$30
weeklyor $175 for 12 classes
Exploring Shakespeare: Hamlet
Completed by 2 learners
Ages 15-18
Live Group Class
Live video meetings
2x per week, 6 weeks
1-12 learners per class
75 min
What's included
12 live meetings
15 in-class hoursClass Experience
In this class, we will read Shakespeare's play Hamlet aloud from beginning to end, stopping frequently to dig into the acting clues and opportunities that Shakespeare embeds in the text. Students will read a different role in each act, and so will have a chance to experience the play from multiple angles. We will ask questions like: - What is the action of the scene? - How can I best paraphrase my lines to make the meaning both clear and personal? - What do the rhythm and structure of the speech tell me about my character? - How would I stage this scene if I were directing it? By the end of the class, students will have an intimate knowledge of Hamlet that would serve them well in any testing situation. They will also have a host of tools for approaching Shakespearean roles as actors, directors, dramaturgs, and theatre lovers. Each class varies based on the depth of curiosity of the learners, but here is an approximate idea of how much ground we will cover per week: Day 1: Approaches to Shakespeare: Rhythm, meaning, and acting clues. Read Act 1.1 Day 2: Read Act 1.2-1.3 Day 3: Read Act 1.4, 1.5, 2.1 Day 4: Read Act 2.2 Day 5: Read Act 3.1, 3.2 Day 6: Read Act 3.2, 3.3 Day 7: Read Act 3.4-4.2 Day 8: Read Act 4.3-4.5 Day 9: Read Act 4.6, 4.7 Day 10: Read Act 5.1 Day 11: Read Act 5.2 Day 12: Finish reading, revisit favorite scenes and speeches, and review tools and techniques This class is ideal for students who love drama, theatre, and/or literature. Some familiarity with Shakespeare is helpful, but not required.
Learning Goals
Skills addressed:
- reading Shakespeare aloud
- mining Shakespeare's language for meaning
- scansion (analysis of poetic rhythm)
- mining Shakespeare's language for clues to character and action
- acting basics: objective, obstacle, relationship, given circumstances
- giving and receiving constructive feedback
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Hamlet is famous for probing the deepest questions of life, and that means grappling with some pretty dark material. Sensitive topics include suicidal thoughts, murder, revenge, loss of a parent, failing friendships, and fractured families. Students will have space to discuss these topics as they arise, though the focus will be on Shakespeare's text and not on personal experience. Please let me know if you have questions.
Supply List
- Each learner will need a copy of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. I recommend the Folger Shakespeare Library edition because it provides excellent notes and defines unfamiliar words on each page. It is best to have a paper copy of the play so that learners can easily make notes. - pencil - paper or a notebook to take notes
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Each learner will need a copy of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. I recommend the Folger Shakespeare Library edition because it provides excellent notes and defines unfamiliar words on each page.
Meet the teacher
Teacher expertise and credentials
I am a classical actor and teaching artist who has performed in Hamlet twice and co-directed it once with high school students. I have taught Shakespeare to high school and middle school students for the past 20 years in many different settings, from single-day workshops to two-week camps to semester-long classes. I have been a teaching artist in theatres around the US, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC, Imagination Stage in Maryland, and others. I was adjunct faculty for two years at Seattle Pacific University, where I directed the University Players, a touring troupe that wrote two scripts per year and toured them to high schools, churches, and community spaces throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Degrees earned:
BA, Theatre and English, Seattle Pacific University
MFA, Classical Acting, The Shakespeare Theatre Company/George Washington University
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