January 2019 marked a turning point for Global Hamlet. First, there were now three overseas groups who wanted to be involved. What’s more, we connected with each through a Google search and an email message. Talk about the power of the Internet! Not surprisingly, there’s a vibrant culture for Shakespeare in Jerusalem. Shakespeare asks hard questions. And what else is Jerusalem, other than a city with formidable concerns? Moreover, collaborating with Crossroads Jerusalem, CB Davies, and Toby Trachtman brought a freshness and vitality to tackling the daunting Bard.
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SERIOUSLY SHAKESPEARE
Speaking of small buds, Toby Trachtman came in for a workshop on Shakespeare for youth with a little bubala attached. In spite of a rousing reading of Shakespeare Inspired Hunger Games, the little babe stayed soundly asleep. To explain, Toby’s partner, actress Tamara Elashvili Trachtman, demonstrated how we typically see Shakespeare performed, by reading a random selection from Hunger Games. Complete with a severe face and resonant voice, Tamara instantly engaged the Crossroads Jerusalem teenagers and ourselves with a dash of humor and pop culture.
Shortly after, the two treated us to a more relaxed interpretation of a scene from their recent Jerusalem Public Theatre’s production of As You Like It.
In fact, it is quite fun to make fun of Serious Shakespeare. You can try this, too. Firstly, pick any book that appeals to your group. Secondly, become Serious. Stand tall. Lower your voice. Look down your nose and try to harness a posh English accent. Thirdly, pick a random page and start reading it out loud. Include large hand gestures and remain Serious at all times.
Luckily, we know that’s not how you perform Shakespeare!
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AND THEREBY HANGS A TALE
Surprisingly, English is not as commonly spoken in Israel as one would believe. Hebrew and Arabic dominate. Thus, Crossroads serves as help for English-speaking young people transitioning into a new culture and new languages. Zounds! Yet another real-life situation in which kids can relate to Hamlet! For instance, how lost and alone did Hamlet feel after returning to the court, knowing it was all a lie? Unfortunately, Hamlet didn’t have a Crossroads.
To be honest, I’m starting to feel like an aberrant missionary. Too often, words are yanked out of context from the Bible and misconstrued or twisted to fit someone’s means. Am I doing the same with Hamlet? E.g., give me any life experience, and I can tweak the story, so it reflects common ground?
However, perhaps the idea is not so far-fetched. Already, there is a published book called, “How to Quote Shakespeare in Everyday Life.” By the same token, maybe we need a book called “Shakespeare’s Been There” or “Shakespeare’s Done That.” The index could take you directly to the character, play, or quote that’s most relevant to your circumstance. I.e., Moving to a New Place? Viola in “Twelfth Night,” of course.
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GLOBAL HAMLET EPISODE 7.1: JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
Earlier in the Global Hamlet tour, I mentioned how the Narration portion often falls by the wayside during the filming. Comparatively to Episode 6.1 in Cape Town, Episode 7.1’s Shakespeare in Jerusalem was a last-minute scramble. Even though our time was up, CB and one of the students volunteered to crank out the Narration.
Although the Narration is not the most essential part of the experience, when your goal is to introduce young people to Shakespeare, it is an integral part of the process. For the web series, it serves as a ‘previously on’ reminder of where we are in the story. For theatrical scripts, it helps to connect the dots and spark discussions.
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GLOBAL HAMLET EPISODE 7.2: JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
In this instance, we changed locales from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. By the same token, it was easy enough to hop on a bus back to Jerusalem. There, we filmed for the second night during Crossroads’ weekly theatre club. Lest one thinks that shooting a no-budget project remains a labor of love is a simple task, I caution you. Reason being, this was another one of those instances where the young people available the previous week were not necessarily the same the following week.
Since we’re dealing with theatre and film, we’re quite prepared for the unexpected, then to go with the flow. It’s good preparation for traveling, too. By this time in the tour, we had already dealt with sinking toilets, busted water heaters, delays, missed connections, and heightened emotions. Whoever says that involvement in the arts isn’t an excellent education for the real world is clearly wrong.
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GLOBAL HAMLET EPISODE 7.3: JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
Much of my approach to Shakespeare studies comes from my improvisation background. Subsequently, it was with much pleasure I observed Toby’s approach to Shakespeare. Similarly to my instruction, he took the young students through a series of theatre games and improvisation games with a Shakespearean twist.
| Type: | Improvisation Game |
|---|---|
| Purpose: | By setting the lines outside of context, this exercise gives students a chance to explore multiple meanings using the same set of words. By introducing short lines, students are free to discern meaning without the pressure of interpreting an entire scene of Shakespeare verse. This is a variation on the popular improv games, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and “Actor’s Nightmare.” |
| Preparation: | Select short lines from your Shakespeare play. Alternatively, choose famous dialogue from a variety of Shakespeare plays. Print them on separate slips of paper. |
| Procedure: | Each scene involves three students. Two players receive two lines of text on a slip of paper. These two Kids are allowed to speak these lines and only these lines. The third player is free to improvise. Set the scene for the students, including ‘who, what, where.’ Use an existing set-up from a scene in a Shakespeare play. I.e., A daughter approaches her parents in the living room, seeking advice about her boyfriend’s strange behavior. Or, three witches in the forest are concocting a sleeping potion in their cauldron. The player who can Say Anything must help to guide the scene. |
| Side Coach: | First, “Try to justify the meaning.” Next, “If the line doesn’t work, try a different tactic.” Last, “Are you limited by the words, or can you add action to help explore the meaning?” |
| Notes: | The player doing the improvising is responsible for guiding the scene. All students must strive to make the lines make sense within the context of their scene. This is a challenging exercise, so don’t be afraid of the struggle. The Kids must work together and help each other make sense of the scene. |
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WHERE TO NEXT?
From Shakespeare in Israel to Shakespeare in India. The next Episode of Global Hamlet is set in Bengaluru, India with the Bangalore School of Speech and Drama.
JANUARY 2019 SHAKESPEARE IN JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
Enjoy our Gallery of photographs below.
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SHAKESPEARE FOR ALL
Working with Shakespeare in education frightens many. Because Shakespeare experts, including professionals, surround us. Escaping them is difficult. This can be intimidating. Thus, feelings of dread usually accompany the act of presenting, but moreover be introduced to, The Bard.
For this reason, ImprovEd Shakespeare is here to help. Founder and Director, Andee Kinzy, offers the layman’s approach to Shakespeare.
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SHAKESPEARE FOR TEACHERS AND DIRECTORS
If you’re an English teacher, a theatre director, or a well-trained Shakespeare advocate, here you will find inspiration, as well as techniques, for making our favorite bard fun for Kids. Accordingly, we present old, new and improved ideas for introducing Shakespeare to youth for the non-Shakespeare-academic. Among them, we include theatre games, improvisation, tips, tricks, plus activities for using Shakespeare in education.
SHAKESPEARE FOR KIDS
Since 2011, ImprovEd Shakespeare has been exploring The Bard with youth through theatrical performance. Our signature scripts are a mix of modern narration plus original Shakespeare verse. With a focus on the story, including an abbreviated script length, our productions entertain all ages. Moreover, our catalog goes beyond the oft-used Midsummer Night’s Dream, or Romeo and Juliet. And still, young people find much to their delight among many of Shakespeare’s works. Consider subscribing to our YouTube channel for family-friendly Shakespeare videos.
PERFORMANCES
Each fall and spring, ImprovEd Shakespeare develops a new production for live performance. In honor of the traditional Renaissance traveling troupe, during a period of a few weeks, we present Kid-friendly plays at various venues around town. Our Players, between 3rd-11th grade, gear themselves with playful, as well as engaging interpretations of works by the Bard of Avon. Suitable for all ages, each performance runs for about an hour.
Furthermore, these shows are always FREE. However, we gladly accept Donations! Additionally, visit ImprovEd Shakespeare, Shakespeare for Kids by Kids on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. And don’t forget to click on our BLOG for the stories behind these videos.
