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06l07 Youth Education
Creative Teachers...Intelligent Students...Real Learning
Royal Shakespeare Company
Julius Caesar Dress Rehearsal
Teacher Resource Guide
About UMS
One of the oldest performing arts presenters in the country, UMS serves diverse audiences through multidisciplinary performing arts programs in three distinct but
interrelated areas: presentation, creation, and education.
With a program steeped in music, dance, theater, and
education, UMS hosts approximately 80 performances
and 150 free educational activities each season. UMS
also commissions new work, sponsors artist residencies,
and organizes collaborative projects with local, national as
well as many international partners.
While proudly affiliated with the University of Michigan
and housed on the Ann Arbor campus, UMS is a separate
not-for-profit organization that supports itself from ticket
sales, grants, contributions, and endowment income.
UMS Education and
Audience Development
Department
UMS’s Education and Audience Development Department
seeks to deepen the relationship between audiences and
art, as well as to increase the impact that the performing arts can have on schools and community. The program seeks to create and present the highest quality arts
education experience to a broad spectrum of community
constituencies, proceeding in the spirit of partnership and
collaboration.
The department coordinates dozens of events with over
100 partners that reach more than 50,000 people
annually. It oversees a dynamic, comprehensive program
encompassing workshops, in-school visits, master classes,
lectures, youth and family programming, teacher
professional development workshops, and “meet the
artist” opportunities, cultivating new audiences while
engaging existing ones.
For advance notice of Youth Education events, join the
UMS Teachers email list by emailing
[email protected] or visit www.ums.org/education.
Cover Photo: Brutus stabs Julius Casesar in the RSC production of Julius Caesar. Photo by Pual Ros.
UMS greatefuly acknowleges the
following corporation, foundations, and
government agenies for their generous
support of the UMS Youth Education
Program:
Michigan Council for Arts
and Cultural Affairs
University of Michigan
Arts at Michigan
Arts Midwest Performing Arts Fund
Kathy Benton and Robert Brown
Bank of Ann Arbor
Chamber Music America
Pat and Dave Clyde
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
DTE Energy Foundation
Dykema Gossett, PLLC
The Esperance Family Foundaion
Dr. Toni Hoover, in memory of
Dr. Issac Thomas III
JazzNet Endowment
James A. & Faith Knight Foundation
Masco Corporation Foundation
THE MOSAIC FOUDATION
(of R. & P. Heydon)
National Dance Project of the New
England Foundation for the Arts
NEA Jazz Masters on Tour
Pfizer Global Research and Development,
Ann Arbor Laboratories
Randall and Mary Pittman
ProQuest Company
Prudence and Amnon Rosenthal K-12
Education Endowment Fund
Target Corporation
TCF Bank
UMS Advisory Committee
University of Michigan Credit Union
U-M Office of the Senior Vice Provost
for Academic Affairs
U-M Office of the Vice President for Research
Wallace Endowment Fund
Whitney Fund at the Community Foundation for
Southeastern Michigan
This Teacher Resource Guide is a product of the University Musical
Society’s Youth Education Program. Researched and written by
Bree Juarez. Edited by Ben Johnson and Bree Juarez. All photos are
courtesy of the artist unless otherwise noted.
06/07
UMS Youth Education
Royal Shakespeare Company
Julius Caesar Dress Rehearsal
Friday, October 27, 2:30pm
Power Center, Ann Arbor
TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE
Education and Community
Engagement Programs supported by
Official Airline of the
2006 RSC residency
Additional support
provided by
The Power Foundation.
Supported by the Prudence and Amnon Rosenthal K-12 Education Endowment Fund.
Funded in part by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association Charitable Foundation Fund
of the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan.
Funded in part by the Whitney Fund at the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan.
Table of Contents
About the Performance
*
*
6
7
Coming to the Show
The Performance at a Glance
Royal Shakespeare Company
*
10
13
About the RSC
Behind the Scenes at the RSC
Julius Caesar
Short on Time?
We’ve starred the
most important
pages.
Only Have
15 Minutes?
Try pages 7, 10,
and 35
*
17
22
31
Shakespeare
*
35
37
Biography of William Shakespeare
Shakespeare Family Tree
Lesson Plans
*
39
40
42
43
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
59
Resources
*
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Cast of Characters
Scene Synopsis
Themes in Julius Caesar
61
62
63
64
66
Curriculum Connections
Meeting Michigan Standards
Assessing Prior Knowledge
Lesson 1: It’s Shakespeare!
Handout1: The Survey Says...
Handout 2: What Do You Know???
Handout 3: Shakespeare in School
Lesson 2: Getting Into Character
Handout 4: A Monologue
Create Your Own UMS
Theater Vocabulary
Theater Vocabulary Word-O
UMS Permission Slip
Internet Resources
Recommended Reading
Community Resources
How to Contact UMS
Brutus (John Light) and Cassius (Finbar Lynch) in Julius Caesar
About the
Performance
Coming to the Show (For Students)
We want you to enjoy your time in the theater, so here are some tips to make your Youth
Performance experience successful and fun! Please review this page prior to attending the
performance.
What should I do during the show?
Everyone is expected to be a good audience member. This keeps the show fun for everyone.
Good audience members...
• Are good listeners
• Keep their hands and feet to themselves
• Do not talk or whisper during the performance
• Laugh only at the parts that are funny
• Do not eat gum, candy, food or drink in the theater
• Stay in their seats during the performance
• Do not disturb the people sitting nearby or other schools in attendance
Who will meet us when we arrive?
After you exit the bus, UMS Education staff and greeters will be outside to meet you. They
might have special directions for you, so be listening and follow their directions. They will
take you to the theater door where ushers will meet your group. The greeters know that your
group is coming, so there’s no need for you to have tickets.
Who will show us where to sit?
The ushers will walk your group to its seats. Please take the first seat available. (When
everybody’s seated, your teacher will decide if you can rearrange yourselves.) If you need to
make a trip to the restroom before the show starts, ask your teacher.
How will I know that the show is starting?
You will know the show is starting because the lights in the auditorium will get dim, and a
member of the UMS Education staff will come out on stage to introduce the performance.
What if I get lost?
Please ask an usher or a UMS staff member for help. You will recognize these adults because
they have name tag stickers or a name tag hanging around their neck.
How do I show that I liked what I saw and heard?
The audience shows appreciation during a performance by clapping. In a musical performance, the musicians and dancers are often greeted with applause when they first appear. It
is traditional to applaud at the end of each musical selection and sometimes after impressive
solos. At the end of the show, the performers will bow and be rewarded with your applause.
If you really enjoyed the show, give the performers a standing ovation by standing up and
clapping during the bows. For this particular show, it will be most appropriate to applaud at
the beginning and the ending.
What do I do after the show ends?
Please stay in your seats after the performance ends, even if there are just a few of you in your
group. Someone from UMS will come onstage and announce the names of all the schools.
When you hear your school’s name called, follow your teachers out of the auditorium, out of
the theater and back to your buses.
How can I let the performers know what I thought?
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We want to know what you thought of your experience at a UMS Youth Performance. After
the performance, we hope that you will be able to discuss what you saw with your class. Tell
us about your experiences in a letter or drawing. Please send your opinions, letters or artwork
to: UMS Youth Education Program, 881 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011.
The Performance at a Glance
What is the Royal Shakespeare Company?
The RSC is one of the world’s best-known theater companies. Every year the
Company plays to over 500, 000 theatre-goers at performances staged across the
world. The RSC plays throughout the year at its home in Stratford-upon-Avon, the
town where Shakespeare was born and died. The Company also performs regularly
in London and at an annual RSC residency in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In addition, the
Company tours throughout the UK and internationally, including residencies with
universities and performing centers in the US.
The Company’s mission is to keep in touch with Shakespeare as a contemporary,
but also to keep modern audiences, artists and writers in touch with Shakespeare.
The Company’s repertoire also includes other Renaissance dramatists, and the work
of international and contemporary writers.
The aim is to give as many people as possible, from all walks of life, a richer and
fuller understanding of theater. Through events, education, and outreach programs
the RSC continually strives to engage people with the experience of live performance.
The RSC today is still at its heart an ensemble company. Everyone in the Company,
from directors, actors, and writers to production, administrative, technical, and
workshop staff, all collaborate in the RSC’s distinctive and unmistakable approach
to theater.
A brief plot of Julius Caesar
The action begins with the celebration of the Roman fertility festival of Lupercal,
during which Mark Antony offers a crown to Julius Caesar. Although Caesar rejects
the crown, fear that too much power has already been concentrated in one man
leads several prominent members of Republican Rome to plot Caesar’s assassination. Cassius persuades the respected Brutus to join the conspiracy. Disregarding
the prophetic dream of his wife Calpurnia, Caesar goes to the Capitol on the Ides
of March (March 15) and is killed by the conspirators.
In their speeches to the people of Rome, Brutus and Antony present contrasting
views of the conspirators’ motives. The people turn against the conspirators, who
are forced to flee Rome.
“Julius Caesar
is fundamentally
about power how it works and
what it does to
individuals. No
one in the play is
exempt from the
intoxication of
power....”
-David Farr,
director of the
RSC’s 2004
production of
Julius Caesar
Antony joins forces with Caesar’s nephew Octavius and leads an army against the
forces of Brutus and Cassius. The battle goes against the conspirators. Cassius
commits suicide. Brutus, sensing defeat and haunted by Caesar’s ghost, also kills
himself.
Who was William Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare is considered one of the world’s finest playwrights of all
time. Writing in England during the late 1500s during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign,
he quickly established himself as a poet, actor, and playwright. He mastered
the comic and tragic dramatic forms and introduced over 2,000 new vocabulary
words into the English language. Shakespeare is read by nearly every American
student and is perhaps best known for Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth, Hamlet, and A
Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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The Performance at a Glance
Who was the real Julius Caesar?
“Shakespeare’s
work is
the fullest
expression of the
dilemmas that
we as humans
face...he’s
incapable of not
seeing two sides
of a situation so
there’s always
drama and
there’s always
conflict.”
-Michael Boyd,
RSC Artistic
Director
Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 13, 100 BC to a patrician family who claimed
descendance from a long line of kings and Roman gods. Caesar began his career
in the Roman courts, where he became a successful advocate and a highly
respected orator. In 62 BC, he was elected to Rome’s second ranking political
office, the praetorship. This was the beginning of a Caesar’s great career where he
would eventually be elected to the consulship,
Rome’s highest political office.
During his consulship, Caesar was especially
interested in expanding Rome’s empire. He
focused on the expansion of northern Italy and
the lands along the Adriatic coast and Gaul
(the region of Western Europe comprising
present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium,
western Switzerland and the parts of the
Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of
the Rhine river.) His campaigns in Gaul during
his governorship brought enormous wealth to
Rome. In addtion, a reported one million people
were killed and another million enslaved in
pursuit of Caesar’s aims in Gaul.
After a 10 year governorship in Gaul, Caesar
planned to return to Rome to stand for his
second consulship. The imperium (official
A bust of Julius Caesar
authority) he held as Governor of a Roman
provence would need to be relinquished before he could enter Rome and present
himself as a candidate for the consulship. The same group of senators who
opposed Caesar throughout his career were threatening him again.
Caesar faced two alternatives: he could lay down his imperium and face arrest,
conviction and banishment from Rome, or he could drop his demand to be
allowed stand for election in absentia, forfeiting his candidacy for consul. On the
10th day of January, 49 BC, facing alternatives he deemed untenable, Caesar
made the fateful decision to march on Rome. He and his troops crossed the
Rubicon River, and in doing so declared civil war After many long and bloody
battles, Caesar was victories.
However, his enemies continued to plot his downfall. On the Ides of March (15th),
44 BC., a group of Senators calling themselves the “liberators” assassinated
Caesar in the Senate House. They justified the assassination by saying they were
saving the republic from a tyrant and would-be king.
Caesar chose his grand nephew Gaius Octavius as his heir. Octavius ultimately
avenged his uncle’s death and rose to the pinnacle of Roman power, becoming
Augustus Caesar, Rome’s first emperor.
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Chris Jarman and John Hopkins rehearse a scene for the upcoming productions in Ann Arbor
(Photo by Ellie Kurttz)
Royal
Shakespeare
Company
About the RSC
A Brief History of the RSC
The Early Years
In 1875, Charles Edward Flower, a Stratford brewer, launched an international
campaign to build a theatre in the town of Shakespeare’s birth. His donation of
the now famous two-acre site began a family tradition of generosity to the theatre
which continues today.
The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was a Victorian Gothic building. It opened in
1879 with a performance of Much Ado About Nothing. From 1907 star visitors
began to appear in Stratford such as Ellen Terry and H. Beerbohm Tree and under
the direction of F.R. Benson, a month-long summer season was added in 1910.
Europe and the USA helped to broaden the company’s outlook.
The Royal Charter
Almost 50 years of excellence were recognised in 1925 by the granting of a Royal
Charter, but only a year later the theatre was destroyed by fire.
The festival director, William Bridges-Adams, continued productions in a local
cinema, and a worldwide campaign was launched to build a new theatre. In 1932
the new Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, designed by Elisabeth Scott, was opened
by The Prince of Wales on 23rd April, Shakespeare’s birthday.
1932 - 1961
Over the next thirty years the Company continued to build its reputation, working with established Shakespearean actors, as well as nurturing new talent. From
1945 the company’s work began to win critical acclaim.
Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Vivien Leigh
and Laurence Olivier acted alongside new faces such as Richard Burton. It was in
the late 1950s that invitations to perform in Russia, Europe and the USA helped to
broaden the company’s outlook.
The 1960s
In 1960, Peter Hall formed the modern Royal Shakespeare Company and in 1961,
the Memorial Theatre was renamed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The repertoire
widened to take in modern work and classics other than Shakespeare.
The sixties brought a new generation of actors and directors to the company David Warner, Judi Dench, Ian Richardson, Janet Suzman, Clifford Williams, John
Barton, Trevor Nunn and Terry Hands - and landmark productions like Peter Hall’s
Wars of the Roses.
Over the next thirty years the company continued to expand under a succession
of visionary and creative Artistic Directors: Peter Hall (1960 - 1968), Trevor Nunn
(1968 -1978), Trevor Nunn jointly with Terry Hands (1978 -1987), Terry Hands
(1987 - 1991) and Adrian Noble (1991 - 2003). Michael Boyd is the current RSC
artistic director.
The Swan Theatre
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The 1986 season in Stratford saw the opening of another theatre. Built inside part
of the shell of the Memorial Theatre that survived the 1926 fire, the Swan is a
Title
unique, modern theatre space
based on the design of the playhouses of Elizabethan England.
The Swan Theatre continues to
be a favourite space for many
actors and audiences owing to
its intimate staging and the close
proximity of the audience to the
action.
The RSC today
In July 2002 Michael Boyd was
announced as the new Artistic
Director for the RSC replacing
Adrian Noble from March 2003
and signalling a new chapter in
the Company’s history.
Michael became an Associate Director of the Company in
A sketch of the Swan Theatre
1996 and has directed numerous productions for the RSC. In
2000/2001 he won an Olivier Award for Best Director for the productions Henry VI,
parts I, II, III and Richard III. The productions formed part of the RSC’s This England
- The Histories cycle.
Despite the growth from Festival theatre to international status, the values of the
RSC today have changed very little since 1905: the RSC is still formed around an
ensemble of actors and a core of associate actors who continue to give a distinctive and unmissable approach to theatre. The RSC also continues to be a superb
training ground for the artistic and technical talents of British and international
theatre.
Who is part of the Royal Shakespeare Company?
The RSC is an ensemble company. Everyone in the company, from directors, actors
and writers to production, administrative, technical and workshop staff all collaborate in the RSC’s distinctive and unmistakable approach to theatre. The RSC
employs over 700 people who either work directly on producing and running
the productions or within roles that directly support the work that takes place on
stage.
Her Majesty The Queen is Patron of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His Royal
Highness The Prince of Wales is the RSC’s President and chairs the Company’s
Annual General Meeting.
Where is the RSC located?
As well as performing in a number of UK towns and cities each year on tour,
Stratford-upon-Avon, London and Newcastle are key centres for the Royal
Shakespeare Company.
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Title
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon, the town where William Shakespeare
was born and died, attracts audiences and artists from around
the world and is the home of the RSC.
The RSC has three theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon, the 1412seater Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the 432-seater Swan Theatre and The Courtyard Theatre.
London
London is a vital part of the RSC’s national presence. In May
2002, the RSC left the Barbican Theatre and now performs in
the UK capital throughout the year in a
range of different theatres (including the Barbican Theatre
but the RSC is no longer the resident theatre company at the
venue) .
Newcastle
A map of England
Since 1977, Newcastle has provided a third home for the RSC.
Each year the company proudly transfers productions to the city’s theatres for a
season of work, along with extensive educational and community projects.
Where does the RSC tour?
Although based in Stratford-upon-Avon, the RSC regularly performs in London,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne and other UK venues, as well as touring overseas, and
residencies at universities and performing centres in the United States.
UK touring
Much of the RSC’s UK touring commitment is met by the RSC’s unique mobile
auditorium, which brings classical theatre to communities with little access to
professional companies. The tour travels to school halls, leisure centres and other
community venues throughout the UK, accompanied by an extensive education
and outreach program.
The first ‘mobile’ tour began in 1978 with productions of Twelfth Night and
Chekhov’s The Three Sisters, starring Ian McKellen. Since then the Company has
toured over 30 different productions in the “mobile theatre”. The tour has visited
over 120 different British towns and cities in the past 25 years.
Overseas touring
As well as residencies in Michigan and Washington, the Company has increasingly
been invited to perform overseas. Over the past few years, audiences in China,
Japan, and Kuala Lumpur have enjoyed RSC touring performances.
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The 2006 Festival of Shakespeare’s Classics marks the RSC’s third visit to Ann Arbor.
The company’s first residency was in 2001 and featured the tetrology of Henry VI,
parts I, ii, iii and Richard III. The second residency was in 2003 and featured Salman
Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, along withShakespeare’s Coriolanus and Merry
Wives of Windsor. 2006 will feature Antony and Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and The
Tempest.
Behind the Scenes at the RSC
Before the curtain goes up on the first night, months of preparation will have
already taken place behind the scenes.
The Royal Shakespeare Company has ”in-house” the huge range of specialist skills
required to bring a play to life. Each department works together over a period of
months making sure the production is ready for the opening night.
Choosing the play
The Artistic Director chooses the productions the company performs. More than
one production may open at any one time and as soon as one production opens
the next is already well underway with future work being carefully discussed and
planned with the Planning Department.
Casting
The casting team works closely with the director to ensure that the right actors
get the right part. Auditions are held and a shortlist is drawn up. This can be complicated as, at the RSC, actors are often cast in more than one production (cross
casting), directed by different directors so it is important that they are able to
realise more than one director’s vision.
Planning the production
The Director and Designer work on the style and period in which the production
is set. Once the decisions have been made, the model box
is produced and presented to the Production Manager and
the various workshop and wardrobe departments.
The model box is a three dimensional miniature version of
the set with all scenery and props scaled down on a scale
of 1:25. The model acts as a tool to help everybody create
the vision of the director and designer on stage. It is a main
point of reference when building the set and the props.
The set
The Construction Manager and drawing office provide
detailed drawings of how the set should be built. Each set
may be required to play in many different venues and must
be capable of being taken off stage quickly to change over to a different production the following day.
An example of a
set model from
The Tempest
Every item of scenery has detailed construction drawings produced on Computer
Aided Design (CAD). The plans are then handed to the scenic workshop and
Paintshop and props team.
Props
A prop may be a hand prop, furniture or small items, which may be man-handled.
These can range from huge casts for tall statues to a bunch of flowers or a letter.
Attention to detail is crucial and reference books are constantly in use to ensure
accuracy to a particular period.
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Title
The Costumes
In collaboration with the Costume Department the Costume Supervisor and
Designer decide on the best way to create the costumes. This may include the
shoes, hats, armour, underwear, jewellery, buying the fabrics, booking the costume
makers and setting up the costume fittings.
To create a particular period feel or a design with a particular colour scheme, neutral fabrics often arrive direct from the factory to be treated by the Dyeing Department. Fifty percent of costumes are broken down in some way to look worn or
to show general wear and tear. Common tools of the trade for the department
include a cheese grater, sandpaper, Stanley knives, a blow-torch, emulsion-based
paints and fabric paints.
At the beginning of rehearsals all the actor’s measurements are taken. The Men’s
and Ladies’ Costume Departments work closely with the designer to discover the
best way to interpret a costume. The Armoury and Boot Department make, recycle
or adapt boots and shoes for a production. The Hats and Millinery team create a
particular look using felts and straw, wire, buckram, plastics and veils.
Wigs and make-up
Hairdressing, wigs and make-up complete the final look. An actor often uses their
own hair in a production, which creates difficulties, as the look required will differ
in each production they appear in during the season. The Wigs’ team may have to
cut, curl, dye, or add extensions or hairpieces to the same actor.
Unless specialist make-up is required most actors
apply their own make-up. The team creates blood
effects for daggers, blood bags or smearing using glucose, sugar and fruit colouring. Black treacle (a dark
concetrate of sugarcane juice) is used to darken the
blood. The team may even be required to make prosthetic parts of the body such as the nose in Cyrano de
Bergerac.
Rehearsals
Actors from
Julius Caesar in
rehearsal
While the set, props and costumes are being made,
the actors are busy working away in the rehearsal
room. The RSC spends six weeks rehearsing a production with the Director, Voice Coach, Fight Directors,
Musical Directors and Stage Management team.
Aspects of the set are often built in the rehearsal room so actors can get a feel for
the set before they reach the stage, which is only four days before the first public
performance.
Stage management
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Rehearsals are constantly monitored as decisions in the rehearsal room directly
affect the production process. The stage management team records these developments and the rehearsal notes are passed on to the relevant workshop. The Stage
Manager keeps a detailed script, marking entrances, exits, scene changes, and
actor’s positions.
Stage Department
The Stage Department deals with the nuts and bolts of the scenery and takes the
set from the workshops on the Sunday prior to the first technical rehearsals. There
is then two days to build the stage before the crucial technical rehearsal period.
The stage-hands move scenery during the production and have to solve any problems with the set if they arise while a play is being performed.
Lighting and sound
The specialists in the Lighting and Sound Departments work closely with the director and designer to build up an atmosphere with the lighting and sound for a production.
Fit-up, technical rehearsals and dress rehearsals
This is when the work from all the various teams comes together on stage for the
first time - Rigging, focussing, sound balance, set construction all preparing the
theatre for the production.
The actors arrive on the stage four days before the first public performance and
the detailed technical rehearsals begin. The first dress rehearsal often takes place
on the afternoon of the first public performance. This is the very first time the
actors, crew and technical team have run through the show with everything in
place. Adrenaline runs high in anticipation of the first performance in front of an
audience...
Support work
There are a number of non-production departments for example, Marketing, Education, Press & Public Affairs and Development, who are closely involved in the production process and directly support the work that takes place on stage.
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Ariyon Bakare as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar (Photo by Paul Ros)
Julius Ceasar
Cast of Characters
Title
The Characters
The characters in Julius Caesar are richly portrayed. Please read the following
descriptions to understand each character more thouroughly.
Julius Caesar
The victorious leader of Rome, it is the fear that he may become King and revoke
the privileges of men like Cassius that leads to his death at the hands of Cassius,
Brutus and their fellow conspirators.
The threat that Caesar was moving away from the ideals of the Roman republic
towards an Empire ruled directly by himself is the chief reason so many senators,
aristocrats and even Caesar’s friend Brutus, conspired to kill him.
Introduced early in the play as a great (and arguably arrogant) leader who fears
nothing, Caesar is warned by Artemidorus, The Soothsayer and wife (Calphurnia)
alike not to go to the Senate on the “ides of March” the very day he is assassinated.
Caesar later returns in the play as a ghost which haunts Brutus in Act V. Easily flattered by Decius Brutus (not to be confused with Brutus), Caesar appears to us as
a man almost guided not so much by his own will but what he believes are the
expectations his people have of Caesar. This is why he is reluctant to show fear,
Caesar, as he frequently refers to himself in the third person, fears nothing and
can show no sign of weakness or indeed mortality...
Note: The “ides of March” is the fifteenth of March (See Act II, Scene I, Line 58).
Octavius Caesar
The adopted son of Caesar, Octavius by history, ultimately became ruler of the
Roman Empire following his defeat of Mark Antony in Egypt. In this play, Octavius with Mark Antony and Lepidus (The Second Triumvirate), destroy the forces
of Brutus and Cassius on the Plains of Philippi, which results in the death of both
these conspirators (Act V).
Mark Antony
One of the Triumvirs (leaders) who rule Rome following Caesar’s assassination.
Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius) is famous in this play for his speech, which turns
the Romans against Brutus following his group’s assassination of Caesar. Famous
for the immortal lines “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;” (Act III,
Scene II, Line 79), Mark Antony with fellow Triumvirs, Octavius and Lepidus later
defeat Brutus and Cassius on the Plains of Philippi in Act V.
M. Aemilius Lepidu
The last of the Triumvirs, this old man holds little real power and is used in Mark
Antony’s own words as a loyal, trusted man “Meet [fit] to be sent on errands:”
(Act IV, Scene I, Line 13).
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Cicero
A well-known orator (public speaker) and Senator, Cicero is killed by the Triumvirs
(Mark Antony, Octavius and Lepidus) following Caesar’s assassination.
Publius
A Senator who travels with Caesar to the Senate House the day Caesar is killed,
he witnesses Caesar’s assassination. Though deeply “confounded” or confused
and shaken by the assassination of Caesar (Act III, Scene I, Line 86), he is used by
Brutus to tell the citizens of Rome that Caesar aside, no one else will be hurt (Act
III, Scene I, Lines 89-91).
Popilius Lena
The Senator who terrifies Cassius by telling Cassius that he hopes his “enterprise
[assassination attempt] today may thrive” or be successful just as Caesar goes into
the Senate house on the “ides of March” (Act III, Scene I, Line 13).
Marcus Brutus
The most complex character in this play, Brutus is one of the men who assassinate
Caesar in the Senate. Brutus is complex, because he does not kill Caesar for greed,
envy nor to preserve his social position like so many of the other conspirators
against Caesar. This Brutus makes very clear in his speech in Act III, Scene II (Lines
12-76), when he explains his actions as being for the good of Rome.
Unlike the other conspirators, Brutus is in fact a dear friend of Caesar’s but kills his
beloved friend not for who he is, but what he could become as a King. It is for this
reason that when Brutus dies by suicide in Act V, Mark Antony describes his bitter
enemy by saying “This [Brutus] was the noblest Roman of them all;” (Act V, Scene
V, Line 68). Mark Antony recognizes with these words that Brutus acted from a
sense of civic duty, not malice, nor greed nor envy.
In academic circles, Brutus is still a source of much heated debate; does assassinating a leader for the good of the people constitute bravery worthy of a tragic
hero or can the end never justify the means? The controversy on whether Brutus is
tragic hero or villain still rages...
Ironically, though it can be argued that Brutus assassinated his friend to prevent
one man ruling the Roman Empire, history was later to make this a reality. Octavius, one of the Triumvirs who defeated Brutus and Cassius, was later to become
a Roman Emperor ruling the entire Roman Empire alone following his victory over
Cleopatra and Mark Antony.
Cassius
One of the original conspirators against Caesar. Like the other conspirators he fears
what life under King Caesar’s rule could mean for him and the privileges he has.
Unlike the other conspirators however, Cassius plays a leading role in Caesar’s
assassination. It is he who gathers those against Caesar around him and it is Cassius who carefully manipulates Brutus to their cause by appealing to Brutus’ sense
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of civic duty which believes that Caesar as a King would be bad for the people of
Rome and by Cassius’ clever use of forged letters.
The great thinker of the conspiracy, his advice is continually overruled by Brutus
with tragic results for the conspirators.
First, his advice to kill Mark Antony as well as Caesar is ignored leading to Mark
Antony becoming their greatest enemy.
Later at Caesar’s funeral, Cassius’ advice that Mark Antony should not speak at the
funeral is also ignored leading to Antony turning the masses against the previously
popular conspirators.
Finally in Act V, Brutus ignores Cassius’ advise to stay on high ground, leading to a
battle in the plains of Philippi, a battle favored by Mark Antony and Octavius, their
enemies. Like Brutus, he dies by suicide in Act V, when fearing Brutus dead, he
commits suicide.
Casca
One of the conspirators against Caesar, he starts the actual assassination of Caesar
by stabbing first from behind.
Trebonius
The only conspirator who does not actually stab Caesar, he is the man responsible for saving Mark Antony’s life following Caesar’s assassination. He leads Mark
Antony away from the Senate house following the assassination, and he backs up
Brutus’ suggestion that Mark Antony’s life be spared.
Ligarius
The reluctantly assassin, Caius Ligarius at first hesitates in killing Caesar, but later
enthusiastically follows the others in killing Caesar after Brutus restores his conviction.
Decius Brutus
A man who lures Caesar to his death by his deep understanding of Caesar’s true
vanity...
Not to be confused with Marcus Brutus, who is referred to in Julius Caesar simply
as as Brutus. It is Decius Brutus who convinces Caesar to turn up to the Senate
on the “ides of March” after Caesar announces that he is unwilling to attend
the day’s Senate because of his wife Calphurnia’s dream foretelling doom. Decius
Brutus turns Calphurnia’s dream into a reason to attend the Senate by cleverly reinterpreting its negative imagery to instead symbolize Caesar’s triumph.
Metellus Cimber
A conspirator against Caesar, it is his petition or request to Caesar for his brother’s
banishment to be overturned, that allows the conspirators to move close to Caesar,
before they assassinate him with multiple stab wounds...
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Cinna
A conspirator against Caesar, who plays a key role in enlisting Brutus to their
cause. It is Cinna who suggests to Cassius that Brutus join their conspiracy. Also
assists Cassius’ manipulation of Brutus by placing Cassius’ letters responsible for
manipulating Brutus where Brutus is sure to find and read them... Indirectly responsible for Cinna, the poet’s death; since it is he the mob originally wished to kill...
Flavius and Marullus
Two Tribunes introduced to us at the beginning of the play. Their conversation
reveals the deep mistrust and fear many in Rome have about Caesar’s growing
popularity, which eventually leads to Caesar’s assassination. These two men criticize Rome’s citizens for praising Caesar almost without reason and are later put to
death or “put to silence” for “pulling scarfs off Caesar’s images,” (Act I, Scene II,
Line 291) during the Feast of Lupercal in Act I, Scene I (Note: Flavius the Tribune is
not the same person as Flavius, a soldier whom appears in Act IV).
Artemidorus
The man who nearly saves Caesar, he presents Caesar with a letter warning warning Caesar that he will be killed (Act II, Scene III). Caesar however does not read
the letter and so proceeds to his doom...
Cinna, the Poet
A humble poet, this man dies because he has the wrong name at the wrong time.
After Mark Antony incites (angers) the people of Rome against Caesar’s assassins, Cinna who shares the same name as one of the assassins, is killed despite
his explaining his identity as a poet. The mob, eager for blood, kill him regardless
and use the excuse that they never liked his poems much anyway (Act III, Scene III,
Lines 1-43).
Lucilius, Titinius, Messala, Young Cato and Volumnius
Friends to Brutus and Cassius.
Varro, Clitus, Claudius, Strato, Lucius and Dardanius
Servants to Brutus.
Pindarus
A servant to Cassius, he is also the messenger bearing the wrong news... In Act
V, Pindarus misreports to Cassius that Titinius, a scout sent to Brutus’ forces was
captured by the Triumvir’s forces when he was actually welcomed by Brutus’ army.
On Pindarus’ information, Cassius assumes that Brutus has been defeated and so
thinking all is lost, decides to kill himself, using Pindarus to hold a sword out which
he runs onto, the very sword, Cassius used against Caesar...
Calphurnia
The wife of Caesar, she begs her husband not to go to the Senate on “the ides of
March” (March 15) when she cries out “’Help, ho! They murder Caesar!’” three
times in her sleep, the day before Caesar’s death. This and strange occurrences
such as a lioness whelping in the streets of Rome,”Fierce fiery warriors” fighting in
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the clouds (Act II, Scene II, Lines 12-24) and graves yawning and yielding up their
dead, convince Calphurnia that her husband Julius Caesar, must stay home on the
“ides of March” (the fifteenth of March). Unfortunately just as Calphurnia convinces Caesar to stay home and avoid the death that awaits him, Decius Brutus
(not to be confused with Brutus), arrives at Caesar’s home convincing him that
these images mean that Rome will be revived by Caesar’s presence at the Senate
the following day. Caesar ignores his wife’s pleas and meets his bloody destiny at
the hands of Brutus and company the very next day.
Portia
The wife of Marcus Brutus, she tries to learn from Brutus the assassination conspiracy he is hiding from her. She is later assumed to have committed suicide at
the end of the play when her death is reported as being under strange circumstances...
Senators, Citizens, Guards, Attendants and others...
Caius and Julius Caesar
(Photo by Paul Ros)
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Scene Synopsis
Date
Julius Caesar was probably written in 1599, the same year Shakespeare wrote
Henry V and As You Like It and drafted Hamlet. The first record of it being performed comes from the diary of Thomas Platter, who states that he saw the play
on September 21, 1599, meaning that it may have been the play that opened the
Globe Theatre.
Sources
As with Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare drew heavily on Sir Thomas North’s
1579 translation of Plutarch’s Lives of Noble Grecians and Romanes for the plot
of Julius Caesar, and at times even follows North’s phrasing. There are however
important differences between the source and the play. Shakespeare compresses
time and telescopes events for dramatic purposes, and although he relied on Plutarch for descriptions of his characters, Shakespeare’s treatment of them is more
subtle and human. The speeches of Brutus and Antony at Caesar’s funeral are
entirely Shakespeare’s invention.
ACT ONE
Act I, Scene i
On a street in ancient Rome, Flavius and Marullus, two Roman tribunes—judges
meant to protect the rights of the people—accost a group of workmen and ask
them to name their trades and to explain their absence from work. The first workman answers straight forwardly, but the second workman answers with a spirited
string of puns that he is a cobbler and that he and his fellow workmen have gathered to see Caesar and to rejoice in his triumph over Pompey. Marullus accuses
the workmen of forgetting that they are desecrating the great Pompey, whose
triumphs they once cheered so enthusiastically. He upbraids them for wanting to
honor the man who is celebrating a victory in battle over Pompey’s sons, and he
commands them to return to their homes to ask forgiveness of the gods for their
offensive ingratitude. Flavius orders them to assemble all the commoners they can
and take them to the banks of the Tiber and fill it with their tears of remorse for
the dishonor they have shown Pompey.
Flavius then tells Marullus to assist him in removing the ceremonial decorations
that have been placed on public statues in honor of Caesar’s triumph. Marullus
questions the propriety of doing so on the day during which the feast of Lupercal
is being celebrated, but Flavius says that they must remove the ornaments to prevent Caesar from becoming a godlike tyrant.
Act I, Scene ii
Caesar, having entered Rome in triumph, calls to his wife, Calphurnia, and orders
her to stand where Mark Antony, about to run in the traditional footrace of the
Lupercal, can touch her as he passes. Caesar shares the belief that if a childless
woman is touched by one of the holy runners, she will lose her sterility.
A soothsayer calls from the crowd warning Caesar to “beware the ides of March,”
but Caesar pays no attention and departs with his attendants, leaving Brutus and
Cassius behind.
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Title
Cassius begins to probe Brutus about his feelings toward Caesar and the prospect
of Caesar’s becoming a dictator in Rome. Brutus has clearly been disturbed about
this issue for some time. Cassius reminds Brutus that Caesar is merely a mortal
like them, with ordinary human weaknesses, and he says that he would rather
die than see such a man become his master. He reminds Brutus of Brutus’ noble
ancestry and of the expectations of his fellow Romans that he will serve his
country as his ancestors did. Brutus is obviously moved, but he is unsure of what
to do.
Several times during their conversation, Cassius and Brutus hear shouts and the
sounds of trumpets. Caesar re-enters with his attendants and, in passing, he
remarks to Mark Antony that he feels suspicious of Cassius, who “has a lean and
hungry look; / He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.”
As Caesar exits, Brutus and Cassius stop Casca and converse with him. He tells
them that Mark Antony offered the crown to Caesar three times, but that Caesar
rejected it each time and then fell down in an epileptic seizure. The three men
agree to think further about the matter, and when Casca and Brutus have gone,
Cassius in a brief soliloquy indicates his plans to secure Brutus firmly for the
conspiracy that he is planning against Caesar.
Act I, Scene iii
That evening, Cicero and Casca meet on a street in Rome. There has been a terrible storm, and Casca describes to Cicero the unnatural phenomena that have
occurred: An owl hooted in the marketplace at noon, the dead rose out of their
graves, and so on. Cicero then departs and Cassius enters. He interprets the
supernatural happenings as divine warnings that Caesar threatens to destroy the
Republic. He urges Casca to work with him in opposing Caesar. When Cinna,
another conspirator, joins them, Cassius urges him to throw a message through
Brutus’ window and to take other steps that will induce Brutus to participate in
the plot. The three conspirators, now firmly united in an attempt to unseat Caesar,
agree to meet with others of their party—Decius Brutus, Trebonius, and Metellus
Cimber—at Pompey’s Porch. They are confident that they will soon win Brutus to
their cause.
ACT TWO
Act II, Scene i
Brutus is in his orchard. It is night, and he calls impatiently for his servant, Lucius,
and sends him to light a candle in his study. When Lucius has gone, Brutus speaks
one of the most important and controversial soliloquies in the play. He says that
he has “no personal cause to spurn at” Caesar, except “for the general,” meaning that there are general reasons for the public good. Thus far, Caesar has seemingly been as virtuous as any other man, but Brutus fears that after he is “augmented” (crowned), his character will change, for it is in the nature of things that
power produces tyranny. He therefore decides to agree to Caesar’s assassination:
to “think him as a serpent’s egg, / Which, hatched, would as his kind, grow mischievous, / And kill him in the shell.”
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Lucius re-enters and gives Brutus a letter that has been thrown into his window.
The various conspirators—Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, Metellus Cimber, and Trebonius—now arrive. Cassius proposes that they all seal their compact with an oath,
but Brutus objects on the ground that honorable men acting in a just cause need
no such bond. When Cassius raises the question of inviting Cicero into the conspiracy, Brutus persuades the conspirators to exclude Cicero from the conspiracy.
Cassius then argues that Mark Antony should be killed along with Caesar; Brutus
opposes this too as being too bloody a course, and he urges that they be “sacrificers, but not butchers.” It is the spirit of Caesar, he asserts, to which they stand
opposed, and “in the spirit of men there is no blood.”
When the conspirators have departed, Brutus notices that his servant, Lucius, has
fallen asleep. At this moment, Portia, his wife, enters, disturbed and concerned by
her husband’s strange behavior. She demands to know what is troubling him. She
asserts her strength and reminds Brutus that because she is Cato’s daughter, her
quality of mind raises her above ordinary women; she asks to share his burden with
him. Deeply impressed by her speech, Brutus promises to tell her what has been
troubling him.
Portia leaves, and Lucius is awakened and ushers in Caius Ligarius, who has been
sick, but who now declares that to follow Brutus in his noble endeavor, “I here discard my sickness.” They set forth together.
Act II, Scene ii
The scene is set in Caesar’s house during a night of thunder and lightning, and
Caesar is commenting on the tumultuous weather and upon Calphurnia’s having
dreamed of his being murdered. He sends a servant to instruct his augurers, men
designated to interpret signs and appease the gods, to perform a sacrifice. Calphurnia enters and implores Caesar not to leave home for the day. She describes
the unnatural phenomena that have brought her to believe in the validity of
omens. Caesar replies that no one can alter the plans of the gods and that he will
go out. When Calphurnia says that the heavens proclaim the deaths of princes, not
beggars, Caesar contends that the fear of death is senseless because men cannot
avoid its inevitability.
The servant returns with information that the priests suggest Caesar stay at home
today because they could not find a heart in the sacrificed beast. Caesar rejects
their interpretation, but Calphurnia does finally persuade him to stay at home
and have Antony tell the senators that he is sick. Decius then enters, and Caesar
decides to send the message by him; Decius asks what reason he is to give to
the senators for Caesar’s failure to attend today’s session, and Caesar says to tell
them simply that he “will not come. / That is enough to satisfy the Senate.” Privately, however, he admits to Decius that it is because of Calphurnia’s dream in
which many “smiling Romans” dipped their hands in blood flowing from a statue
of him. Decius, resorting to the flattery to which he knows Caesar is susceptible,
reinterprets the dream and says that Calphurnia’s dream is symbolic of Caesar’s
blood reviving Rome; the smiling Romans are seeking distinctive vitality from the
great Caesar. When Decius suggests that the senate will ridicule Caesar for being
governed by his wife’s dreams, Caesar expresses shame for having been swayed by
Calphurnia’s foolish fears. He declares that he will go to the Capitol.
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Publius and the remaining conspirators—all except Cassius—enter, and Brutus
reminds Caesar that it is after eight o’clock. Caesar heartily welcomes Antony,
commenting on his habit of partying late into the night. Caesar then prepares to
leave and requests that Trebonius “be near me” today to conduct some business.
Trebonius consents, and in an aside states that he will be closer than Caesar’s “best
friends” would like for him to be. In another aside, Brutus grieves when he realizes
that all of Caesar’s apparent friends are not true friends.
Act II, Scene iii
Artemidorus enters a street near the capitol reading from a paper that warns
Caesar of danger and that names each of the conspirators. He intends to give the
letter to Caesar and he reasons that Caesar may survive if the fates do not ally
themselves with the conspirators.
Act II, Scene iv
Portia and Lucius enter the street in front of Brutus’ house, where Portia is
extremely excited. She suggests that Brutus has told her of his plans (in fact, he has
not had an opportunity), and she repeatedly gives Lucius incomplete instructions
concerning an errand to the Capitol. She struggles to maintain self-control and
reacts violently to imagined noises that she thinks emanate from the Capitol.
A soothsayer enters and says that he is on his way to see Caesar enter the Senate
House. Portia inquires if he knows of any plans to harm Caesar, and he answers
only that he fears what may happen to Caesar. He then leaves to seek a place from
which he can speak to Caesar. Portia sends Lucius to give her greetings to Brutus
and to tell him that she is in good spirits, and then to report back immediately to
her.
ACT THREE
Act III, Scene i
Outside the Capitol, Caesar appears with Antony, Lepidus, and all of the conspirators. He sees the soothsayer and reminds the man that “The ides of March are
come.” The soothsayer answers, “Aye, Caesar, but not gone.” Artemidorus calls
to Caesar, urging him to read the paper containing his warning, but Caesar refuses
to read it. Caesar then enters the Capitol, and Popilius Lena whispers to Cassius, “I
wish your enterprise to-day may thrive.” The rest enter the Capitol, and Trebonius
deliberately and discretely takes Antony offstage so that he (Antony) will not interfere with the assassination. At this point, Metellus Cimber pleads with Caesar that
his brother’s banishment be repealed; Caesar refuses and Brutus, Casca, and the
others join in the plea. Their pleadings rise in intensity and suddenly, from behind,
Casca stabs Caesar. As the others also stab Caesar, he falls and dies, saying “Et tu,
Bruté (et tooh brooh-tay)?” (Translated from Latin as “Even you, Brutus?”)
While the conspirators attempt to quiet the onlookers, Trebonius enters with the
news that Mark Antony has fled home. Then the conspirators all stoop, bathe
their hands in Caesar’s blood, and brandish their weapons aloft, preparing to
walk “waving our red weapons o’er our heads” out into the marketplace, crying
“Peace, freedom, and liberty!”
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A servant enters bearing Mark Antony’s request that he be permitted to come to
them and “be resolved / How Caesar hath deserved to lie in death.” Brutus grants
the plea and Antony enters. Antony gives a farewell address to the dead body of
Caesar; then he pretends a reconciliation with the conspirators, shakes the hand
of each of them, and requests permission to make a speech at Caesar’s funeral.
This Brutus grants him, in spite of Cassius’ objections.
When the conspirators have departed, Antony begs pardon of Caesar’s dead body
for his having been “meek and gentle with these butchers.” He predicts that
“Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,” will bring civil war and chaos to all of Italy.
A servant enters then and says that Octavius Caesar is seven leagues from Rome,
but that he is coming. Antony tells the young man that he is going into the marketplace to “try, / In my oration, how the people take / The cruel issue of these
bloody men.” He wants the servant to witness his oration to the people so that
he can relate to Octavius how they were affected. The two men exit, carrying the
body of Caesar.
Act III, Scene ii
Brutus and Cassius enter the Forum, which is thronged with citizens demanding
satisfaction. They divide the crowd—Cassius leading off one portion to hear his
argument, and Brutus presenting reasons to those remaining behind at the Forum.
Brutus asks the citizens to contain their emotions until he has finished, to bear in
mind that he is honorable, and to use their reason in order to judge him. He then
sets before them his reasons for the murder of Caesar and points out that documentation exists in the Capitol that support his claims. The citizens are convinced
and at the end of his oration, cheer him with emotion. He then directs them to
listen to Antony’s funeral oration.
Antony indicates that, like Brutus, he will deliver a reasoned oration. He refers
to Brutus’ accusation that Caesar was ambitious, acknowledges that he speaks
with “honorable” Brutus’ permission, and proceeds to counter all of Brutus’ arguments. The crowd begins to be swayed by his logic and his obvious sorrow over
his friend’s murder. They are ultimately turned into an unruly mob calling for the
blood of the conspirators by mention of Caesar’s generosity in leaving money and
property to the people of Rome, and by the spectacle of Caesar’s bleeding body,
which Antony unveils.
The mob leaves to cremate Caesar’s body with due reverence, to burn the houses
of the assassins, and to wreak general destruction. Antony is content; he muses,
“Mischief, thou art afoot, / Take thou what course thou wilt!”
A servant enters and informs Antony that Octavius has arrived and is with Lepidus
at Caesar’s house. Antony is pleased and decides to visit him immediately to plan
to take advantage of the chaos he has created. The servant reports that Brutus
and Cassius have fled Rome, and Antony suspects that they have heard of his
rousing the people to madness.
Act III, Scene iii
Cinna the poet is on his way to attend Caesar’s funeral when he is accosted by a
group of riotous citizens who demand to know who he is and where he is going.
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He tells them that his name is Cinna and his destination is Caesar’s funeral. They
mistake him, however, for the conspirator Cinna and move to assault him. He
pleads that he is Cinna the poet and not Cinna the conspirator, but they reply that
they will kill him anyway because of “his bad verses.” With Cinna captive, the
crowd exits, declaring their intent to burn the houses belonging to Brutus, Cassius,
Decius, Casca, and Caius Ligarius.
ACT FOUR
Act IV, Scene i
After they have formed the Second Triumvirate, Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus
meet in Rome to decide which Romans shall live and which shall die. Lepidus
agrees to the death of his brother, and Antony agrees to the death of a nephew.
Antony then sends Lepidus to obtain Caesar’s will so that they can reduce some of
the bequests. After he exits, Antony tells Octavius that Lepidus may be fit to run
errands but that he is not fit to rule one-third of the world; after they are through
using him, they will assume the power he temporarily enjoys. Octavius does not
want to argue with Antony, but he recognizes Lepidus to be a proven, brave soldier. Antony answers that his horse also has those qualities; therefore, Lepidus will
be trained and used. Antony and Octavius then agree that they must make immediate plans to combat the armies being organized by Brutus and Cassius.
Act IV, Scene ii
Outside of his tent at a camp near Sardis, Brutus greets Titinius and Pindarus, who
bring him word that Cassius is approaching. Brutus complains that Cassius has
offended him, and he looks forward to hearing Cassius’ explanation. Pindarus,
Cassius’ servant, is certain that the explanation will satisfy Brutus. Lucilius says
that Cassius has received him with proper protocol, but he qualifies his statement,
adding that Cassius’ greeting was not with his accustomed affection. Brutus says
that Lucilius has just described a cooling friendship and he suggests that Cassius
may fail them when put to the test. Cassius arrives then with most of his army
and immediately accuses Brutus of having wronged him. Brutus responds that he
would not wrong a friend and suggests that they converse inside his tent so that
“both our armies” will not see them quarreling. The two men then order their subordinates to lead off the armies and guard their privacy, and they all exit.
Act IV, Scene iii
As soon as the two men are within the tent, Cassius accuses Brutus of having
wronged him by condemning Lucius Pella for taking bribes from the Sardians, in
spite of Cassius’ letters in his defense. Brutus replies that Cassius should not have
written defending such a cause, and Brutus charges him with having an “itching
palm”—that is, Cassius has been selling offices. Brutus reminds Cassius that it was
for the sake of justice that they killed Caesar, and he says strongly that he would
“rather be a dog and bay the moon” than be a Roman who would sell his honor
for money. The quarrel grows in intensity as Cassius threatens Brutus, but Brutus
ignores his threats. Brutus reminds Cassius of his failure to send sums of gold that
Brutus had requested for his troops. Cassius denies this and laments that his friend
no longer loves him; he invites Brutus to kill him. Finally the two men are reconciled and they grasp one another’s hands in renewed friendship.
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Brutus and Cassius drink together as Titinius and Messala join them. From the
conversation that follows, you discover that Octavius and Antony are marching with their armies toward Philippi and that they “put to death an hundred
senators,” including Cicero. Messala also reports the death of Portia, but Brutus
stoically gives no indication that he already knows of her suicide. He proposes
that they march toward Philippi to meet the enemy at once. Cassius disagrees,
maintaining that it would be better to wait for the enemy to come to them. This
strategy would weary the enemy forces while their own men remain fresh. Brutus
persists, however, and Cassius at last gives in to him.
When his guests have departed, Brutus tells his servant Lucius to call some of his
men to sleep with him in his tent. Varro and Claudius enter and offer to stand
watch while Brutus sleeps, but he urges them to lie down and sleep as well.
Brutus then asks Lucius to play some music. Lucius sings briefly, then falls asleep.
Brutus resumes reading a book he has begun, but he is suddenly interrupted by
the entry of Caesar’s ghost. Brutus asks the ghost if it is “some god, some angel,
or some devil,” and it says that it is “thy evil spirit.” It has appeared only to say
that they will meet again at Philippi. The ghost then disappears, whereupon
Brutus calls to Lucius, Varro, and Claudius, all of whom he accuses of crying out in
their sleep. They all swear that they have seen and heard nothing.
ACT FIVE
Act V, Scene i
On the plain of Philippi, Octavius and Antony, along with their forces, await
Brutus, Cassius, and their armies. A messenger arrives and warns Octavius and
Antony that the enemy is approaching. Antony orders Octavius to take the left
side of the field, but Octavius insists upon taking the right and Antony taking the
left.
Brutus, Cassius, and their followers enter, and the opposing generals meet. The
two sides immediately hurl insults at one another: Antony accuses Brutus of
hypocrisy in the assassination and he derides the conspirators for the cowardly
way that they killed Caesar. Cassius accuses Antony of using deceit in his meeting
with the conspirators following the assassination and he reminds Brutus that they
would not have to endure Antony’s offensive language now had he died alongside
Caesar. Octavius suggests that they cease talking and begin fighting and boasts
that he will not sheath his sword until he has either revenged Caesar or has been
killed by traitors. Brutus denies being a traitor. Cassius calls Octavius a “peevish
schoolboy” and Antony a “masker and a reveller.” Antony responds that Cassius
is “old Cassius still,” and Octavius challenges Brutus and Cassius to fight now or
whenever they muster the courage. Octavius, Antony, and their armies exit.
Cassius has serious misgivings about the battle, and both he and Brutus worry
that they will never see each other again. They part poignantly with Cassius
saying, “For ever, and for ever, Brutus! / If we do meet again, we’ll smile indeed; /
If not, ’tis true this parting was well made.”
Act V, Scene ii
During the early course of the battle of Philippi, Brutus sends Messala with a mes
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sage, urging Cassius to engage the enemy forces at once. Brutus believes that the
forces under Octavius, which are positioned before him, are currently unspirited
and vulnerable to attack.
Act V, Scene iii
On another part of the field, Cassius sees his men retreating; Brutus’ forces, having
driven back those of Octavius, are foraging about the battlefield for spoils, leaving
Antony’s army free to encircle Cassius’ troops. Thus Cassius sends Titinius to ride
toward the soldiers that he sees in the distance and determine who they are, and
he asks Pindarus to mount the hill and watch Titinius. When Pindarus reports that
he saw Titinius alight from his horse among soldiers who were shouting with joy,
Cassius mistakenly concludes that Titinius has been taken prisoner by the enemy.
He asks Pindarus to keep his oath of obedience and to stab him. Pindarus does so,
and Cassius dies, saying, “Caesar, thou art revenged, / Even with the sword that
killed thee.”
Titinius was not captured at all, but hailed by some of Brutus’ troops when he
arrived on horseback. He now enters with Messala, hoping to comfort Cassius with
the news that Octavius’ men have been overthrown by Brutus. They find Cassius’
dead body. While Messala goes to report his tragic discovery to Brutus, Titinius kills
himself with Cassius’ sword.
Brutus comes onstage with Messala, Young Cato, Strato, Volumnius, and Lucilius
and finds the bodies of Titinius and Cassius. To both of them, he pays a sad farewell, calling Cassius “the last of all the Romans.” The men leave for another
encounter with the enemy.
Act V, Scene iv
On the battlefield, in the midst of fighting, Brutus enters with Young Cato, Lucilius,
and others. He urges them all to stand upright and brave. He exits, and Young
Cato shouts his name and his loyalty to Rome, although some texts credit these
lines, showing this loyalty to Brutus and Rome, to Lucilius. Young Cato is killed,
and Lucilius is captured by Antony’s soldiers who think that he is Brutus. He is then
left under guard as one of the soldiers runs to bring Antony to the prisoner whom
he believes to be Brutus. When Antony arrives and asks for Brutus, Lucilius tells
him that Brutus is alive and will never be taken prisoner. Antony sets guard over
the loyal Lucilius, and he sends his soldiers to search for Brutus and report to him
later at Octavius’ tent.
Act V, Scene v
Brutus, Dardanius, Clitus, Strato, and Volumnius enter. They are tired from battle,
and Brutus whispers a request first to Clitus and then to Dardanius; he wants one
of the men to kill him. They both refuse him. He tells Volumnius that Caesar’s
ghost appeared to him again; he knows that it is time for him to die. Volumnius
disagrees, but Brutus argues that the enemy has them cornered, and he asks
Volumnius to hold his sword while he runs onto it. Volumnius refuses, believing it an improper act for a friend to perform. An alarm signals the approach of
the enemy, and Clitus warns Brutus to flee. Brutus wishes his comrades farewell,
including Strato, who has awakened from a quick nap; he repeats that it is time for
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him to die. Offstage shouts prompt him to send his soldiers onward, and he and
Strato remain alone. Strato agrees to hold Brutus’ sword; they shake hands, and
Brutus runs onto the sword, killing himself.
Amid alarms signaling the rout of Brutus’ army, Octavius, Antony, Messala,
Lucilius, and others enter and come upon Strato with Brutus’ body. Octavius
offers to take into his service all who have followed Brutus, and Antony delivers
a brief and now-famous oration over the body of Brutus beginning, “This was
the noblest Roman of them all.” Antony believes that all the other conspirators
attacked Caesar because of personal envy; Brutus alone did it because he believed
that it would be for the general good of Rome. Octavius promises an appropriate
funeral for Brutus and gives orders to stop the battle. Finally, he calls on his colleagues to join him in celebrating their victory.
John Light (Brutus) and Craig Gazey (Lucius) in Julius Caesar
(Photo by Paul Ros)
Source: http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/caesar/characters/
characters.htm
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Title
Themes in Julius Caesar
Fate versus Free Will
Julius Caesar raises many questions about the force of fate in life versus the
capacity for free will. Cassius refuses to accept Caesar’s rising power and deems
a belief in fate to be nothing more than a form of passivity or cowardice. He says
to Brutus: “Men at sometime were masters of their fates. / The fault, dear Brutus,
is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings” (I.ii.140–142). Cassius urges a return to a more noble, self-possessed attitude toward life, blaming
his and Brutus’ submissive stance not on a predestined plan but on their failure to
assert themselves.
Ultimately, the play seems to support a philosophy in which fate and freedom
maintain a delicate coexistence. Thus Caesar declares: “It seems to me most
strange that men should fear, / Seeing that death, a necessary end, / Will come
when it will come” (II.ii.35–37). In other words, Caesar recognizes that certain
events lie beyond human control; to crouch in fear of them is to enter a paralysis
equal to, if not worse than, death. It is to surrender any capacity for freedom and
agency that one might actually possess. Indeed, perhaps to face death head-on,
to die bravely and honorably, is Caesar’s best course: in the end, Brutus interprets
his and Cassius’s defeat as the work of Caesar’s ghost—not just his apparition, but
also the force of the people’s devotion to him, the strong legacy of a man who
refused any fear of fate and, in his disregard of fate, seems to have transcended it.
Public Self versus Private Self
Much of the play’s tragedy stems from the characters’ neglect of private feelings
and loyalties in favor of what they believe to be the public good. Similarly, characters confuse their private selves with their public selves, hardening and dehumanizing themselves or transforming themselves into ruthless political machines.
Brutus rebuffs his wife, Portia, when she pleads with him to confide in her; believing himself to be acting on the people’s will, he forges ahead with the murder of
Caesar, despite their close friendship. Brutus puts aside his personal loyalties and
shuns thoughts of Caesar the man, his friend; instead, he acts on what he believes
to be the public’s wishes and kills Caesar the leader, the imminent dictator. Cassius
can be seen as a man who has gone to the extreme in cultivating his public persona. Caesar, describing his distrust of Cassius, tells Antony that the problem with
Cassius is his lack of a private life—his seeming refusal to acknowledge his own
sensibilities or to nurture his own spirit. Such a man, Caesar fears, will let nothing
interfere with his ambition. Indeed, Cassius lacks all sense of personal honor and
shows himself to be a ruthless schemer.
Ultimately, neglecting private sentiments to follow public concerns brings Caesar
to his death. Although Caesar does briefly agree to stay home from the Senate in
order to please Calpurnia, who has dreamed of his murder, he gives way to ambition when Decius tells him that the senators plan to offer him the crown. -Caesar’s
public self again takes precedence. Tragically, he no longer sees the difference
between his omnipotent, immortal public image and his vulnerable human body.
Just preceding his death, Caesar refuses Artemidorus’s pleas to speak with him,
saying that he gives last priority to his most personal concerns. He thus endangers
himself by believing that the strength of his public self will protect his private self.
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Title
Misinterpretations and Misreadings
Much of the play deals with the characters’ failures to interpret correctly the
omens that they encounter. As Cicero says, “Men may construe things after their
fashion, / Clean from the purpose of the things themselves” (I.iii.34–35). Thus,
the night preceding Caesar’s appearance at the Senate is full of portents, but no
one reads them accurately: Cassius takes them to signify the danger that Caesar’s
impending coronation would bring to the state, when, if anything, they warn
of the destruction that Cassius himself threatens. There are calculated misreadings as well: Cassius manipulates Brutus into joining the conspiracy by means of
forged letters, knowing that Brutus’s trusting nature will cause him to accept the
letters as authentic pleas from the Roman people.
The circumstances of Cassius’s death represent another instance of misinterpretation. Pindarus’ erroneous conclusion that Titinius has been captured by the
enemy, when in fact Titinius has reunited with friendly forces, is the piece of
misinformation that prompts Cassius to seek death. Thus, in the world of politics
portrayed in Julius Caesar, the inability to read people and events leads to downfall; conversely, the ability to do so is the key to survival. With so much ambition
and rivalry, the ability to gauge the public’s opinion as well as the resentment or
loyalty of one’s fellow politicians can guide one to success. Antony proves masterful at recognizing his situation, and his accurate reading of the crowd’s emotions during his funeral oration for Caesar allows him to win the masses over to
his side.
Inflexibility versus Compromise
Both Brutus and Caesar are stubborn, rather inflexible people who ultimately
suffer fatally for it. In the play’s aggressive political landscape, individuals succeed
through adaptability, bargaining, and compromise. Brutus’s rigid though honorable ideals leave him open for manipulation by Cassius. He believes so thoroughly
in the purpose of the assassination that he does not perceive the need for excessive political maneuvering to justify the murder. Equally resolute, Caesar prides
himself on his steadfastness; yet this constancy helps bring about his death, as he
refuses to heed ill omens and goes willingly to the Senate, into the hands of his
murderers.
Antony proves perhaps the most adaptable of all of the politicians: while his
speech to the Roman citizens centers on Caesar’s generosity toward each citizen, he later searches for ways to turn these funds into cash in order to raise an
army against Brutus and Cassius. Although he gains power by offering to honor
Caesar’s will and provide the citizens their rightful money, it becomes clear that
ethical concerns will not prevent him from using the funds in a more politically
expedient manner. Antony is a successful politician—yet the question of morality
remains. There seems to be no way to reconcile firm moral principles with success in politics in Shakespeare’s rendition of ancient Rome; thus each character
struggles toward a different solution.
Rhetoric and Power
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Julius Caesar gives detailed consideration to the relationship between rhetoric
and power. The ability to make things happen by words alone is the most power
Title
ful type of authority. Early in the play, it is established that Caesar has this type of
absolute authority: “When Caesar says ‘Do this,’ it is performed,” says Antony,
who attaches a similar weight to Octavius’s words toward the end of the play
(I.ii.12). Words also serve to move hearts and minds, as Act III evidences. Antony
cleverly convinces the conspirators of his desire to side with them: “Let each man
render me with his bloody hand” (III.i.185). Under the guise of a gesture of friendship, Antony actually marks the conspirators for vengeance. In the Forum, Brutus
speaks to the crowd and appeals to its love of liberty in order to justify the killing
of Caesar. He also makes ample reference to the honor in which he is generally
esteemed so as to validate further his explanation of the deed. Antony likewise
wins the crowd’s favor, using persuasive rhetoric to whip the masses into a frenzy
so great that they don’t even realize the fickleness of their favor.
John Light (Brutus) and Mariah Gale (Portia) in Julius Cesaer
(Photo by Paul Ros)
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Portrait of William Shakespeare
distributed by Corbis--BettmannPortrait of William Shakespeare
Shakespeare
Biography of William Shakespeare
For all his fame and celebration, William Shakespeare remains a mysterious figure
with regards to personal history. There are just two primary sources for information
on the Bard: his works, and various legal and church documents that have survived
from Elizabethean times.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, allegedly on April 23,
1564. Young William was born to John Shakespeare, a glover and leather merchant, and Mary Arden, an heiress. William was the third of eight children-three
of whom died in childhood. John Shakespeare had a remarkable run of success
as a merchant, and later as an alderman and high bailiff of Stratford. His fortunes
declined, however, in the 1570s.
There is great conjecture about Shakespeare’s childhood years, especially regarding his education. It is surmised by scholars that Shakespeare attended the free
grammar school in Stratford, which at the time had an outstanding reputation.
While there are no records extant to prove this claim, Shakespeare’s knowledge of
Latin and Classical Greek would tend to support this theory. John Shakespeare, as
a Stratford official, would have been granted a waiver of tuition for his son. Certainly the literary quality of Shakespeare’s works suggest a solid education. William
Shakespeare never proceeded to university.
William Shakepeare wed Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582. William was
18 at the time, and Anne was 26. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born on May
26, 1583. The couple later had twins, Hamnet and Judith, born February 2, 1585.
Hamnet died in childhood at the age of 11, on August 11, 1596.
It is estimated that Shakespeare arrived in London around 1588 and began to
establish himself as an actor and playwright. By 1594, he was not only acting and
writing for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (called the King’s Men after the ascension
of James I in1603), but was a managing partner in the operation as well. With Will
Kempe, a master comedian, and Richard Burbage, a leading tragic actor of the
day, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men became a favorite London troupe, patronized by
royalty and made popular by the theatre-going public. When the plague forced
theatre closings in the mid-1590s, Shakespeare and his company made plans for
opening the Globe Theatre in the Bankside district.
His company was the most successful in London in his day. He had plays published
and sold in octavo editions, or “penny-copies” to the more literate of his audiences. It is noted that never before had a playwright enjoyed sufficient acclaim to
see his works published and sold as popular literature in the midst of his career.
While Shakespeare could not be accounted wealthy, his success allowed him to
retire in comfort to Stratford in 1611.
William Shakespeare allegedly died on his birthday, April 23, 1616. This is probably more of a romantic myth than reality, but Shakespeare was interred at Holy
Trinity in Stratford on April 25. In 1623, two working companions of Shakespeare
from the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, John Heminges and Henry Condell, printed the
First Folio edition of the Collected Works, of which half the plays contained therein
were previously unpublished. The First Folio also contained Shakespeare’s sonnets.
William Shakespeare’s legacy is a body of work that will never again be equaled in
Western civilization. His words have endured for 400 years, and still reach across
the centuries as powerfully as ever.
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“...an upstart crow,
beautified with our
feathers, that with his
Tiger’s heart wrapped in a
player’s hide, supposes he
is as well able to
bombast out a blank verse
as the best of you: and
being an absolute Johannes
fac totum, is in his own
conceit the only
Shake-scene in a country.”
Robert Greene, a London
playwright and critic, in 1592
This baptismal record from 1564 lists “Guglielmus filius Johannes Shakespeare,” Latin for “William, Son of
Shakespeare.” This register is now in the possesssion of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-UponAvon, England.
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Shakespeare Family Tree
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Lesson Plans
Student busily working during a UMS in-school visit.
Curriculum Connections
Are you interested
in more lesson
plans?
Visit the Kennedy
Center’s ArtsEdge
web site, the
nation’s most
comprehensive
source of artsbased lesson
plans.
www.artsedge.
kennedy-center.
org
39 | www.ums.org/education
Introduction
The following lessons and activities offer suggestions intended to be used in
preparation for the UMS Youth Performance. These lessons are meant to be both
fun and educational, and should be used to create anticipation for the performance.
Use them as a guide to further exploration of the art form. Teachers may pick and
choose from the cross-disciplinary activities and can coordinate with other subject
area teachers. You may wish to use several activities, a single plan, or pursue a
single activity in greater depth, depending on your subject area, the skill level or
maturity of your students and the intended learner outcomes.
Learner Outcomes
•
Each student will develop a feeling of self-worth, pride in work, respect,
appreciation and understanding of other people and cultures, and a desire
for learning now and in the future in a multicultural, gender-fair, and abilitysensitive environment.
•
Each student will develop appropriately to that individual’s potential, skill
in reading, writing, mathematics, speaking, listening, problem solving, and
examining and utilizing information using multicultural, gender-fair and
ability-sensitive materials.
•
Each student will become literate through the acquisition and use of
knowledge appropriate to that individual’s potential,
through a comprehensive, coordinated curriculum, including
computer literacy in a multicultural, gender-fair, and ability-sensitive
environment.
Meeting Michigan Standards
UMS can help you
meet Michigan’s
Curricular
Standards!
The activities in this
study guide,
combined with the
live performance, are
aligned with Michigan
Standards and
Benchmarks.
For a complete list of
Standards and
Benchmarks, visit the
Michigan Department
of Education online:
www.michigan.gov/
mde
Arts Education
Standard 1: Performing All students will apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts.
Standard 2: Creating All students will apply skills and knowledge to create in the arts.
Standard 3: Analyzing in Context All students will analyze, describe, and evaluate works of art.
Standard 4: Arts in Context All students will understand, analyze, and describe the arts in their
historical, social, and cultural contexts.
Standard 5: Connecting to other Arts, other Disciplines, and Life All students will recognize,
analyze, and describe connections among the arts; between the arts and other disciplines;
between the arts and everyday life.
English Language Arts
Standard 3: Meaning and Communication All students will focus on meaning and communication
as they listen, speak, view, read, and write in personal, social, occupational, and civic
contexts.
Standard 5: Literature All students will read and analyze a wide variety of classic and contemporary
literature and other texts to seek information, ideas, enjoyment, and understanding of their
individuality, our common heritage and common humanity, and the rich diversity of our society.
Standard 6: Voice All students will learn to communicate information accurately and effectively and
demonstrate their expressive abilities by creating oral, written, and visual texts that enlighten
and engage an audience.
Standard 7: Skills and Processes All students will demonstrate, analyze, and reflect upon the skills
and processes used to communicate through listening, speaking, viewing, reading, and
writing.
Standard 12: Critical Standards All students will develop and apply personal, shared, and academic
criteria for the enjoyment, appreciation, and evaluation of their own and others’ oral, written,
and visual texts.
Social Studies
Standard I-2: Comprehending the Past All students will understand narratives about major eras of
American and world history by identifying the people involved, describing the setting, and
sequencing the events.
Standard I-3: Analyzing and Interpreting the Past All students will reconstruct the past by
comparing interpretations written by others form a variety of perspectives and creating
narratives from evidence.
Standard II-1: People, Places, and Cultures All students will describe, compare, and explain the
locations and characteristics of places, cultures, and settlements.
Standard III-3: Democracy in Action All students will describe the political and legal processes
created to make decisions, seek consensus, and resolve conflicts in a free society.
Standard VII-1: Responsible Personal Conduct All students will consider the effects of an
individual’s actions on other people, how one acts in accordance with the rule of law, and
how one acts in a virtuous and ethically responsible way as a member of society.
Math
Standard I-1: Patterns Students recognize similarities and generalize patterns, use patterns to create
models and make predictions, describe the nature of patterns and relationships, and
construct representations of mathematical relationships.
Standard I-2: Variability and Change Students describe the relationships among variables, predict
what will happen to one variable as another variable is changed, analyze natural variation
and sources of variability, and compare patterns of change.analytic and descriptive tool,
identify characteristics and define shapes, identify properties, and describe relationships
among shapes.
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Science
Standard I-1: Constructing New Scientific Knowledge All students will ask questions that help
them learn about the world; design and conduct investigations using appropriate
methodology and technology; learn from books and other sources of information; communicate their findings using appropriate technology; and reconstruct previously learned knowledge.
Standard IV-1: Matter and Energy All students will measure and describe the things around us;
explain what the world around us is made of; identify and describe forms of energy; and
explain how electricity and magnetism interact with matter.
Standard IV-3: Motion of Objects All students will describe how things around us move and explain
why things move as they do; demonstrate and explain how we control the motions of
objects; and relate motion to energy and energy conversions.
Standard IV-4: Waves and Vibrations All students will describe sounds and sound waves; explain
shadows, color, and other light phenomena; measure and describe vibrations and waves; and
explain how waves and vibrations transfer energy.
Career and Employability
Standard 1: Applied Academic Skills All students will apply basic communication skills, apply
scientific and social studies concepts, perform mathematical processes, and apply technology
in work-related situations.
Standard 2: Career Planning All students will acquire, organize, interpret, and evaluate information
from career awareness and exploration activities, career assessment, and work-based
experiences to identify and to pursue their career goals.
Standard 3: Developing and Presenting Information All students will demonstrate the ability to
combine ideas or information in new ways, make connections between seemingly unrelated
ideas, and organize and present information in formats such as symbols, pictures, schematics,
charts, and graphs.
Standard 5: Personal Management All students will display personal qualities such as responsibility,
self-management, self-confidence, ethical behavior, and respect for self and others.
Standard 7: Teamwork All students will work cooperatively with people of diverse backgrounds and
abilities, identify with the group’s goals and values, learn to exercise leadership, teach others
new skills, serve clients or customers and contribute to a group process with ideas,
suggestions, and efforts.
Technology
Standard 2: Using Information Technologies All students will use technologies to input, retrieve,
organize, manipulate, evaluate, and communicate information.
Standard 3: Applying Appropriate Technologies All students will apply appropriate technologies
to critical thinking, creative expression, and decision-making skills.
World Languages
Standard 5: Constructing Meaning All students will extract meaning and knowledge from
authentic non-English language texts, media presentations, and oral communication.
Standard 6: Linking Language and Culture All students will connect to a non-English language
and culture through texts, writing, discussions, and projects.
Standard 8: Global Community All students will define and characterize the global community.
Standard 9: Diversity All students will identify diverse languages and cultures throughout the world.
Health
Standard 3: Health Behaviors All students will practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce
health risks.
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Assessing Prior Knowledge
This lesson was
designed with
older students
in mind, but can
easily be adapted
to suit younger
students as well.
Assessing student’s prior knowledge before a performance is a great way to prepare
them for what they are about to see, and offers an opportunity for discussion. Here
are a few questions you might find helpful in preparing your students for Julius
Caesar.
• What is theatre? How does it fit into our lives?
• Ask your students if they have ever attended a performance before.
If they have, what? If they haven’t, what do they think it would be like
to attend? If they have attended a Shakespeare performance, what, if
anything, makes it different from other plays?
• Ask the students to compare the differences between going to
sports events and attending the theater.
• Have your students create their own University Musical Society in
which they could perform in anything they wanted. What would
they be, and who would help them?
• Discuss the kinds of jobs associated with a performing arts center:
costumer, dancer, director, actor, stage manager, set designer,
musician, etc. If they could work in a theater, what would they do?
• What do your students know about Shakespeare already?
• Ask students if they know any famous Shakespearean quotations.
• Please refer to page 31-33 of this study guide to spark discussion questions
regarding the themes of Julius Caesar.
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Lesson 1: It’s Shakespeare!
Objective:
Students will explore their preconceived notions of Shakespeare before reading and viewing Richard III and again after discussing the work. By interviewing
others, they will be able to measure the degree to which Shakespeare’s plays and
characters have permeated contemporary life and decide for themselves if Shakespeare has a place in today’s classroom.
Materials:
Three Handouts
Procedures:
HANDOUT 1
•. Explain that the class will be studying Richard III to prepare for a live
performance by the Guthrie Theater. Before beginning a study unit, however,
you’d like to see what they think and know about Shakespeare.
•Distribute Handout 1 among the class. Ask the students to rate each statement
on a scale of 1 to 4. 1 = strongly agree 2 = agree somewhat 3 = disagree
somewhat
4 = strongly disagree.
•. Now ask the class to move around the room and interview two classmates,
putting their answers in Columns B and C.
• When everyone’s chart has the first three columns filled in, bring the class
together to discuss the results.
HANDOUT 2
•. Divide the class into groups of equal size and ability. Distribute Handout 2 face
down, one paper to each group.
•. Explain that each group has fifteen minutes to try to answer as many questions
as possible.
•. On your signal, the groups should begin.
(continued on next page)
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Lesson 1(cont.)
. • When the fifteen minutes are up, reconvene the class to discuss the
answers.
“Bubble, bubble, toil
and trouble”
(Shakespeare, Macbeth)
“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a
horse!”
(Shakespeare, Richard III)
“Hogwash!”
(n/a)
“A tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow
basket”
(1950’s song)
“To be or not to be”
(Shakespeare, Hamlet)
“Thine eyes have seen the glory”
(Howe, “Battle Hymn of the Republic”)
“To thine own self be true”
(Shakespeare, Hamlet)
“Bah, humbug!”
(Dickens, A Christmas Carol)
“in order to form a more
perfect union”
(U.S. Constitution)
“In Fair Verona, where we set our stage”
(Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)
HANDOUT 3: CLOSURE/HOMEWORK
• Now that students have had a chance to reflect on their experiences,
distribute Handout 3 as a closure activity/homework.
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Handout 1: The Survery Says...
What happens when you shout the word “Shakespeare” in a crowded room? Do half the
occupants run for cover while the other half begin to recite?
Before reading and seeing Julius Caesar, take some time to measure your attitudes and those of
your friends and family about Shakespeare. For your own answers, use Column A below.
Enter number 1 if you strongly agree with the statement, 2 if you agree somewhat, 3 if you
disagree somewhat, and 4 if you strongly disagree. Then ask two classmates what they think
and record their responses in Columns B and C. Finally, after experiencing and discussing the
play, fill in Column D, noting differences between your “before” and “after” responses.
1=strongly agree
2=agree somewhat
3=disagree somewhat
You
4=strongly disagree
Friend 1
Friend 2
1. I would not enjoy watching a Shakespearean play.
2. That’s old stuff; Shakespeare has no relevance to life
today.
3. Nobody can understand Shakespeare’s plays without
notes and definitions in the margins.
4. Shakespeare should be required reading for
high school and college students.
5. People’s problems and behaviors change
significantly from one century to another.
6. Shakespeare’s plays were meant for the upper class.
7. People can’t appreciate Shakespeare because his
language is so different from ours.
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Handout 2: What do you know?
Many people have heard of Shakespeare, but how much do they really know about him and his plays?
In your group, work together to try to answer these questions without notes.
1. Name two works by William Shakespeare.
2. Name the country where Shakespeare was born.
3. Name one genre of literature that Shakespeare wrote.
4. Circle the lines written by Shakespeare. There are 5 in all.
“Bubble, bubble, toil
and trouble”
“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!”
“Hogwash!”
“A tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow basket”
“To be or not to be”
“Thine eyes have seen the glory”
“To thine own self be true”
“Bah, humbug!”
“in order to form a more
perfect union”
“In Fair Verona, where we set our stage”
5. Choose one of the Shakespeare lines from #4. What does the line mean?
Adapted from a lesson designed by Youth Media International.
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Handout 3: Shakespeare and School
Should Shakespeare Still Be in School?
Imagine you have been elected student representative to your school’s curriculum committee. At a
meeting, someone proposes dropping Shakespeare from the required curriculum, arguing that he is
difficult to read, irrelevant to today’s students, and not representative of the cultural and social
population of the school. Before the committee votes, you must present your position on this issue.
Use results of the surveys you have conducted to prepare a brief statement:
I feel strongly that we should/should not drop Shakespeare from the curriculum because...
[Continue your answers on an additional sheet of paper if necessary]
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Lesson 2: Getting Into Character
Objective:
For students to gain a deeper understanding of Antony’s emotions and plans
through a monologue.
Materials:
Handout 4 on following page
Highlighters, markers or colored pencils
Warm-up:
•. Distribute Handout 4 to the class.
• Arrange the class in a circle.
• Explain to the class that this is a speech from Julius Caesar and that each
student is only responsible for one word at a time. This activity is recommended
by the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Royal Shakespeare Company as a way
for student to gain meanings faster connections with Shakespeare’s words while
gaining a greater meaning.
• Here are some questions to help students get into character: These questions
should be kept in mind, not only as the character is being developed but as it is
being played
1. Who am I?
2. Where am I?
3. What do I want?
4. Why do I want it?
5. What is preventing me from getting it?
6. What am I willing to do to get what I want?
7. Whom do I want it from?
8. When do I need it?
Alternate Activity:
• Assign each student a number from 1-30. Divide the monologue into 30 parts,
so some students may need to read more than one part.
• Ask each student to use a highlighter, marker or colored pencil to mark each of
his/her lines.
• Read the speech aloud in choral style.
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Handout 4: A Monologue
This monologue is intended to be used with Lesson 2 of this study guide.
ANTONY (Act 3, Scene ii):
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest-For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men-Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
49 | www.ums.org/education
Lesson 3: Create Your Own UMS
Objective
For students to learn about the workings of an arts organization, increase
Internet research skills, and become familiar with a wider variety of art forms and
performers.
Materials
Internet Access
Opening Discussion
At arts organizations such as University Musical Society, a great deal of work
is needed to put on a concert series. UMS has eight departments, 30 staff
members, and over 20 interns working together to help concerts go as well as
possible!
Each year, the organization must decide what artists it will hire, when they will
perform, and in what venue. It is very important to have a variety of art forms.
For example, UMS offers dance, theater, jazz, orchestral, chamber music, and
soloists throughout the season. It is also important to UMS to choose performers
who will appeal to people from different backgrounds. For the 2006-2007
season, several shows are centered on Mexico and the Americas. UMS also tries
to include concerts that showcase African American heritage, Asian art forms, and
other cultures. In order to meet these goals, negotiations between UMS staff and
the performers’ representatives sometimes begin years in advance.
Activity
•
After explaining briefly how an arts organization like UMS works,
explain that the students will be designing a concert series of their
own.
•
Direct the students to UMS’s website at www.ums.org. Let them
explore and read about the different performances being presented this
season. What shows are most interesting to them? Is there an art
form or style they particularly like?
•
Keeping in mind the concerns arts administrators have when planning a
season, have them select concerts they would put on their own concert
series. Feel free to include performers that may not be appearing at
UMS this season. Why did they select those specific artists? How are
the concerts linked? Is there a theme connecting them all (cultural,
same art form, good variety)? (Consider limiting five shows to start.)
•
Write a memo to Ken Fischer, president of University Musical Society,
Tell him what shows you think should be presented and why you
selected them. Mail the memos to the Youth Education Department,
and we’ll give them to Mr. Fischer ourselves!
Discussion/Follow-up
What did you learn from this experience? How was your list different from that of
others? How did you justify your choices?
50 | www.ums.org/education
Theater Vocabulary
Below
Opposite of above; toward the front of the stage.
Blackout
To plunge the stage into total darkness by switching off the lights.
Blocking
The arrangement of the performers’ movements onstage with respect to
each other and the stage space.
Border
A strip of drapery (usually black) or painted canvas hung from a batten to
mask the area above the stage.
Business
Obvious and detailed physical movement of performers to reveal character, help
the action of the play, or establish mood (e.g., pouring a cup of coffee or open
ing a cabinet).
Catharsis
A Greek word that Aristotle used in his definition of tragedy. It refers to
vicarious cleansing of certain emotions in the members of the audience through
seeing those emotions onstage.
Center stage
A stage position in the very middle of the stage.
Complication
The introduction in a play of a new force that creates new balance of power
and makes delay in reaching the climax necessary. It is one way of creating
conflict and precipitating a crisis.
Conflict
Tension between two or more characters that leads to crisis or a climax. The basic
conflict is the fundamental struggle or imbalance underlying the play as a
whole. May also be a conflict of ideas or actions.
Crew
The backstage team responsible for carrying out the technical parts of a production.
Cross
A movement by a performer across the stage in a given direction.
Cue
Any prearranged signal, such as the last words in a speech, a piece of business,
or any action of lighting change that indicates to a performer or stage manager
that it is time to move on to the next line or action.
Theater Vocabulary
Above
Upstage or away from the audience. A performer crossing above a
table keeps it between him/herself and the front of the stage.
Ad lib
To improvise lines of speech, especially in response to an emergency,such as
a performer’s forgetting his or her lines.
Antagonist
The chief opponent of the protagonist in a drama. In some cases,there may
be several antagonists.
Apprentice
A young performer in an Elizabethan acting company who was taught
the art of acting through actual experience and who received room and
board. Apprentices still work in theaters today; today they might also be
called interns; current apprentices can work in all areas of the performing
arts (acting, technical, administrative, and other).
Apron
The stage space in front of the curtain line or proscenium.
Aside
In a play, when a character speaks thoughts aloud without others onstage
noticing.
At rise
An expression used when describing what is happening onstage at the
moment the curtain first rises or the lights come up at the beginning of the
play.
Backdrop
A large drapery or painted canvas that provides the rear or upstage masking
of a set.
Backstage
The parts of the stage unseen by the audience; includes the wings and
dressing rooms.
Basic situation
The specific problem of maladjustment from which the play arises.
Batten
A pipe or long pole suspended horizontally above the stage, upon which
scenery, drapery or lights may be hung. Battens are not seen by the
audience.
Theater Vocabulary
Cue sheet
A list of cues for the use of the crew.
Cyclorama
A large curved drop used to mask the rear and sides of the stage, painted a
neutral color or blue to represent sky oropen space.
Denouement
The moment when the conflict or crisis is solved. The word is French and was
used to refer to the working out of the resolution in a well-made play.
Dimmer
A device that permits lighting intensities to be changed smoothly and at varying
rates.
Director
In American usage,the person who is responsible for the overall unity of the
production and for coordinating the efforts of the contributing artists. The
director is in charge of rehearsals and supervises the performers in the
preparation of their parts. The American director is the equivalent of the British
producer.
Downstage
The front of the stage, toward the audience.
Drop
A large piece of fabric, generally painted canvas, hung from a batten to the
stage floor, usually to serve as the back of the scene.
Ensemble playing
Acting that stretches the total artistic unity of the performance rather than the
individual performances of specific actors and actresses.
Entrance
When an actor comes onto the stage.
Epilogue
A speech addressed to the audience after the conclusion of the play and spoken
by one of the performers. Shakespeare used this device in many of his plays.
Exit
The performer’s leaving of the stage.
Theater Vocabulary
Exposition
The imparting information necessary for an understanding of the story but
not covered by the action onstage. Events or knowlege from the past, or
occurring outside the play, which must be introduced for the audience
to understand the characters or plot. Exposition is always a problem in
drama because relating or conveying information is often boring. The playwright must find ways to make exposition as interesting as possible.
Flat
A single piece of scenery made of canvas stretched over a wooden frame.
Flats may be attached together to create a set.
Fly loft or flies
The space above the stage where scenery may be lifted out of sight by means of
ropes and pulleys when not needed.
Freeze
To remain motionless onstage.
Front of house
The portion of the theater resered for the audience. It is often called simply
“the house.”
Gel
A thin, flexible plastic-like sheet attached to lighting instruments to make
colored light.
Groundlings
Audience members who stood in the yard of the Elizabethan theater, called
“groundlings” because they stood on the ground. More expensive tickets forseating were
available as well.
Hand props
Small props carried onstage or offstage by actors during the performance. See
props.
History play
In the broadest sense, a play set in a historical period that deals with historical
personages. The form originated in Shakespeare’s time, Elizabethan England,
which produced more history plays than any comparable place and time. In that
period, history plays were often designed to teach the audience a lesson based
on a review of the past. Shakespeare was the major writer of Elizabethan
history plays. His style influenced many later history plays, especially those of
August Strindberg.
Theater Vocabulary
Hubris
An ancient Greek term usually defined as “excessive pride” and cited as
common tragic flaw.
Line
A sentence or set of sentences said by an actor. When an actor forgets what
to say next in a rehearsal, she may call, “Line!”
Mask
A face covering to hide the face; also, to hide certain areas from the audience.
Monologue
A long speech made by an actor.
Objective
Russian director Stanislavski’s term for what is urgently desired or sought by a
character.
Obstacle
That which delays or prevents the achieving of a goal by a character. An
obstacle creates complication and conflict.
Offstage
The areas of the stage, usually in the wings or backstage, that are not in view
of the audience.
Onstage
The area of the stage which is in view of the audience.
Pace
The rate at which a performance is played; also, to play a scene or an entire
play in order to determine its proper speed.
Period
A term describing any representation onstage of a former age, as in period
costume or period play.
Pit
The floor of the house in a theater. In Elizabethan times, it was where the
groundlings stood. Today, “pit” can also refer to the sunken area in front of
the stage where an orchestra performs during a musical or opera.
Platform
A raised surface on the stage floor serving as an elevation for parts of the stage
action and allowing for a multiplicity of stage levels.
a
Theater Vocabulary
Plot
The patterned arrangements of events and characters for a drama. The
incidents are selected and arranged for maximum dramatic impact. In modern
plays, the plot may begin long after the beginning of the story and refer to
information regarding the past in flashbacks (going back in time).
Producer
The person responsible for the business side of a production, including raising
the necessary money. In British usage, a producer is the equivalent of the
American director.
Prologue
An introductory speech delivered to the audience by one of the actors or
actresses before the play begins. Prologues are common in many
Shakespearean plays.
Prompt
To furnish a performer with missed or forgotten lines or cues during a
performance. Prompts are almost never used in modern dramas.
Shakespearean plays were rehearsed and performed so quickly that
prompters were necessary to keep the play moving.
Prompt book
The script of a play indicating perofrmers’ movements, light cues, sound
cues, etc. In America, this book is made by the stage manager.
Props (Properties)
Objects used by performers onstage or necessary to complete the set.
Props can be as small as plates or as large as furniture.
Proscenium
The arch or frame surrounding the stage opening in many traditional
spaces. Ann Arbor theaters like the Michigan Theatre and the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater
are considered proscenium spaces. Power Center can adjust to be a proscenium stage or
a thrust stage.
Protagonist
The principal character in a play; the one around whom the play focuses.
The main character.
Repertory or repertoire
The kind of acting company which at any given time has a number of plays
which it can perform alternately; also, a collection of plays.
Reversal
A sudden switch or reversal of circumstances or knowledge which leads to
a result contrary to expectations.
Theater Vocabulary
Scene
A stage setting; or the structural units into which acts of the play are
divided; or the location of a play’s action.
Scrim
A thin, open-weave fabric which is nearly transparent when lit from
behind and opaque when lit from the front.
Script
The written or printed text, consisting of dialogue, stage directions, character
descriptions, and the like, of a play or other theatrical theatrical representation.
Set
The scenery, taken as a whole, for a scene or an entire production.
Set piece
A piece of scenery.
Shareholders
In Elizabethan acting troupes, members who received part of the profits as
payment. Unfortunately, this tradition has all but died out.
Sides
A script containing only the lines and cues for one performer; in Elizabethan
England, this is how actors learned their parts. It is part of why it is difficult
to know which version of Shakespeare is the “truest.” Today, most actors
receive copies of the entire play.
Soliloquy
A speech in which a character who is alone onstage speaks inner thoughts. All
soliloquies are monologues, but not all monologues are soliloquies. “To Be Or
Not To Be,” from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is probably the most famous
soliloquy in theater history.
SRO
Standing room only. A notice that all seats for a performance have been sold
and there is only room for attendees to stand.
Stage convention
An understanding established through custom or usage that certain devices
will be accepted or assigned specific meaning or significance.
Stage door
An outside entrance to the backstage areas which is used by the performers
and crew.
Theater Vocabulary
Stage house
The stage floor and all the space above it. You can easily identify the stage
house from outside a theater because it is almost always the tallest part of
the building.
Strike
To remove pieces of scneery or props from onstage or to take down the entire
set after the performance.
Subtext
A term referring to the meaning and movement of the play below the
surface: something that is implied and never stated.
Theme
The central thought of the play. The idea or ideas with which the play deals
Tragic flaw
The factor which is a character’s chief weakness and which makes him or her
most vulnerable.
Trap
An opening in the stage floor, usually covered, which can be used for special
effects, such as having scenery or performers rise from below, or which permits
the construction of a staircase which supposedly leads to an imaginary lower
floor or cellar. The Power Center is capable of having traps; the area below
the traps is called the Trap Room.
Upstage
At or toward the back of the stage, away from the front edge of the stage.
(See Rake.)
Wings
Left and right offstage areas; also, narrow standing pieces of scenery, or
“legs,” more or less parallel to the proscenium, which form the sides of a
setting.
Work lights
Lights that come up to help the crew see backstage when the curtain is down.
The audience should never see the work lights!
Yard
The pit, or standing area, in the Elizabethan public theater such as
Shakespeare’s Globe.
Theater Vocabulary Word-o
FREE
SPACE
Before the game begins, fill in each box with one of the vocabulary words or phrases below. Your
teacher will call out the definition for one of the words below. If you’ve got the matching word on
your board, cover the space with your chip. When you’ve got a horizontal, vertical, or
diagonal row of five chips, call out WORD-O!
stage
teaser
trap
crew
subtext
ad lib
cue
monologue
flat
gel
soliloquy
protagonist
set
blocking
platform
plot
procenium
obstacle
thespian
trap
Lucillus, friend to Brutus and Cassius, in Julius Caesar (Photo by Paul Ros)
Resources
UMS FIELD TRIP PERMISSION Title
SLIP
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We will be taking a field trip to see a University Musical Society (UMS) Dress Rehearsal of the Royal
Shakespeare Company’s production of Julius Caesar on Friday, October 27 from 2:30-5:30pm at Power
Center in Ann Arbor.
We will travel (please circle one) • by car
• by school bus
• by private bus
• by foot
Leaving school at approximately ________am and returning at approximately ________pm.
The UMS Youth Performance Series brings the world’s finest performers in music, dance, theater, opera,
and world cultures to Ann Arbor. This performance features The Royal Shakespeare Company of Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
We (circle one)
• need
• do not need
additional chaperones for this event. (See below to sign up as a chaperone.)
Please (circle one)
• send
lunch along with your child on this day.
• do not send
If your child requires medication to be taken while we are on the trip, please contact us to make
arrangements.
If you would like more information about this Youth Performance, please visit the Education section of
www.ums.org/education. Copies of the Teacher Resource Guide for this performance are available for
you to download.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at ____________________________________
or send email to _________________________________________________________________________.
Please return this form to the teacher no later than ________________._____________________________
Sincerely,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My son/daughter, __________________________________, has permission to attend the UMS Youth
Performance on Friday, October 27, 2006. I understand that transportation will be by _____________.
I am interested in chaperoning if needed (circle one).
• yes
• no
Parent/Guardian Signature________________________________________ Date_
____________________
Relationship to student ____________________________________________
Daytime phone number__________________________________________
Emergency contact person________________________________________
Emergency contact phone number_________________________________
61 | www.ums.org/education
Title
Internet
Resources
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org/
education
Arts Resources
www.ums.org/education
The official website of UMS. Visit the Education section (www.ums.org/education)
for study guides, information about community and family events and more
information about the UMS Youth Education Program.
www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org
The nation’s most comprehensive web site for arts education, including lesson
plans, arts education news, grant information, etc.
Royal Shakespeare Compnay
www.rsc.org.uk - The official website of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Site includes information on The Complete Works Festival, about the RSC’s
management, history of the company, and current productions
Shakespeare
www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org/home.html - Shakespeare
in the Communities is an initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for
the Arts and Artsmidwest. On this site, teachers may order a teacher’s manual
including lesson plans, Fun with Shakespeare brochure with word games, a
recitation contest guide, timeline poster, audio CD, educational video, and
bookmarks.
www.pbs.org/shakespeare/educators/ - Developed in partnership with the
Folger Shakespeare Library, these classroom resources were designed around six
thematic strands: Shakespeare’s Language, Shakespeare on Film, Performance,
Primary Sources, Teaching Shakespeare to Elementary Students, and Teaching
Shakespeare with Technology.
http://www.folger.edu/index_sa.cfm?specaudid=2 - This site contains
contains resources for lesson plans, study guides, and ways to use primary sources.
Julius Caesar
http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/julius_caesar/ - The complete text of
the Julius Caesar, courtesy of the Massachusetts Institute for Technology.
Although UMS previewed
each web site, we
recommend that teachers
check all web sites before
introducing them to
students, as content may
have changed since this
guide was published.
62 | www.ums.org/education
www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/resources/shakespeare/caesarwebguide.html
This unit was designed for use with 10th grade English classes. The unit affords practice
in analyzing and discussing character in a written composition, in discussing how
decisions based on character move the plot of a drama forward, in speculating on
leadership skills, and in searching for alternatives to violence in government leadership
changeovers.
Recommended Reading
Title
UPPER MIDDLE & SECONDARY GRADES
Aliki. William Shakespeare and the Globe. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.
A delightful picture book dividing Shakespeare’s life into ‘acts’ and
‘scenes.
Becker, George J. Shakespeare’s Histories. New York: Frederick Ungar
Publishing,1977.
More academically focused look at the two tetralogies (Richard II to Henry
V and Henry VI, Part I, to Richard III).
There are
many more
books available!
Just visit
www.amazon.com
Bloom, Harold. Bloom’s Major Dramatist: Shakespeare’s Histories. Broomall,
PA: Chelsea House, 2000.
Chute, Marchette. Shakespeare of London. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1949.
A classic book on Shakespeare’s work in London.
Doyle, John, and Ray Lischner. Shakespeare for Dummies. New York; IMG,
1999.
OK, we hate the title, too, but this is a very easily digested introduction to
Shakespeare. If you liked the scorecard, you can find it and many more
here. Includes a plot summary of each Shakespeare play. Introduction by
Dame Judi Dench, well-known in England for her work with the RSC and
best- known in the US for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in
Love.)
Greenhill, Wendy, and Paul Wignall. Shakespeare: Man of the Theater.
Chicago: Heinemann Library, 1999.
Written by RSC’s former Head of Education, this is an easy-to-read sum
mary of Shakespeare’s life, work and culture.
Lamb, Charles and Mary. Tales from Shakespeare, New York: Puffin Classics,
1987.
Turns many of Shakespeare’s plays into fiction format. This work was
originally published in 1807, so the language may be difficult for some.
O’Brien, Peggy, ed. Shakespeare Set Free. New York: Washington Square
Press, 1993.
This book is geared specifically toward teaching Romeo and Juliet,
Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but the activities can be
adapted easily to other plays. In addition to ideas for teaching rhyme,
meter, and figurative language, there are also fun activities. We like the
active learning activites in this book.
Stanley, Diane. Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare. New York:
William Morrow and Company, 1992.
A text-heavy picture book of the life of Shakespeare. A good reference
book for high-interest, low-ability readers.
Wilson, Edwin. Theater: The Lively Art. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1991.
A beginning college textbook covering theatrical history, acting, and
design.
63 | www.ums.org/education
Community
and National Resources
Title
These groups and
organizations can
help you to learn
more about this
topic.
University Musical Society
University of Michigan
Burton Memorial Tower
881 N. University Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1101
734.615.0122
[email protected]
www.ums.org/education
University of Michigan Department of Theatre and Drama
Walgreen Drama Center
1226 Murfin Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1212
734.764.5350
[email protected]
www.music.umich.edu/departments/theatre/index.htm
Wayne State University Department of Theatre
4841 Cass Avenue, Suite 3225
Detroit, MI 48202
313.577.3508
[email protected]
www.theatre.wayne.edu/index2.php
Michigan Shakespeare Festival
PO Box 323
Jackson, MI 49204
517.788.5032
[email protected]
http://michshakefest.org/index.php
Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival
School of Communications
290 Lake Superior Hall
Grand Valley State University
Allendale, MI 49401
616.331.3668
www.gvsu.edu/shakes
Gillian Eaton, actress and educator
[email protected]
Performance Network
120 E Huron St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1437
734.663.0696
www.performancenetwork.org/
64 | www.ums.org/education
Title
Hilberry Theatre
At Wayne State University
4841 Cass Avenue, Suite 3225
Detroit, MI 48202
313.577.2972
www.hilberry.com/
Oakland University Department of Music, Theatre & Dance
211 Varner Hall
Rochester, MI 48309-4401
248.370.2030
[email protected]
www2.oakland.edu/oakland/ouportal/index.asp?site=67
MeadowBrook Theatre
207 Wilson Hall
Oakland University
Rochester, MI 48309
248.377.3300
www.mbtheatre.com/
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
800 East Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
312.595.5600
www.chicagoshakes.com/index.html
Folger Shakespeare Library
201 East Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202.544.4600
www.folger.edu/
65 | www.ums.org/education
Send Us Your Feedback!
UMS wants to know what teachers and students think about this Youth Performance.
We hope you’ll send us your thoughts, drawings, letters or reviews.
UMS Youth Education Program
Burton Memorial Tower • 881 N. University Ave. • Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011
(734) 615-0122 phone • (734) 998-7526 fax • [email protected]
www.ums.org/education