Julius Caesar • 2013 - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Act I
AS A CLASS
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What News?
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Whenever we try to figure out why Shakespeare made a particular choice, we’re engaged in a highly speculative
process—though some hypotheses prove easier to substantiate than others! Scholars have written entire books
on the subject of Shakespeare’s use of “the report"—when we learn something through a character’s report as
opposed to seeing it staged. In 1.2, Casca reports to Brutus and Cassius a scene in which Caesar refused the
crown three times. As a class, discuss why Shakespeare might have decided to have Casca tell us about this
scene rather than letting the audience see Caesar in action. There’s no right answer, so the more ideas, the better!
CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS SL1, R1, R8
IN SMALL GROUPS/PAIRS
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Hidden Directions
In Shakespeare’s time, very few stage directions were written into the script apart from entrances and exits.
Directors and their actors must decide on everything else—like tone, emphasis, pause, facial expression, and
movement. In 1.1 of Julius Caesar, there are many actions implied by the text, like: “Go you down that way towards
the Capitol, this way will I...” Look for other lines in this scene that give the actors clues about their actions
and movements on stage, and write down your own stage directions. Now in small groups perform this scene
for your classmates, incorporating your stage directions and using any necessary props. Compare and contrast
various choices. Did some choices work better than others? CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS
R4, R5, SL1, SL6
Cue Me In
To the teacher: For this exercise, you’ll need to make three different transcriptions of 1.2, lines 215-294 (“You
pull’d me by the cloak...” to “...Farewell both.”). Each copy should include just one character’s lines along with cue
lines—that is, the line or several words preceding each line for that character. . For example, on one copy only
Brutus’ lines and cue lines are transcribed. If you wish, you can simply use a thick-tipped black marker to cover
up the other characters’ lines.
If you’ve seen the movie Shakespeare in Love, you’ve had a glimpse at how in Elizabethan times playwrights might
be finishing a play all the way up to curtain! In a society where pirating plays between rival theater companies was
common, the full script existed in only one or two people’s hands—and was closely held! Therefore (and also because
paper was enormously expensive), actors were not given copies of the entire play, but instead were given
copies of their own characters’ lines, with a line or so from the end of the speech preceding their own, prompting
them when to speak. These were called “cue lines"—and an actor’s turn to speak is still known as his “cue.” Hav-
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