Step Three

You've chosen the scene.  You've picked the perfect time period.  Now what?  Each  member of your group needs to choose a role to play.  Your Theatrical Portfolio is a group effort, but each person will contribute a different section which will pertain to the role they have chosen.  Just as every person possesses different talents and interests, each of the roles requires the use of different skills. Your group should carefully read the Role Descriptions listed below and decide together who is best suited for each.

The Linguist You are in charge of being an expert in the Shakespearean language used in the scene your group has chosen, as well as developing a familiarity with the language of your chosen era.  During the rewriting of the scene, it will be your duty to find definitions for these often difficult words.  You should also be on the lookout to make sure that your team's rewrite is not just a simple line by line 'translation' of the old text, but rather a modernization of the story.  To do this you should identify some of the themes and motifs in your sections and think about how they might translate into the time period you are working within. In the portfolio, it will be your responsibility to come up with a Dictionary of Terms, listing all the difficult words in your scene and their definitions.  Also list in a separate section any slang words you used appropriate to the time period you are working with. Your role in the presentation of your Theatrical Portfolio will be to explain some of Shakespeare's language and how it can be translated in your scene, with an emphasis on period slang.  Here are some web sites that may help you: Proper Elizabethan Accents Life in Elizabethan England 8:Language - Idiomatice Indiosynchracies Time Tunnel SLANGUAGE Guide to Medieval Terms

The Artistic Designer You will be in charge of all things artistic pertaining to  the production of your scene. Think about what props, costumes or scenery you may need. For the portfolio you must provide drawings and description of the costumes, props and scenery that you would use if money and time were no object.  Note: this is not necessarily what you will use when you perform your newly written scene for the class.  You should include at least one drawing and description for each character's costume, one prop for each character, and one backdrop. Also include in your section what you would use in the artistic elements of production if you were going to perform the original scene in its original context. Your job during the presentation of your Theatrical Portfolio will be to show and explain your ideas for the costuming of your scene and how they would differ from costumes originally used by Shakespearean actors. Here are some web sites that may help you: Shakespearean Costuming: Surfing with the Bard Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare's Life and Times Period Costuming: Articles of Cowboy Clothes and Gear from the Old West 20th Century Fashion History: 1900s 20th Century Fashion History: 1950s 20th Century Fashion History: 1960s Set Design: Theatre and Drama

The Director You will be in charge of the staging of the scene. Think about how the scene should look on the stage - the 'blocking'. Become familiar with dramatic terms and conventions of the stage. Learn about Shakespearean stage conventions. For the Theatrical Portfolio, you must write an essay discussing the theatrical conventions of Shakespeare's day and comparing them to today.  Make sure you include some of those dramatic terms you've researched! You will be in charge of organizing and overseeing the presentation of your Theatrical Portfolio to the 'studio heads'.  You must be very convincing! Here are some web sites that may help you: The Rose Theatre Homepage Shakespeare and the Globe UVic Romeo and Juliet  Shakespeare's Life and Times

The Historian You will be in charge of making sure your scene is historically accurate. Read through the web sites listed for your time period carefully.  You should be especially familiar with the history of your era.  During the rewriting of your scene it will be your duty to check for accuracy of setting, speech, themes, etc. For the Theatrical Portfolio, it will be your responsibility to provide a Cultural Overview of both Shakespeare lifetime, and the time period in which your updated scene takes place. Your job during the presentation of your Theatrical Portfolio will be to explain the correlation between the historical context of the original play and you revised scene. Here are some web sites that may help you: Shakespeare's Stratford on the Web Exhibits Collection - Renaissance The Elizabethan Theatre Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet English Renaissance Reenactment Home Page