Thinking Outside of the Box....or Outside of the Proscenium!

Hello once again Shakespeare Students,

This week we are going to be talking about staging.  One thing that is really cool about theater is that it is meant to be visual! Plays are not simply to read, they are meant to be performed.  Shakespeare plays have been performed in countless different mediums and styles.  They  have been put into different time periods.  For example, I once attended a performance of The Taming of the Shrew that was set in the 80's.  The typical format of one stage with the audience in front and full Shakespearean garb is not always what is chosen.  In fact, even the way the audience is seated can vary from play to play.  Here are the main types of staging that are used: 

Proscenium: This is the most typical type of staging.  It is also what you have probably seen before.  It looks like this: 

theatredesigner.wordpress.com

The audience is seated in front of a stage that constitutes the playing space. 

Thrust: This type of staging brings the playing space forward into the audience.  This allows the audience to surround the action, which can create a more interesting audience/player dynamic.  It looks like this:

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSz4MXzJHBMjvRpnDkD5DboIHfD6g4xCOGkVm16jvTTEBlU3No

Alley: Alley is a more extreme form of thrust.  It takes the stage and puts the audience on either side.  This can be a complicated form of staging to allow everyone to see, but it has its uses.  It looks like this: 

www.masterarts.org

In the Round: In the round allows for a playing space in the middle with audience members all around.  This allows for a more involved audience experience and can allow for interaction between the audience and the players.  This can take many forms, but it may look something like either of these: 

theatreintheround.org                                                                                          theatredesigner.wordpress.com

So, what I would like you to do is to take one style of staging and a time period to set one of Shakespeare's plays in.  Give a brief description of what the staging would look like and how you would reflect your time period in your version of the play and why you made this decision.  This should be about a paragraph long.  Please comment on another person's post as well.  

Good luck and have fun,

Ms. Kindel

An Interesting Question

Hello again Shakespeare Students,

Our question for today will challenge much of what we have talked about with Macbeth.  Now, so far we have talked a lot about Macbeth's fatal flaw: ambition.  His ambition drives him to kill King Duncan to take the throne.  And we have talked also about how the idea of destiny plays into this.

But my question to you, is if this is a flaw contained only within Macbeth or within all humans?  Imagine for a moment that the witches come up to Macduff, not Macbeth with a prophesy about becoming the king.  Macduff and Macbeth have very similar situations: both are noblemen and well-respected in the military.  Both begin the play dutiful to their king.  Both have wives that they wish to support.

Do you think that Macduff would have acted in the same way that Macbeth did?  What I would like you to consider is: What does it take to convince someone to kill?  Is there a price that we all have? At the end, could it have been Macbeth holding Macduff's traitorous head?

Answer this question in a comment.  You should write a paragraph (5-7 sentences) with a well-reasoned argument.  Comment on two other student's comments following the protocol listed in the first post.  Remember to keep all comments appropriate.

Have fun as you contemplate the true nature of man.

Ms. Kindel