Macbeth Workshop

The Classic players hosted a Macbeth workshop today; 24 students were in attendance.  Activities began with a Cast Party, in which each student was given a character from Macbeth with a description of the character.  They then "mingled," introducing themselves as their character.  Imagine, "Macbeth" mingling with his murders, while his victims stand close by.  They then shared all of their character descriptions, one by one with the entire class, thus providing them with context of the deep and sometimes twisted characters of this tragedy.

We then took a Journey through the Play; with key lines from Macbeth spoken and repeated by the class.  Mrs. Joebgen led in a few activities that would encourage understanding of the words and language from Shakespeare in an activity called, Whirling Words.  She then lead them through an exercise introducing key words, themes and passages titled: Talking Tableau.

After a short break, students were able to try their hand at acting out small scenes from Macbeth.  These scenes were chosen for their key characters and importance to the plot.  Students were able to give their own rendition without commentary, then Mrs. Bielicki would offer new direction, encouraging them to recognize Shakespeare's intent and motivation.

After a quick Jump in Reading with Mrs. Joebgen, we finished with a Movie Trailer.  This somewhat chaotic activity offered a fun way to summarize this great tragedy.

Next week we will have one last workshop in which students will read Macbeth as we act out key scenes.  Click here to view the materials used in today's workshop from the Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, Education Department.

Finally, please enjoy this video of the activities from today's workshop.  It is plain to see that we all had a great time studying Shakespeare's Macbeth.  I also believe we achieved our goals of gaining a grasp of Macbeth's themes and characters, an understanding of plot and context, and an appreciation for Shakespeare's rich language and insight.