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The Play's the Thing

Introduction

As the American colonies prospered, a growing segment of the population had both the disposable income and the leisure time to attend formal entertainments. Amateur and professional theatrical companies began touring and presenting a variety of stage plays for public audiences. Playbills were often used to announce such performances and to attract the largest audience possible.

In this lesson, students analyze an eighteenth-century playbill for a performance of The Beggar’s Opera, and compare it with several modern theater advertisements. Then, after listening to several acts (written in student-friendly language) from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, students will design playbills for it.

Materials Strategy

1.  Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a copy of the Playbill for The Beggar’s Opera. After students have had time to analyze the playbill, conduct a class discussion in which they share their findings. Discussion questions may include:

  • Who gave permission for this performance of The Beggar’s Opera? Do you think modern theater productions require government permission?
  • When was the performance presented?
  • What was the purpose of the performance?
  • What were the three different parts of the evening? What type of performances were they?

2.  Give each group of students copies of several modern theater advertisements gathered from local newspapers. Have students analyze the ads and compare them to the Playbill for The Beggar’s Opera. Which type of advertisement is more appealing? Why?

3.  Explain to students that William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was a famous English writer who wrote about 38 plays and 154 sonnets (poems). His work was extremely popular throughout the colonies and his plays are still performed regularly around the world today. His play The Tempest was based on a letter describing the wreck of the ship that was taking Sir Thomas Gates to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1609. The play was performed often in Virginia.

4.  Assign the various character parts in the Excerpt from Shakespeare’s The Tempest (Student-Friendly Version) to individual students. Have them read the play excerpts aloud for the class. Facilitate a class discussion in which students summarize the plot of, the characters in, and actions that took place in The Tempest excerpt they just heard.

5.   Have students design a playbill for The Tempest (or an upcoming school play), using colonial wording and style as much as possible (refer students back to the eighteenth-century Playbill for The Beggar’s Opera. Display students’ work in the classroom.

Extensions

1.  Have students re-tell the scenes from the The Tempest as a rap.

2.  Have students perform the student-friendly excerpts of The Tempest. You may also wish to have students design their own costumes, scenery, and props for the presentation.

 

This lesson was written by Judy Hill, elementary school teacher, San Jose, California, and Christie Sanden, elementary school teacher, Santa Cruz, California.