EDUCATION & ACTIVITY PACK

Collated from material produced by Katherine Bradshaw-Smith, Assistant Director.Bristol Old Vic Studio, and from material on Fairymonsterghost website. www.fairymonsterghost.co.uk

CONTENTS!! ! ! ! ! ! (page)

Introduction ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3

Background on I, Peaseblossom, I, Caliban! ! 3

About Tim Crouch! ! ! ! ! ! 3

I, Caliban - introduction ! ! ! ! ! 4

Synopsis of The Tempest! ! ! ! ! 4

Key characters - The Tempest! ! ! ! 5

Caliban - personal profile! ! ! ! ! 6

Some notes from the playwright! ! ! ! 6

Pre-show activity ! ! ! ! ! ! 7

Post-show activity! ! ! ! ! ! 8

Key quotes and questions !! ! ! ! 9

Interview with Jimmy Whiteaker on I, Caliban! ! 10

I, Peaseblossom - introduction ! ! ! ! 12

Synopsis of A Midsummer Night’s Dream! ! 12

Key characters - A Midsummer Night’s Dream! ! 13

Peaseblossom - personal profile! ! ! ! 15

Some notes from the playwright! ! ! ! 15

Pre-show activity ! ! ! ! ! ! 15

Post-show activity! ! ! ! ! ! 15

Key quotes and questions!! ! ! ! 18

Interview with Katie Sykes, designer! ! ! 19

Initial design - sketches! ! ! ! ! 202

INTRODUCTION

This education pack aims to provide an exciting and active way of engaging withI, Peaseblossom, I, Caliban . It allows children to communicate with the story and characters in a practical and creative way. These activities have been specifically designedfor both before and after the show with the aim of giving children a positive andstimulating first encounter with Shakespeare.

They are geared towards upper Key Stage 2 and Lower Key Stage 3 butthey can be adapted for older and younger age groups.

Background

I, Peaseblossom, I, Caliban

Originally conceived as part of Fairymonsterghost, a collection of three self-contained one-man shows - the third being I, Banquo. With the introduction of I, Malvolio in 2010, the trilogy has become a quartet.

I, Peaseblossom and I, Caliban offer an exciting path into A MidsummerNight’s Dream and The Tempest. Each character tells the famous story fromtheir point of view, allowing children to relate to the character, thus engaging betterwith the story. The plays involve the audience in a direct way and allow the childrento view the main action from a different perspective.

The plays have previously been performed by Tim Crouch, the writer. Firstcommissioned for the Brighton Festival, they have since toured around a range ofschools and venues.

About Tim Crouch

Tim has worked extensively as an actor for over 20 years.He gained a BA in Drama at Bristol University and a Post Graduate Acting Diplomaat Central School of Speech and Drama.Tim was a co-founder of the Public Parts Theatre Company, devising and touringoriginal work to a variety of venues - from caves in Gloucestershire to prisons,schools, and major national theatres. These have included Bristol Old Vic,West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Bush in London.Tim’s other acting work includes Beckett’s Endgame in Brixton Prison, CarylChurchill’s Light Shining in Buckinghamshire and Brecht’s The Good Woman ofSetzuan, all for the National Theatre, where he is an Education Associate.Tim is an Artistic Associate of the Franklin Stage Company in New York, and hasappeared in four productions with them, playing Petruchio in The Taming of theShrew, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Vanya in Uncle Vanya and Prospero in The Tempest.In recent years Tim has toured his own plays both nationally and internationally; MyArm, An Oak Tree, England and the highly controversial The Author have all playedmajor city theatres in Europe and America.

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I, CALIBAN

A one-monster interpretation of The Tempest.

The play is about events on Prospero’s island as viewed by Caliban, ‘a puppy-headedmonster.’ Caliban is alone on the island at the end of The Tempest. He has onlyhis memories, his magic tricks and one last bottle of wine to keep him company. I,Caliban is a sweet and sorry tale about injustice, inebriation and missing your Mum…

The Tempest – a synopsis

A storm rages. A wizard named Prospero, stranded for some twelve years on theisland with his daughter, Miranda, is creating it using his magic. He conjures upcrackling lightening and crashing thunder. Out at sea a ship heading toward theisland is violently tossed and turned. Miranda is concerned the storm will kill thepeople on board. An enormous wave rises up, and when it comes down the ship isnowhere to be seen.

The storm subsides and Prospero convinces Miranda that no one was hurt. However,(as Prospero later reveals), the real reason for creating the storm is to get revenge onAntonio, his brother, and Alonso Duke of Naples, (who caused Prospero and Mirandato become stranded in the first place), and for Prospero to lose his title as the Dukeof Milan. Alonso and his brother Ferdinand, having been separated in this way,believe each other to be dead.

The only other living being on the island besides Miranda and Prospero is Caliban, astrange fish-like monster. He is the son of Sycorax, a nasty witch, who had once ruledthe island. Since Sycorax’s death Caliban has been living alone, and Prospero hasbeen treating him as his slave. It is Caliban’s belief however, that the island shouldbelong to him by rights.

Prospero’s servant Ariel, an airy spirit, flies over. She is under a spell cast by Sycorax,which means that she cannot be free, and works for Prospero under the belief that ifshe carries out his duties, he will eventually let her go.

Ariel reports that the sailors are scattered around the island as Prospero hadintended. Prince Ferdinand, who sits washed up alone, is enchanted by Ariel’s spell,which leads him across the island over to Miranda. As soon as they set eyes uponeach other they fall in love.

On another part of the island, Trinculo and Stephano, two foolish sailors, sit drinkingthe wine that has washed up next to them. Caliban approaches them, thinking theymight help him get rid of Prospero. He charms them, promising riches and jewelsif they help kill Propsero. Caliban leads them to the wizard’s cave, but Prospero hascast a spell upon it, so that all three of them cannot enter and run away in fear.Antonio and Alonso, who have been lost for hours, are desperate for food and water.

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Suddenly, out of nowhere, a table appears, filled with fine food and drink. As theyapproach the table, Ariel (in the shape of a beast) swoops down, frightening them.Ariel tells them men that they are here to be punished by Prospero for what they didyears ago.

As if the whole thing were a dream, all of the scattered sailors suddenly bump intoeach other, relieved. Their ship appears on the shore all in one piece. They can’tbelieve their eyes. Alonso is shocked to see his son Ferdinand appear hand inhand with Miranda from a cave. Prospero appears, announcing that since Mirandaand Ferdinand are to be married he will make peace with his brother and thatthey should all return to Naples.

As Prospero is about to leave, he calls for Ariel and frees the spirit forever.As their ship sails away, Caliban, now left alone, realises he is finally in hisrightful place as King of the island!

KEY CHARACTERS

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Prospero - a Wizard and the ex-Duke of MilanMiranda - Prospero’s beautiful daughterAriel - a lively spiritCaliban - Prospero’s slave and son of the witch SycoraxSycorax - Caliban’s deceased motherAlonso - King of NaplesSebastian - Alonso’s brother Antonio - Prospero’s brother and now King of NaplesFerdinand - Alonso’s sonTrinculo and Stephano - Drunken fools

Caliban’s Personal Profile

Is he a man? Is he a fish? Is he a monster? No one knows exactly what Caliban is, butwhat we do know is that he misses his mother a lot. She died, leaving him alone onthe island. That’s why he believes,‘This island is mine’. Caliban is also attracted toMiranda, Prospero’s daughter, much to his dislike. Caliban hates Prospero becausehe forces him to be his slave. Caliban has many sides to him; he is endearing,adorable, frightening, upsetting, violent, egocentric and a clown. What he reallywants is some attention, and for the island to belong to him once more.

Tim Crouch says: “He’s funny and angry and ugly and naughty and rude and sad.He says some dirty things and he also says some beautiful things. There’s a bitof all of us in Caliban.”

Some notes from the playwright

An ugly monster?

“One of my favourite moments in I, Caliban is when I cover my face in rubber bands and ask the audience to agree that I’m ugly. I then tell them that they’d be ugly if they’d had a life like mine. I get the audience to laugh at me; then I immediately get them to feel bad about laughing at me, and to understand why I am the way I am.Lots of other characters in The Tempest describe Caliban as a monster. But I don’t think he’s a monster like the Abominable Snowman or Frankenstein’s monster. I just think he’s different from everyone else – and people who are different are often thought of as freaks.”

About the music

“Prospero teaches Caliban how to speak. In I, Caliban I assume that Prospero has also taught Caliban about music – ‘civilised’ music! Prospero magics a ‘Masque’ for the wedding of his daughter, which would have been very musical. Music is something that you ‘feel’ – and Caliban is a very feeling person. I’ve made the decision that this love of music is one thing that stays with Caliban when Prospero leaves him. Caliban throws away Prospero’s books, but he keeps his music. This gave me the image of a sort of Desert Island Discs – Caliban, alone, with his tape machine, playing pieces of music that he loves. Music that accompanies the story that he tells.”

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PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY

Get to know the story

Print out the synopsis of The Tempest provided in this pack. Cut this up into shortsections (about 10 parts). Split your class into 5 groups. Number each section 1-10and fold them up. Make each group pick two of the 10 sections from a bag.The groups must read the sections and come up with a small performance to act outeach part of the story. Create a performance space and get the class to sit down.Call out the sections in order 1-10 and whichever group has each individual sectionmust get up and show the class what they have been working on. This should helpchildren get to know the story whilst being creative and having fun.

Images of the Monster

As the group move around the space, call out some of the descriptions of Calibanthat are given by the other characters in the play. With each description, the groupshould work together to find an image that conveys this description:

- A very shallow monster.- A very weak monster- A most poor credulous monster.- A puppy-headed monster.- A most scurvy monster.- An abominable monster.- A brave monster.- A most perfidious and drunken monster.

The Storm

The Tempest begins with a storm at sea. Great fun can be had recreating thesounds and physical effects of the storm and the shipwreck it produces.Think of some activities that you might do on a ship – climbing rigging, swabbingthe deck, steering the ship, keeping a lookout, etc.Get each child to develop a physical action for their chosen activity.Have some children outside the ship, providing the sound effects of the storm.As the ‘storm’ gets stronger, encourage the ‘sailors’ to feel the effects of the roughsea. Then, when the storm is at its height, give a pre-agreed cue for the ship to startto split – a cymbal or a drum.Here are some lines from The Tempest that you can give to the sailors to shout asthe ship starts to go down:

“All lost, to prayers, to prayers! All lost.”“We split! We split!”“Mercy on us! Farewell my wife and children.”“Farewell, brother! We split, we split!”

As the ship splits and starts to sink, let the children explore their journey through therough seas and onto the island – remember, no one gets hurt in this tempest!

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POST-SHOW ACTIVITY

Caliban’s Chant

This is Caliban’s chant from The Tempest. It’s a great piece toget a class working on rhythm.Divide the group into two. One half can provide a repeating rhythm with

“Ban, Ban, Ca - Caliban.” The other half can work on putting the other lines over the rhythm.

Work on pace, on volume, and on bringing in a percussive element.Have fun with it. Caliban would approve…!

“No more dams I’ll make for fish.Nor fetch firingAt requiring.Nor scrape trenchering, nor wash dish.‘Ban, ‘Ban, CaCalibanHas a new master – get a new man!”

Soundscape of the Island

Get into pairs and with your partner think of a noise that you mighthear on Caliban’s island – a noise that can be repeated over and over again.Elect an A and a B within your pair and stand as far away aspossible from your partner.Person A closes their eyes and B leads their partner around thespace using only the noise they have chosen.

As must move towards the location of the noise/partner.A must only move when they hear their partner.When they can’t hear their noise, they must remain still and listen.B can guide their partner around the room, making sure that theydon’t bump into anyone.

A and B can then swap round.

Those making the noises should be aware of creating a sound environment with therest of the group – changing the volume, intensity and frequency of their noise, to fitin with the other pairs working in the space.

Storytelling activity

Caliban tells the story of The Tempest from his point of view. Can you tell a differentstory from a character’s point of view? Try the well known story of Little Red RidingHood for example. Tell the tale through the eyes of the Wolf or the Grandma orneighbour and surprise your class with details that they might not already know.

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Key quotes and questions to discuss in the classroom

Quotes: (all quotes from ‘I, Caliban’ unless otherwise stated)

“What you have to remember. What you have to remember is that this is an island that I am a monster.”

“And because he treats me like a dog I begin to behave like a dog.”

“And you must understand that I have never seen a man before apart from Prospero. And this man has a friend and these men have WINE and these mend do not beat Caliban.”

“I knew where the clustering filberts grow.”

“All the infections that the sun sucks up, From bogs, fens, flats on Prosper fall, and make himBy inch-meal, a disease!” (TT: Act 2, Scene 2)

“This is my Island. Or, rather, this island’s mine.”

Questions:

Do you feel sorry for Caliban?

Everyone on the island insults Caliban and calls him nasty names.Can you think of some nice things about him?

If you were washed up on a desert island and you were allowed tohave five things with you, what would you choose?

Do you think magic makes people happy?

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INTERVIEW WITH JIMMY WHITEAKER

Jimmy’s background in actingMy background is in theatre; I trained in acting for theatre (acting for theatreis quite different from acting in television or film or radio) and, after finishingtraining, have only worked in theatre.

Jimmy explains why he enjoys actingI enjoy acting for the same reason any of us do - we all act all the time, weall play about. Acting in the theatre means that I get to play about and helpcreate a work of art too.

Why Jimmy enjoys acting in theatreActing in the theatre also means that half of the show is made up by the audience;for example in I, Caliban it’s set on an island that only Caliban lives on - but Caliban’stelling the story to the audience. The audience have to use their imaginations andfeelings and ideas to create the island and the story. That’s something that onlytheatre can do - you can’t do that in the same way in television or film.

Jimmy’s favourite roleMy favourite role was James in a show I wrote with another person. It was a show wemade up from stories and memories out of our own lives, and then messed aboutwith, using our imaginations. It was a very funny and very sad show that only I actedin, and it was my favourite role because I had such a big part in creating it.

Why Jimmy was drawn to the role of CalibanI wanted to play the role of Caliban because he is a bit of a filthy monster(which is always fun to play), because he’s a bit wild and makes me laugh -but he’s also smart, and feels things deeply, and finds things beautifuland sad. Even when I’m playing a character that’s got some real sadnessor anger on the inside, it’s still got to be fun to play.

Jimmy on Caliban’s appearanceCaliban knows that other people find him ugly, but he uses it to poke fun athimself and everyone else. He also uses that knowledge to explain somethingabout himself when he says, ‘Well, you’d be ugly too if you’d had a life like mine.’Caliban sees things clearly, and doesn’t take himself entirely seriously.

How Jimmy thinks Caliban feels about his motherIn my mind, Caliban loves and misses his mother.

Jimmy discusses how Caliban feels when he is left aloneA mixture of relief and regret because Prospero’s gone. Although Caliban hatedProspero, Prospero showed him kindness at first and taught him many things.Even though he had a hard time when everyone was on the island with him, so manyextraordinary things happened it must have seemed like a bit of a carnival, a bit of acircus. He may be a monster, but he likes being around the colour and noise of otherpeople. Without anyone around him, he probably has too much time to think abouthis sad memories.

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Jimmy speaks about Caliban as a personAs an actor, whatever role I’m playing, it’s essential that I find out what my characterthinks and feels is right and true - even if I don’t agree with that. Although Calibantried to do terrible things, and thinks terrible thoughts, it’s not my job to judge him.It’s my job to understand what makes him tick, what he wants and doesn’t want.

I don’t believe that anyone is a bad person or a good person, but that we all actaccording to what we think and feel is best at the time. If put in a terrible situation,we might all be capable of doing something terrible.

What Jimmy thinks about I, Caliban compared with Shakespeare’s The Tempest.Shakespeare gives us descriptions of Caliban through the other characters in TheTempest: he is a slave, a fish-man, a puppy-headed monster - but he is also capableof great poetry and beauty in his speech and thoughts. In Tim Crouch’s play, Calibanloves beautiful music, and is capable of real love and tenderness toward his mother.In some ways, Tim Crouch’s portrait of Caliban is more playful and has more obvioussympathy toward him.

Jimmy remembers his first encounter with ShakespeareMy first encounter of Shakespeare was going to see Twelfth Night at the NationalTheatre in London as a child. I couldn’t really understand what they were saying, andthey seemed to be saying a lot to each other without doing anything. I fell asleep, soI don’t have much of a memory of it.

My first proper memory of Shakespeare was reading Henry IV, Part One when I wastwelve, at school. I remember being amazed at how much the characters lived - notjust how alive they came to be in my imagination, but how much they went through.They lived deeply, felt deeply, created havoc deeply. After that, I loved Shakespeare.

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I, PEASEBLOSSOM

A fairy in wellington boots has a dream ...

The play tells the story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as re-lived through thefevered nightmares of Shakespeare’s most neglected fairy. Funny, heart-breaking andever so slightly crazed, I, Peaseblossom is a gloriously anarchic dream of a ‘dream’.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - a synopsis

In Athens, Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta are making preparations for theirwedding day. Meanwhile, Egeus argues with his daughter Hermia because sherefuses to marry Demetrius, whom he intends for her. Instead, she hopes to marryLysander, a poet. Egeus goes to Theseus for help and guidance and he makes itclear that if Hermia doesn’t marry Demetrius, she will have to become a nun.

Having no alternative, Hermia and Lysander run away together into the woods. Here,they meet Helena, Hermia’s best friend. Helena is upset because she is in love withDemetrius. Hermia resolves that all would be perfect if Demetrius were to fall in lovewith Helena. Then she and Lysander could be married!

The woods are also inhabited by fairies. Oberon, the King of the fairies, is angrywith his wife, Queen Titania, because she is looking after an orphan boy. Oberon isjealous because he wants the orphan boy for himself but Titania will not allow that,which drives Oberon to take revenge by using magic to trick her.

Oberon summons his fairy helper, Puck, to find a magical flower, which, oncerubbed in someone’s eyes, will make them fall in love with the first livingthing they see. Puck is instructed to put the juice in Titania’s eyes.

Meanwhile, as darkness falls, the lovers get lost in the woods. Demetrius chasesLysander and Hermia as they attempt to run away. Helena, still desperate forDemetrius’ love, follows him, but Demetrius swears he will never love her in return.Oberon sees Helena distraught about this and decides it would help if themagical flower was used on Demetrius too.

Elsewhere in the woods, a group of workers - the ‘mechanicals’ - are rehearsing aplay, to be performed at the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Peter Quince, acarpenter is directing the play, with a cast consisting of Nick Bottom the weaver,Francis Flute the bellows-mender, Robin Starveling the tailor, Tom Snout the Tinkerand Snug the Joiner. Puck spots Nick Bottom and has some mischievous thoughts.When Titania falls asleep, Puck drops the magic juice in her eyes. To make it worse,he turns Bottom’s head into that of a donkey. This terrifies the mechanicals who runaway, shouting in fear. This wakes Titania who instantly falls in love with the donkey-facedBottom! Peaseblossom and the other fairies look on.

Puck heads back to Oberon and spots what he thinks is Demetrius, sleeping in thewood. Puck puts the love juice in his eyes, not knowing that it is actually Lysander!

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Lysander wakes to see Helena, and instantly falls in love with her. Helena is extremelybaffled by all this, and Hermia – thinking that Helena has stolen Lysander fromher - is very upset.

Puck tries to sort the whole situation by placing love juice in Demetrius’ eyes, only tofind that he too falls in love with Helena. Helena thinks the men are playing a horribletrick on her and is very angry. Hermia is distraught that both of them now love herbest friend, so she tries to fight Helena.

Oberon spots all of this mess, and makes Puck undo it all over night. When thelovers wake the next morning all is as it should be: Lysander loves Hermia again andDemetrius loves Helena. The lovers all return to Athens the next day and tell Egeusand Theseus their news.

Oberon looks to set things right, first by reversing the spell on Bottom and Titania,then by promising to stop fighting with his Queen. Puck apologises deeply for all ofhis mischief and all is well.

KEY CHARACTERS

Theseus - Duke of AthensHippolyta - Queen of the Amazons and Lover of TheseusLysander - in love with HermiaHelena - in love with DemetriusDemetrius - in love with HelenaHermia - in love with LysanderEugeus - Hermia’s fatherOberon - King of the FairiesTitania - Queen of the FairiesPuck - Servant to OberonPeaseblossom along with Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed.Robin Starveling - the tailor. Plays Moonshine.Tom Snout - the tinker. Plays the Wall.Snug - the joiner. Plays the Lion.Peter Quince - the carpenter. Directs Pyramus and Thisbe.Nick Bottom - the weaver. Plays Pyramus.Francis Flute - the bellowsmender. Plays Thisbe.

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Personal Profile: Peaseblossom

Peaseblossom is one of Titania’s fairy servants. He (or she!) has two main roles: to be a fairy and to bless things. Although he only has one word in the whole of A MidsummerNight’s Dream (‘Ready’, Act 3, Scene 1, L984), he is present for much of the actionand has a lot to say about it in Tim Crouch’s monologue.

Tim Crouch says; ‘With I,Caliban I had realised what fun it was to look at a storyfrom the point of view of a minor character. You can’t get any more minor thanPeaseblossom…’

Some notes from the Playwright

Grown-ups

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream is all about what grown-ups get up to...! It’s about love and marriage. But it’s not a very comfortable picture of love and marriage. The King and Queen of the Fairies are arguing. The King plays a horrid trick on his wife. The mortal lovers all squabble and bicker. One character is threatened by her father with death if she doesn’t marry the man he wants her to marry. Things get even worse when the fairies get involved. Lots of confusion and nobody trusting each other.

As a child, I remember being fascinated by what grown-ups get up to. Listening to their conversations; not understanding their love affairs, their arguments, their tears. This is the relationship that I wanted to give to Peaseblossom: an innocent child in the middle of all this mayhem, trying to work out what it all means. This, I thought, would be good for a young audience, too. To share in Peaseblossom’s confusion. They would then understand a bit more about what A Midsummer Night’s Dream is about.”

Dreams

“Everyone keeps on falling asleep in A Midsummer Night’s Dream! As the name of Shakespeare’s play suggests, this is a dream. Things happen when people sleep – magic is done to them, they fall in and out of love. I’ve seen productions of Shakespeare’s play where the lovers go through the play in their pyjamas and dressing gowns. So I thought about what kind of dreams Peaseblossom would have when he sleeps.There are some common dreams that we all have at some point in our lives. Many people dream that they’re teeth are falling out! Some people often dream that they’re naked! Some that they’re unable to move! Some that they’re being attacked! Peaseblossom has all these dreams on one night!! And through these dreams, we learn about the events of the past few days; we learn about Shakespeare’s story.”

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PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY

Get to know the story!

Print out the synopsis of A Midsummer Night’s Dream provided in the Educationpack. Cut this up into short sections (about 10 parts). Split your class into 5 groups.Number each section 1-10 and fold them up. Make each group pick two of the 10sections from a bag. The groups must read the sections and come up with a smallperformance, acting out the events of each. Create a performance space and get theclass to sit down. Call out the sections in order 1-10 and whichever group has thatsection must get up and show the class what they have been working on. This shouldhelp children get to know the story whilst having fun.

Do you dream?

The week before the show, encourage your class to keep a note book and pen bytheir beds. If they have a dream they should write it down straight away so theycan keep a log of any dreams they have. Some point before or after the show,ask the class to share their dreams, so you can discuss and compare them withPeaseblossom’s dreams and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

POST-SHOW ACTIVITY

Soundscape of the woods

Get into pairs and, with your partner, find a noise that you might hear in the woods inA Midsummer Night’s dream – a noise that can be repeated over and over again.

Elect an A and a B within your pair and stand as far away aspossible from each other.

The As close their eyes and Bs lead their partners around the spaceusing only the noise they’ve found.

As must move towards the location of the noise/partner.A must only move when they hear their partner.When they cannot hear their noise, they must remain still, and listen.

B can guide their partner around the room, making sure that theydon’t bump into anyone.

A and B can then swap round.

Those making the noises should be aware of creating a sound environmentwith the rest of group – changing the volume, intensity and frequency oftheir noise, to fit in with the other pairs working in the space.

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Wink Love murder

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the flower ’Love in Idleness’ causes a lot of mischiefand confusion, making people fall in love as soon as it touches their eyes. This gameis a take on the concept of ‘wink murder’. The same principles apply.

Instead of a detective you will need a ‘Love Doctor’ and instead of a murderer,you will need a ‘Lover’. The ‘Love Doctor’ has to guess who the ‘Lover’ is. Insteadof dying when the chosen ‘Lover’ winks at you, you instantly fall in love with NickBottom like Titania does. You should declare your love by saying ‘What Angel wakesme from my flowery bed?’ before fainting to the floor.

The Woods

Use the following descriptive phrases to create a magical woodland space. Thiscould be developed into a longer project involving painting or drawing scenes fromthe play as the children imagine them - bringing in materials and using musicalinstruments to make sounds, etc.

“And then the moon - like to a silver bow, new bent in Heaven.”

“The course of true love never did run smooth.”

“The cold fruitless moon.”

“Swift as a shadow, short as any dream; Brief as the lightning in the collied night.”

“So quick bright things come to confusion.”

“And certain stars shot madly from their spheres.”

“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,Where oxlips and the budding violet grows,Quiet overcanopied with luscious woodbine,With sweet muskroses and with eglantine.”

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Key quotes and questions to discuss in the classroom

Quotes: (quotes are from I, Peaseblossom unless otherwise stated)

“Oh what fools these mortals be.” (AMSND: Act 3, Scene 3)

“What angel wakes me from my flower bed?” (AMSND: Act 3, Scene 1)

“The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid, will make man or woman madly dote upon the next living creature that it sees.” (AMSND: Act 2, Scene 1)

“If this is love then I don’t want any of it.”

“The course of true love never did run smooth.” (AMSND: Act 1, Scene 1)

Questions:

How old do you think Peaseblossom is?

Do you feel sorry for Peaseblossom because he only speaks one word in the whole play?

Who do you think Peaseblossom’s best friend is?

Is Peaseblossom your idea of a typical fairy?

What do you think Peasblossom thinks about love and marriage?

What do you think about love and marriage?

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KATIE SYKES TALKS ABOUT THE DESIGN

Katie’s background in Design

I gained a theatre design degree from Wimbledon School of Art. After whichI was an assistant designer and then became a freelance designer, workingfor many companies based mostly in the South West.

Why Katie enjoys working in theatreI really enjoy collaborating with other artists such as actors and musicians andI love the process of trying to tell stories in as imaginative a way as possible.

Katie’s favourite productionI have worked on so many lovely shows it is really hard to choose just one, howeverI recently designed a dance piece for young children called Boing! It was really funto make but the best bit was watching the children’s response to it.

Previous Shakespearian shows Katie has worked onYes, many times. I have designed Romeo and Juliet, A Comedy of Errors,Macbeth, Pericles and A Midsummer Night’s Dream twice!

Kate’s first encounter with ShakespeareIt was probably the Franco Zeffirelli film of Romeo and Juliet whichmy older sister was mad about.

Katie talks about her design decisions for I,Peaseblossom, I, CalibanMy design decisions for this play have been guided by my desire for the showsto look atmospheric, simple and exciting. We are taking a lot from the originalproductions but adding some of our own ideas too. The shows are being performedin extremely varied places including theatres, churches, schools and woods. Thismeans that the design needs to be flexible, easily transported and should be fairlyeasy to put up and down.

All the shows excite me because the characters are all so different yet they arelinked by the fact that they have all been affected by forces stronger than them.I like the way each character tries to make sense of the events that have unfoldedin front of them.

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KATIE’S SKETCHES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DESIGN PROCESS

I, Caliban

I, Peaseblossom

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