STUDENT-TEACHER STUDY GUIDE - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S - CREATED BY THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF LANTERN THEATER COMPANY
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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S STUDENT-TEACHER STUDY GUIDE CREATED BY THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF LANTERN THEATER COMPANY
About the Lantern
Lantern Theater Company produces plays that
investigate and illuminate what is essential in the
human spirit and the spirit of the times. We seek to be
a vibrant, contributing member of our community, exposing audiences
to great theater, inviting participation in dialogue and discussion, and
educating audience members about artistic and social issues.
Illumination Education Program
Our Illumination education program complements and expands on
the work of classroom teachers to bring an essential artistic lens to
curricular material, allowing students to connect to classic stories in
a dynamic way and empowering teachers with new approaches to
traditional literature. Our lessons are designed to support student
development in three key areas: the ability to think critically and
problem solve, the ability to communicate effectively, and the ability to
collaborate. Following a decade of providing arts-integrated instruction
in the classroom, we have found that exposure to the theatrical
discipline deepens student understanding of assigned material and
fosters empathy and positive collaborative habits – essential skills that
will provide long-term benefits to students into their adult lives.
If you or your students are interested in learning more about our education programs or
the world of professional theater, please contact M. Craig Getting, Education Director, at
cgetting@lanterntheater.org or 215.829.9002 x104.
Lantern Theater Company’s education programming is
part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program
of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership
with Arts Midwest.
Lantern Theater Company’s education programming is made
possible with leadership support from the William Penn
Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, as
well as funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a
state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional major
support is received from the Wyncote Foundation, the Hilda
and Preston Davis Foundation, The Shubert Foundation,
CHG Charitable Trust, and the Philadelphia Culture Fund,
as well as contributions from numerous corporations,
foundations, and individuals.
www.lanterntheater.org
3 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome........................................................ 4
Meet the Company .................................... 5
About the Author....................................... 6
About the Play’s Style .............................. 7
Setting and Characters ............................ 8
Timeline......................................................9-11
Glossary ........................................................ 12
From the Dramaturg .......................... 13-17
Status and Hierarchy ............................13
Comedies and Tragedies ....................14
Dramatic Irony ........................................ 15
Decision Making and Fate ..................16
Making the Play ................................... 18-19
Classroom Activities ........................ 20-32
Four Corner Debate ............................20
Storytelling Without Words .............28
Scenes and Secrets............................. 30
COVER: Tyler Elliott and Melissa Rakiro in Lantern Theater
Company’s production of Romeo and Juliet (2018).
All Lantern production photos by Mark Garvin.
Juliet’s balcony at Casa di Guilietta in Verona, Italy
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.
4 WELCOME
“ Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes “
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents’ strife.
—William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (Act I, Prologue)
At Lantern Theater Company, we believe that great
plays can make a difference in the lives of people
who see them.
We act on this belief not only by telling powerful
stories, but also by inviting participation in dialogue
and discussion about our productions. Great theater
can leave the audience asking big questions, and here
are some questions your students might investigate
before seeing Romeo and Juliet.
What are the limits of loyalty?
What would we risk for love?
What do we owe to our families, and what do they
owe to us?
How can we bring enemies together?
What power is there in forgiveness, and what would
it take to earn it?
This study guide will provide you and your students
with information on the context of the play and its
themes. We have also included activities to bring its
themes of feuds and secrets to life. After seeing the
play, we encourage your students to revisit the above
questions so they can better compare the story of
Romeo and Juliet by unknown artist, 1860 Romeo, Juliet, and their families with their own.
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.
5 MEET THE COMPANY
Mike Dees Tyler Elliott Adam Hammet Annette Kaplafka
Friar Laurence/ Romeo/Ensemble Mercutio/Ensemble Nurse/Ensemble
Ensemble
Keith Livingston Brian McCann Lee Minora Ned Pryce
Benvolio/Ensemble Lord Capulet/ Lady Capulet Tybalt/Paris/
Ensemble Ensemble
Kevin Hoover Asaki Kuruma
SCENIC DESIGNER COSTUME DESIGNER
J. Dominic Chacon Daniel Perelstein
LIGHTING DESIGNER SOUND DESIGNER
J. Alex Cordaro Meghan Winch
FIGHT DIRECTOR DRAMATURG
Melissa Rakiro Arthur Lee
Juliet Robinson Erynn Carr and Rebekah Sinewe
Apothecary/ STAGE MANAGERS
Ensemble
DIRECTED BY
Charles McMahon
This live performance was filmed in April 2018 at
the Mandell Theater at Drexel University in Philadelphia
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.
6 ABOUT THE AUTHOR William Shakespeare is possibly the most celebrated writer of the English language. His work has survived for over 400 years, and is performed on stages and studied in classrooms around the world today. He was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon- Avon, 100 miles northwest of London. His father was a leatherworker and a public figure, and Shakespeare would have attended school until the age of about 15, learning Latin and writing. At 18 he married Anne Hathaway, and they had three children. By 1592, Shakespeare was living and working in London as a playwright and actor with a theater troupe called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. During his 20-year theater career, Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays and 150 poems. His work has been translated into countless languages, and the Globe Theatre in London — a recreation of the theater in which many of his works were first performed — recently produced a tour that took Hamlet to every country in the world over the course of two years. His most famous plays include the comedies A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, and Much Ado About Nothing; the tragedies Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello; the history plays Richard III and Henry V; and the romances The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale. He died in Stratford in 1616 at the age of 52. William Shakespeare ©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.
7 ABOUT THE PLAY’S STYLE
Romeo and Juliet
is one of Shakespeare’s eleven
tragedies, a group that includes
Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and
Macbeth. Shakespeare’s tragedies
have much in common with classical
Greek tragedies: generally, a person
in a high position begins the play
essentially happy, then makes
choices that bring about their
downfall. They usually have a fatal
flaw of some kind, a personality
trait that informs those choices and
leads directly to the tragic outcome.
The tragic heroes of Shakespeare’s
plays do not usually survive the
play, and those they leave behind
are charged with making sense of
the death and what that means for
their world.
Romeo and Juliet is unique among
Shakespeare’s tragedies in that its
central tragic characters are not
themselves especially powerful or
royal. Their families are wealthy and
prominent, but they themselves
are teenagers, without positions
of official influence. In Hamlet and
King Lear, the title characters are
royals, and in Othello and Macbeth
they are military commanders.
Romeo and Juliet’s power comes
not from governmental positions
or royal blood, but from the effect
their choices have on themselves,
their families, and Verona as a
whole.
Romeo and Juliet by painter Frank Bernard Dicksee, 1884
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.
8 SETTING AND CHARACTERS
Romeo and Juliet is set during the Renaissance in Verona
and later Mantua, two cities in northern Italy.
Romeo is a son of the Montague slighted. After the party, he seeks
family, a prominent house in out Romeo to fight him. He kills
Verona. He is sensitive and prone Mercutio instead, and is then slain
to lovesickness. He is in love with by Romeo.
Rosaline when the play begins,
but he forgets her when he meets Mercutio is a good friend of
Juliet. His family is feuding with the Romeo’s. He is witty and fun-loving.
Capulets. His family is not aligned with either
house in the feud, though he aligns
Juliet is the daughter of Lord and himself with Romeo. He dies when
Lady Capulet, another important Romeo attempts to intervene in his
Verona family. She is smart, brave, fight with Tybalt, and curses both
and dutiful, but follows her heart the Montagues and Capulets.
rather than her family’s wishes
when it comes to Romeo. Her family Benvolio is Romeo’s cousin,
is feuding with the Montagues. and friends with Mercutio. He
tries unsuccessfully to act as a
Friar Laurence is a monk in Verona, peacemaker in the feud.
and a confidant of Romeo’s. He
marries the young lovers in secret, Lord and Lady Capulet are Juliet’s
and then attempts to plot ways for parents. They want what is best for
them to be together after Romeo’s her, but expect their authority to be
banishment until his plan is foiled unquestioned. When Romeo kills
and he abandons it. Tybalt, they demand that Romeo be
executed.
Nurse is Juliet’s caretaker from
birth. She is Juliet’s confidant, Paris is a young nobleman pursuing
helping to arrange the secret Juliet for marriage. Her parents are
marriage and rendezvous for in favor of the match; she is not.
the couple, until Tybalt’s death
separates her and Juliet. Prince is the leader of Verona, who
proclaims that any further feuding
Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin. He is will be punished by execution. He
hotheaded and prone to violence later banishes Romeo for the fight
when he feels he or his family is with Tybalt.
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.
9 TIMELINE + NOTABLE VERSIONS
1591 – 1595
Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet;
the exact date is unknown.
1597
The “bad quarto” is published; this
is the first publication of Romeo and
Juliet, but it contains numerous errors
and differences with later versions.
It references the play’s popularity
with audiences, implying that the first
performance happened sometime
before 1597.
1604
Romeo and Juliet is performed
in Germany, making it one of
From Shakespeare’s First Folio
Shakespeare’s first plays to be
produced outside of England.
1616
Shakespeare dies in Stratford-upon-
Avon at the age of 52.
1623
The First Folio is published. It includes
36 of Shakespeare’s plays and groups
them into comedies, tragedies, and
histories for the first time.
1662
Mary Saunderson in the Duke’s
Company becomes the first woman
to play Juliet professionally. In
Shakespeare’s time, women were not
allowed to perform on stage and all
female roles were played by men.
Mary Saunderson as Juliet (1662)
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.
10 TIMELINE + NOTABLE VERSIONS 1680 An adaptation that moves the action to ancient Rome, changes character names, and lets the lovers survive debuts – and it is extremely popular. For the next 200 years, this new happy ending is the norm. 1730 The first known production in North America is performed in New York. 1845 – 1847 The first productions to use Shakespeare’s original play – and the tragic ending – in more than 200 years are performed in the U.S. and Great Britain. By the end of the Judi Dench as Juliet (1960) century, Romeo and Juliet will be the most produced Shakespeare play of the 1800s. 1947 Peter Brook directs a production that omits the families reconciling at the end. 1960 The first major production to use young actors is produced in London, starring a 26-year-old Judi Dench as Juliet. 1968 The 1960 stage production becomes the basis for Franco Zefferelli’s film, which casts 17-year-old Leonard Whiting as Romeo and 16-year-old Olivia Hussey as Juliet. Olivia Hussey as Juliet and Leonard Whiting as Romeo (1968) ©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.
11 TIMELINE + NOTABLE VERSIONS
1996
Baz Luhrmann’s film version starring
Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio
is released. This adaptation uses
Shakespeare’s text but a modern
setting, and remains the highest
grossing live-action Shakespeare
movie in history.
By the end of the 20th century,
Romeo and Juliet will be the second-
most produced Shakespeare play of
the 1900s, behind only Hamlet.
2000 – Present
Romeo and Juliet continues to be
performed onstage, and inspires both
faithful and loosely inspired movies,
including 2011’s animated Gnomeo and
Juliet. The Lantern’s annual production
of Romeo and Juliet for high school
audiences debuts in 2018.
Melissa Rakiro as Juliet (2018)
Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo and Claire Danes as Juliet (1996)
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.12 GLOSSARY
It is impossible to know how many words and phrases Shakespeare
contributed to the English language, but some scholars estimate it around
3,000 — including “bump,” “uncomfortable,” and “worn out,” which all
appeared for the first time in Romeo and Juliet. Below are some other
words and phrases that appear in this play.
Agate-stone: A ring set with Good den: A greeting meaning Pilgrims: People who travel to
agate, a stone with a variety of “good evening” a holy place out of devotion or
colors appearing in stripes or Gyves: Shackles or restraints religious reasons
shapes Plague: A curse against both
Happy: Lucky or fortunate
Apace: Swiftly or quickly families, wishing them disease
Hurdle: A device on which
Apothecary: A person who English prisoners were secured Poultice: A warmed, often
prepared and sold medicines and then brought through the medicated solution applied to a
and drugs streets on their way to execution cloth and then put on sores
Atomies: Creatures that are as Inconstant: Variable or irregular; Prodigious: Remarkable, in an
small as atoms when referencing a person, not ominous way
Baggage: Good-for-nothing dependable or faithful Profane: To treat with disrespect
woman, harlot Lammas-tide: An old English or vulgarity
Bite my thumb: An Italian insult holiday, celebrated on August Proof: Impenetrable or shielded
at the time, possibly obscene 1st. Bread made with the first Queen Mab: One of the fairy
Bounty: Generosity crop of harvested wheat was queens, who is in control of
taken to church and blessed, humans’ dreams
By the book: According to rules symbolizing fertility and plenty.
and convention Runagate: Fugitive or runaway
Live chaste: Stay unmarried for
Charnel-house: A building where life Shrift: Confession, at church
bodies and bones are kept Shrived: Have a confession
Mantua: A city in northern Italy,
Cockatrice: A legendary serpent about 30 miles south of Verona heard and be forgiven
that can kill a person by looking Star-cross’d: Destined to meet a
at them Mickle: A lot, or great
sad fate
Consort: Associate with Mutiny: Riot, public disturbance
Strange: Reserved or aloof
County: Paris’ rank, which is Orisons: Prayers
Tassle-gentle: A term in falconry
Count Osier cage: A basket made of for a male hawk
Dian’s wit: Diana was the willow
Trespass: A sin, or violation of
goddess of the moon and the Passado: In sword fighting, a morals
hunt, and known to be clever. forward thrust
She also never married. Verona: A city in northern Italy
Phaeton: The son of Apollo, who where the play takes place
Doff: Discard was allowed to drive the chariot
of the sun one day. He was Vestal livery: Chaste
Dram: Potion appearance; dressed very
unable to control the horses that
Ensign: Banner or flag drive the chariot from east to modestly
Fain: Gladly or willingly west, and nearly burnt the earth Wanton’s bird: A bird kept
before Zeus struck him down as a pet by a spoiled and
Compliment: Good manners or
with a lightning bolt. undisciplined child
proper behavior; etiquette or
custom Phoebus’ lodging: Phoebus is Wherefore: Why
another name for Apollo, the
Forswear: Swear falsely or break Zounds: A mild swear, from a
god of the sun. Juliet is wishing
a promise shortened version of “By God’s
that the sun chariot would move
Ghostly father: Spiritual and wounds”
swiftly west to bring on night
holy; a priest and Romeo’s visit.
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.13 FROM THE DRAMATURG
What is a dramaturg? The dramaturg does extensive research on the
historical background of the play and its thematic elements, and provides
as much context as possible about the play to the director and the actors.
For Romeo and Juliet, Lantern dramaturg Meghan Winch provides some
contextual information for reading and seeing the play.
Status and Hierarchy
The status of the characters and
their hierarchy within the world of
Romeo and Juliet are central to its
plot. A character’s position relative
to the other characters might take
power away from them, or give
them greater authority. This creates
the situation Juliet and Romeo find
themselves in, and affects their
resulting choices.
The Montagues and Capulets, “two
households both alike in dignity,”
are prominent and wealthy families
in Verona. Their social status is
high, which means characters
like the Nurse are lower in the
social hierarchy and beholden
to the higher status characters
for employment. This limits the
choices they can make; there is
only so much the Nurse can do for
Juliet when Lord Capulet makes
a decision. But just as the Nurse
and other servants sit below the
Capulets and Montagues, so too do
the families sit below the Prince,
bound by his decrees. He has the
power to punish or pardon, and
Annette Kaplafka as the Nurse and Melissa Rakiro as Juliet (2018)
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.14 FROM THE DRAMATURG
is the sole decision maker as to moments and tragedies might have
whether Romeo lives or dies after an occasional joke, there’s little
killing Tybalt. confusing the two right from the
start when it comes to tone and
There is also status and hierarchy consequence. Comedies are often
in terms of gender and spirituality. about love and romance, and end
As a woman in this society, Juliet in one or more marriages, with
does not have complete control the promise of life and happiness
over her own life; her father can continuing. Tragedies typically deal
choose to marry her off to any less with romantic love and more
person he wishes. Her marrying with the fate of a powerful person,
Romeo is an act of rebellion against brought down by a fatal flaw.
this hierarchy, and her choice to These tragedies end in death and
follow the Friar’s plan is one of her destruction.
few options in an effort to escape
that structure. On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet, however, is
the Friar’s low social status makes something of a combination. It
him flee in fear from the tomb. But is a play that starts as a comedy,
he also has higher status as a man focusing on romantic love, full of
of the church, granting him special humor, and culminating in a secret
access to those with more social marriage. But halfway through,
status. when Mercutio is killed, it morphs
into a tragedy and becomes the
As you read and watch the play, story of how the anger between
think about how status and the two families and their children’s
hierarchy might affect the choices desperation leads to death and
made in the play. If the structures destruction. Romeo and Juliet
around the characters were act rashly, leading to their deaths,
different or less restrictive, how devastating their powerful
might things turn out differently? families instead of joining them in
celebration.
Comedies and Tragedies
Even here at the tragic end, though,
Traditionally, in both ancient the play doesn’t quite follow tragic
Greece and in Shakespeare’s time, convention. Romeo and Juliet
comedies and tragedies were very themselves have little power; it
different types of plays. While is their fathers who sit atop the
comedies might have serious hierarchy, and who survive the play.
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And in some ways, the play does
end in marriage and renewal, as the
couple dies together, united forever
in their families’ eyes, and the feud
is ended in honor of that marriage.
Think about the differences
between tragedy and comedy while
you read and watch the play. How
do you think using elements of both
tragedy and comedy affect the way
the story unfolds? How might it be
different if it was a more traditional
comedy or more tragic from the
beginning?
Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony is a technique that
originated in classic Greek theater
where the audience understands
the truth of a situation, but the
characters onstage do not. This
gives us more information than the
characters in the play, and we have
the ability to evaluate their choices
and decisions while knowing more
than they do.
In Greek theater, one of the
traditional elements of the play
was the Chorus, who often
commented on the action of the
play from outside of the plot and
gave the audience information that
the characters don’t have in the
moment. Romeo and Juliet uses
this trope to create much of its
Melissa Rakiro as Juliet and Tyler Elliott as Romeo (2018)
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.16 FROM THE DRAMATURG
dramatic irony by having a Chorus, that could have happened if those
or a character fulfilling the Chorus’ onstage knew as much as we do.
role, present two prologues: one
at the very beginning of the play, What might be different for our
and one at the start of Act II. The experience of the play if we were
first prologue tells us, the audience, only given as much information
precisely what will happen: two as the characters have? What if
children of feuding families will the prologue didn’t exist, and we
fall in love and take their own lives weren’t told from the start that this
because of that dispute, and their would not end well? Think about
deaths will end the feud. From the what is gained by the extensive
first lines of the play, the audience dramatic irony in the play; what is it
is told that no matter what we see to tell and watch a story that starts
early in the play, the story will end with the ending?
tragically. The second prologue, by
contrast, prepares us for the famous Decision Making
balcony scene, letting us know that and Fate
we’re about to witness the lovers
meeting to express themselves. The use of dramatic irony in
the play illuminates the tension
After this second prologue, the between fate and free will in the
Chorus goes away. The dramatic play. Because we know from the
irony, though, does not. Time start what the ending will be, the
and again we are given more characters seem fated to always
information than the characters are: make the same choices. But by
we know about Juliet’s plan, but knowing the decisions made, we
the Nurse, the Capulets, and Romeo are also invited to consider what
do not. We know that Romeo does choices they could have made
not get all the information he needs that might have led to different
about her condition, but the Friar outcomes.
does not. We know of Romeo’s
death, but Juliet does not when she The characters of Romeo and Juliet
wakes. These moments of dramatic often speak of fate when it comes
irony reappear again and again, to the events of the play, implying
giving the audience the ability to that destiny demands everything
evaluate the choices the characters that happens. Terms in the prologue
make, dread their outcomes, and like “star-cross’d” and “death-
mourn the potential happy ending mark’d” tell us that the characters’
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.17 FROM THE DRAMATURG
fates are written in the stars.
Romeo believes this as well, calling
himself “Fortune’s fool” and feeling
something ominous “hanging in
the stars.” Juliet also references
a sense of dread, and envisions
Romeo as if he were in his grave, all
lending credence to the idea that
their fate is sealed and inescapable.
For Shakespeare’s audience, this
would have been readily accepted.
Fate was a concept they took very
seriously, and destiny was thought
to be inescapable.
We can also look at the characters’
circumstances to see why their
destinies are predetermined. While
there could be a mystical element
to their ends, the characters are
also stuck in a structure and a
hierarchy that limits their options.
Juliet doesn’t have enough power
in this society to make a free choice
about marriage, limiting her options
when she is betrothed to Paris.
Romeo is subject to the will of the
Prince, making his choices very
narrow when he is banished.
Considering the structures around
the characters, is it a higher fate
or societal pressures that bring
about the tragic end? Are there
other choices that might have been
possible?
Tyler Elliott as Romeo (2018)
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Romeo and Juliet
costume designer Asaki
Kuruma on balancing
history with practicality:
In our early meetings, we agreed
on “a quintessential Shakespeare
look.” So my first questions were
where and when does this play take
place? What are the weather and
seasons like? The play takes place in
the northern Italian city of Verona,
most likely in the late 16th century,
which is when Shakespeare himself
lived. So I researched what Verona
looks like, and what people of Italy
around the 16th century wore. Costume design for Lady Capulet, Juliet, and the Nurse (2018)
What was the difference between
nobility and townspeople? When
you look at the fashion of that time,
you notice the huge ruffle people
wore around their neck, called the
Elizabethan collar, which would
restrict the actors’ mobility and
vision. So I backtracked about 100
years to the height of the Italian
Renaissance. Women wore dresses
with much lower necklines, higher
waistlines, and long skirts. Very
simple and looks nice on everyone.
Men wore a roomy shirt, doublets
— an ornate vest that comes down
to your hip — and hose, which are
similar to tights. It is always difficult
to decide how historically accurate
you want it to be. There are always
some sacrifices to make it time and
Costume design for Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio (2018)
cost efficient.
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On research:
I looked at a lot of paintings around the era, what kind of fabric they used,
what hairstyles they wore, jewelry that was popular around that time. This is
called primary research, looking at the things that were created around that
time. Everything that was made after that might not be as accurate as the
ones from that era. It is okay to watch movies and TV shows about that era to
get the vibe of it, as well as to learn how other people do it, but you have to
remember that is created through other people’s filters.
On actors playing multiple roles:
A lot of costumes you see are “rigged” with secret snaps, Velcro, and
magnets for actors to remove one costume and get into another in a matter
of seconds. They often need other people’s help, and rehearsal time to make
it smooth and quick. Our stage crew and stage management team “pre-set”
the costume pieces in hidden places, and/or are waiting for the actors to
come to them to change. To make one actor look different from another, we
have to “establish” the look of one character. For example, the actor playing
the Friar is wearing a robe in the first few scenes; his look is “established.”
The audience registers that “the Friar is the guy who is wearing the big brown
robe.” So when he changes into a different costume, you will recognize his
face, but you will understand he is playing another character. And once you
learn the pattern, you stick with it. And that is the reason why one character
has only one look — to make sure the audience doesn’t get confused. Hats
and accessories help, too, to hide the hair or change the silhouette.
Costume design for the Ensemble (2018)
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Activity 1: The Four Corner Debate
Goals
Increased level of comfort with talking about “big picture” ideas contained
inside a dramatic narrative, specifically themes relevant to Romeo and
Juliet.
Confident self-expression and a willingness to listen to the opinions of
others.
Learning Objectives
Students will discuss and explore the thematic concepts of the play and
make their own decisions about the important ideas being expressed by
the playwright.
Students will develop positive habits in working collaboratively through
group discussion.
Anticipatory Set (5-10 mins)
Building the Ensemble: Use the warm-up game below to encourage
students to begin thinking about their classmates as collaborators in an
ensemble. Respectful listening and collaborative cooperation will be crucial
to the success or failure of the Four Corner Debate exercise coming up
next.
A Possible Warm-up:
“Yes!” – Pick a group activity, like throwing a party or organizing a picnic.
One player starts, saying “Let’s ...” filling in what she wants to do. Then
she starts actually doing what she said she wanted to do. A second
player jumps in, saying “Let’s ...” do something else, to advance the group
activity. Both players say “Yes, let’s do that” and start doing whatever was
suggested. A third player jumps in, suggests what to do; again, all players
loudly agree, and actually do it. Continue until everyone has suggested
something. This game can be played in groups or with the whole classroom
at once.
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Activity 1: The Four Corner Debate (continued)
Guided Practice (5 mins)
Ask the students to define what a debate is.
Read through and discuss the rules of a Four Corner Debate.
Answer any questions about how the debate will work.
Hang the Four Corner Debate signs in the four corners of the classroom.*
Explain the difference between strongly agreeing or disagreeing with
something and simply agreeing or disagreeing.
Independent Practice (20-30 mins)
Read each sentence from the Romeo and Juliet Statements Sheet and ask
students to stand in the corner with the sign that matches their opinion on
the statement.* Allow ample time for class discussion.
Ask for volunteers to explain why they chose the answer they chose.
Make sure to hear from someone in each corner. After listening to each
group, if anyone in a certain group made a convincing argument, students
may opt to change their opinion and move to that group. If no group
swayed anyone’s thinking, students should remain where they are.
* If teaching virtually, ask students to provide their stance in your program’s
classroom chat function and then facilitate discussion altogether or in
individual breakout rooms based on those responses.
Assessment
If holding the debate before reading/seeing the play, ask students to
predict how these statements might be connected to Romeo and Juliet.
Classroom teachers may assign each student to choose one statement he
or she felt particularly strongly about. Each student should write a clear
and concise paragraph starting with the chosen position (for example, I
strongly agree that...) and include all main points brought up in the group
discussion.
Reflect on this activity after reading/seeing the entire play. Has your
opinion changed?
Reflection
How well did this lesson plan meet the objectives and goals?
Did you have to modify this plan in any way?
Do you have any comments, questions, or observations about this lesson?
We welcome your input and suggestions so that we may continue to provide worthwhile activities for you and your students.
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.22 CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Four Corner Debate
Teachers, read the sentences that relate to the themes of the play to the
class.
Students, decide whether you:
1. Strongly Agree
2. Agree
3. Disagree
4. Strongly Disagree
Move to the appropriate corner of the room, or facilitate responses and
discussion in your virtual session.
Give each group about 2-3 minutes to discuss their response among
themselves and appoint a “group spokesperson.”
Ask for volunteers to explain why they chose the answer they chose. Make
sure to hear from someone in each corner.
After listening to each group, if anyone in a certain group made a
convincing enough argument, you may change your opinion and move to
that group. If no group swayed your thinking, remain where you are.
Repeat this activity for each statement as time allows.
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Four Corner Debate Statements: Romeo and Juliet
I believe in love at first sight.
Your parents know best and you should obey them.
Loyalty to family is the most important thing.
Sometimes keeping secrets is the right choice.
I would do anything for someone I love.
I follow my heart more than my head.
Adults don’t understand what teenagers are going through.
I would sneak into a party I knew I wasn’t invited to if I knew a love interest
of mine was going to be there.
I would agree to meet and get to know someone my parents were trying to
fix me up with.
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.STRONGLY AGREE
AGREE
DISAGREE
STRONGLY DISAGREE
28 CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Activity 2: Storytelling Without Words –
Warring Factions
Goals
Increased levels of student comfort with each other as collaborators and
performers.
Students dramatize the idea of warring factions through tableaux.
Learning Objectives
Students will be more familiar with the dramatic concept of tableaux and
how actors reveal character/story through physicality.
Students will have a greater understanding of how theater artists use
conflict and staging to explore specific themes.
Students will be able to relate the ideas of opposing interests to Romeo
and Juliet.
Anticipatory Set (10 mins)
To warm up the students and to get them thinking about how physicality
conveys character, break the class into groups of three or more and task
them with creating poses for a leader, a follower, and a rebel. After a minute
or two of planning, have each group present all three poses at once to the
rest of the class (casting each group member as one of the three types),
and ask the class to identify which is which. Briefly discuss what common
elements helped students to identify each type of character. Possible
answers might include how characters held their head or upper body,
how they carried their center of gravity, or how they regarded the other
characters in their group. Provided students can perform their individual
pose in their own space, this can be accomplished virtually.
Guided Practice (15 mins)
Brainstorm and discuss ideas on the meanings of warring factions (e.g.,
What might put two groups at odds? How far can the consequences of a
feud reach? What effect might status and hierarchy within and between the
groups have on how the feud plays out?)
As students share their ideas, call attention to any specific fields or events
they cite as examples (e.g. school achievement, friend groups, sports).
Introduce the concept of theatrical tableaux, which are frozen pictures
using only the actors’ bodies. More info here: dramaresource.com/tableaux
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Activity 2: Storytelling Without Words (continued)
Independent Practice (15-20 mins)
Break the students into groups of six, and ask them to brainstorm different
situations where two groups of people might be in conflict. Then, have
them make three images about that conflict. For example:
FEUD: Two rival sports teams
Action 1: The teams arrive at the field before the big game.
Action 2: A player from one team helps a player from the other team
after they’re knocked down.
Action 3: The two teams react to the gesture.
Task students with creating three tableaux that show the following:
The Status Quo: Two equal but rival groups.
The Meeting: Two people, each separated from their respective groups,
connect.
The Response: How do the groups respond to this pairing?
Present the tableaux sequences to the class.
If you’re teaching virtually, students may create their own individual sets of
tableaux by drawing them, taking photos of themselves in each position, or
using relevant photos from the web to make their frozen scenes.
Assessment
Discuss the impact of the various tableaux for each group. What changed?
Did the feud resolve, or worsen?
Reflection
How well did this lesson plan meet the objectives and goals?
Did you have to modify this plan in any way?
Do you have any comments, questions, or observations about this lesson?
We welcome your input and suggestions so that we may continue to provide worthwhile activities for you and your students.
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.30 CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Activity 3: Scenes and Secrets
Goals
Examine the dramatic function of stakes and how that relates to Romeo
and Juliet.
Students will create and stage short scenes, providing opportunities for
creative expression, public performance, and collaboration.
Learning Objectives
Students will have a greater understanding of the role stakes can play in
advancing plot and revealing character.
Students will better understand the impact of conflict in storytelling.
Students will be able to make (and hopefully defend!) clear choices in the
creation and performance of their scenes.
Anticipatory Set (5 mins)
One of the major conflicts in Romeo and Juliet is what characters choose
to share with each other and what they choose to keep hidden. Most of the
major characters are keeping one secret or another from someone else in the
play, the discovery or continued hiding of which drives much of the plot.
If students have read/seen the play, discuss why characters might choose
to keep secrets, and how that affects each character’s choices in the play.
If students have not yet read/seen the play, ask students what might make
the characters act that way.
Guided Practice (5 mins)
Have the class brainstorm the following:
What kind of situation would make someone feel like they have to be
secretive?
How would you react if someone told you a secret and asked you not to
tell?
Discuss how people might go about revealing the truth.
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Activity 3: Scenes and Secrets (continued)
Independent Practice (20-25 mins)
In Romeo and Juliet, most characters keep a secret, often with major
consequences. The young couple keeps their love a secret from most people.
The Nurse keeps the marriage secret from Juliet’s parents. Juliet’s parents
keep their arrangements with Paris from Juliet. The Friar keeps his plan secret
from everyone, except Juliet. What are the consequences of these decisions
for both the secret-keeper and those in the dark, in the short-term and in the
long-term? Who benefits and who suffers? What might be different if the
secrets were revealed sooner?
Sometimes, characters are aware of the major stakes at play in their
decisions, and sometimes they are blinded by their own wants and what is
directly in front of them. As with many different situations, the audience is
often able to see more clearly than the characters what effect the choices will
have on the characters and on their world.
After a brief discussion about how stakes can function in drama, divide the
students into groups and task them with the following:
Create a three-part scene that centers on a secret and make the following
choices:
Where does the scene take place?
Who are the characters in relation to each other?
What are the stakes?
Why is the situation so important?
Part One: Create a brief lead-up to the situation, culminating in the choice
to keep a secret.
Let your audience know what situation you’re showing.
Establish the major characters.
Establish why different choices matter to different characters.
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Activity 3: Scenes and Secrets (continued)
Part Two: Show the audience the character choosing to keep something
secret.
Establish the effect on all of the characters personally.
Establish how those effects might continue into the future.
Part Three: Go back to the moment of secret-keeping and show the
audience the character choosing to reveal the information instead.
Establish the effect on the characters personally.
Establish how those effects might continue into the future.
Rehearse the scene three times.
Present the scene to the class.
If you’re teaching virtually and group scene creation isn’t feasible, you might
consider having them write short scenes in response to the prompts above.
Have them choose a situation centering on a secret and the choice to reveal
or hide the information, and imagine the consequences of each choice
both immediately and into the future. For example, what if Juliet chose to
tell the Nurse about the plan to fake her death? What would the Nurse do?
How might it change Juliet’s experience upon waking? Would anything be
different for Romeo?
Assessment
Engage students in a discussion about the stakes of each decision. How
far-reaching are the choices made, and how did the characters make their
choices? Are there other choices that could have been made?
Reflection
How well did this lesson plan meet the objectives and goals?
Did you have to modify this plan in any way?
Do you have any comments, questions, or observations about this lesson?
We welcome your input and suggestions so that we may continue to provide worthwhile activities for you and your students.
©2021 LANTERN THEATER COMPANY | CONTENTS MAY BE REPRODUCED BY PARTICIPATING EDUCATORS FOR CLASSROOM USE ONLY.You can also read
