THE TAMING SHREW - Royal Shakespeare Company

INVESTIGATING THE INDUCTION [CONTINUED]
Montage
Ask students to read aloud the two scenes beginning on page 10 of this pack, the first
from the Induction and the other from the play-within-the-play.
Then ask them to work in groups of four as they create a montage of the two scenes,
making them into one scene where the action moves quickly between the Sly story and
Kate’s encounter with Petruchio. The links, parallels and points of comparison should be
evident.
Explain that this is a film technique where we see a snippet of an event in one context or
setting and then jump to a different event to see what is happening elsewhere at the
same time.
You may want to ask that they incorporate at least three ‘jumps’ in action in their
montage. Explain that they may heavily edit both scenes, using only snippets from each.
If students know the play well, they can create a montage from bits of text throughout the
play. There are many more parallels to be found between the Induction and the play-withinthe
play outside these two scenes. (This approach might make a good revision exercise.)
Ask the students to rehearse their montage scenes and perform them.
Play ‘Freeze Frame’ with one or two of the scenes after they have been performed once.
In ‘Freeze Frame’ any member of the audience is allowed to freeze the action at any
point and address a question to one of the characters involved, for example: ‘Why did
you do/say that just now?’ and ‘What are you thinking right now?’
Ask them to explain their thinking behind the montage scenes they have created.
In particular:
What do Kate and Sly have in common in their characters and their circumstances?
What plot features do the two stories share?
Why would Shakespeare have included the Induction in the play?
What use would they make of the Induction and Sly if they were staging the play?
Kate meets Sly
Either following on from the Montages above or as a stand-alone activity, ask students
to write a short scene of 8 to 10 lines of dialogue in which Kate meets Sly.
Before writing the dialogue they should make these decisions:
Where might Kate run into Sly?
Who would begin the conversation?
How would they get on with one another?
What might the outcome be of their encounter?
Rehearse and present these scenes.
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