Julius Caesar • 2013 - Chicago Shakespeare Theater

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
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Basic Text Work
Some (including director Jonathan Munby) look at the fight between Cassius and Brutus as Julius Caesar’s
most deeply personal and raw moment. The argument seems to start in the realm of politics, but it leads to a very
personal place about the friendship between these two men. In pairs, prepare to read aloud 4.3, lines 63-108
(“Do not presume too much upon my love” to “Be angry as you will, it shall have scope”). First, go through and
score the text as actors do: mark any repetitions (words or phrases you see repeated) and any antitheses (words
or phrases with opposite meanings to one another). Also, note where your characters share lines: between both
of your characters, you share the beats of a ten- (sometimes eleven-) syllable line. Shared lines tell actors not
to pause because, between the two of them, they are really speaking one line. They’re easy to see on the page:
the second line is deeply indented, starting in the middle of the page! Shakespeare uses shared lines when his
characters are feeling intensely and speaking very fast—maybe because they’re angry, or because they’re in love,
or because they’re scared. Having “scored” your text, you’re ready to take a first stab at reading it aloud with your
partner. When you get to repetitions and antitheses, try emphasizing the words. When you see a shared line,
take up your cue FAST. All of these are clues the actors use to help them begin to break apart the text. CONSIDER
COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS R1, R5
Ghostly Vision
In pairs, pretend you are co-directing Julius Caesar. Discuss how you will present Caesar’s ghost in 4.3. How
will the ghost look? How will the audience understand that this is a ghost? What mechanical or magical devices
do we have at our disposal in the twenty-first century to build on your creativity? What is the tone and mood of
the scene? What is the lighting and music like? Sketch out your plans to present to the class as if they were your
cast. ROUGH pencil drawings are perfectly acceptable, and not at all unusual at designer’s meetings at Chicago
Shakespeare Theater! Watch for this scene when you attend the production. After you have seen it, discuss how
Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s director, Jonathan Munby, approached this scene. CONSIDER COMMON CORE
ANCHOR STANDARDS R1, SL5, W9
A “Duel-ogue” Attack
Shakespeare used duologues—the conversations between two people—to heighten a play’s intensity and to
reveal information about each character and about the complexity of the relationship between them. Often the
two are left alone together on stage. The duologue can have the feel of a duel between two combatants whose
“swords” are their words. Working in pairs, take the duologue between Brutus and Cassius in 4.3.1-123 (to
“..and leave you so.”). Explore the movement of the scene by standing up and each taking a part. As you read your
lines, try to get a feel for the way the duologue positions you for attack and retreat. The lines, like two swords, “cut
and thrust.” At what point specifically is the conflict at its highest tension? At what line is the tension released?
CONSIDER COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS R3, R5
Julius Caesar • 2013