Download 491 workshop questions

UNBC ENGL 491 S10 1
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS and INSTRUCTIONS
ENGL 491 S2010: HAMLET: PAGE AND STAGE
QUESTIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS
Dr. L. Dickson
The following series of questions and instructions are intended to give you something to think
about as you read the play leading up to the course. We will be using these questions in
workshops and discussions Mon, Tues, and Wed. On Thursday and Friday, you will be
determining the subjects and questions of group work, workshops and discussions. These
questions here may give you some ideas regarding how you might go about formulating
questions of your own.
Please bring this document to class.
Each day you will have some time to meet with your performance groups to work on Friday's
performance.
DAY 1/ACT 1
Outcomes:
 familiarize yourself with the workshop format by responding to a pre-set structure;
 get on your feet—consider performance as a mode of interpretation;
 visualize the text as theatre;
 think of stage space as a dramatic language;
 break the ice—engage in collaborative knowledge production and get comfortable with
your classmates;
 summarize findings—make the connection among action, interpretation, and articulation
WORKSHOP: 1.1 Enter the Ghost
1. Consider the stage direction: Enter the Ghost.
 Given the geography of a typical Elizabethan theatre (see PPT presentation,
"Shakespeare's Theatre" for images and description of the iconography of the theatre),
where does the Ghost enter from and where does he exit to? What are the options?
 How will you stage it?
 What difference does it make to the way we understand the Ghost, which Hamlet fears
may be a goblin as much as he hopes it's a true visitation by his father?
 What does our choice of entrance/exit tell us about the state of King Hamlet's soul?
 How does the entrance/exit use playing time?
 What does the audience see?
 What do the characters see?
 Is there a visible Ghost?
 What difference does it make?
2. 1.1.123: "'Tis here/'Tis here/'Tis gone."
 How will you stage this movement of the Ghost as the sentinels attempt to stop it?
UNBC ENGL 491 S10 2
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS and INSTRUCTIONS
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Given the conditions of the Globe theatre (daylight performance) and the Blackfriars
(indoor, candlelight performance), how is this movement to be achieved? Is it?
Given any special effects resources at your disposal how would you stage it today?
What is the relationship between the Ghost's movements on the stage and the Ghost's
nature?
How does this moment relate to the broader concerns of the scene, such as Horatio's
doubt or the sentinel's timorous opening line, "Who's there?"
3. Structure of the Scene: The Ghost's appearances are framed by questions and answers:
o Who's there?
o Denmark's warlike state;
o Supernatural portents (extended in Q2—see Appendix A.i)
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What is the relationship among these concerns and between them and the Ghost?
What do we know?
CLASS WORK: NTSD ANALYSIS (Narrative, Thematic, Stylistic, Dramatic—See PPT and
Supplemental Sheet: "Questions to Ask of the Recalcitrant Scene")
 1.2.1-39 Claudius's oxymoron speech
 1.2.129-159 Hamlet's "unweeded garden" speech
GROUP WORK: COMPARISON
 1.3 Polonius's "advice" to his children
 1.4-5 King Hamlet's "advice" to his son
 The class will divide in two and each group will workshop one of the assigned scenes;
 Groups will report back and conduct a comparative analysis of their findings.
DAY 2/ACT 2
Outcomes
 Emulate workshop practices in a semi-scaffolded format;
 Practice integrating textual and dramatic elements;
 Consider a range of interpretive/performance possibilities and their relationship to larger
themes and consequences;
 Practice a strategy for dealing with very long scenes: structural analysis;
 Practice close-reading—poetics, "psychology" and cues for passion;
 Prepare for independent management of workshops/discussions by working in small
groups.
WORKSHOP: 2.1 Polonius and Reynaldo: a) minor characters b) reported action
a) Minor Characters
UNBC ENGL 491 S10 3
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS and INSTRUCTIONS
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How would you play Reynaldo in this scene?
How does your choice of how to play Reynaldo influence the way you would play
Polonius, and vice versa?
What is the function of this scene relative to the "advice" to Laertes in 1.3?
What is the relationship between Reynaldo and other "functionaries" and
"supernumeraries" in the play? Consider Cornelius and Voltemand or Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern.
What do you know?
b) Reported Action
 How will you stage Ophelia's report to Polonius?
 What's the relationship between this report and the foregoing discussion with Reynaldo?
 What's the effect of reporting the action as opposed to staging it (as Zefferelli does, for
instance)? What's the difference between seeing and hearing?
 What do you know?
GROUP WORK: 2.2
2.2 is over 500 lines long, and covers a great deal of ground. We will be dividing the scene into
its constitutive parts—performing an anatomy, if you will—in order to consider how those
various parts relate to each other and to the overall "machine" of the scene and the play as a
whole. We may not get to all of these sections, but we'll hit the key ones and you can extrapolate
from there:
Section divisions:
1) 1-39: Intro of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
2) 40-85: Preamble to Polonius's report/Interjection of the Ambassadors
3) 85-167: Polonius's report to the King and Queen: the purloined letter
4) 168-220: Fishmonger dialogue
5) 221-312: R&G meet Hamlet/"What a piece of work is a man" speech
6) 313-363: News of the Theatre Wars
7) 364-536: The Players play
8) 537-passim: "O what a rogue and peasant slave am I": Close reading workshop
Questions to consider in group work:
Sections 1 and 5: 2.2.1-39/221-312: Introduction of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
 How will you play them?
o Earnest friends of Hamlet?
o Self-interested courtiers?
o Gentlemen caught between "mighty opposites?"
 How do you play Hamlet's response to them?
 Is there a conflict of interest?
UNBC ENGL 491 S10 4
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS and INSTRUCTIONS
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How does the exchange between these men relate to the material in the scene dealing
with the Players?
Section 2: 40-85: Preamble to Polonius/Interjection of the Ambassadors
 What's the significance of Gertrude's lines at 56-7?
 What's the effect of the interruption of Polonius's news by the report from the
ambassadors?
Section 3: 85-167: Polonius's report to the King and Queen: the purloined letter
 What's the significance of the purloined letter and the fact that Polonius reads it aloud?
 What is the relationship between this scene and 1.1?
Section 4: 168-220: Fishmonger dialogue
 What's the relationship among Hamlet's book, the Ambassadors' report, the purloined
letter, and Polonius's attempt to "board" Hamlet?
Sections 6 and 7: 313-363: News of the Theatre Wars/364-536: The Players play
 Consider Hamlet's roll-call of conventional "parts" played by Players. How does this
reference to conventional roles relate to other "roles" in the play?
 What's the function of the play-within-the-play here, and the fact that the speeches do not
perform action but rather describe or report it?
 How would you stage this long segment of the scene?
What do you know?
CLOSE READING WORKSHOP: Section 8: 537-passim: "O what a rogue and peasant slave
am I!"
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What does the rhythm of this speech tell us about Hamlet?
How does this speech compare to the Player's rendition of the death of Priam?
Pay particular attention to the use of punctuation, meter, and enjambment.
DAY 3/ACT3
Outcomes:
 Consider the role of playing space on the interpretive scope of a scene;
 Organize a group activity outside of the classroom;
 Report findings in an alternative format: gallery walk;
 Identify and negotiate a dramatic crux and consider performance choices as an
interpretive tool;
 Practice integrating textual and dramatic elements;
 Negotiate with fellow students to determine an appropriate focus for a small-scale
workshop;
UNBC ENGL 491 S10 5
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS and INSTRUCTIONS
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Manage labour and participation in a workshop;
Identify and articulate interpretive questions and goals;
Emulate and adapt established class practice to accommodate your goals;
Plan the next day's activities.
PLANNING FOR DAY4/ACT 4
At the beginning of DAY 3, a schedule for DAY 4 will be posted in the classroom. Over the
course of the day, you will suggest possible topics, strategies, questions, and activities to
structure the class time on Thursday. Thursday will be run entirely by the class with only
general facilitation by the instructor. At the end of DAY 3, the class will finalize the schedule of
activities for DAY 4.
FIELD SCHOOL: PLAYING SPACES: 3.1
To complete this exercise, you will download the "Space Workshop Question Sheet" from the
class blog.
You will meet in the classroom at 9:00 to collect your group, then you will choose a location on
campus to use to conduct your survey.
 Consider how the conditions of the playing space (use the question sheet to organize your
observations) shape the possible interpretations of 3.1.
 Return to class at 9:45 and, on the flip charts provided, write a summary of your group's
findings, focusing on the factors that will have the greatest influence on the performance
of the scene, and particularly those elements that shape the meaning of the scene in
performance.
 Do a "gallery walk" to see what the other groups in the class determined from their
spaces.
 These findings will be used in the workshop.
WORKSHOP: 3.1
 Who sees Hamlet?
 Whom does Hamlet see?
 What is/are the interpretive crux(es) of the scene?
 How does the resolution of this crux in performance shape our understanding of the scene
as a whole?
WORKSHOP: STUDENT-LED
 3.2
 3.3
 The class will divide in two and each group will workshop one of the assigned scenes;
 Groups will report back and conduct a comparative analysis of their findings.
CLASS WORK: NTSD ANALYSIS:
 3.4 The "closet" scene
UNBC ENGL 491 S10 6
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS and INSTRUCTIONS
DAY 4/ACT 4
Outcomes
 Negotiate with peers to set goals and agenda;
 Determine appropriate strategies to meet those goals;
 Manage the labour and participation of all members in the group;
 Determine a management/facilitation structure;
 Manage time;
 Resolve conflicts or differences in aims or strategies;
 Create classroom practices (evaluate, emulate, reconceive established practice);
 Engage in the collaborative production of knowledge;
 Share in the ownership of knowledge;
 Assess success;
 Reflect on the experience;
 Project insights forward to the next task: performance.
This day will be entirely student-moderated based on the decisions made on DAY 3. The
instructor will be available to facilitate and to participate, but will not determine the agenda or
the strategies used by the class. At the end of the day, you will take a few minutes to write a
brief reflection of your experience.
What do you know?
DAY 5/ACT 5
Outcomes
 As above;
 Demonstrate interpretive skills in performance;
 Evaluate and interpret the performances of your peers;
 Recognize the achievements of your peers;
 Provide feedback to peers;
 Reflect on your experience.
 Eat pizza.
WORKSHOP: STUDENT-LED:
 5.1
 5.2
 The class will divide in two and each group will workshop one of the assigned scenes;
 Groups will report back and conduct a comparative analysis of their findings.
PERFORMANCE PREPARATION
 Performance groups will have from the end of the workshop until 2:15 to work on their
chosen scenes in preparation for their performances.
UNBC ENGL 491 S10 7
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS and INSTRUCTIONS
PERFORMANCE
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Each group will choose a scene to perform before the class. You will have 15 minutes of
playing time, including set-up and tear-down. See the course outline for additional
guidelines.
There will be time for discussion of each performance. This is your chance to ask
questions and to offer feedback to the performers. As you will be writing a review of one
performance in addition to your analysis of your own performance, you should make the
most of the opportunity to engage with your peers with regard to their interpretive
strategies and goals.
You will download the "Performance Notes Template" or construct one of your own to
guide and organize your responses to the performances.