Exploring Shakespeare: Julius Caesar

Average rating:5.0Number of reviews:(2)

Completed by 3 learners

Dig into Shakespeare's Julius Caesar from an actor's point of view! In this class, we'll read the play aloud from cover to cover, stopping along the way to discuss plot, character, acting, and production possibilities.

Esther Williamson, MFA

Average rating:5.0Number of reviews:(18)

There are no upcoming classes.

15-18

year old learners

1-12

learners per class

$110

Charged upfront

$11 per class

Meets 2x per week

Over 5 weeks

75 minutes per class

Class Experience

In this class, we will read Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar aloud from beginning to end, stopping frequently to dig into the acting clues and opportunities that Shakespeare embeds in the text. Learners 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...

Skills addressed:
- reading Shakespeare aloud
- mining Shakespeare's language for meaning
- scansion (analysis of poetic rhythm)
- investigating Shakespeare's language for clues to character and action
- acting basics: objective, obstacle, relationship, given circumstances
- giving and receiving constructive feedback

I am a classical actor and teaching artist. 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

Students will be assigned a role for each act in the play. They will be expected to analyze their character's language, looking for clues to meaning and clues to how the character might be played by an actor. This work will take about an hour per class meeting. Throughout our time together, students will be given tools and methods to help them complete their analysis.

- Each learner will need a copy of Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. I recommend the Folger 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

Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.

2 hours 30 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 1 - 2 hours per week outside of class.

Julius Caesar deals with themes of power, politics, and loyalty (both personal and communal). The main action of the plot centers around the assassination of a head of state and the civil war that follows. While violence is not glorified in this play, it is certainly present. Sensitive topics include murder, suicide, war, omens in the natural world, and ghostly visitations.

Each learner will need a copy of Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. I recommend the Folger edition because it provides excellent notes and defines unfamiliar words on each page.

Meet the teacher

Esther Williamson, MFA

Average rating:5.0Number of reviews:(18)

I am a classical actor and teaching artist, and I'm excited to share my love of the performing arts with Outschool’s learners. I live in New York, but I have worked with companies all around the United States, from the iconic Oregon Shakespeare...