Assignment Template

I am so excited to apply this reading.

I found that it was incredibly easy to apply this reading to the theatre world. Trust me, we love analyzing text more than most English majors, and I'm not saying that lightly. When it comes to analyzing text the theatre geeks have everyone beat. If you are curious you can ask to see my Twelfth Night and King Lear analysis. I compared the reading to something I do on the daily, and these exercises and practices truly helps not only the actors, directors, and remaining cast and crew but the audience as well. 

I often tell people who are going to see a play for the first time to read up on it, especially if they are going to see Shakespeare. While it is fun to be surprised from time to time, Shakespeare is just a little bit harder to follow especially if you aren't familiar with the text. The easiest thing to do is look at the characters and the structure of the play. I find that Ted Talks really help, especially if you want a brief synopsis or don't really know where you want to start. This idea falls in line with"Pre-reading" I pre-read before I read any scene or play. Why? Because it is hard to pick up on themes if you aren't looking for them, and if you are reading any text like Shakespeare it may be too hard to follow on your own. I find that there are a couple exercises to do with this, and I plan to lay out more in my Unit Plan. There are certain exercises that are helpful, especially when introducing new characters such as the "role-playing" exercise. One of my previous professors was telling me a story about working with a bunch of elementary kids on "The Tempest", and in order for them to understand the character Caliban, he told them to all hobble around as if they were Caliban and he were Prospero and every time "Prospero" stomped his foot all of the Calibans and had to wither around in agony, clutching their sides and swatting away at invisible bees. Not only was that exercise fun, but it did exactly what the reading said it would, 

"Make a connection between their own personal world and the world of the text  

  Activate or develop prior knowledge and experience related to the issues addressed in the tex   

  Share their knowledge relevant to the text  

  Consider their opinions or biases before reading

  Set purposes for reading

  Begin to formulate the issue their writing will address " 

Even though these kids were in elementary school they can now relate to Caliban through that exercise and what Caliban may have experienced on the island. They will be able to re-tell that experience to others and hold a better grasp of the text. Before there was distance between the text and the readers because it is hard to experience something if you've never experienced. But by slowing layering in experiences, of belly aches, bee stings, needles, and etc. they were beginning to understand Prospero's magic and why Caliban was so afraid of it that he would do Prospero's bidding.