found out he got really angry. He banished my
husband and locked me in my room. He wants me to marry my stepbrother. No thank you very
much! My husband’s servant received a letter from his master, telling him to kill me. He told me
and helped me run away. I dressed as a boy and hid in the mountains with this nice family. A war
started and I found my way back to my father. He doesn’t recognize me and I’m not sure I want
to tell him. Oh, wait, is that my husband?!
I was very jealous of my brother, the king. I wanted his throne. I arranged for my other brother
to die and then the king died. His sons were in line for the throne, but it’s a piece of cake to kill
them, too. Now I am king but my few allies are leaving. An upstart is building an army to attack
me. I am not losing this throne! I would rather die…
15
10
14
First my uncle banished my father from the kingdom, and now he has banished me. My cousin
and I had to leave for the forest. I dressed as a boy so we wouldn’t raise suspicion. My crush
walked in on us but didn’t recognize me. He kept talking about loving this woman (me!). I agreed
to help him learn how to woo her. He really does love me…
8
“Hear My Soul Speak”
(pages 5-6)
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
g
m
c
j
e
a
l
k
d
i
f
h
b
“Let Us Assay Our Plot”
(pages 7-8)
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9
g
b
l
i
m
a
n
d
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
h
c
f
j
k
e
o
1589
Henry VI Part 2
1596
A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
Richard II
Shakespeare’s son Hamnet dies; he buys
New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon; his
father is granted a coat of arms
1601
1605
Troilus and Cressida
1607
Shakespeare’s daughter,
Susannah, marries
Coriolanus,
Timon of Athens
The Winter’s Tale
1609
1611
Cymbeline
Two Noble Kinsmen
Final play written
The Tempest
Shakespeare seems to
have moved back to
Stratford-upon-Avon
Edward Wightman is the last
person burnt at the stake for
heresy in England
1612
1614
Second Parliament of
James’ England, also
known as the Addled
Parliament, convenes
1613
James I’s daughter Elizabeth is married
The Globe burns down
during a performance of
King Henry VIII
Henry VIII
Play Relation
Shakespeare History
King James Bible
is completed
Shakespeare’s Sonnets
are published
1608
Jamestown, VA is founded by
John Smith and colonists
Measure for Measure,
Othello
Jonson’s Volpone and
Bacon’s The Advancement
of Learning come out
The Gunpowder Plot
Shakespeare’s father dies
As You Like It, Twelfth Night,
Julius Caesar
Blackfriars Theater opens
The Taming of the Shrew,
Titus Andronicus
The Globe Theater opens
Shakespeare continues to write,
despite the closed theaters
1599
First version of the
Union Flag is created
English East Trading
company is founded
1606
Richard Burbage originates
the role of Lear
First production of Julius
Caesar at the Globe
1600
Macbeth, King Lear,
Antony and Cleopatra
March 1603
Galileo builds a telescope
King’s Men lease Blackfriar’s;
Shakespeare’s mother dies
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Timeline KEY
Period History
The Merry Wives of Windsor,
Hamlet
Earl of Essex is sent to Ireland but
returns against the Queen’s orders
1593
1594
The theaters reopen
Joins the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men
Love’s Labours Lost, Two
Gentlemen of Verona,
Romeo and Juliet
1597-1598
The Lord
Chamberlain’s
Men become the
King’s Men
All’s Well that Ends Well
Queen Elizabeth dies; James I
succeeds to the crown
Christopher Marlowe is
murdered in a barfight
The English Armada
sails to battle Spain
First play begun
1588
1592
The Merchant of Venice, King John,
Henry IV Part 1 and 2
First Quarto editions of Richard II,
Richard III, and Romeo and Juliet
Vagabonds Act, sending convicted criminals to the colonies,
is passed by Parliament
Plague outbreak in London closes the theaters
1st documented appearance in
London - Shakespeare’s already
working as a playwright
Henry VI Part 1, The Comedy of
Errors, Richard III
1586-1591 are known
as Shakespeare’s “lost
years” - we’re not sure
where he was!
Spanish Armada
is defeated
A.D.
10
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival
Study Guide
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (abridged)
Contributing Writers: Nicole Polglaze, Hadley Kamminga-Peck
Edited by Hadley Kamminga-Peck
Design and Layout: Emily Scraggs
© 2013
We would like to thank the following supporters of CSF Education:
Blue Mountain Arts, Boulder Arts Commission, Center for the Study and Prevention of
Violence, Colorado Council on the Arts, CU Outreach, CSF Guild, Debra Ordway and Beyond
the Horizon, Elevations Federal Credit Union Foundation, President’s Fund for the Humanities,
Target Foundation, Riddle Family Foundation, Wyman Historic District Neighborhood Association, Arts and Sciences Community Involvement (ASCI).
CSF Education
www.coloradoshakes.org/education-outreach
(303) 492-1973
[email protected]
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