ABOUT THEPLAY GUIDEThis play guide is a standards-based resource designed to enhance your theatre experience. Its goal is twofold: to nurture the teaching and learning of theatre arts and to encourage essential questions that lead to enduring understandings of the play’s meaning and relevance. Inside you will find history/contextual information, vocabulary and worksheets that lay the groundwork of the story and build anticipation for the perfor-mance. Oral discussion and writing prompts encourage your students to reflect upon their impressions and to analyze and relate key ideas to their personal experiences and the world around them. These can eas-ily be adapted to fit most writing objectives. The Bridgework connects theatre elements with ideas for drama activities in the classroom as well as integrated curriculum. We encourage you to adapt and extend the material in any way to best fit the needs of your community of learners. Please feel free to make copies of this guide, or you may download it from our website: www.actorstheatre.org. We hope this material, combined with our pre-show workshops, will give you the tools to make your time at Actors Theatre a valuable learning experience.

Table of ContentsPage 2: Synopsis and Did You Know?Page 3: Shakespeare’s BiographyPage 4 - 5: The Globe TheatrePage 6: Elizabethan PlaywrightsPage 7: Elizabethan Hot or NotPage 8: MagicPage 9: InterviewPage 10: Shakespearian WordsPage 11: Shakepeare QuotesPage 12 - 13: BridgeworkPage 14: Discussion and ThemesPage 15: VocabularyPage 16: Writing for Publication

The Tempest matinee and study guide address specific Ky Core Content:

• AH-1.3.1: Students will identify the elements of drama. • AH-2.3.1: Students will analyze how time, place and ideas are reflected in drama/theatre. • AH-3.3.1: Students will explain how drama/theatre fulfills a variety of purposes.• AH-HS-3.1.1: Students will explain how music fulfills a variety of purposes. • AH-1.3.1: Students will analyze the use of technical elements, literary elements and performance elements.• RD-5.0.2: Students will analyze the author’s use of literary devices.• RD-1.0.4: Students will interpret the meaning of jargon, dialect, or specialized vocabulary.

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our play guides, please feel free to contact Katie Blackerby Weible, Director of Education, at (502) 584-1265 or kblackerby@actorstheatre.org.

Study Guide compiled by Stephanie Ong, Ganelle Holman, Charles Haughlin, Devon LeBelle, Jess Jung and Katie Blackerby Weible

Actors Theatre Education Department

Katie Blackerby Weible, Education Director

Jess Jung, Assistant Education Director

Lee Look, New Voices Coordinator

Ganelle Holman, Education Intern

Stephanie Ong, Education Intern

The TempestPLAY GUIDE

The Hearst Foundation, Inc.

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N 1. Personal Expressive

2. Literary

3. Transactive

Consider the father/daughter relationship between Prospero and Miranda. Now think of someone to whom you are close. It can be a guardian, a sibling, a friend at school, etc. In a personal memoir, describe what your relationship means to you. How does that person make you feel? How long have you known this person? What are some of your favorite moments together? Guide your reader through the memories by creating specific images of the events.

Write a short story describing what happened an hour before the great tempest struck the King of Naples’ ship. Focus on one character. What was this character doing before the storm hit? Be sure to create a distinct voice describing how the character felt aboard the ship. Challenge yourself to include a conflict and resolution.

After seeing The Tempest, write a theatrical critique of the production. Pretend you are writing for a local newspaper. Describe three elements that stood out to you (maybe an actor’s performance, the set, the costumes, etc.). Why should or shouldn’t someone go see this production?

Need more help? Check out our Young Critics Workshops! Have an Actors Theatre teaching artist visit your classroom to give your students the inside scoop on how to write a theatrical critique.

Students who have written a critique on an Actors Theatre production may submit their work to be posted on our website! To submit online, please send all critiques as email attachments to jjung@actorstheatre.org with the subject heading ‘Young Critics Contest.’ Please be sure to include your name, school, teach-er, grade, and contact information.

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By WIlliam Shakespeare

B I N G H A M S I G N AT U R E S H A K E S P E A R E

The players:Prospero: Sorcerer; rightful Duke of Milan Ferdinand: Son of the King of NaplesBoatswain: Petty officer of shipMarinersAntonio: Prospero’s brother, the usurping Duke of MilanGonzalo: An honest counselorSebastian: Brother to the King of NaplesAriel: An airy spirit Miranda: Prospero’s daughterCaliban: A native of the island, slave to ProsperoAlonso: King of NaplesTrinculo: Drunken sailor Stephano: Drunken sailorBrachen and Tangle: Spirits of the island

SynopsisA great tempest shipwrecks the King of Naples, his passengers, and crew. Unbeknownst to them, the isolated, supernatural island where they find themselves stranded is ruled by the sorcerer Prospero, the former Duke of Milan. Prospero ordered his sprite Ariel to summon the storm, knowing that his usurping brother, Antonio, was among the passengers. Miranda, Prospero’s daughter, encounters the King’s son, Ferdi-nand. Assuming his father is dead, Ferdinand is full of grief, and yet, immediately, the two fall in love. Prospero captures the young nobleman, and tests him by conscripting him into performing physical labor. Elsewhere, King Alonso is overwhelmed with feelings of guilt, assuming his son was lost in the shipwreck. Ariel keeps an eye on this group,and protects Prospero’s true friend, Gonzalo, when Alonso’s ownbrother, Sebastian, joins with Antonio in a plot to overthrow the King. Caliban, a savage creature enslaved by Prospero, leaves the sorcerer.He believes Prospero stole the island from him. He encounters twodrunken sailors, Trinculo and Stephano, who introduce him to the magicof liquor. Caliban swears loyalty to them in exchange for their help inoverthrowing Prospero. What will become of Miranda and Ferdinand’s love? How will Cali-ban’s fate be determined? Will everyone finally obtain their rightful place in society?

The shipwreck in The Tempest is based on a true story: the fate of the Sea Venture. The ship left harbor June 2nd 1609. Her cargo was 150 people and goods traveling from Plymouth to Jamestown. By July 25th she had hit a violent storm that weakened the calking between her timbers causing mas-sive leaks. Three days later the Sea Venture was run aground on the reefs of Bermuda. The single longboat was sent to Virginia with Henry Raven at the helm, but he was never heard from again. A second expedition was sent and this time managed to harbor. Arriving at Jamestown, only 60 survivors remained from a fleet containing almost 500 people. Jamestown was judged as being unfit for life and many braved the ocean, once again and returned to England.

Did You Know?

Abhorred: hated

Allay: to calm

Amain: at a fast pace

Auspicious: favorable

Barren: infertile

Baseless: lacking real foundation or insubstantial

Beak: prow of a ship

Beseech you: please

Bootless: unprofitable; useless

Chide: to scold

Credulous: gullible

Discourse: discussion

Doublet: jacket

Dost: does

Drollery: puppet show

Featly: gracefully

Fen: marsh or bog

Flout: mock

Foison: plenty

Gaberdine: cloak

Heaviness: sorrow or distressing circumstances

Hest: command

Quickens: enlivens

Rapier: sword

Sans: without

Save: long live

Soft: just a minute

Solemnize: to celebrate

Supplant: overthrow

Surfeited: full or satisfied

Temporal: worldly

Twain: two

Vast: immense expanse

Verily: in truth or indeed

Vexed: troubled

Waist: the middle part of the upper deck of a ship, between the quarterdeck and the forecastle

Whilere: a while ago

Wilt: will you?

Winkst: close your eyes

Varlet: rouge

Yare: ready for sea

The Tempest Vocabulary

Homage: tribute

Hoodwink: cover from sight or blot out

Jocund: merry

Lasslorn: bereaved of his sweetheart

Loathness: reluctance

Lorded: given lordly power

Massy: heavy

Merry: cheerful

Mooncalf: freak

Mow: grimace

Mushrumps: mushrooms

Nuptial: marriage

Odious: hateful

Perdition: loss, damnation, or destruction

Perfidious: treacherous

Perforce: whether you will or no

Precursors: ones who go before

Prerogative: privilege

Presently: at once

Prithee: please

Tempest:1) a violent wind storm, especially one with rain, hail or snow

2) A violent commotion or disturbance

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Pre-Show Discussion Questions1. If you were banished to a nearly deserted island, what five items would you bring with you?

2. Many stories center on characters with magical powers (from fairy tales to Harry Potter). Some people think young people should not read these stories because magic is not real. What do you think?

3. Before you enter the theatre, try to picture the world of The Tempest. What kind of set do you expect to see? What style and colors? What do you think the costumes will look like? What elements of drama do you think will set the mood? How?

4. How is seeing a play different from seeing a movie? As an audience member, what types of things do you need to keep in mind when

going to see a live performance?

Themes Servitude

Freedom

Reality

Illusion

Nature

Language

Forgiveness

Post-Show Discussion Questions1. Both Caliban and Ariel seek freedom from Prospero. In what ways are their attitudes toward servitude different? How are they the same? How can having a positive outlook make working fun? When is confronting a legitimate instructor appropriate?

2. Prospero directs Ariel to be an actor, to take on various shapes and characters in order to bewitch his audience of shipwrecked guests. In your real life, how many different roles do you inhabit each day in order to get what you want? In playing the ideal student or loving sibling’ are you being yourself or creating an illusion?

3. All of the characters in The Tempest are literate. Decide how each of the characters makes use of their education. Why is having a vast knowledge of words useful? How can language be both constructive and destructive?

4. Shakespeare is a master of imagery, particularly when he describes the nature and vegetation present on his magical island. Paint a picture with words describing your classroom. Use as many colors, smells, textures, and sounds as you can.

William Shakespeare

Me, poor man, my library was dukedom large enough… William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. His plays and poems are testaments to his wide reading—especially to his knowledge of Virgil, Ovid, Plutarch, and the Bible—and to his mastery of the English language. But we can only speculate about his education. We know that the King’s New School in Stratford-upon-Avon was considered excellent, but as the records of the Stratford “grammar school” do not survive, we cannot prove that William Shakespeare attended the school. However, every indication (his father’s position as an alderman and bailiff of Stratford, the playwright’s own knowledge of the Latin classics), suggests that he did. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—their older daughter Susanna and twins Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. Shakespeare’s marriage is recorded, but how he sup-ported himself and where he lived are not known. Shakespeare published his long narrative poem Venus and Adoni in 1593, followed by The Rape of Lucrece. It seems no coincidence that Shakespeare wrote these narrative poems at a time when the theaters were closed because of the plague, a contagious epidemic disease that devastated the population of London. When the theaters reopened late in 1594, Shakespeare apparently resumed his double career of actor and playwright and began his long service as an acting-company shareholder. Records for December of 1594 show him to be a leading member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. It was this company of actors, later named the King’s Men, for whom he would be a principal actor, dramatist, and shareholder for the rest of his career. As far as we can tell, that career spanned about twenty years. In the 1590s, he wrote his plays on English history as well as several comedies and at least two tragedies (including Romeo and Juliet). In 1599, Shakespeare’s company built a theater for themselves across the river from London, naming it the Globe. Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed at court for Queen Elizabeth I and, after her death in 1603, for King James. Some were presented at the Inns of Court (the residences of London’s legal societies), and some were doubtless performed in other towns and at universities when the King’s Men went on tour. Otherwise, his plays from 1599 to 1608 were, so far as we know, performed only at The Globe until its destruction in 1613 To recollect that the year of his birth marked the deaths of both Michelangelo and Calvin is to set him in the middle of the two great formative movements in the arts and religion, the Renaissance and the Reformation. The year of his own death also bore witness to the first lectures of physiology,

A Brief Biography

marking a movement of new achievements for scientific method. Sometime between 1610 and 1613, Shakespeare is thought to have retired from the stage and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616. Shakespeare is buried inside the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford. Four centuries after he wrote them, the works of William Shakespeare continue to entertain and intrigue audiences around the world. Shakespeare’s genius permanently shaped the English language, while his knowledge of the human mind and heart speaks to us across the years. In the words of his friend and rival playwright Ben Jonson, “He was not of an age, but for all time.”

TERMS:

Lord Chamberlain’s Men- one of the leading theatre companies in London, founded during the reign of Queen Elizabeth in 1594

The Globe- the name of the theatre in which most all of Shake-speare’s plays were performed. The Globe was open to everyone, despite his or her financial status. (See page 4)

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The Globe Theatre

Before there was The Globe, there was The Theatre. The Theatre was an Elizabethan theatre built on the Thames River in 1576 by James Burbage. The Theatre stood on property belonging to a man named Giles Allen. James Burbage paid Allen for the right to use his land, but for only 21 years. In April 1597, the lease ran out and failure to pay meant Allen would be unable to keep the playhouse. Not wanting to give up the family business, James’ two sons Cuthbert and Richard, along with a team of hired workmen, including William Shakespeare, built the “second” Theatre, The Globe in December 1599. The men disassembled The Theatre and reused the wood to build The Globe. The Globe’s new home was on the opposite side of the Thames River. The success of the Globe Theatre was due to the team of men who vigorously worked to keep the theatre alive. Among them were William Kemp, Augustine Philips, Thomas Pope, John Hemings, William Shakespeare and Cuthbert and Richard Burbage. These seven each owned a share of The Globe and became known as Lord Chamberlain’s Men, after Lord Chamberlain, who was a powerful nobleman. In 1603 after the death of Elizabeth I, the Chamberlain’s Men became known as the King’s Men after James I. The Globe’s design was considered bold for its time. The construction of the theatre was a rectangular acting space consisting of a platform raised about five feet from the ground. The stage thrust into a circular audience space. The audience filled three tiers on either side of the stage as well as a yard directly in

front of the stage to watch the performances; these people were called groundlings. The theatre had no roof. Instead, thecentral area was open to the sky. Only the stage was covered by a thatched roof held up by pillars. When the theatre was full, there were two to three thousand playgoers above and below the stage, and even in private boxes (or “lord’s rooms”) which were located near the back of the platform. Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed at the Globe. Among them were: Julius Caesar, Othello, King Lear, Hamlet, As You Like It and even The Tempest. On June 29, 1613 the Globe was destroyed by a massive fire. During a performance of King Henry VIII, a cannon was used to announce the arrival of the king, who was played by Richard Burbage. When the cannon was fired, sparks flew through the air and landed on the thatched roof above the stage. At first no one noticed the smoke because they were too engaged in Burbage’s performance. Then all of a sudden, spectators noticed smoke rising from the roofing. “Fire!” rang out throughout the theatre. Everyone managed to escape unhurt as the first Globe burned to the ground. The second Globe Theatre was built in less than a year on the same foundation as the first, with a few modifications. The theatre was built with more space to store costumes and was built with a fireproof, tiled roof rather than a thatched one. The outside of the theatre displayed a carving of Atlas holding up a globe and underneath it, in Latin a line from Shakespeare’s play As You Like It: “All the world’s a stage,” the Globe’s motto.

Writing• ORQ - Prospero undergoes the most complex change in the play. He is deeply resentful of those who have mistreated him in Milan. Ariel leads him to a new understanding of resolving conflict in re-lationship by choosing virtue over vengeance. She tells him that if she were human, her “affections would become tender”-- she would feel mercy toward them. At this point, Prospero delivers one of the most powerful speeches of the play: And mine shall. Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling Oftheirafflictions,andshallnotmyself, One of their kind, that relish all as sharply Passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art? Though with their high wrongs I am stuck to the quick, Yet with my nobler reason ‘gainst my fury Do I take part. The rarer action is In virtue than in vengeance. They being penitent, The sole drift of my purpose doth extend Not a frown further. Go, release them, Ariel. My charms I’ll break, their senses I’ll restore, And they shall be themselves. (Act V, sc. i)Think of a time when someone wronged you. What was the result of the conflict? Were you able to forgive the person? How was it resolved? What is the difference between “justice” and “revenge”? • ORQ - In what many consider (rightly or wrongly) to be Shake-speare’s “Farewell to the Stage”, Prospero speaks of giving up his art. Be cheerful, sir. Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air; And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. (Act IV, sc. i) What is the importance of our dreams? How are dreams and reality in conflict? Explore the theme of illusion vs. reality. Can you draw parallels between this speech and Shakespeare’s feeling about his own art?

Language Arts• MODERN TEMPEST – Translate the following speech into con-temporary language. Define any words that you don’t know and incorporate slang, colloquialisms and your own regional jargon. Think about Prospero’s treatment of Caliban and how Caliban has changed since his time with Prospero and Miranda. Caliban: I must eat my dinner. This island’s mine by Sycorax, my mother, Whichthoutak’stfromme.Whenthoucam’stfirst, Thou strok’st me and made much of me, wouldst give me Water with berries in’t, and teach me how To name the bigger light, and how the less, That burn by day and night; and then I lov’d thee And show’d thee all the qualities o’ th’isle, The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile, Curs’d be that I did so! All the charms Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you! For I am all the subjects that you have, Whichfirstwasmineownking;andhereyoustyme In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me The rest o’ th’island. (Act I, sc. ii)

CROSS CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE – Shakespeare’s work is teeming with descriptive words and rhetorical devices, such as imagery, metaphor, simile, personification and alliteration.To better under-stand his language, it is helpful to know when his characters are speaking figuratively. Imagery: The use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sen-sation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience.* Caliban’s description of the island environment appeals to our senses: The isle is full of noises, Sounds, and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices That, if I then had waked after long sleep, Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches Ready to drop upon me, that, when I waked, I cried to dream again.Metaphor - a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.* For example, Miranda compares the body to a house: There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple. If the ill spirit have so fair a house, Good things will strive to dwell with’t.Simile - a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as.* Ariel compares Ferdinand’s hair to reeds: The King’s son, Ferdinand, With hair up-staring (then like reeds, not hair), Wasthefirstmanthatleapt;cried,“Hellisempty, And all the devils are here!”Personification- attribution of personal qualities.* Ariel describes the air: The air breathes upon us here most sweetly.Alliteration - the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables.* The repetition of “f” in Ariel’s speechillustrates: Fullfadomfivethyfatherlies, Of his bones are coral made.Search the text of the play for as many examples of figurative language as you can find. Then try your hand at writing figura-tively in contemporary language.(*definitions from www.m-w.com/dictionary)

Social StudiesMany critics believe that The Tempest is Shakespeare’s way of exploring the idea of colonialism. Prospero and Miranda are colonists living in a new, strange world. How do they influence the natives of this island? Research the English exploration of “the New World” that was happening in 1611. What are the parallels between the play and history?

ScienceResearch different types of storms typical to a coastal area, includ-ing tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons and tropical cy-clones. Discuss the causes and effects, and differences between the types of storms. What major weather catastrophes have occurred throughout history?

GeographyThe Tempest takes place on an isolated island somewhere between Italy and the north sea of Africa. Written in 1611 and taking place roughly at that same time, little was known geographically about the area. Research this area today. What likely area could be the island in the play?

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In 1642, a civil war broke out in England between King Charles I and Parliament. Parliament was in charge of passing laws and raising new taxes for the king. London was mainly controlled by Parliament whose leaders were strict Puritans. Oliver Cromwell was one of the leaders in Parliament and a Puritan who despised theatre. In 1642, Parliament passed a law closing the playhouses and banning all performances. Some players performed illegally until they were stopped by the law, fined and even whipped. Others joined the King’s army. In 1644, after the deaths of William Shakespeare and Richard Burbage, the Globe Theatre was demolished to make way for public housing. King Charles lost the war and was beheaded in 1649. Not until 1660, when Charles II, the late king’s son was crowned, did the theatre make a comeback. He loved theatre and orded the theatres to be built back up. Many years later in the 1970s, an American actor by the name of Sam Wanamaker launched a campaign to build a replica of the Globe Theatre on its original site. In 1996 the brand new Globe Theatre opened on the Bankside just a few yards from its original foundation. The Globe Theatre is still open today; people from all over the world visit London to watch the plays of the 16th and 17th centuries.

FACTS ABOUT THE GLOBE THEATREg In order for people from the other side of the river to see a play at the Globe, they had to take boats which were navigated by people called watermen.

g Those who could not afford the boat fare had to walk across the Thames River using the London Bridge.

g A flag was flown to announce there would be a play that afternoon.

g All theatres were closed down in 1593, 1603 and 1608 due to the black plague.

g The word “theatre” comes from the Latin word “theatrum”, meaning “viewing place”

g Men were the only actors during the Renaissance. Women were not allowed on public stages. Younger boys who hadn’t reached puberty played women’s roles because their voices were still high pitched.

BRIDGEWORKBuilding Connections Between Stage and ClassroomThe following exercises combine creative drama, theatre concepts and core content to connect the theatre experience with drama activities in your classroom. By explor-ing drama as a mode of learning, students strengthen skills for creative problem solving, imagination and critical thinking.

Core Content Connection - The activities are designed using the Elements of Drama: Literary, Technical and Performance. (Core Content 4.1)

What Am I Saying?Choose a line of dialogue for each character in the play. Translate the line into your own words. What is the character saying? What does the line tell you about the character?

Create a Sound DesignThe Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s sound-heavy plays. The technical element of sound helps describe a character, create mood and places us in a specific time and place. Assume the role of sound designer for your own production of The Tempest. Think of the themes in the play. What music would you choose to put in your production that reflects the main ideas and characters? What sound effects would you choose to communicate a storm, island en-vironment, magic? Compile a list of both sound effects and music that you would use.

Write a LetterApologizing to another person is often a difficult task. Write an apology letter in the voice of one of the characters in the play to another character.

Create a CollageThink of the themes and issues present in The Tempest. Create a collage of images from magazines and/or your own artwork that reflects the ideas of the play. Share with the class.

Draw a PosterCreate a poster for our production of the play. Include as much detail of shape, line and color that you can remember.

Mark Your FeetA Shakespearean “foot” consists of one stressed and one unstressed syllable, or an iamb. Mark the feet in the following passage. Do you notice a break in the pattern? Which words did Shakespeare want his actors to stress? How might those words be useful to an actor creating a character?

Prospero: By my so potent art. But this rough magic I here abjure, and, when I have required Some heavenly music, which even now I do, To work mine end upon their senses that This airy charm is for, I’ll break my staff.

AT YOUR DESK Activities

JUMP, STOP, CLAPMost contemporary plays use stage directions to tell the actors when to perform an action onstage. For example, “She walks to the ringing telephone and answers it.” Shakespeare hardly used stage directions at all! Instead, he used punctuation and descriptive language to inform the actor’s movement. In the following passage, Ariel explains to Prospero how she followed his directions, flaming and springing to sink the ship.

Try to use your body to bring Shakespeare’s words to life. Walk when you are speaking. Stop moving at each period. Jump at the semicolons and colons. Clap at each comma. Ariel: To every article. I boarded the king’s ship; now on the beak, Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, Iflamedamazement:sometimeI’lddivide,

ON YOUR FEET Activities

And burn in many places; on the topmast, Theyardsandbowsprit,wouldIflamedistinctly. Then meet and join.

Tableaux ShowRecreate the story of The Tempest through tableaux (still images). Plot out major points of the story, creating a tableau with your bod-ies to depict each “scene” in the play. There should be no sound. Rehearse moving from one tableau to the next in order. You might even choose music to play underneath. Then present to the class your performance of The Tempest through these frozen pictures.

Playwriting• Write a soliloquy for one of the characters in the play.• Write a scene for two characters that is NOT in the play, but one that might have taken place in the story. For example: A. A prologue set in Milan between Prospero and Antonio before Prospero’s fall; B. An epilogue between Miranda and Ferdinand, Trinculo and Stephano, or Alonso and Sebastian.Rehearse your soliloquy or scene (with a partner) as reader’s the-atre or with blocking (stage movement). Present to the class.

Brave New World How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world That has such people in’t!

Divide into small groups (4-6 per group). Imagine that you and your classmates have been shipwrecked on a primitive island. There is no government, institution, commerce, etc. As a group, establish a plan for survival. Who will be in charge? How will you make decisions? Each member will become a character. In role, improvise a town meeting in which you will decide how your town will be organized, how responsibility will be delegated and other important matters to be debated. After playing for 10-15 minutes, reflect and compare your experience with other groups.

Theatrical MagicWith a story full of magic, special effects, monsters, music and dancing, The Tempest is a perfect choice to show all the technical elements of theatre. In small groups, explore in detail what kinds of technical effects you saw and heard (lights, sound, costumes, set) and how each of these helped to tell the story. Then, choose a piece of classical literature that might lend itself to a technically “theatrical” production. Divide your group into the four technical teams and brainstorm possibilities for how you would use tech elements in your production. Present your concept to the class, complete with sketches and sound examples.

Stage vs. FilmThere have been a few film adaptations of The Tempest. For example: Forbidden Planet (1956), a sci-fi version; a 1985 filmed stage version starring Ephram Zimbalist, Jr.; and a 1982 adaptation starring Molly Ringwald and Susan Sarandon as Miranda and Aletha. Research two or more versions and watch them. Then divide into small groups. Each group will document similarities and differences between film versions as well as be-tween stage and screen. Describe the different approaches taken in each piece. Which are successful and why? Prepare an oral presentation for your class. If possible, use film clips to support your presentation. You might wish to expand your research to include other Shakespearean titles that have been adapted for film. 512

Christopher “Kit”Marlowe (1564-1593) Christopher “Kit” Marlowe is considered by most scholars to be the most accomplished and important English playwright before Shakespeare. Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and playwright. He was born in Canterbury, England and attended The King’s School at Canterbury. He also attended Corpus Christi Col-lege at Cambridge on a scholarship. During this time, it is possible that Marlowe secretly worked for the government as a secret spy. Due to his ongoing record of absences, the college was hesitant to award him his degree. In July 1587, Marlowe received his M.A. from Corpus Christi. In 1925 a scholar by the name of J. Leslie Hotson discovered an entry located in the register of Queen Elizabeth’s Privy Council that addresses Marlowe’s whereabouts during his college years. The entry describes Marlowe’s journey to Rheims in France. Modern scholars have agreed that Marlowe was indeed a part of the Queen’s secret service and that he had been regularly spying on Catholics as well as others who posed a threat to her and her court. Marlowe’s first dramatic piece of work is probably Dido, Queen of Carthage, possibly written at Cambridge with Thomas Nashe. Marlowe’s most famous work is The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. It is about a man who sells his soul to the Devil. It is considered complex and one of his more mature plays. Other works by Marlowe are The Jew of Malta, Edward the Second,Tamburlaine the Great and The Massacre at Paris. The circumstances around Marlowe’s death are a mystery. It is said that Marlowe died during a bar brawl from a dagger wound right above the eye which penetrated to his brain, killing him instantly, but to this day scholars have found no clear evidence that this was simply a bar brawl, and many speculate the murder is related to his career as a spy.

Thomas Kyd (1558-1594) Thomas Kyd’s influence as “the father of the revenge tragedy” is based solely on the one play he wrote that had popular success, Spanish Tragedy. The play contains several murders, the ghost and spirit of Revenge belonging to the Spanish officer Andrea who was murdered by a captive named Balthazar. Other themes include suicide, jealousy, and guilt. Little is known about Kyd’s life, although we know he was born November 6, 1558 and received a well rounded education at Merchant Taylors’ School. There he studied Latin, Greek, art, drama and music. There is no evidence, however, that Kyd went on to attend any type of university. Other works by Kyd include his translations of Torquato Tasso’s Padre di Famiglia, published as The Householder’s Philosophy; and Robert Garnier’s Cornelia. After The Spanish Tragedy was written, Kyd faded out of the public eye, later becoming a translator of Italian and giving up playwriting all together. Thomas Kyd died in 1594 in London.

George Peele (1558-1596) George Peele was best known for writing in a variety of styles. He tried his hand at tragedies, civic pageants, history and pastoral romances. Peele gained much attention with his first play, The Arraignment of Paris, so much so that the Queen’s court arranged a private performance. Peele attended Christ’s Church complex from the age of nine to fourteen. There he studied reli-gious instruction, Greek and Latin. Peele was encouraged to further

his studies at Oxford and in 1571 he pursued studies in theology and moral philosophy. Peele did not join the clergy, but instead went into theatre and as a playwright. Some of his plays include The Old Wives’ Tale; King Edward the First, The Battle of Alcazar; England’s Parnassus, and The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe. Although an abundance of Peele’s plays and poems survive today, in his own time he was unable to support himself. In the early 1550’s, Peele went into debt. Making mat-ters worse, he endured some sort of chronic illness that diminished his strength. In 1595, Peele begged for aid from a nobleman named Lord Burleigh, but was declined. On November 9, 1596, George Peele died in London.

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) Modern scholars believe Ben Jonson follows Shakespeare as the next important English dramatist. Jonson was born in London in 1572, and like many other playwrights of his time, he was also a poet and actor. By the summer of 1597, Jonson had a fixed engagement in the Admiral’s Men, and performed under Philip Henslowe’s management at The Rose Theatre. Jonson was thought of as an unsuccessful actor and was evidently more valuable to the company as a writer. Some of his earlier works included Palladis Tamia, The Isle of Dogs (co-written with Thomas Nashe). Shortly after, he wrote Every Man in his Humour which was an instant success. The following year he wrote Every Man Out of His Humour. The tragedy Catiline and his comedies Vol-pone, Epicene, or the Silent Woman, The Alchemist, Bartholomew Fair and The Devil is an Ass. Along with plays, Jonson was also wrote masques (a form of festive entertainment which flourished in sixteenth and early seventeenth century Europe) for the royal court. Among his two dozen masques he wrote are The Satyr and The Masque of Blackness. Jonson wrote for a few years after his decline in the theatre. Due to a stroke, his library burning down and a long list of failed plays, Jonson was unable to write another successful play. At his death in 1637, Jonson was working on a new play entitled The Sad Shepherd.

Did you know there were many playwrights of Shakespeare’s time whose contributions to literature made an impact on society?

Check out the other Elizabethan greats: Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd, George Peele and Ben Jonson.

ELIZABETHAN PLAYWRIGHTS

Shakespeare Coined…

□ for goodness sake□ bag and baggage□ as white as driven snow□ green-eyed monster□ hold a candle to □ one fell swoop□ stood on ceremony□ elbow room□ too much of a good thing□ give the devil his due□ it smells to heaven□ not a mouse stirring□ sharper than a serpent’s tooth□ merry as the day is long□ budge an inch□ laugh yourself into stitches□ too much of a good thing □ sleep not one wink □ foul play□ vanish into thin air □ your own flesh and blood□ truth will out □ make a virtue of necessity □ seen better days □ in a pickle□ without rhyme or reason □ as luck would have it □ but me no buts

QUOTATIONSDid you ever wonder where the expressions—dead as a doornail, a laughing stock, a tower of strength, or a blinking idiot—came from? They are all expressions found in Shakespeare’s plays, and now they are in our language. Have you ever heard any of these expressions? Check off the ones you recognize. How many of these do you think you could fit into a short story? Challenge yourself! Write your story in the space below.

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10 7

MAGICThe Tempest takes a spectacular storm scene, magic manipulation of people and of things, a masque of goddesses, spirits in the form of a pack of hounds, a half-domesticated monster, and characters who can go about invisible to other characters and drops them on a magical, deserted island. In this play, the magic of the island comes from Prospero’s art, and the nature of that art must be clearly understood. It is white magic, not black, in that the magician uses only some secret powers of nature, which he has learned after laborious study; he does not call up evil spirits, as the black magician does, nor does he make compacts with the devil and jeop-ardize his immortal soul. For people of Shakespeare’s time, magic and superstition were critical issues lying very much at the center of their lives. Europeans relied on spells and charms handed down from their parents to heal illness, to ward off misfortune, and to protect from harmful witchcraft. They used traditional rites to ensure the well- being of crops and domestic animals, and they paid attention to any number of signs that could serve as omens of the future. In cases of particular need, they might turn to a healer, cunning folk or professional fortunetellers who have special skills or knowl-edge of the magical arts. Court magicians had been common since the Middle Ages, and provided Queen Elizabeth with astrological services, as well as with mathematical and navigational expertise. There were other major divine influences including music, as particular songs or melodies were believed to be (rather literally) in tune with certain divine radiations and would alter the body subtly to be influenced by these forces. There is more music in The Tempest than any of Shakespeare’s other plays, including the comedies with their festive endings. And music is Prospero’s final request before retirement. “But this rough magic I here abjure, and, when I have required some heavenly music, which even now I do, to work mine end upon their senses that this airy charm is for, I’ll break my staff.” Natural substances were particularly attuned to certain forces as well, and could be used to attract or amplify these. Gold was in natural harmony with the beneficial energies of the sun, for example. Prospero’s “midnight mushrooms,” and “green sour ringlets” could be considered references to the earthly nature of his “so potent art.” Some Renaissance thinkers studied Kabbalah, a Jewish system of mysticism that had developed mainly in medieval Spain. Since, in the Book of Genesis God created the heavens and the earth by speaking, Kabbalah became centered on words and letters. Through the careful study of words, one could ascend toward the divine. Whether or not Shakespeare studied Kabbalah, The Tempest would imply that he certainly believed the ability to manipulate language was a divine human quality. The magic of language is a running theme in the play, and the main characters are benefactors of learning words. Prospero taught Miranda while growing up on the island. “Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit than other princesses can that have more time for

vainer hours and tutors not so careful?” Miranda then teachesCaliban the art of language. “I pitied thee, took pains to makethee speak, taught thee each hour one thing or other: when thou didst not, savage, know thine own meaning but wouldst gabble like a thing most brutish, I endow’d thy purposes with words that made them known.” But Shakespeare knew that language, in the hands of the wrong magician, is a dangerous art, and comments on such with the character of Caliban. “You taught me language; and my profit on’t is I know how to curse. The red plague rid you for learning me your language!” Prospero’s last act, ending his career as a magician, is to “drown [his] book.” The play begins and ends with Prospero’s magic. From the time the shipwrecked men set foot on dry land they never know whether to trust their eyes or not, or indeed, whether to trust their ears, for Ariel can deceive both the senses of sight and hearing. At the simplest level this is, of course, mere magic; a magician is someone who can make things appear and disappear. On the comic side we see Stephano thinking that the four legs of Trinculo and Caliban are the limbs of a four-legged monster. It has often been noticed that the island looks different to the different people who find themselves on it. Gonzalo expects that on the island an innocent existence could be led without sweat or endeavor, but apparently much wood must be carried to provide fuel. Another curiosity is that there is a horsepond but no horses. Can a play be about magic, and at the same time, be magical in its effects? Acting is creating illusions; according to Shakespeare, the actor is “shadow.” In one of the greatest passages in The Tempest we are told that what we take for concrete physical reality will turn out to be an illusion too. “Our revels now are ended. These our actors, as I foretold you, were all spirits and melted into air, into thin air: and, like the baseless fabric of this vision…shall dissolve…We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

Hell is empty and all the devils are here…

AN INTERVIEWWITH...

JULIE FELISE DUBINERJulie Felise Dubiner is the Resident Dramaturg for Actors Theatre of Louisville. Devon LaBelle recently talked with her about Dramaturgy and her role in The Tempest.

Devon: What does a Dramaturg do, and what is a Dramaturg?

Julie: Being a Dramaturg is a job that covers a lot of different ones. At Actors Theater of Louisville we have three Dramaturgs and two literary interns. We are responsible with keeping the scripts up-to-date, helping Marc plan the season and making sure that the director and actors have the research they need. We help directors conceptually and ask them what they want to do and why. Beyond that, there are little things and then there are big things. We work with the Public Relations Department to write blurbs and articles about the plays we produce. We also assist the Development Department with public functions and speaking engagements.

Devon: Explain the process you went through in order to prepare a text for your audience.

Julie: The first thing I do is focus the stories that the text is telling me. I ask what the story means today, what has caused it to stand the test of time. Asking these questions of a director as gracious and present as Marc Masterson, Artistic Director of Actors and Director of The Tempest, is great because it allows him to think about what draws him to the play. The thing with Shakespeare is that some of his work is really long; I think Hamlet might be 5 to 6 hours all told, if you use every word. Directors and audiences don’t think about shows the same way they once did, and so we have to make cuts to

adjust to a modern way of thinking, to a modern concept of time. On top of that, all of our cuts need to make sure that the story Marc wants to tell is clear and that it comes to the forefront of our production. This summer I cut the play. I think I took out 15% of the scenes. I sent it back to Marc, who put about half of those cuts back in, maybe more, and made some more cuts of his own. Next we worked with the production team. Marc wanted to figure out what the world was for Tempest. We talked with the designers: lights, sound, costumes, scene and props. We had to let them know where the cuts were so that they knew how the piece would flow. Charles, the literary intern, and I went through the script and looked at punctuation. It might not sound like a big deal but we use punctuation much differently now then they did in Shakespeare’s time. Sometimes if you pay special attention to the way that commas are used now, you can see that. We com-pared the script with several published versions including the 1st Folio version.

Devon: What is your favorite type of Dramaturgy?

Julie: Working on Tempest is the type of Dramaturgy I like best. It is so exciting to do Shakespeare; we get to do this every two years because of the Bingham family endowment. For me, this is why I do what I do.

Elizabethan Hot or Not?Category

Type of Performance

Purpose of Drama

Performance Spaces

Theaters

Playwrights

Cost

Women

Performers

Hot

Early- Modern European

Inexpensive entertainmentfor all

Courtyards, bustling pavilions, and interior spaces

the Theatre, the RoseThe Globe, and the Swan

Shakespeare and Ben Johnson

1 penny for standing room6 pennies for royal seating

Young boys in lead face paint

Play troupes sponsored byroyalty

Not

Ancient Greek

Religious Festival to Dionysus

Breezy hillside amphitheaters

Dodoni, Epidauros, Delphi and Argos

Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides

Free, with a mandatory day off for slaves

Old men in masks

Star actors assigned by the master of ceremonies; The assigned star find men for 10-15 chorus members

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Shakespearean WordsBarbs from the Bard! Combine one word from each of the columns below. Add “thou” to the beginning

and create the perfect insults and compliments. (Example: “Thou rank rump-fed hedge-pig!”)

Column A

peevishgrizzledgreasyjaded

waggishpurpled

ranksaucyvacantyeasty

Column C

canker blossomclot pole

hedge-pigdogfish

egg-shellnut-hook

pantaloonrabbit-sucker

snipeyounker

Column B

clay-braineddog-hearted

evil-eyedlily-liveredmad-bred

onion-eyedpaper-faced

rump-fedshag-earedwhite-livered

INSULTS

Column A

raresweetfruitfulbrave

sugaredfloweringpreciousgallantdelicatecelestial

Column B

honey-tonguedwell-wishingfair-faced

best-temperedtender-heartedtiger-bootedsmooth-faced

thunder-dartingsweet-suggesting

young-eyed

Column C

smilettoast

cukoo-budnose-herbwafer-cakepigeon-egg

welsh cheesesong

true-pennyvalentine

COmPLImENTS

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