With the holidays approaching, why not give your kids the gift of learning Shakespeare in a low-key, no-pressure scenario? I have classes on Shakespeare’s life, Romeo and Juliet, and my celebrated Stage Combat class! Sign up now for all the fun on Outschool.com!
Shakespeare and Star Wars
Class Description: Using self-paced online activities, your child(ren) will compare the plot and characters of Star Wars to Shakespeare’s plays. We will also discuss Shakespeare’s writing by looking at “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars” by Ian Doescher.
Romeo and Juliet Murder Mystery
Course Description: A flexible schedule class that teaches kids the plot and characters of “Romeo and Juliet,” in the context of a detective story where you solve the mystery of the young lovers’ deaths.
Course Descriptions
How to Write Like Shakespeare: Learn the basics of iambic pentameter, sonnet form, and Shakespeare’s dramatic structure, and practice writing Shakespearean speeches.
Ages: Pre Teen- teen. The story is highly condensed so older readers might want a more in-depth adaptation to understand the themes and ideas of the plot.
Premise: This graphic novel is a good introduction to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” It tells the bare minimum of the story with very little dialogue and almost none of the original text. Most of the story is conveyed through the visual medium.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATORS (Reprinted from the graphic novel)
https://www.behance.net/berelince?locale=en_US Berenice Muniz is a graphic designer and illustrator from Monterrey, Mexico. In the past, she has done work for publicity agencies, art exhibitions, and she’s even created her own webcomic. These days, Berenice is devoted to illustrating comics as part of the CGraphikslava crew. In her spare time, “Bere” loves to draw, read manga, watch animated movies, play videogames, and kill zombies Fares Maese is a graphic designer and illustrator. He has worked as a colorist for Marvel Comics and as a concept artist for the card and role-playing games Pathfinder and Warhammer. Fares loves spending time playing video games with his Graphikslava comrades, and he’s an awesome drum player: https://faresmaese.artstation.com/
About the Retelling Author
The career path of Nel Yomtov has taken him from the halls of Marvel Comics, as an editor, writer, and colorist, to the world of toy development. He then became editorial and art director at a children’s nonfiction book publisher, and now Nel is a writer and editor of books, websites, and comics for children. A harmonica-honking blues enthusiast, Nel lives in New York with his wife, Nancy. They have a son. Jess.
mY rEACTION
I read this version to my five year old son and he enjoyed the colors and characters, which is why I feel confident recommending this version to younger children. It won’t help you pass a test on Midsummer and you won’t get the whole story. But you might get a tantalizing glimpse of Shakespeare’s world of fairies, lovers, and funny fools and honestly, that’s fine with me. As I’ve stated before, parody and short pop-culture adaptations of Shakespeare are great ways to connect with young people, and I see this book as a tool to do just that.
tECHNICAL eXECUTION
Character Design. It’s interesting to see the difference in style between this version, and the Manga Shakespeare version I previously read. That one was very much inspired by the Shoujo manga style, which emphasizes drama and relationships. This version’s drawings are softer, more cartoonish, and the expressions are less stiff, (except for Oberon, who is drawn very austerely). I particularly like the design for Puck with his big mischievous eyes and squat, childlike shape. I would argue however that the lovers and Mechanicals aren’t distinct enough, which is a problem since they are the most important characters.
The Adaptation
Like I said, this is a bare minimum adaptation of the play. None of Shakespeare’s text is used and the lines and speeches are cut liberally. The entire book is only 77 pages which of course means, that there are a lot of cuts. There’s no mention of the Indian boy, Titania’s tiff with Oberon, Philostrate, the other fairies, and all the great speeches are cut. This version is focused entirely on the plot, and it cuts it quite efficiently. To demonstrate this, below on the left is a panel that shows how Lysander and Hermia express their frustration with not being allowed to marry. On the right is the original text of the scene.
Ay me! for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth; But, either it was different in blood, Lysander. Or else misgraffed in respect of years, Lysander. Or else it stood upon the choice of friends, Or, if there were a sympathy in choice, War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it, Making it momentany as a sound, Swift as a shadow, short as any dream; Brief as the lightning in the collied night, That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth, And ere a man hath power to say ‘Behold!’ The jaws of darkness do devour it up: So quick bright things come to confusion.
The Colors
The colors are very beautiful. Other manga stories have colorful title pages but no color in the panels. This comic is alive with color and the colors help tell the story. Athens represents the world of the daytime, so the colors are very warm and vibrant. In the nighttime, the colors are cool and the characters are drawn with very sharp lines to make sure they don’t fade into the background.
IN Conclusion
This version tells l the story quickly and entertainingly with a vibrant and colorful style that was lacking in the Manga version. Granted, the Manga Shakespeare did allow me to focus on the text more, but I think I actually prefer this version, simply because of its beautiful artwork. Check it out if you get a chance!.
Stewart as Cassius in “Julius Caesar”Patterson Joseph in “Julius Caesar”Trailer for “Donald Trump is Julius Caesar” from the YouTube Channel “Never Caesar.”
Funny Sketches from “Horrible Histories”
Live Tweeting Caesar’s Funeral
This is an activity I’m doing with my Shakespeare Club. The idea is to paraphrase the lines of the Roman crowd in the language of social media. For example, I changed this:
If you can’t get enough of “Julius Caesar, consider signing up for my online Julius Caesar class. The class is asynchronous, which means you can take it whenever you want. More details below:
Greetings mystery lovers! This project started out as a labor of love to keep my own children entertained, but since they loved it so much, I thought I’d adapt it for my own students over Outschool. Get ready to take a trip to the wild and mysterious town known as Gravity Falls!
Concept: To create a fun, informative program on astronomical subjects for children ages 8-12
Student Description: Save the Mystery Shack from Bill Cypher, and learn about secret codes!
Parent Description Using self-paced online activities, and a helpful handout, your child(ren) will learn about secret codes and cyphers as they defeat Bill, the villain from the popular Disney show Gravity Falls. The class will cover the basics of codes, cyphers, and computer coding.
The goal of the class is to introduce young people to codes and ciphers, with a little introduction to computer coding as well. Students will learn by translating the coded messages, learning about computer code, and practicing it in online games.
Class Experience Outline
The class is organized into 5 parts that students can complete at their own pace over a week-long period). When you sign up for the class, I will send you a link to a website, (powered by Google Sites), that will feature embedded YouTube videos and Google slides that you can complete at your own pace. Some pages require you to search for a picture and click on it to advance (a sort of I-spy game). If you are confused, a handout will be provided that gives helpful hints and answers the questions.
Part I: Introduction to Bill and Ciphers
The class will begin with a short YouTube video embedded into a Google Slide where the evil Bill Cipher appears and demands that the learner must solve his puzzles and codes. The learner will get a background on codes via a video starring Waddles the Pig. The next few slides will introduce the concept of a cipher- a code where a number, letter, or symbol represents a letter of the alphabet. You will be given the real cipher used in the show and use it to translate Bill’s cryptic poem.
Unlock the Ciphers– You will unlock a series of messages using an atbash and a Caesar Cypher. Enter the answer on the websites. Then you will go to the actual Gravity Falls website to unlock the final one.
Find the Tokens To stop Bill, you need to trap him using 8 magical tokens. You’ll find these tokens by finding and clicking them within the pages of the Google Sites website. Each one is inspired by a prop from the show- a hat, an image on a sweater, etc. While you are there, you will play a series of mini-games to test your knowledge and introduce you to the world of computer coding. The final activity introduces you to the website Scratch, a website that teaches children the basics of computer coding. Using a handout and the Scratch website, you will create a short animation using computer code! You will unlock a series of messages using an atbash and a Caesar Cypher. Enter the answer on the websites. Then you will go to the actual Gravity Falls website to unlock the final one.
IV. Home Activity: Dipper’s Guide to Everyday Weirdness
You will be provided with a handout that teaches you how to spot a conspiracy, how to research online safely, and a hidden secret code that answers one of the show’s biggest mysteries!
Conclusion: Fight BIll! In an animation, you will trap Bill within a book using the tokens! As a reward for your bravery and intelligence, the heroes of the show will give you a few more special handouts and printables to help you continue your fight against evil. Stay curious and STAY WEIRD!
Learning Goals
Students will learn about the science of cryptology by practicing their code-breaking skills. This in turn will develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The course also touches on the science of optical illusion and computer coding, which helps students understand how their brains work and how computer programmers create their favorite games. Finally, the course teaches about the concept of conspiracies and how important it is to use verified legitimate sources when looking at information, especially on the internet.
Share this class with a friend — new users will get $20 USD off!
You’ll also get $20 USD when they sign up with your link and take their first class!
For my Shakespeare club, I’m coaching two young actors on Viola’s celebrated soliloquy in Act II, Scene ii.I thought I’d share some of that work with you. In this speech, Viola has an epiphany; the lady she was sent to woo on her master Orsino’s behalf LOVES HER!
Viola has spent an unspecified amount of time disguised as a man. She has just tried (unsuccessfully) to woo Countess Olivia on behalf of her employer, Duke Orsino. Olivia seemed intrigued by her in her disguise as “Cesario,” and refused to hear any more words about Orsino, but asked Viola to come see her again. The Countess then sent her messenger Malvolio to give Viola a ring, which he claims she tried to give to Olivia as a gift. At first, Viola is confused and upset by the accusation, but slowly realizes that the ring is actually a gift for her; in fact, it’s a love token.
Traditional Interpretations
I think the comedy depends on how Viola reacts to the realization that Olivia loves her. I’ve seen some Violas that are embarrassed, some that are a little frightened (after all, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned), and others with sad sympathy. Viola is a good person, so she can’t laugh at the lovesick countess, but she can have a wry laugh at herself and how her disguise has caused all this trouble; making her unable to confess her love to him, while at the same time making Olivia think she is a handsome young man.
Michelle Terry In the Globe Theater (2021)
Michelle Terry as Viola in the 2021 production of “Twelfth Night”
Michelle Terry is very matter-of-fact in her portrayal. She doesn’t pause, she doesn’t drag out the lines. In fact, she seems more annoyed and scandalized than anything else. The comedy comes mainly from her gestures and movements as she talks to the audience as if they were one of her gal-pals- venting her frustration with this ridiculous situation.
Michelle Terry excels as Viola, straight-faced, tormented, only occasionally raising a conspiratorial eyebrow at the audience.
Judy Dench in the RSC TV show “Playing Shakespeare” is very sympathetic to “Poor Olivia, ” and plays the speech with a romantic sentimentality. She’s focused on Olivia, and feels awful for the false hope she’s given her.
Both these interpretations are valid, and they’re a good baseline for two sides of Viola’s personality- the sensitive genteel duke’s daughter who is sympathetic to Olivia, and the down-to-earth funny one who is willing to disguise herself as a boy to survive.
Literary Devices
Imagery
The main image here is the image of the knot- a central image of how convoluted this love triangle is.
I left no Ring with her: what meanes this Lady? Fortune forbid my out‑side haue not charm'd her: [650] She made good view of me, indeed so much, That me thought her eyes had lost her tongue, For she did speake in starts distractedly. She loues me sure, the cunning of her passion Inuites me in this churlish messenger: [655] None of my Lords Ring? Why he sent her none; I am the man, if it be so, as tis, Poore Lady, she were better loue a dreame: Disguise, I see thou art a wickednesse, Wherein the pregnant enemie does much. [660] How easie is it, for the proper false In womens waxen hearts to set their formes: Alas, O frailtie is the cause, not wee, For such as we are made, if such we bee: How will this fadge? My master loues her deerely, [665] And I (poore monster) fond asmuch on him: And she (mistaken) seemes to dote on me: What will become of this? As I am man, My state is desperate for my maisters loue: As I am woman (now alas the day) [670] What thriftlesse sighes shall poore Oliuia breath? O time, thou must vntangle this, not I, It is too hard a knot for me t'vnty.
It’s interesting to note that (in the First Folio text), the verse alternates between being regular, and using a run-on technique called enjabment, where the thoughts continue after the end of the lines, starting with lines three and four. Ironically, when Viola says that Olivia was distracted and confused when she visited her, her own thoughts are disjointed and fragmentary as she reaches the inevitable conclusion that Olivia is infatuated with Viola in her disguise.
Viola’s Emotional Journey
In the book “Shakespeare’s First Texts” by Neil Freeman he describes how the Folio prints the speech in four distinct sections. Freeman hypothesizes that Shakespeare organized this speech into four phrases that chart the stages of emotions Viola goes through:
Each stage has its own easily identifiable quality, reflecting the growing steps of Viola’s journey in what for her is a huge struggle not only to comprehend, but also to deal with the enormous complications of the dreadful love triangle- the potential results of which are now becomming only too clear.
Freeman, 175.
Stage 1: Introduction
In the first three and a half sentences, Viola goes through the facts- she gave no ring to Olivia, Olivia was eying her, and half paying attention to what Viola was saying. The phrase ends with Viola’s conclusion that Olivia must be in love with her.
Stage 2: Complications
The sentences are of very irregular length- sometimes six words per line, sometimes a few as four. According to Freeman, the irregularity of the verse shows how Viola’s emotions are getting the better of her. Viola could be gasping with remorse over the pain she’s caused Olivia, or shocked at how easily she was taken in by Viola’s disguise.
Stage 3: Crisis/ Catharsis
Each line of this section mentions the people in this love triagle: “My master,” “And I,” “And She,” etc. Viola might be thinking about the possible outcomes to this situation- getting fired, getting discovered, getting married, etc.
Stage 4: Summary: “O Time, Thou Must Untangle This, Not I.”
Like Hamlet before her and Macbeth after her, Viola ends her soliloquy by saying she has no conclusion. She has no idea how to solve this problem, but can only hope that Time will provide a solution.
Audience Interaction
As I said, this is a soliloquy, which is to say, a speech where the character is solo or alone onstage. Some people think this means that the characters are talking to themselves, but I firmly disagree with this notion. One reason why Shakespeare writes soliloquies is because they allow a character to share their thoughts and feelings with the audience. They are the ancestors of every aria or solo in opera and musical theater, and every Disney Princess/ Villain song. I’ve even said before that there are some similarities between Viola and a famous Disney Princess:
I’m not going to say where my club is or mention the names of the members for privacy’s sake. This post is to familiarize you with the idea, and hopefully inspire your school to do the same.
The Genesis
Like I said in my “Is Shakespeare Being Cancelled?” post, most teachers don’t have the time, training, or inclination to teach a really in-depth Shakespeare unit. Most classes I’ve worked in barely have enough time to cover the plot of Romeo and Juliet, before they need to work on another unit. This is why I started a Shakespeare club, to give kids time to engage with Shakespeare without having to worry about grades.
Mission Statement:
Shakespeare was NOT meant to be read. In this club, we’ll engage with Shakespeare’s plays through games, sword fighting, dramatic readings, movies, and sometimes even recipes! The goal of the club is to have fun with classic works of theater.
Organization
Every month we will discuss a new play and try to explore different aspects of it each week. For each week we’ll do the following:
Weekly questions such as: “What do you know about Shakespeare the man?” or, “Are Shakespeare’s plays still relevant today?”
Group Close reading- Every month I’ll choose a different play to focus on. We’ll pick a scene or speech each month to look at and read aloud.
I’ll provide some context, explaining what is happening in the play durin the speech, and any relevant historical context.
There will be a dramatic reading, either by me (or a brave soul in the club).
We’ll watch a recording and discuss their interpretation and what the students like and don’t like.
Immersive activities such as:
-Pool Noodle sword fights
– Shakespeare’s arts and crafts and recipes such as gingerbread men contests and making costumes and props.
– Shakespeare movie-watching party with such films as 10 Things I Hate About You, ‘O,’ “Gnomio and Juliet,” “Hamlet,” and others.
Weekly challenges like “Find a Shakespeare quote that you use in normal speech,” “Find a movie or character that’s based on Shakespeare,” or “Draw a picture of a Shakespearean character (stick figures are acceptable). Each challenge is rewarded with a digital badge, which the students can trade for Shakespeare swag at the end of the month!
Meeting RecapS
Meeting 1: I talked about Shakespeare’s life, using the same format as this video:
Meeting 2: To get the kids to connect with Shakespeare’s plays, I had them take a personality quiz to figure out which Shakespeare play they might want to read:
I then asked the students to research the play they got, then asked them to fill out a Jamboard, like the one I made below- using photos and short descriptors to get a general idea of their new favorite play!
So as the school year continues, I’ll create more recaps and post more discussions to let you know how this little experiment is coming. Since this is a new idea, I’d love to get your feedback because I want as many people as possible to help make this project a success!
“Welcome Spirit, How Camest Thou hither?” The sources for Puck
Puck, in medieval English folklore, a malicious fairy or demon. In Old and Middle English the word meant simply “demon.” In Elizabethan lore he was a mischievous, brownielike fairy also called Robin Goodfellow, or Hobgoblin. As one of the leading characters in William Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck boasts of his pranks of changing shapes, misleading travelers at night, spoiling milk, frightening young girls, and tripping venerable old dames. The Irish pooka, or púca, and the Welsh pwcca are similar household spirits.
Shakespeare also took inspiration from English poet Edmund Spencer, who visited Ireland in the 1590s and adapted the folklore he picked up into his opera The Fairy Queen, which Shakespeare adapted into A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Types of fairies you can “spot” at the Lullymore Park in Ireland:
Puck/Robin’s Dual Nature
The old stories tell that Fairies are magical creatures who live in hollow places in the earth. Some are benevolent and help give rain and pleasant weather to the Earth, Like the king and Queen of the fairies, Oberon and Titania:
And the mazed world, By their [the tides] increase, now knows not which is which: And this same progeny of evils comes From our debate, from our dissension; We are their parents and original.
— Titania, (Queen of the Faries), A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act II, Scene i.
Titania in this speech shows great concern for nature, humanity, and the planet. She believes it is the responsibility of fairies, particularly herself and her husband Oberon, to control the elements and keep humans and fairies safe. Some fairies, however, are cruel and enjoy playing tricks on mortals, just like Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or Queen Mab in Romeo and Juliet.
Close reading of Puck’s speech (MND II, i)
Close reading of Puck’s speech (MND II, i)
Close reading of Puck’s speech (MND II, i)
Close reading of Puck’s speech (MND II, i)
Close reading of Puck’s speech (MND II, i)
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This is a short analysis I created of the tricks Puck plays on people in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as part of my acting course on Ouschool.com. Note the different ways Puck is portrayed in photos as a satyr, a rotund elf, and sometimes as an almost- demon like figure.
Punishments or contracts with fairies formed a significant part of Goodfellow’s purpose on earth. While he could issue good fortune and support, this was always at the cost of those involved. As Reginald Scot commented, Goodfellow had a ‘standing fee’ of a ‘mess of white bread and milk’, which he expected after supporting housewives with their chores. If his payment was forgotten, Goodfellow was believed to steal from the home that owed him, often stealing grain and milk from the dairy.
Abigail Sparkes, Historic UK.com
Performing Puck
Because Puck is not human, and somewhat ambiguous in the text, an actor can play Puck in many different ways. Generally speaking, actors tend to explore Puck’s attitude toward humans, their love of mischief, and how to translate that physically and vocally
Puck. My mistress with a monster is in love. Near to her close and consecrated bower, While she was in her dull and sleeping hour, A crew of patches, rude mechanicals, Were met together to rehearse a play The shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort, Who Pyramus presented, in their sport Forsook his scene and enter’d in a brake When I did him at this advantage take, An ass’s nole I fixed on his head:
Anon his Thisbe must be answered, And forth my mimic comes. So, at his sight, away his fellows fly; And, at our stamp, here o’er and o’er one falls; He murder cries and help from Athens calls. I led them on in this distracted fear, And left sweet Pyramus translated there: When in that moment, so it came to pass, Titania waked and straightway loved an ass!
I know I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been working on my education certification so I’ve been pretty busy. My last project was about using theater as an educational tool, so I thought I’d reprint it here. I’ll add some notes later on to show how this can be adapted to Shakespeare, but for now, hopefully, this can be an interesting look at theater as a way for children to cope with trauma, etc.
INTRODUCTION
Numerous studies from educators, neuroscientists, and nonprofit organizations have demonstrated that children’s brains benefit from the arts. According to David A. Sousa in his book How the Brain Learns, human beings have used art forms as teaching from the very beginning of civilization, and every child’s early development can benefit from the kind of imaginative play that children naturally engage in:
Much of what young children do as play- singing, drawing, dancing…engages all the senses and helps wire the brain for successful learning. When children enter school, these art activities need to be continued and enhanced. The cognitive areas are developed as the child learns songs and rhymes. The dancing and movements during play develop gross motor skills, and the sum of these activities enhances emotional well-being.
(Sousa 215)
One method to continue this kind of artistic learning in a classroom is dramatic play or drama therapy: using theatrical games and techniques as a teaching tool. This paper will demonstrate how educators have used dramatic play to improve socio/emotional learning, as well as cognitive development. In particular, the studies and books cited in this paper will argue that a dramatic play intervention in schools would be beneficial to students who are facing challenges due to emotional disorders.
After reviewing case studies in drama therapy and reading literature on dramatic play, the author of this paper is convinced that a dramatic therapy intervention could and should be available to children with emotional disorders. The goal of the intervention is to help students with emotional disorders through creative play, dramatic exploration, textual analysis, and roleplay-based problem-solving. The suggested intervention would help students confront their problems in a safe way and help them develop problem-solving strategies over the course of a few weeks.
WHAT IS DRAMATIC PLAY?
According to West Governor’s University, dramatic play involves students taking on roles and acting them out to explore themselves and their surroundings. WGU’s website identifies two basic types of dramatic play- structured and unstructured. In the case of structured play, it may take the form of roleplaying scenarios, or performing a specific group activity or task. Finally, the play may center around interpreting a text such as a book, play, or some other artform. The roles the students play need not be a pre-written story. When students take on these roles to play, they may better understand their real-life roles and how to perform them in real life.
In her 2015 article, Analysis of Three Approaches in Dramatherapy, Ivana Lessner Listiakova compares and contrasts three approaches of drama therapy: Role Theory, Psychodrama, and Developmental Transformation. In all three approaches, participants may gain a new understanding of themselves and a healthy way of processing their emotions. Within Role Theory, participants examine Jungian archetypal roles and counter roles within themselves by embodying them. In Psychodrama, participants enact moments from their own lives and have emotional and mental epiphanies by looking at those moments with a critical eye. Finally, in Developmental Transformation, participants arrive at roles and stories organically through a sort of “improvised series of encounters,” rather than a set story that is agreed upon beforehand. Listiakova emphasizes that these approaches work within psychotherapy because rather than the direct uncomfortable confrontations found in traditional therapy, dramatherapy uses the theater’s distance from the client and the metaphorical nature of storytelling to allow clients to see the issues and emotions that they face in their lives in a new light.
HOW DRAMATIC PLAY BENEFITS CHILDREN WITH EMOTIONAL DISORDERS.
A study by Roundabout Dramatherapy in 2013 in the journal Dramatherapy (Godfrey 20-28), demonstrates how drama therapy can specifically benefit developmental disorders like Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Roundabout is a London-based charity aimed at improving the lives of children on the Autism Spectrum. Through a collaboration with Emma Godfrey, (a psychotherapist and drama therapist), this article chronicled the success of its drama therapy sessions over three primary schools and five secondary schools. Before and after each program of drama therapy, teachers, parents, and students submitted evaluations and questionnaires to Roundabout.
The students showed marked improvement in the following specific areas: [processing}f, working with peers, social skills, structure, and anxiety. Most children on the Autism spectrum struggle with these very skills, therefore this kind of play was incredibly useful for these students. The activities encouraged at Roundabout developed specific life skills such as saying hello and goodbye and relaxation techniques to quell anxiety:
Dramatherapy is particularly appropriate for this client group as it develops social skills and supports the expression of feelings through structured work that helps reduce anxiety. The dramatherapist can model clear, expressive communication, as well as facilitate the development of relationships with others, which gives participants numerous opportunitiesto rehearse and replay social skills until they are learned and integrated into behavior. (Godfrey 21)
Godfrey’s study showed that students with ASD benefited from modeled play, in which the teachers rehearsed and practiced important life skills in class that taught the students how to compensate for their inability to intuit social cues. As this quote from a parent whose child was part of the study illustrates, dramatherapy can help ASD students gain a better understanding of themselves, how to interact with people, and help them develop tools to engage with others and control their anxiety and other forms of emotional stress:
It has really helped him to understand his emotions and friendships more. At times he has found it challenging but it’s been great for him to do that in a safe and caring environment where the people running it understand his issues (Godfrey 25).
The sources cited above confirm that students with emotional disorders can benefit from different forms of dramatic play and develop coping mechanisms and skills to help enrich and improve their lives.
DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION
As the literature previously demonstrates, dramatic play is an excellent educational tool to help students process their emotions and prevent anxiety through role-playing while promoting social, emotional, and physical health. The author’s suggested interventions, like the study by Roundabout, would carefully monitor child development as students engaged in formal and informal activities to help develop social skills, reduce anxiety, and develop emotional coping skills.
A potential format for the intervention would be to start with unstructured drama games designed to engage the children’s imagination, and promote positive emotion. The teacher would then move into a check-in-check-out therapy to guide the students into thinking about their feelings and social situations that the therapy would address. The class could then turn to role-play and role theory, where students would explore sources of stress, anxiety, or difficulty in a safe roleplay-based setting. The session might then conclude with a creative group project such as superhero play, or reading and acting out a storybook or text, (with emphasis on books that promote healthy social and emotional behavior).
The work of Sousa, Godfrey, Hereford, and others indicates that dramatic play can be a powerful method to improve the lives of children with emotional disorders, and their techniques would translate well to children with anxiety, Autism Spectrum Disorders, or depression. The potential intervention described in this paper would use these techniques effectively to benefit children with these and other emotional disorders. Since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, mental health has been a big concern in schools, and cases of ASD have been increasing over the last few decades (Godfrey 21). There has never been a greater need for mental health interventions in classrooms, and dramatic play is a particularly effective method to help the growing number of children who require intervention.
Godfrey, E., & Haythorne, D. (2013). Benefits of Dramatherapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis of Feedback from Parents and Teachers of Clients Attending Roundabout Dramatherapy Sessions in Schools. Dramatherapy, 35(1), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/02630672.2013.773131
Kissinger, K. (2017). Anti-bias education in the early childhood classroom : hand in hand, step by step. Routledge.
I am just ecstatic to talk about this year’s hit Broadway Musical Six. It swept the Tonys, and has opened up touring productions across the country, and I JUST GOT TO SEE IT!
This vibrant, clever retelling of Tudor her-story was created by TOBY MARLOW & LUCY MOSS in association with the Chicago Shakespeare Festival. The show is incredibly smart, and creative, and delves into the lives of some fascinating women, re-told as a singing contest with the characters singing their lives for you to judge what it was like being the queen of England and living with the turbulent and fickle Henry VIII.
What really appeals to me in this show is that like Hamilton, the musical takes these six semi-mythical women and tells their story in a way that is fresh and exciting. It bridges the gap between Tudor History and the modern-day by equating being a queen with being a celebrity, with all the drama of ambitious parents, romantic drama, public opinion, and even being exploited and sexualized by a male-dominated society. This comes across in the music, the costumes, the lyrics, and even the lighting!
Why “Six” Slaps
The costumes are brilliant and iconic. Catherine Of Aragon is like a cross between Beyonce, a saint, and a medieval knight. The lighting is incredible! You could tell the whole story using the lighting design as it pulsates, dances, changes into different colors, turns into different shapes, and finally flashes the name of the show in triumphant gold letters.
One particularly brilliant way the music works in “Six” is the fact that it uses the song “Greensleeves” as a motif both musically and thematically. One big theme of the show is how, unlike Henry VIII, most of the history of his six queens is lost and replaced by legends and even songs. The first line of the show is the famous rhyme about their fates: “Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.” As the video above helps illustrate, Marlowe and Moss know that most people only know the rhyme about their deaths and the myth that Henry wrote a song about one of them; that their lives are overshadowed by their deaths and the misconceptions that people have written over the years. Howard Ho points out how the song musically forces itself into the first number, “Ex Wives,” but by the end of the show, the six queens break free from these musical bars! You can hear the change of key and notes during this performance at the Tonys, which puts the opening number and closing reprise together.
The Cast of “Six” perform live at the 2021 Tony Awards.
But how do the queens go from “one word in a stupid rhyme,” to a group of powerful, individual queens singing in harmony, without the man who made them famous? That’s what the solo numbers in “Six” do so incredibly well- tell each queen’s solo stories as rocking ballads, hilarious dis-tracks, soulful love songs, and… well stay tuned.
Catherine of Aragon was Henry’s first wife and is still universally beloved, even though Henry decided to divorce her. As the epitome of a stand-alone power queen, it makes sense that Six modeled her character, costume, and songs after Beyonce, with a Shakira-inspired Spanish beat for good measure:
My favorite thing about her solo, “No Way” is how the writers paraphrase her real-life speech during the divorce trial in 1529. Below are the lyrics and the real speech:
Alas, Sir, where have I offended you? Or what occasion have you of displeasure, that you intend to put me from you? I take God and all the world to witness that I have been to you a true, humble and obedient wife, ever conformable to your will and pleasure. This twenty years and more I have been your true wife, and whether it be true or no, I put it to your conscience.
— Katherine of Aragon, 1529
2. Anne Boleyn
In some ways, the version of Anne Boleyn in “Six” is less a pop version of the real queen and more of a commentary on the nature of celebrity. If you watch the video, you can see how in life she was admired for her beauty and fashion but hated for her comments on Queen Katherine, her scandalous love affairs, and her brash nature. This explains the spiky pop-punk princess look they gave her, (which evidently resonates with many audiences since I saw at least two girls cosplaying as Anne in the audience). Sort of like a celebrity who gets canceled on Twitter or Princess Diana, Anne shows how a person can be undone when they dare challenge an established order, especially the Royal Family.
After the show, I found it a bit weird that they portrayed Anne Boleyn as a jetsetting airhead, but then again she is one of the best-known queens in history, so they can get away with it. In reality, Anne Boleyn was highly educated and a member of an ambitious and social climbing family who basically pushed her to woo Henry. As you can see in this clip from “Anne Of A Thousand Days,” Henry and Anne’s family bullied her constantly to become the King’s mistress after HE ALREADY GOT HER SISTER PREGNANT, so Anne knew that the only way to keep Henry from ruining her life was to convince him to divorce Katherine of Aragon and marry her.
Of course, this strategy didn’t save Anne in the end, which says more about how cruel Henry VIII was, chewing up women and spitting them out in his ravenous quest for a son. So is this an accurate portrayal of Anne’s life? No. Is it fun, ABSOLUTELY!
III. Jane Seymore
I’m more than I seem, or am I?
“Six” The Musical.
This version of Jane Seymore was inspired by Adele, so appropriately, she has a heart-wrenching power ballad about her turbulent relationship with Henry. Sadly, we don’t know much about Jane’s real life, so the song takes some liberties. If you go to the Hampton Court Website, you can actually vote as to whether Jane was a devoted wife or a social climbing gold-digger. Probably the real woman was something even more complicated, though we’ll never know for sure.
IV. Anne of Cleaves
Anne of Cleaves is the funniest part of the show! Many of us have heard the story that Henry divorced Anne after he found her ‘ugly.’ What “Six The Musical” does is amend the story, by pointing out that after he divorced her, Henry gave her a castle and a huge retainer, allowing her to live like a queen, without being married to a king! Accordingly, her song is a Rhianna-style dis track that shows off her awesome lifestyle, and spits in Henry’s stupid face!
As fun as this, rags-to-riches story is, the truth is less fun- Anne was the sister of a German duke, so Henry’s lord Chancellor Thomas Cromwell probably forced Henry to marry her for diplomatic reasons (source: Hampton Court: “Anne of Cleaves”). Naturally, Henry didn’t like being told what to do- I suspect he resented Anne before even meeting her because he didn’t get to pick her himself.
As for whether Anne was actually ugly, the truth is really surprising- Henry actually disguised himself as a peasant during a masked ball when he first courted Anne, and she foundhim repulsive. At the time, Henry was 49 years old, and in very poor health. As such, he was intermittently impotent and blamed his inability to conceive a child with her on her supposed ugliness to save face.
Even though Anne in the show hates Henry, in reality, once the marriage was annulled, Anne and Henry remained good friends for years! She attended his next wedding to Katherine Howard, and, just like in the show, Henry treated her much better after the divorce:
‘YOU SHALL FIND US A PERFECT FRIEND, CONTENT TO REPUTE YOU AS OUR DEAREST SISTER. WE SHALL, WITHIN FIVE OR SIX DAYS …DETERMINE YOUR STATE MINDING TO ENDOW YOU WITH £4000 OF YEARLY REVENUE…YOUR LOVING BROTHER AND FRIEND.’
Henry VIII, 1548, six months after their wedding, when the annullment went through.
V. Katherine Howard
Without question, Katherine Howard is portrayed as the most tragic of Henry’s six wives and her song is a huge sucker punch. The writers never let you forget that Katherine’s first affair was when she was 13, and she died at age 19. Like Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymore, Henry picked Katherine for his queen among his ladies in waiting and her song “All You Wanna Do” satirizes his and many other men’s lustful appetites. The song begins as a raunchy, sexy pop ballad in the vein of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and “Womanizer” about Katherine Howard’s love affairs, but then devolves into a cry for help, as Katherine confesses how she was abused, used, and manipulated by the men in her life, (including her own cousin Thomas Culpepper) until she was beheaded in 1542. It masterfully satires both Henry’s cruelty and the hypersexualization of teenage pop stars which certainly took its toll on Britney Spears and Ariana Grande, Katherine’s major ‘Queenspirations.’
VI. Katherine Parr
Historically, Katherine Parr had to turn away her fiancee Thomas Seymore (just like Anne Boleyn was previously engaged to Henry Percy) once the king set his eyes on her for his wife, so her song is a sad, soulful Alicia Keys-inspired bittersweet song where she tearfully says goodbye to Thomas to spare his feelings and probably his life.
Not only does this song once again show how Henry’s selfishness and his lust ruined the lives of the women he married, (as well as the men who already wanted to marry them), but it also sets up the main idea of the show:
His-Story overthrown
In the final number, the wives turn the tables on Henry- they have spent centuries being defined by him, but in reality, he is just as much defined by them! Going forward, history should not define these great women as just, “The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth,” but to celebrate their individual lives and contributions to history. Katherine Parr mentions this when she points out that in life, she fought to allow women to be educated, she wrote books, and was a scholar of theology. Historically, Henry and Katherine would argue about religion and he nearly executed her after she disagreed on points of theology, but Katherine kept her life by claiming she was “Not disagreeing with [him], but simply learning from [him].”
I Don’t Need Your Love is sung by Catherine Parr in SIX: The Musical. The first part of the song refers to her love of Thomas Seymour, whom she probably wanted to marry rather than Henry (and did marry after Henry’s death). However, the song also protests at the fact that women are often defined by their relationship with men, rather than as people in their own right. Catherine wants to be remembered for what she did, rather than the men she married or loved.
Katherine Parr, Six.
The final number completes the idea of the ‘historemix’ by having the Six queens/pop stars come up with a re-imagined happy ending for themselves, one that doesn’t include the pain that Henry inflicted on them: Katherine A becomes a singing nun, (like Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act), while Anne Boleyn starts writing lyrics for Shakespeare (which is a fun idea since he does mention “Greensleeves” twice). Jane Seymore forms a band with her many surviving children, Katherine Howard goes solo, and Katherine Parr joins the other queens in a supergroup. It’s not at all historical, but it is a fun and sweet way to put an epilogue on these (mostly) tragic lives.
It’s odd, however, that the show invents an epilogue instead of talking about the six queen’s greatest legacy- Queens Elizabeth and MaryI. For a show that wants to highlight the often-forgotten legacy of these queens, it is an odd oversight. Remember Catherine and Anne gave birth to queens who eventually ruled England without a king. Jane Seymore gave birth to a king, and Catherine Parr helped raise them and restored them to the line of succession- She’s the reason her stepdaughters were able to become queens in the first place.
My issues with the epilogue aside, it is great to see history be recontextualized and shared in such an accessible way. We all know that European history is dominated by the names of white guys- king whoever, duke what’s-his name. To see important women in history be given a voice by a multi-ethnic cast is a great way to make it resonate, and using the metaphor of pop stars works extremely well in this context- these women mostly didn’t choose stardom, but they deserve it for what they went through.
Brava.
Educational links related to the six wives of Henry VIII:
The Shakespearean Student 