For KEYSTAGE 2 by William Shakespeare - manchester actors company present

manchester actors company   present
                            present

 A WORKING GUIDE TO

 for KEYSTAGE 2
 by William Shakespeare

KEY INFORMATION:

THIS SHOW IS SPECIFICALLY DEVISED TO INTRODUCE SHAKESPEARE TO
PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN AT YEAR 3, YEAR 4, YEAR 5, AND YEAR 6, TO
LEAVE THE CHILDREN WITH AN ENDURING IMPRESSION OF THE MAGIC
THAT SHAKESPEARE PROVIDES, BRINGING THE STORY ALIVE THROUGH
ACTIVE DRAMA, EXPLORING THE CHARACTERS AND PLOT, AND SHOWING
HOW TO ENJOY THE LANGUAGE.

THE PLAY IS A CONCISE ABRIDGED VERSION OF THE ENTIRE PLAY, AND
CONCENTRATES ON ALL THE KEY SCENES. THE PLAY IS BROUGHT VIVIDLY TO
LIFE. THE PLAY FLOWS AS A COMPLETE PLAY IN ITSELF, AND IS NOT A SERIES
OF INDIVIDUAL UNCONNECTED SCENES. THE WHOLE 60 MINUTE
PERFORMANCE ACCURATELY CAPTURES THE DRAMA OF SHAKESPEARE’S
FAMOUS TRAGEDY, AND BRINGS THE TEXT TO LIFE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES TO
ENJOY.

WE USE AN ENSEMBLE OF SKILLED ACTORS, AND WE ARE WELL KNOWN FOR
OUR ENERGETIC, VIGOROUS, PHYSICAL THEATRE PERFORMANCES WHERE
CLOSE ATTENTION IS PAID TO THE LANGUAGE, BRINGING THE PERFORMANCE
ALIVE AS A DYNAMIC, WELL-SPOKEN DISPLAY OF THEATRE. ALL OUR
PERFORMERS ARE PROFESSIONAL, QUALIFIED ACTORS, AND ARE RECENTLY DBS
CHECKED TO ENHANCED LEVEL.

EACH PERFORMANCE LASTS 60 MINUTES. PLUS, AFTERWARDS WE HAVE A
30-MINUTE INTERACTIVE DISCUSSION WITH THE AUDIENCE GUIDED BY THE
ACTORS, WHERE WE CAN DISCUSS THE CHARACTERS MACBETH AND LADY
MACBETH, AND EXAMINE THEIR CONTRASTING PERSONALITIES, THOUGHTS,
FEELINGS AND MOTIVES, AND HELP TO EXPLAIN/EXPAND/EXPLORE THE TEXT
FARTHER. THE CHILDREN WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED
THROUGH A CAREFULLY STRUCTURED RANGE OF DRAMA AND LANGUAGE
ACTIVITIES, IN ORDER TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE PLOT, CHARACTERS,
THEMES, LANGUAGE AND STYLE OF MACBETH.

EACH PERFORMANCE COMES COMPLETE WITH A FREE TEACHERS’ PACK
CONTAINING A WEALTH OF INFORMATION, BACKGROUND NOTES,
PERFORMANCE NOTES, AND A SERIES OF SUGGESTED FOLLOW-ON ACTIVITIES
FOR BOTH TEACHERS AND PUPILS, TO HELP MAXIMISE THE IMPACT OF OUR
VISIT, AND HELP DEVELOP THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF SHAKESPEARE

DATES ARE AVAILABLE TO BOOK FROM MONDAY 28th JANUARY 2019 THROUGH
TO FRIDAY 10th MAY 2019, WITH PERFORMANCES IN THE MORNING AND
AFTERNOON.

MORE ABOUT THE SHOW:
Shakespeare’s dazzling action-and-adventure tragedy MACBETH has universal themes that can be
understood in any culture and time: a tale of ambition, and the evils we will go to in order to get what
we want. We follow the central character, Macbeth, as he plots and kills in order to become king; and
as soon as he is crowned, we watch as his world falls apart around him.
Our performance has a linked sequence of events using the original text from the following scenes in the
original play, and all performed using the original language:
ACT    I   Scenes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
ACT    II Scenes 1, 2, 3
ACT    III Scenes 1, 2, 4
ACT    IV Scenes 1, 2
ACT    V Scenes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
MACBETH is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, and tells the story of an heroic Scottish general who
receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by
ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for
himself. His reign is racked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is
forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. Their actions
swiftly takes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into realms of arrogance, madness, and death. The play
dramatises the corroding psychological and political effects produced when its protagonist chooses evil
as the way to fulfil his ambition for power. He commits regicide to become king and then furthers his
moral descent with a reign of murderous terror to stay in power, eventually plunging the country into
civil war. In the end he loses everything that gives meaning and purpose to his life before losing his life
itself.
For this production we have created a clear, condensed, working guide to Shakespeare's tragedy
particularly aimed at Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 Primary schools pupils. This is an abridged
version of the entire play, concentrating on all the key scenes, characters and confrontations, and flows
seamlessly. This detailed dramatic overview of the play will create a strong, lasting impact with pupils;
and brings vividly to life the plot, the characters, and the themes of the corrupting power of unchecked
ambition, use of the supernatural and superstition, and the guilt that sits like a permanent stain on the
consciences of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, one that hounds them to their graves. The whole 60
minute performance is very tight and compelling: accurately capturing the tense tragedy of
Shakespeare’s text. Performed by our talented ensemble of professional actors, this production will
have a strong and lasting impact on the audience, and will bring the text to life.
PLUS: after each performance we have a 30-minute, face-to-face interactive discussion with our young
audience, guided by actors in the company, where we can talk directly to the main characters in the
play by hot-seating MACBETH and LADY MACBETH and examine these characters' contrasting
personalities, thoughts and motives, and help to explain/ expand/ explore the text by actively involving
the young audience through a carefully structured range of drama and language activities as we unravel
the plot, characters, themes, language and style of MACBETH.
PLUS: Each performance of this classic tragedy comes complete with a FREE TEACHER’S PACK to help
maximise the impact of our visit with story and performance notes useful for both teachers and
students. The pack contains lots of information, background notes, and suggested follow-on reading,
writing, drama and art activities for use by both teachers and pupils long after our visit has ended.
Each performance lasts 60 minutes, followed by the interactive discussion which lasts 30 minutes.
All told a total of 1½ hours of compelling Shakespeare for Primary Schools.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Who are these shows suitable for?
All of these presentations are devised specifically for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 Primary
School Pupils as a compelling introduction to Shakespeare.
What space and equipment do you need the school to provide?
We will use the School Hall and make full use of available space. All performances are presented
front-on: if there is a stage then we will use that, otherwise we will perform on the floor. We DO
NOT need the school to provide any equipment, and we will bring everything with us, including
costume changes and small props to be used in the performance. There is no set or lighting
equipment to erect. Set up time is 25 minutes, and we would need the space to ourselves for this
preparation time.
What can we expect from the presentation?
Each of these presentations lasts 90 MINUTES. We start with a performance of the play, which
lasts for approx. 60 MINUTES and is a concise, abridged version of the entire story, devised
specially for Keystage 2 pupils, and performed by our ensemble of talented, professional actors.
The play is performed using the original language. Concentrating on key scenes, characters and
confrontations, each play flows seamlessly, and our detailed dramatic overview of this compelling
story is constructed to create a strong, lasting impact with pupils: and brings the plot, the
characters, and the themes vividly to life. We are well known for our energetic, vigorous,
physical theatre performances where close attention is paid to the language, bringing the
performance alive as a dynamic, well-spoken display of theatre, and each performance will have a
strong impact on the audience, and will vividly bring the text to life. Following the performance
there is a face-to-face interactive discussion which lasts 30 MINUTES. This is guided by actors in
the company, and driven by a Q&A session where our young audience is encouraged to talk
directly to the fascinating characters in the performance by ‘hotseating’ them, and asking any
questions they may have. Each question and answer develops an area of discussion and activity
which unravels the plot, characters and themes of the story. This session is always extremely
popular with teachers and pupils, and adds an extra dimension to the understanding of the play.
Do you provide any resource material to accompany the presentation?
TWO WEEKS before our visit we will Email you with full details of of our visit (including a
confirmation of timings, plus the names of the actors, and their DBS details), and we will also
include access to a ‘TEACHERS INFORMATION PACK’ for you to print. This pack helps to
maximise the impact of our visit: containing important background information to the play; a full
list of scenes that you can expect to see in our performance; character profiles; an analysis of the
story; some follow-up quizzes for you to use with the audience; and some suggested reading,
writing, drama and art activities for both teachers and pupils to use after our visit has ended. This
pack adds real value to our visit on the day.
How does this presentation help our audiences?
A live performance of a text has a great impact on learning, and stays in the pupils’ minds long
after we have left the school. Shakespeare was never written to be merely read in class, but to be
performed by actors, and presented to a live audience, and our presentation vividly lifts the words,
the scenes, the plot and the characters off the page and BRINGS THE PLAY TO LIFE, giving voice
to the words, making it easier to understand the plot, characters, themes, language and style of
the stories, and the Q&A session after the performance allows the audience to unlock the story
even more by quizzing the characters, nd getting constructive answers to enable them to better
understand the play.

HOW DO I MAKE A BOOKING?

          IF YOU WISH TO MAKE A BOOKING,
     OR GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ‘MACBETH’

                             then either:

     TELEPHONE US on           0161 445 8477
                   and speak to BRIAN

           or   FAX US on      0161 332 7867

                        or   EMAIL US at:

          brian@manactco.org.uk

   And we will talk you through the detail of the
presentation, answer any questions you may have,
       and arrange all the details with you.

NOTES ABOUT MANCHESTER ACTORS COMPANY

We have over 38 YEARS experience of bringing professional theatre to the north west and
neighbouring counties...... Providing an exciting, relevant, non-condescending and unpretentious
theatre service in a full range of mostly non-theatre venues. We are well known for our energetic,
vigorous, physical theatre performances where close attention is paid to the language, bringing the
plays alive as a dynamic, well-spoken display of physical theatre, performed by some of the UK.’s
hottest young stage talent. Almost 100,000 school children watch our productions annually....

FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES we have presented a series of theatre projects aimed
at keystage 3 and keystage 4 students, which in recent years have included: ROMEO AND JULIET;
THE TEMPEST; MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; MACBETH; OF MICE AND MEN; AN INSPECTOR
CALLS; A CHRISTMAS CAROL; THE STRANGE CASE of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS we have presented a series of both well-established favourites and
new writing projects - aimed directly as a springboard for keystage 1 and keystage 2 classwork -
all of which are always very well received by schools and their young audiences.
In recent years, the established favourites have included: ALICE IN WONDERLAND; THE PIED
PIPER OF HAMELIN; PINOCCHIO; ROBIN HOOD; ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS; THE
FIREBIRD; THE SELFISH GIANT; BIG BAD WOLF, THE SWORD IN THE STONE, ALADDIN, PUSS IN
BOOTS, MOTHER GOOSE, DICK WHITTINGTON, BABES IN THE WOOD, .... Whilst brand-new
original projects have included: THE PIRATE QUEEN; THE ENCHANTED TOYSHOP; DAREDEVIL
DEXTER; POETRY IN MOTION; FANTASTIC FABLES; HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN; WATCH OUT
MR. PUNCH; DANNY OCEAN, UNDERWATER EXPLORER; MERLINS MAGIC STORYBOOK; TALES OF
MOUNT OLYMPUS; BLOOMING POETRY; TALES FROM ARABIAN NIGHTS......

Since 2012 we have been successfully touring Primary Schools with specially adapted versions of
Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET and MACBETH created especiallyfor Keystage 2. All of our
primary school projects are hugely successful and each a total sell-out.

NOW WE PRESENT OUR LATEST SHAKESPEARE PROJECT FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS. DURING THE
SPRING OF 2019 WE ARE TOURING WITH BOTH ‘MACBETH’ and ‘ROMEO & JULIET’, BOTH
SHOWS ARE SPECIFICALLY DEVISED TO INTRODUCE SHAKESPEARE TO PRIMARY SCHOOL
CHILDREN AT YEAR 3, 4, 5, 6, TO LEAVE THE CHILDREN WITH AN ENDURING IMPRESSION OF
THE MAGIC THAT SHAKESPEARE PROVIDES, BRINGING THIS FAMOUS STORY ALIVE THROUGH
ACTIVE DRAMA, EXPLORING THE CHARACTERS AND PLOT, AND SHOWING HOW TO ENJOY THE
LANGUAGE.