What’s on for today: Students will learn the plot and characters of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and will participate in a performance activity in which they will prepare very short scenes from the play and perform them in sequence – a mini-play!

What you’ll need: Plot Summary (just one copy needed for the teacher), Character Names (print on cardstock or put in plastic sleeves), Scripts (print character name on one side and scene script on the other, and put in plastic sleeves – 25 individual scripts are included in this set)

Activity 1:

Have students sit in a circle (on the floor, on their desks, on chairs, at their desks) and explain to them that the space within the circle is the acting space, or stage. Give a brief introduction to the play. Then read the plot summary to them. Each time that you introduce a character, give the Character Name to a student and have the student join you on stage. Move characters around to approximate the action being described in the plot summary. Welcome their input as they “get in character.”

Activity 2:

Give each student a script. If gender identity is an issue, code by sex:

Male: Orsino, Malvolio, Sebastian, Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek

Female: Olivia, Viola/Cesario, Maria

Neutral: Antonio/Antonia, Fabian, Feste, Curio

If you have fewer students than 25, you may have one or more group do two scenes.

Explain that the scenes are VERY short, and that students need understand all of the words and phrases and actions in their scenes in order to be able to perform their scenes with fluency, clarity, and comprehension. Encourage them to ask you for help with definitions and pronunciations and comprehension.

Give students 5 or 10 or 15 minutes to prepare, depending on time constraints and their needs. Circulate among the groups and encourage them to work on simple blocking.

Call time, and have each group present its scene, moving quickly from scene to scene.

Afterward, have each group talk about the content of its scene, having actors repeat key lines. Discuss one or more of the key themes in this play.

Common Core Standard Link: Prefix: “Mal” – how does identifying Malvolio as “mal” affect our understanding of this character? Why is Malvolio’s treatment entertaining in theater, but inappropriate in “real life”?

OR

Activity 2:

Use the consolidated script. In a large class, have students take parts successively, moving quickly around the room. In a smaller class, assign parts. After the first go-round, make a list of words/phrases that are unfamiliar and define them. Ask students what is going on in each set of lines or dialogues or monologues in the script. (You might want to refer to the Character Scripts to see how these lines are broken into scenes.) Once students have a bit more familiarity with the script, go around again, starting with a different student. Ask students to try to “be in character.”

Again, a key theme discussion or the Affix tie-in may be used.

How did it go?

Did students gain some familiarity with the characters and themes of Twelfth Night? Did they gain some interest in this play? Did they find any of it entertaining, or funny?