HOULTON, Maine – Houlton High School students had a unique experience recently to put their classroom Shakespeare lessons into action. The school had two players, Ben Layman and Abby Haywood, from Penobscot Theatre visit for a weeklong residency of Shakespeare in the classroom.
Each high school English class had one 80-minute workshop in acting and Shakespearean drama. Students workshopped one of three plays: Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth or Julius Caesar, depending on grade level and familiarity.
Teresa Goodwin, head of the high school English department, explained that the teachers wanted all students to have a chance to experience Shakespeare and have fun on stage.
“I want students to understand how fun and exciting Shakespeare’s plays are,” Goodwin said, “And how wonderful the drama experience can be.”
Goodwin explained that players from Penobscot Theatre had visited the school a few years ago, but only for a day. Last week’s residency was funded through a grant.
“Some students who are quiet and shy in the classroom suddenly come to life when they’re given lines and a costume,” Goodwin said.
“I’ve seen clever insights and ideas come from students,” Goodwin added, “Things I wouldn’t have thought of myself.”
The two Penobscot Theatre actors, Layman and Haywood, led the workshops. In addition to acting professionally, Layman has a background in Shakespeare and directing children’s theater. Haywood earned her theater degree from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, and has a background in acting, stage management and theater education.
“We find that at first we have a class of shy, unwilling kids, but by the end, they come out of their shells,” Haywood said.
Haywood and Layman used acting lessons and activities, textual analysis and acting out short scenes to bring Shakespeare’s plays to life.
“We use performance to cement the tone of the play,” Layman explained.
The two explained that they use certain elements to relate the plays to teenagers, such as feuds and teen romance in Romeo and Juliet, magic and witchcraft in MacBeth, and the dynamics of a mob mentality in Julius Caesar.
“We have to accommodate what the students have studied in class,” Haywood explained.
Haywood and Layman began lessons with a condensed two-minute performance of the play at hand – never afraid to act silly or look foolish. The brief performance gave students a refresher of the plot, but also showed that there is no room for embarrassment.
“They don’t know what their peers will think,” Layman explained, “So they all have to do something goofy.”
The approach appears to work.
“It was a lot of fun,” said eleventh-grader Anna Caron, whose class performed scenes from MacBeth, “I love that kind of stuff.”
Freshman classes learned about the Globe Theatre and Elizabethan-era drama and performed a scene from Romeo and Juliet.
“It was fun, very entertaining,” said ninth-grader Collette Ritchie, “It helped me understand what was going on [in the play].”
Many students who didn’t enjoy Shakespeare or drama before the lesson, came away from the workshop with a new enthusiasm.
“I enjoyed it very much,” said freshman Alex Williams, “It gives me a chance to really get into it.”
Each high school English class had one 80-minute workshop in acting and Shakespearean drama. Students workshopped one of three plays: Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth or Julius Caesar, depending on grade level and familiarity.
Teresa Goodwin, head of the high school English department, explained that the teachers wanted all students to have a chance to experience Shakespeare and have fun on stage.
“I want students to understand how fun and exciting Shakespeare’s plays are,” Goodwin said, “And how wonderful the drama experience can be.”
Goodwin explained that players from Penobscot Theatre had visited the school a few years ago, but only for a day. Last week’s residency was funded through a grant.
“Some students who are quiet and shy in the classroom suddenly come to life when they’re given lines and a costume,” Goodwin said.
“I’ve seen clever insights and ideas come from students,” Goodwin added, “Things I wouldn’t have thought of myself.”
The two Penobscot Theatre actors, Layman and Haywood, led the workshops. In addition to acting professionally, Layman has a background in Shakespeare and directing children’s theater. Haywood earned her theater degree from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, and has a background in acting, stage management and theater education.
“We find that at first we have a class of shy, unwilling kids, but by the end, they come out of their shells,” Haywood said.
Haywood and Layman used acting lessons and activities, textual analysis and acting out short scenes to bring Shakespeare’s plays to life.
“We use performance to cement the tone of the play,” Layman explained.
The two explained that they use certain elements to relate the plays to teenagers, such as feuds and teen romance in Romeo and Juliet, magic and witchcraft in MacBeth, and the dynamics of a mob mentality in Julius Caesar.
“We have to accommodate what the students have studied in class,” Haywood explained.
Haywood and Layman began lessons with a condensed two-minute performance of the play at hand – never afraid to act silly or look foolish. The brief performance gave students a refresher of the plot, but also showed that there is no room for embarrassment.
“They don’t know what their peers will think,” Layman explained, “So they all have to do something goofy.”
The approach appears to work.
“It was a lot of fun,” said eleventh-grader Anna Caron, whose class performed scenes from MacBeth, “I love that kind of stuff.”
Freshman classes learned about the Globe Theatre and Elizabethan-era drama and performed a scene from Romeo and Juliet.
“It was fun, very entertaining,” said ninth-grader Collette Ritchie, “It helped me understand what was going on [in the play].”
Many students who didn’t enjoy Shakespeare or drama before the lesson, came away from the workshop with a new enthusiasm.
“I enjoyed it very much,” said freshman Alex Williams, “It gives me a chance to really get into it.”
