Julius Caesar • 2013 - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

62
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Act 3
AS A CLASS
38
39
40
Taking Sides
Imagine that you are reporters at a press conference following Caesar’s funeral. Some of you work for the Republican
newspaper, some of you work for the Caesarian newspaper. Devise questions to ask Antony and Brutus.
How would a Republican-friendly reporter phrase questions to Brutus? To Antony? How might a Caesarian
reporter? Appoint a Brutus and Antony to answer your questions in character. What headlines might the differing
newspapers print the next morning? How might the different sides choose to represent the mob’s reaction to
Caesar’s death? Is it possible for a reporter to be truly objective in telling this story? Was Shakespeare? CON-
SIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS L3, SL3, W3
Objection, Your Honor!
Imagine that the conspirators are going to be tried for Caesar’s murder. Prepare a mock trial for your class. First,
divide up roles. Choose who will play the conspirators, the prosecution and defense lawyers. Select witnesses
for each side, and name a judge. The rest of the class will act as the jury. Before the courtroom drama takes place,
participants should prepare for their roles in the trial. Give each participant a brief description of his character and
role. The description should explain what will happen in the trial and explain the characters’ involvement in the
tragic events. The defense attorney should list the arguments that the Conspirators might use to justify or excuse
their actions. The prosecuting attorney should also have reasons that prove their actions cannot be justified. At
the end of the trial, have the jury vote. Finally, the judge should deliver the appropriate sentence. CONSIDER COM-
MON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS R1, R8, SL3
Convince Me
Try your hand at public speaking. Work as a whole class. Go outside or to a large room and find a place that can
be used as a forum for public speeches. Set up one or two temporary platforms for your speakers. Some will
be speakers, and some will be the audience. Take turns making speeches. Once you have had a few practice
speeches, then have two speeches delivered simultaneously! The audience will decide who they listen to. They
can, of course, move from one to the other, and will probably not listen in silence, but will express their own individual
viewpoints. Select from these topics or make up your own:
✪ Smoking should be completely banned
✪ College entrance should be based on GPA, not standardized tests
✪ Wearing school uniforms restricts individuality
✪ Grades should be abolished and replaced by pass/fail
✪ The driving age should be raised to 18 years old
Julius Caesar • 2013