#1 PRE-SHOW WORKSHOP FOR CYMBELINE

*We recommend assigning a student to be responsible for writing down any words that come up during a lesson on the Word Wall & for retrieving it & putting it up each time you visit.

As students enter the classroom, hand them a word from the warm-up packet.

Introduction: I’m here from LCT to help prepare you for a play we’re all going to see on Wednesday, December 5^th: Cymbeline by William Shakespeare. By the end of today you will be familiar with the story of Cymbeline and bring some of it to life.  Before we learn the story of the play, let’s see if we can get some clues about who and what the play is about. 

To give the students a sense of the world of the play, have them say their word aloud and “orchestrate” by pointing to students, etc. until it is a cacophony of sounds.

Cymbeline is a play written by Shakespeare in 1609 or 1610. Even so, as you might have noticed from the words you just heard, Shakespeare was writing about things we live with today.

1. Tell them you will now tell the story of Cymbeline.
2. Before you start, divide students into 9 groups
3. Hand each group a Tableau Scene card
4. Explain that their task is to listen for their part of the story that’s on the card and to raise their hand as a group when they hear it.
5. Re-tell the story of Cymbeline emphasizing the tableau plot points

(During the story, you may wish to point to the Post-It with character names mentioned in this condensed version: CYMBELINE, QUEEN, IMOGEN, ARVIRAGUS, GUIDERIUS, BELARIUS, POSTHUMUS, PISANIO, IACHIMO, CLOTEN)

Now that you have heard the story of the play, in your groups, you are going to create what is called a tableau, or a frozen picture, depicting the scene on your card. (MODEL a tableau with the Classroom Teacher – she just won the lottery and told me she’s going to split it with me. Note that there is no movement in a tableau—it’s like a photograph)

You will have three minutes to create your tableau.

Monitor & assist as groups create their tableaux:

• The brothers are kidnapped in the middle of the night
• Cymbeline banishes Posthumus to Rome
• Iachimo steals a bracelet from the sleeping Imogen’s wrist
• One of Imogen’s brothers chops off Cloten’s head
• Imogen awakes, sees Cloten’s headless body & thinks it’s her husband Posthumus
• Imogen’s brothers fight in the battle against the Romans
• Iachimo begs forgiveness from all
• Cymbeline is reunited with his sons
• Posthumus is reunited with Imogen.

After three minutes, explain that we will now review the story of Cymbeline using only the highlighted scenes you have created pictures for.

1. Get your groups in order of your scenes (each tableau card has a number 1-9)
2. I will say your scene, ring the bell and then you will get into your tableau. We will go through each one
3. Eliminate the verbal cue and tell them we will only hear the bell in between scenes.

Was it easy/hard/fun/strange to have to create a tableau?

Cymbeline contains many elements of fairytales. Can you name some? (Give them words, have them tell you fairytales: poison, stepmother, betrayal, true love…) 

The Story of Cymbeline with Tableau Scenes Highlighted

Once upon a time there was a King of England named Cymbeline. King Cymbeline had three children: a girl named Imogen and two boys named Arviragus and Guiderius.  When they were just babies, the two brothers were kidnapped in the middle of the night by a disgruntled employee named Belarius who was angry because the king because falsely accused him of treason.  After kidnapping them, Belarius took the boys into the woods to raise them as his own.

Fast forward twenty years.  A war between Britain and Rome is brewing.

King Cymbeline’s first wife has died and he has remarried a woman who has a son from her first marriage named Cloten.  The King and Queen want Cloten to marry the King’s daughter Imogen. But instead of marrying Cloten, Imogen marries her true love; a childhood friend named Posthumus.  When the King finds out that Imogen and Posthumus have married against his wishes, Cymbeline banishes Posthumus to Rome.

In Rome, Posthumus meets a sinister man named Iachimo, who bets Posthumus that Imogen will cheat on him and that he will bring back proof that she cannot be faithful. Posthumus accepts the bet, and Iachimo travels to England to try to seduce Imogen. When she refuses to sleep with him, he tricks her and hides in a trunk in her bed-chamber, and in the middle of the night, Iachimo steals a bracelet from the sleeping Imogen’s wrist.

Iachimo returns to Rome, shows Posthumus the bracelet, and, devastated, Posthumus asks his loyal friend and servant Pisanio to kill Imogen.

Pisanio can’t kill her; he knows she didn’t cheat on Posthumus. To protect her, Pisanio helps Imogen disguises herself as a man to go find Posthumus in Rome.

In her travels dressed as a man, Imogen stumbles across Belarius and two men in the woods (she doesn’t know they are her long lost brothers).  Heart-sick, she takes a potion for sea-sickness given to her by Pisanio and falls asleep.   

Meanwhile, the Queen’s son Cloten, still angry that Imogen rejected him, dresses in Posthumus’ clothes and goes off to kill Posthumus and rape Imogen for revenge. Along the way, he gets into a fight and one of Imogen’s brothers chops off Cloten’s head.

Imogen awakens from her sleep, sees Cloten’s headless body & thinks it’s her husband Posthumus. But war is breaking out. All are brought together on a field between the British and Roman Camps.  Imogen’s brothers fight in the battle against the Romans. Posthumus has a vision, and with the help of a soothsayer, all misunderstandings are cleared up:

Iachimo begs forgiveness from all.  Belarius confesses kidnapping the two brothers.  Cymbeline is reunited with his sons. Posthumus is reunited with Imogen. And they all lived…….ever after.

The End.

#2 PRE-SHOW WORKSHOP FOR CYMBELINE

Call & Response with phrases from today’s scenes. TA says the line and does a simple accompanying gesture, whole class repeats. Repeat two or three times, increasing intensity of verbal & physical gesture.     

‘Tis slander…whose tongue outvenoms…all the worms of Nile

(and if time, another call & response)

I draw the sword myself……..And hit the innocent mansion of my love, my heart

 Today we are going to look at a scene between Imogen & Posthumus’ loyal friend and servant, Pisanio. Iachimo has lied to Posthumus and told him that he seduced his wife Imogen.  Posthumus becomes enraged and sends a letter to Pisanio ordering him to kill Imogen.  In this scene, Pisanio is reading the letter and must tell Imogen what has happened.

TA and Classroom Teacher read the scene together. Clarify any phrases students don’t understand or discuss something they particularly like.

Now that you have all had a chance to understand what is happening in the scene, let’s practice it as a class. Pass out copies of the scene. Half the class will read Pisanio’s lines led by the Classroom Teacher and half the class will read Imogen’s lines, led by the TA.

Now we will divide you into pairs and give you a copy of the scene. Decide who will play Imogen and who will play Pisanio (anyone can play female or male) and each pair will read the scene as it appears in the play.   (Give them a few minutes; TA & Classroom Teacher walk around and monitor)

Are there any brave volunteers who want to read their scene in front of the class?

Share out.

**It is extremely unlikely that you will have any extra time in this class to do this optional improve activity. However, this was an idea that we liked that we could not fit in, so we’ll include it here as a “just in case” plan.

Now we are going to do what actors do and put ourselves in the situation to find out what we might do or say in this situation.  We will ask two brave volunteers to improvise a scene. This means I will give you a situation and who you are. Then you will improvise a little scene using your own words.

Character A: You have been completely faithful to your boyfriend But someone outside your circle of friends lied to him and said that you cheated on him.  Your boyfriend is so angry that he wrote a letter to his best friend asking him to kill you.

Character B:  You know your best friend’s girlfriend has never been unfaithful to him. You have just received a letter from your best friend saying she cheated on him and that if you are a loyal friend you will kill her.

Situation: B has just received the letter and rushed over to see A. He nervously hands her the letter, and she is confused that he looks so nervous.

Everyone returns to seats and passes scenes up.  Reflect: What was it like actually saying the words? Did anything change the more you read it? What about when you saw someone else doing the scene, did you learn anything?  How do you think language and physical movement affect the way these characters are in the scene? What did you learn about Imogen? About Posthumus? About Pisanio?

CYMBELINE

ACT III, Scene 4

IMOGEN

                                                What’s the matter?

Why tender’st thou that paper to me, with

A look untender?

PISANIO

                                                Please you read;

IMOGEN

[Reads]  Thy mistress, Pisanio, hath played the strumpet in my bed: the testimonies whereof lie bleeding in me.  If thy faith be not tainted with the breach of hers: let thine own hands take away her life.

PISANIO

What shall I need to draw my sword?  The paper

Hath cut her throat already.  No, ‘tis slander,

Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue

Outvenoms all the worms of Nile.

IMOGEN

Do thou thy master’s bidding. Look,

I draw the sword myself, take it, and hit

The innocent mansion of my love, my heart:

Fear not, ‘tis empty of all things, but grief.

#3 PRESHOW WORKSHOP FOR CYMBELINE

1        A sleeping Posthumus is surrounded by his dead father, mother, and two wounded, warrior brothers. 

2        The Ghosts appeal to Jupiter for justice for Posthumus.

3        Jupiter descends in thunder and lightning, sitting on an eagle:  he throws a thunderbolt. 

4        The Ghosts fall on their knees.

      5    Jupiter assures the Ghosts that all will be made well.

Explain to the students that with your guidance they are going to theatricalize Posthumus’ dream in Act V, Scene 4.  Quickly review what happens in the dream by asking for

volunteers to read the scene points on the board.  Explain that before we theatricalize the scene, we will do a quick warm up to get everyone to start thinking collaboratively and creatively.

Using string, each group must create the following images:  circle, square, tree, arrow, lightening bolt, bird.

This part really calls upon the TA to serve as a guide/director.   Ask the students what happens at the beginning of the scene.  Who are the characters involved?  What might these characters look like?  Walk like?  Where should we place Posthumus on our classroom stage?  What materials can we use to enhance our scene?  Ask for student volunteers. 

What happens next?  How can we create the sounds of thunder and lightning?  Where are we?  Add more students into the scene.  What does our stage picture look like?  How can we create an eagle for Jupiter to come in on?  Prompt the students to experiment with the fabric and noise makers.  Review the order of events. 

If time permits, add lines:

Jupiter             How dare you Ghosts accuse the thunderer, be content,

                                    Your low-laid son will uplift: he shall be lord of lady Imogen.

All                    Thanks, Jupiter!

This is intended to be a whole class activity, however, if need be, break the students into three groups- family circling Posthumus, Jupiter descending on the eagle, sound-scape of thunder and lightning.  Give the groups 5 minutes to work on their own, creatively using the props, fabric, etc. and then reconvene to put the scene together.

If the class is not able to handle more than one theatrical event (something that will be evident by this third workshop), use only Jupiter descending on an eagle and throwing a thunderbolt.

What did the students learn from staging this scene?  If they could direct it in a Broadway space with money and technology at their disposal, how might they stage the scene?  What lighting might be used?  Special effects?  Costumes?

#4 PRE-SHOW WORKSHOP FOR CYMBELINE

Introduce yourself & refer to the agenda & matinee post-its.

Point out large Post-Its posted around the room with the following categories:

• Favorite scene              • Lighting
• Costumes                     • Set
• “I wonder …?”

Hand out colored Post-Its to students and ask them to write their thoughts in the various categories down on the large Post-Its. Process the results, perhaps by getting a student for each category to read what’s on the Post-Its.

Put up a giant Post-It with Jupiter’s line:

“Whom best I love, I cross, to make my gift

The more delayed, delighted.”

Work through this line as a class – first as call and response, then chorally. Discuss what it means – students paraphrase in own words.

How does this quote figure into the relationships in the play: Imogen & Posthumus; Cymbeline & his sons; Cymbeline & Imogen; Belarius & Cymbeline; Posthumus & Pisanio?

Students can improvise their own 2-minute scenes based on this theme. They can improvise the scene as characters from the play or imagine their own scenario inspired by the quote.

OR

Refer back to the Post-It list of favorite scenes. Get student volunteers to improvise one of the scenes in their own words in front of the class. OR ask the students to pair off and improvise the scene of their choice. Ask if they want to share their improvs with the class.

What resonance do you think the story of Cymbeline has for today? What do you think is resonant or alienating about Shakespeare’s language? What is effective or not effective about staging this in the theater as opposed to on film?

CYMBELINE

ACT III, Scene 4

IMOGEN

                             What’s the matter?

Why tender’st thou that paper to me, with

A look untender?

PISANIO

                             Please you read;

IMOGEN

[Reading the letter]  Thy mistress, Pisanio, hath played the strumpet in my bed.  If thy faith be not tainted with the breach of hers: let thine own hands take away her life.

PISANIO

What shall I need to draw my sword?  The paper

Hath cut her throat already.  No, ‘tis slander,

Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue

Outvenoms all the worms of Nile.

IMOGEN

Do thou thy master’s bidding. Look,

I draw the sword myself, take it, and hit

The innocent mansion of my love, my heart:

Fear not, ‘tis empty of all things, but grief.

Suggested Changes/Additions:

Lesson #1:

·        Warm-Up:  Be creative with the words—the idea is to briefly start to give them clues & get them intrigued by what characters and events are in the play, so perhaps after having them each say their word aloud (or to someone?) etc.,

·        Storytelling: Without embellishing too much and taking up too much time (the objective of the lesson is to get to them bringing it to life)—think about a few moments in the storytelling to engage them and make them active. (i.e., ask them to predict, have them repeat, have one student say a line a character might say or how he might stand).  The script can be used as a guide—just be sure if you change it to keep the bolded lines that correspond to the tableau scenes on the card; they will be listening for that particular bit.

Lesson #2:

·        Warm-Up: Be clear with the instructions for the Call & Response warm-up; it’s a simple exercise but without knowing when to repeat, etc., it can get confusing! (I’m writing this because I did NOT model it as well as I could have at the meeting!)

·        Transition into Reading the Scene the first time with teacher: Before reading the scene with the teacher, since we do not think we have time for the Improv section, you could plant the connection between the scene and their own lives with a simple sentence…”We’re going to read a scene now…in this scene, it would be like your boyfriend wrote his best friend a letter asking him to kill you because he heard you cheated on him.” The “as if” might be enough to get them interested in listening to the scene.

·        Typo in the Imogen/Pisanio scene: Please remember that there is a TYPO in the photocopied scenes you have in your folders (a set of 35)---it is in Imogen’s last speech “Do thou thy master’s bidding” (the typo says “Do thou they master’s bidding”). Please either take a few minutes to edit the copies yourself or have the students do it when you hand it out. (We couldn’t bear to kill more trees for one “e”!)

Lesson #3:

·        Warm-up: The string warm-up, if guided carefully, may prove to be helpful to those students who are too shy to use their bodies; it creates a disconnect. You can use your imaginations when having them create shapes & suggest things that could later be used (bird, lightning, ghost, etc.)

·        Soundscape: There is thunder and lightning which lends itself well to a soundscape (“everyone close your eyes and let’s make some sounds that might sound like thunder or lightning”). You might want to look for other opportunities to have students create sound.

·        Jupiter’s Line: you may wish to write Jupiter’s line on a 3x5 card for that actor/student to hold to make it smoother

Lesson #4:

·        You may wish to give students an example of each category for the post-it brainstorm

·        The quotation can be very intriguing once the students analyze its meaning; encourage them to examine to what extent that quote is true in their experience.