Austin Shakespeare’s Romeo y Julieta
Related Lessons for the Youth Performance
February 4, 2015
LESSON 1 – About Romeo y Julieta
Directions
This lesson follows the Prezi titled Romeo y Julieta. Use the Prezi and the following notes to familiarize students
with the production they will see. http://prezi.com/6wgxhf1df8wu/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
The worksheet (p. 2) will help guide students through the Prezi.
Note to the Teacher
Romeo y Julieta is a bi-lingual re-visioning of Shakespeare’s classical tale. For a re-visioned work, the play is set
in a different setting, but the language is kept mostly the same. Romeo y Julieta is set in modern day and with a
focus on the scenes between Romeo and Juliet. This means that students will not see the full version of the play,
but rather just the scenes in which Romeo and Juliet are the only two characters. The Friar will act as a narrator
to help connect the scenes. Additionally, part of Shakespeare’s text has been translated in the modern Spanish
thus making this re-visioning of Romeo and Juliet bi-lingual.
Romeo y Julieta Prezi-Slide Summary
1. Title slide
2. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
3. Review of the story line of Romeo and Juliet
4. VIDEO: Romeo and Juliet: The really short version (length 3:46)
Description: This video recaps the story line of Romeo and Juliet.
5. Setting of Romeo and Juliet
6. Map showing where Verona, Italy is located
7. Shakespeare’s Influence on Modern English
8. VIDEO: Shakespeare’s Influence on Modern English (length 3:21)
Description: This video discusses many of the words and phrases coined by Shakespeare. It
includes an interactive guessing game about these words and phrase.
9. Austin Shakespeare’s Romeo y Julieta
10. About Austin Shakespeare
11. VIDEO: About Austin Shakespeare (length 1:51)
Description: The Artistic Director and Managing Director of Austin Shakespeare discuss what their
organization does, why they exist, and where they perform.
12. About Romeo y Julieta
13. VIDEO: About the Production (length 2:25)
Description: This video shares what Romeo and Julieta is and how it came to be.
14. About Re-visionings
15. VIDEO: What is a re-visioning? (length 2:24)
Description: This video defines what a re-visioning is and why they are done. It also gives
examples of other re-visionings Austin Shakespeare has done in the past and is preparing for the
future.
16. Example of a re-visioning
In 1996, Baz Luhrmann directed a movie version of Romeo and Juliet that starred Leonardo DiCaprio as
Romeo. This movie used Shakespeare's original dialogue, but was set in modern day Verona.
17. VIDEO: Romeo and Juliet (1996) Trailer. (length 2:14)
Description: This video is a promotional trailer from the 1996 film version of Romeo and Juliet. It
shows how Shakespeare’s play was set in modern times.
18. Interview with Ann Ciccolella
19. VIDEO: Interview with the Director (length 1:44)
Description: Ann Ciccolella, Director of Romeo y Julieta, shares what it is like to be a director, what
it is like to direct a re-visioning, and how re-visionings are different from adaptations.
20. Interview with Julieta
21. VIDEO: Interview with Julieta (length 5:46)
Description: The actress playing Julieta, Alessandra Manon, shares her experiences as an
actress. She also shares a message about audience etiquette.
22. Title slide
2 Austin Shakespeare’s Romeo y Julieta
Related Lessons for the Youth Performance
February 4, 2015
About Romeo y Julieta
Select the answer choice(s) that best answers the question.
1) Check the follow items that occurred in
Romeo and Juliet.
The motif is two fighting families.
Romeo and Julieta have a big wedding.
Romeo kills Juliet’s brother.
Juliet fakes her death.
2) Check the follow words/phrase that were first
used by Shakespeare.
Gossip
Green-eyed monster
Cowboy
Swagger
Bedazzled
7) What do you change in a re-visioning?
The characters
The language completely
The story line
The setting
8) What actor played Romeo in the 1996 film version
of Romeo and Juliet?
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jack Black
Taylor Swift
Leonardo da Vinci
9) At what age did Ann Ciccolella start directing?
3) Austin Shakespeare was first started by ___.
a group of parents
graduates of St. Edward’s University
the Austin City Council
graduates of the University of Texas
51
14
21
15
10) What is an adaptation?
4) What will this production focus on?
The entire story of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet only
The villagers
The President of Verona
Changing just the setting
Changing the format of the story
Giving the characters better shoes
Allowing the audience to participate
11) What was Alessandra Mann’s first role?
5) Who is the Spanish Language Poet who helped
write the script for Romeo y Julieta?
Jose Garcia
Amber Ailey
Celeste Mendoza
Diego Vasquez
6) What kind of Spanish will this production use?
Contemporary Spanish
Classical Spanish
Proper Spanish
Old Spanish
Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
Alice in Alice in Wonderland
Sabrina in Sabrina Fair
Maggie in The Survey
12) What is the challenge of playing Juliet?
The role is boring
Everyone has their own ideas about the her
Juliet’s age
The amount of dancing she does
3 Austin Shakespeare’s Romeo y Julieta
Related Lessons for the Youth Performance
February 4, 2015
LESSON 2 – Rhetorical Analysis
Directions
Below is part of Scene I from Romeo y Julieta. It is the original text written by Shakespeare with some lines
translated into modern Spanish by Celeste Guzman Mendoza, Spanish Language Poet. Complete a rhetorical
analysis on this text using the procedures taught by your teacher.
ROMEO
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
Porque usted mucho más bella es (That thou her maid art far more fair than she)
It is my lady, O, it is my love!
Qué supiera que sí. (O, that she knew she were!)
She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?
Her eye discourses; I will answer it.
I am too bold, a mi no se habla (I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks)
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres till they return.
See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
O, that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek!
JULIET
Ay me!
ROMEO
She speaks:
O, de nuevo, bright angel! for thou art O, (O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art)
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head
As is a winged messenger of heaven.
JULIET
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.
ROMEO
[Aside] Shall I hear more, ¿o debo responder? (Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?)
JULIET
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
Será Romeo, si Romeo no fuera, (So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd)
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.
4 Austin Shakespeare’s Romeo y Julieta
Related Lessons for the Youth Performance
February 4, 2015
LESSON 3 – Sonnets, Quatrains, and Couplets
Directions
Below is a sonnet from Act 1, Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet. It is an exchange between Romeo and Juliet before
their first kiss. A sonnet is comprised of three quatrains and one couplet. Without using any resources, try to
figure what the rhyming scheme is for a sonnet. Once you have this rhyme scheme figured out, try to decide what
quatrains and couplets are. After you have come up with the rhyming schemes for each type of poem, write a
sonnet of your own.
Excerpt from Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene 5
ROMEO [To JULIET]
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
JULIET
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.
ROMEO
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
JULIET
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
ROMEO
O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
JULIET
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.
ROMEO
Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.
5 Austin Shakespeare’s Romeo y Julieta
Related Lessons for the Youth Performance
February 4, 2015
LESSON 4 – Re-visioning Julius Caesar
Re-visioning is the process of taking a play and setting it in a different time period so that the story is more
relatable to the audience. This is commonly done with Shakespeare’s plays. The text of the play remains the
same as well as the characters. It is only the setting and costuming that are changed.
Directions: You are charged with the task of re-visioning Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Begin by watching this
YouTube® video which gives an overview of the plot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgyAPrv30eg). After
watching the video brainstorm several possible settings for this play and then choose the best one. Complete the
following questions to demonstrate why Julius Caesar should be set in the setting your have suggested.
Where should a re-visioning of Julius Caesar take place?
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Why would setting Julius Caesar in this setting make the story more relatable to the audience?
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6 AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE
Discuss acceptable audience behaviors with your students.
t Arrive promptly.
t Take care of bathroom business and drinks of water before taking
your seat.
t Deposit any food, drinks, and chewing gum in trash receptacles
in the lobby
t Enter the seating area quietly and in an orderly manner
t Be considerate of those around you. While waiting for the
performance to begin, talk quietly and keep your hands, arms, and
feet to yourself.
t Do not distract your neighbor’s attention from the stage by
talking or making noise during the performance. (NOTE: With
the exception of talking to one’s neighbor, responses are expected
of audience members. Laughter, tears, and gasps of surprise are
common reactions. Teachers should not instruct their students
to “sit still and be absolutely quiet” during a performance.
Such controlled behavior is unnatural and deprives both the
audience and the actors of the joy of positive interaction during a
production)
t Avoid leaving your seat during a performance unless it is an
emergency situation.
t Dimmed lights and blackouts are part of many performances.
Demonstrate your knowledge of this theatrical convention by
sitting calmly when the lights go out.
t Show respect for the actors by giving them your full attention
during the performance.
t Taking photographs is distracting to the other members of the
res may cause serious accidents to
the performers who may be momentarily blinded.
t Tape recording or video recording a live performance without
written permission from the theatre company is a serious violation
of copyright law.
t Show your appreciation for the work of the actors and technicians
by applauding at the end of the performance and when the actors
take their bows. Whistling and shouting are not polite.
t When the performance is over, wait patiently for your turn to exit.
t If an audience member(s) disrupts a performance, what action
should be taken? By whom? With what consequence?
t How can the audience’s reaction and critical evaluations be
communicated to the performers and technicians?
AFTER ATTENDING A STAGEONE PERFORMANCE
Discuss the play and its production. Talk with your students about what
they liked and didn’t like and why they feel that way. One way to open
this type of discussion is to ask if they would recommend this play to a
friend who hadn’t seen it and why or why not? Encourage students to
think analytically and critically. Do not settle for “The play was great!” or
“I didn’t like it.” Address the reasons for individuals’ varying opinions.
Discussion thrives on thought provoking questions. In leading discussions,
remember that open-ended questions do not have right or wrong answers.
Review the elements of the story and play:
t Conflict – The problem in the play that the characters are trying to
solve
t Dialogue - The words spoken by the characters
t Plot - The story in the play that has a beginning, middle, and end
t Resolution - The act of solving a problem or conflict; how is the
conflict solved?
t Setting - The where and when of the play
t Spectacle - The things that appeal to our sense of sight: costumes,
lights, scenery
t Theme - The idea of the play; what the play means
Discuss the following questions:
Who was your favorite character in the play? Why?
Who was your least favorite character in the play? Why?
What was the plot of the play?
t What was the conflict in the play?
t How did the characters try to solve the conflict? With what result?
Did any of the characters change by the end of the play? What did
they learn? What did they teach others?
What was the main theme of the play?
What was your favorite spectacle element? Why?
Audience members come to a performance with a set of attitudes
How did the designers of the scenery, props, lights, sound,
and expectations, both positive and negativ
costumes, and makeup use their imagination? In what ways did
experience. Discuss the following topics with older students as a means
they ask us to use our imaginations?
toward improving audience etiquette through understanding and
How would the play change if it were presented on television? As a
appreciation.
film?
How does audience behavior differ for television, film, and live
How attentive was the audience? How did they respond to the
performances?
performance?
What expectancies does the audience have for various types of live
t
If
you were going to direct this play, how would you change it?
performance? A play? A choral program? An orchestra concert?
t If you were going to design the sets, prop, lights, sound or
A rock concert? A dance recital? An assembly program? A guest
costumes for the play, how would you change them?
speaker? An awards ceremony?
t
If you were playing one of the characters in this play, would you
What is expected of the ideal audience by performers and
have acted differently? How?
technicians? By teachers and parents? By fellow audience members?
List examples of inappropriate audience behaviors for various
events. What are possible reasons for such behaviors? What are
possible solutions?
7 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
covered in the related lessons for the
Austin Shakespeare Romeo y Julieta Performance
§110.33. English Language Arts and Reading, English III
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing.
(3) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure
and elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the effects of
metrics, rhyme schemes (e.g., end, internal, slant, eye), and other conventions in American poetry.
(4) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Drama. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure
and elements of drama and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to analyze the themes
and characteristics in different periods of modern American drama.
(8) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Culture and History. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about
the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.
Students are expected to analyze how the style, tone, and diction of a text advance the author's purpose and perspective or stance.
(9) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Expository Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about
expository text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(A) summarize a text in a manner that captures the author's viewpoint, its main ideas, and its elements without taking a position or
expressing an opinion;
(B) distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning and analyze the elements of deductively and inductively reasoned texts and
the different ways conclusions are supported;
(C) make and defend subtle inferences and complex conclusions about the ideas in text and their organizational patterns
(10) Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Persuasive Text. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about
persuasive text and provide evidence from text to support their analysis. Students are expected to:
(A) evaluate how the author's purpose and stated or perceived audience affect the tone of persuasive texts; and
(B) analyze historical and contemporary political debates for such logical fallacies as non-sequiturs, circular logic, and hasty
generalizations.
(12) Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in
various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts.
Students are expected to:
(A) evaluate how messages presented in media reflect social and cultural views in ways different from traditional texts;
(B) evaluate the interactions of different techniques (e.g., layout, pictures, typeface in print media, images, text, sound in electronic
journalism) used in multi-layered media;
(14) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and
ideas. Students are responsible for at least two forms of literary writing.
(16) Writing/Persuasive Texts. Students write persuasive texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific
issues. Students are expected to write an argumentative essay (e.g., evaluative essays, proposals) to the appropriate audience that
includes:
(A) a clear thesis or position based on logical reasons supported by precise and relevant evidence, including facts, expert opinions,
quotations, and/or expressions of commonly accepted beliefs;
(B) accurate and honest representation of divergent views (i.e., in the author's own words and not out of context);
(C) an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context;
(D) information on the complete range of relevant perspectives;
(E) demonstrated consideration of the validity and reliability of all primary and secondary sources used; and
(F) language attentively crafted to move a disinterested or opposed audience, using specific rhetorical devices to back up assertions
(18) Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization
and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to correctly & consistently use conventions of punctuation &
capitalization.
(19) Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling. Students spell correctly. Students are expected to spell correctly, including using various
resources to determine and check correct spellings.
(24) Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students will use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others in formal and informal
settings. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:
(A) listen responsively to a speaker by framing inquiries that reflect an understanding of the content and by identifying the positions
taken and the evidence in support of those positions
8