ENG3U1
Unit Five: Macbeth
Scenes Presentations
Creative Interpretation: Scenes from Macbeth
Introduction
Combine your creative writing skills, dramatic abilities, and close reading expertise to cover the last two acts of
Shakespeare’s Macbeth in style. For this activity, you will be interpreting an assigned section of the play into a new setting
and voice while also providing plot summary and quotation analysis of your section. It’s one part creative writing, one part
dramatic recreation, and one part academic presentation.
You will be assigned a setting and a section of the play. Your job will be to rewrite the play, condensing your section to less
than 10 minutes of presentation time, and placing it in your new setting and voice. This is going to mean cutting out
characters and lines – it is your interpretation, so you decide what is important! In addition to writing new dialogue, you
should also write lines for a narrator who will introduce and conclude the scene. Finally, you must maintain two quotations
from the Shakespearean text in your script – after the actors read these lines, the scene should freeze, and the narrator
should explain the context and significance of each quotation.
Brass Tacks
The following are the requirements for this presentation:
 Groups of a minimum of four (3 actors and 1 narrator) and a maximum of six (4 actors and 2 narrators)
 Presentations are 7-10 minutes in length
 Must be written in new setting and voice
 Must analyze two Shakespearean text quotations
 Must provide introduction and conclusion to scene to summarize plot
 Each group member must hand in a completed graphic organizer
Scenes and Styles
The following are the scene combinations and styles that will be assigned to each group:
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Scenes
Act 4, Scene 1 and Act 4, Scene 2
Act 4, Scene 3 and Act 5, Scene 1
Act 5, Scene 2 and Act 5, Scene 3
Act 5, Scene 4 and Act 5, Scene 5
Act 5, Scene 6 to Act 5, Scene 9
Act 5, Scene 10 and Act 5, Scene 11
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Styles
The 1950s in the Bronx, New York (Westside Story)
The 1960s in San Francisco, California (Hair)
The 1970s in Paris, France (Midnight in Paris)
The 1980s in Harlem, New York (Do the Right Thing)
The 1990s in Los Angeles, California (90210)
The 2000s in Toronto, Canada (Degrassi)
Evaluation
You will be evaluated on this assignment based on the following criteria:
Scene Writing: Remains true to assigned style in terms of plot and voice; includes all important dialogue from
original text; seamlessly integrates original text lines and analysis into scene; creative, original, entertaining
Scene Presentation: Actors have lines memorized and make no mistakes in presenting them; narrator and
actors are prepared for freeze moments and quotation analysis; performances are convincing and entertaining
Quotation Analysis: Quotations with the highest level of thematic applicability are chosen; context of
quotations provides clear and easy understanding; significance shows application to major themes
Graphic Organizer: Plot synopsis shows understanding of major events of scenes; quotation analysis shows
application of major themes to text; close reading skills are developed and interpretation of text is sophisticated
TOTAL: Not an exact average of the above categories.
ENG3U1
Unit Five: Macbeth
Scenes Presentations
Scene Presentations: Graphic Organizer
The following is to act as a template for your graphic organizer. You should use this sheet as a rough copy, and should type
up and print out your information in an easy to understand graphic organizer that resembles what is below, and includes all
of the required information.
Synopsis: A paragraph long description of the major events that place during your scenes
Quotation Analysis: Context and significance of three major quotations (only one may be from the group scene)
Quotation
Context
Significance
Development of Theme and Character: A paragraph long description of how your scenes help develop one of the major
themes and one of the major characters.
Theme:
Character: