Performing Shakespeare, Final Thoughts

Well, most importantly (I keep telling myself) we did it. We performed Shakespeare. And if I’m to consider it in terms of experiment – which it is – then I’ve achieved a necessary beginning on which to build. Sure enough, while the experience was NOT a total disaster, there is much building to be done. The really good news is that I look forward to that. It is, I’ve determined, an endeavour worthy of refinement and continued life.

Below is a list of some of the many points of reflection looking back and moving forward. Hopefully these reflections will be useful to anyone considering such a project or, simply, a PBL of similar scope. I should also say that I received an incredible amount of amazing ideas, insights and resources from Cohort members, many of which were imperative to this process, and virtually all of which will be important reference points moving forward. Unreal. Truly. Thank you!!!

1. Holy bananas, Shakespeare’s a monster! And then you ask the kids to perform it? I grew really concerned for the students when within 10 days of the final performance they began to ask things like “So, do we have to memorise ALL of the lines?” and “would it be ok to write some lines on my hand?” It was EXTREMELY difficult to get the students in the “actors” roles to see this project as anything beyond a process of memorization. I used to also teach Drama, and I should say it was always a similar kind of struggle whenever the students were asked to perform from a text – to bring the performance beyond the realm of memorization/reciting lines, and into a clear interpretation of character, plot, theme… And, especially as theatre was my vocation before teaching, I found/find this endlessly frustrating. I did consider relenting on the memorization of lines as a way of better emphasizing the importance of also demonstrating clear and original interpretations of the text, but in the end I decided it was too important. I think one of the unique opportunities for the students in this assignment is to engage so intensely with the language, and it seems to me language is the biggest obstacle for students to overcome when experiencing Shakespeare. Oh my goodness they struggled… but they did it, and I KNOW THIS FOR SURE: in all of the many ways in which I’ve approached Shakespeare in English Class, I’ve never achieved such an intense interaction between students and language.
2. Solidarity is important. Creating a sense of “team” among the theatre companies and a healthy competition between teams was essential. Perhaps there was a slight imbalance in the extent to which most groups favoured their company websites over the actual theatrical production, but, for the most part, groups really began to see themselves as theatre companies with clear mandates who stood for something important. As a teacher, the extent to which most students demonstrated a meaningful level of accountability to their group-mates was most gratifying. Beyond continually infusing and demonstrating the necessary energy and enthusiasm (because these projects can get dark, very dark!), these were all key components in developing a sense of team: theatre company websites, names, logos, slogans, mission statements, history, twitter accounts, member biographies, and member blogs. Allowing creative license with all of these components was also essential.
3. Formative Assessment is Essential. It was/is extremely difficult for many students to understand the scope of a project of this size. Without clear mandates for each rehearsal/work period and several incremental deadlines within the overall process, I sense the groups would have flailed. Feedback, from me as well as their peers, was continual, ranging from very structured feedback forms and rubrics to informal dialogue. Continued self assessment was also essential and, really, this became the purpose of their individual blogs. Also (and I’m not sure you’ll find this in any ‘best practice’ articles), I gave them a false deadline. Before walking over to the theatre for their ‘final performance’ I informed the students that their actual final performance was not for another four days. Yes, I lied to them, but in that moment they loved me. I suppose you’ll have to decide how morally compromising this strategy is for you, but there is no doubt that they benefited from the time.
4. I suck at Twitter. I received so many wonderful ideas on how the use of twitter can truly extend the student’s conversations, audience, scope and overall learning. Unfortunately, I used almost none of these ideas. My bad. We did, however, use Twitter but it was stuck in the realm of novelty as opposed to essential learning tool. But hey, without beating myself up too badly, we did use Twitter and, more importantly, I have a much clearer sense of its potential moving forward and this will be a clear challenge for me. Mr Huxley, meet Twitter. Thank you again for the amazing ideas. (I’ve currently got ‘Brave New World’, ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Othello’ on the go, as well as their independent reading… anyone want to connect?)
5. It’s the Learning, not the Product. Their final performances were not, I decided, a sufficient expression of learning. Furthermore, I think asking them to be has the potential to diminish the process. Again, as the process progressed I began to see it as an intense interaction with the text, and the project was unique and special in that way. Furthermore, the students were really proud of their accomplishments; they really feel like they know Shakespeare. I’m not sure it’s appropriate or constructive for me to comment on the extent to which that is or is not true. In fact, in our post performance discussions, we talked openly about this, and it was clear that by not assigning a grade I was also allowing them to reflect on the experience with more clarity. What a concept right? Removing the grade allowed for an open, constructive and even vibrant discussion on learning. I should say that currently they’re working on their culminating task for the unit which is… a formal literary essay (we’re an IB school, I can’t help myself!).
6. Extend the community, take it beyond the class. I’m certain this is always a good idea for so many reasons; however, in particular, having the eighth graders create documentary films on the journeys of the individual theatre companies added an amazing element to the project. The consistent audience made for more consistent engagement, and it acted as another form – a somewhat relentless form – of reflection. I can’t speak on behalf of the eighth grade perspective, but from ours it was a huge success.