ToTS PROJECT Rewriting Taming of the Shrew

REWRITING TAMING OF THE SHREW FINAL DUE DATE: ________________________________ NAMES OF GROUP MEMBERS: THE TASK: Imagine that you work for a big Hollywood studio and you are going to pitch them your idea for a brand new rendition of William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. It will be your job, over the next few weeks, to update one scene from the play into a more current time period. A good example of this task is the film 10 Things I Hate About You. You are not being asked to write a line-­‐by-­‐line “translation” of the text, but rather to adapt the story and its themes for an audience of the era that you choose. Therefore, your task as a group is to modernize a scene from Taming of the Shrew AND adapt the language to the time period you select. You will “present” your idea to the studio executives (the instructor) for final approval. Each member of the group will be responsible for completing one section of the group portfolio, which will correspond to whatever role he or she assumes within the group. But remember that this is a group endeavor, so you will also be called upon to work cooperatively and collaboratively. Each of you will receive an individual grade AND a group grade, therefore, if one fails the group grade will suffer consequentially. As an alternative to Taming of the Shrew, you may use Oedipus the King by Sophocles for your adaptation. GROUP DELIVERABLES - THE THEATRICAL PORTFOLIO [200 POINTS]: Rewritten scene (script) from the play into a different historical time period (era) Movie (iMovie, Movie Maker, Vegas, or other video editing software) Group presentation of movie concept (to studio executives/producer) INDIVIDUAL DELIVERABLES [100 POINTS EACH]: LINGUIST o Dictionary of Shakespearean words and period slang (idioms, allusions, puns, insults, wordplay) o Soundtrack including five different songs and an explanation to justify each selection ARTISTIC DESIGNER o Drawings/Illustrations/Digital Pictures of both Shakespearean and modern-­‐day characters/scenes as well as a written explanation for each o Movie poster and a written explanation of the design choices DIRECTOR o Think Like a Sociologist Research paper comparing and contrasting the roles of men and women in Shakespeare’s day and the modern-­‐day time period selected by the group HISTORIAN o Research paper comparing and contrasting the historical time period of Shakespeare’s day and the modern-­day time period selected by the group THE BLOGGER o Using Google’s Blogger, create a blog “highlighting” each role (Linguist, Artistic Designer, Director, Historian) as well as the experience “behind the scenes” of making your film. o Also includes a “digital” theatrical portfolio dnchung@pylusd.org gatepathways.blogspot.com 1

STEP ONE: ADAPTATION OF A TAMING OF THE SHREW SCENE (OR OEDIPUS THE KING) Form groups of four (5 or 6 with teacher permission) for the duration of the project. As a group, pick a scene from Taming of the Shrew or Oedipus the King that you will adapt. o Choose from the following, or develop one on your own (with teacher permission) Act 1.1: Kate & Petruchio first meet and exchange choice words Act 2.1: the tutoring of Bianca by Hortensio (as Licio) and Lucentio (as Cambio) Act 3.2: Kate & Petruchio’s wedding day ordeal Act 4.2: Kate & Petruchio’s wedding night Act 5.2: the wedding banquet of Lucentio & Bianca; the bet on the obedient wife Oedipus the King Student Selection STEP TWO: TIME PERIOD/ERA Antebellum (post-­‐Civil War) 1920’s Chicago 1950’s Suburbia 1960’s Counterculture 1980’s Pop Culture ANTEBELLUM: Antebellum summons up images of ease, elegance, and entertainment on a grand scale that disappeared in the postwar years. The way of life in the American South depended on a social structure that collapsed after the war. For some Southerners, the years after the Civil War were colored by nostalgia and bitterness (e.g., Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind) while for others by relief and anticipation. 1920’S CHICAGO: The Mafia was around for a long time before the 1920’s and existed in almost every major city in the United States. But 1920’s Chicago is particularly noteworthy because of what was going on in American policy at the time: Prohibition. The Mafia got involved in huge bootlegging rackets, bringing alcohol to the masses illegally. This was a risky business involving huge sums of money. Whenever such large amounts of money are involved, greed deception, and murder tend to follow. Learn more about the Mafia in your research in order to bring the play into Twentieth Century. 1950’S SUBURBIA: Post World War II America was a place of seeming peace and prosperity as thousands of servicemen returned home to pick up their young families and move to the suburbs, starting “the Baby Boom” generation. Children played with hula hoops. Teenagers shocked their elders by listening to the new “rock and roll” music. Television began to play a large role in defining society as people began to get not only their daily news from the TV, but also their entertainment, from such shows as “I Love Lucy” and “Gunsmoke”. However, there is also a serious side to this decade. The Korean War raged, the first hydrogen bomb was detonated, and the U.S. Supreme Court declared racial segregation to be unconstitutional, setting off a fight for racial equity that would continue for decades to come. The Cold War began, and the threat of Communism led to a veritable witch hunt for Communists in America. 1960’S COUNTERCULTURE: The 1960’s era was one of the most turbulent periods in American history. The decade was full of events that had a major effect on how people viewed the world: President Kennedy’s assassination, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the constant threat of nuclear attack, racial strife, and especially the Vietnam War. Some people saw the war as a waste of American money and lives, and protested against it. This group of people, often called hippies, was unhappy with the state of America. They marked a new stage of American Culture full of new thoughts and ideas, some revolutionary, some unremarkable. With its theme of “sex, drugs, and rock-­‐n-­‐roll”, this “hippie counterculture” upset many members of society, and was the source of much conflict. 1980’S POP CULTURE: The 1980’s were the time to feather your hair, put your leg warmers, and, don’t forget, to grab your Member’s Only jacket. Welcome to the age of MTV and Madonna. Duran Duran, Cyndi Lauper and Rick Springfield were on all the radio stations and vinyl records were still being played. The decade was full of major events: President Ronald Reagan was shot, the Challenger space shuttle explosion, the Iran hostage crisis, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. More women were entering the work force and climbing the corporate ladder. Computers were replacing typewriters in offices and at home. dnchung@pylusd.org gatepathways.blogspot.com 2

STEP THREE: THE ROLESYOUR THEATRICAL PORTFOLIO AND DVD IS A GROUP ENDEAVOR, BUT EACH PERSON WILL CONTRIBUTE A DIFFERENT SECTION, WHICH WILL PERTAIN TO THE ROLE THEY HAVE CHOSEN. JUST AS EVERY PERSON POSSESSES DIFFERENT TALENTS AND INTERESTS, EACH OF THE ROLES REQUIRES THE USE OF DIFFERENT SKILLS. YOUR GROUP SHOULD CAREFULLY READ THE ROLE DESCRIPTIONS LISTED BELOW AND THEN DECIDE TOGETHER WHO IS BEST SUITED FOR EACH. THE PRODUCER How, when, where will your film get done? What materials will be acquired to complete your film? • You are responsible for the final product, the DVD (equipment, filming, editing, and completing the DVD) • You must coordinate and collaborate with your other partners in the SCRIPT, THEATRICAL PORTFOLIO, filming locations, and the scheduling of filming. THE LINGUIST You are in charge of BEING AN EXPERT IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN LANGUAGE used in the scene your group has chosen as well as developing a familiarity with the LANGUAGE OF YOUR CHOSEN TIME PERIOD/ERA in the development of the SCRIPT • During the rewriting of the scene, it will be your duty to find definitions for those often-­‐difficult words. You should also be on the lookout to make sure that your team’s rewrite is not just a simple line-­‐by-­‐line translation of the old text, but rather a modernization of the story. To do this you should identify some of the themes and motifs in your sections and think about how they might translate into the time period your are working with. • In the Theatrical Portfolio, it will be your responsibility to come up with a Dictionary of Terms, listing the difficult words (word play, puns, insults, literary devices) in your scene from Shakespeare or Sophocles and their definitions. Also list in a separate section any slang words you used appropriate to the time period you are working with. 50 WORDS TOTAL: 25 FOR THE SHAKESPEARE/SOPHOCLES SCENE, 25 FROM YOUR TIME PERIOD. • Your role in the presentation of your Theatrical Portfolio will be to explain some of Shakespeare’s language and how it can be translated in your scene, with an emphasis on period slang. • Design a 5-SONG SOUNDTRACK, WITH SONG LYRICS, from the era. Write a ONE-PARAGRAPH REVIEW for each song, explaining why it fits that time period or works well within the scene. THE ARTISTIC DESIGNER You will be in charge of all things ARTISTIC pertaining to the PRODUCTION of your scene. • Think about what props, costumes, or scenery you may need. • Also conduct RESEARCH ON GENDER STEREOTYPES as well as fashion and body types/images of each era • For the Theatrical Portfolio you must provide drawings and description of the costumes, props, and scenery that you would us if money and time were no object. For each time period (Shakespearean and modern-­‐day), you should include at least one drawing/illustration and written description (minimum of 1 paragraph) explaining how each drawing/illustration is based on your research about those eras. THE DIRECTOR You will be in charge of the STAGING of the scene. • Think about how the scene should look in your movie versus on the stage (i.e., “blocking”) • Research the roles of men and women in Shakespeare’s day (use The Goode and the Badde as a resource), as well as the roles of men and women in time period your group has chosen • For the Theatrical Portfolio, you must write an ESSAY DISCUSSING THE ROLES OF MEN AND WOMEN, in both time periods • You will also be in charge or ORGANIZING AND OVERSEEING THE PRESENTATION of your Theatrical Portfolio to the “studio executives”. You must be very convincing! THE HISTORIAN You will be in charge of making sure your scene is HISTORICALLY ACCURATE. • Research both the Elizabethan era and your group’s chosen time period carefully using reference sources in the library and online (do not use Wikipedia). You should be especially familiar with the history of your era. During the rewriting of your scene, it will be your duty to check for ACCURACY OF SETTING, SPEECH, THEMES, etc. • For the Theatrical Portfolio, it will be your responsibility to write a COMPARE AND CONTRAST RESEARCH PAPER EXPLAINING THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SHAKESPEARE’S TIME AND THE TIME PERIOD in which your updated scene takes place. • Your job during the presentation of your Theatrical Portfolio will be to EXPLAIN THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE ORIGINAL PLAY AND YOUR ADAPTATION. THE BLOGGER Make your movie known to the world by creating a “digital” theatrical portfolio • Using Google’s Blogger, create a blog “highlighting” each role (Linguist, Artistic Designer, Director, Historian) as well as the experience “behind the scenes” of making your film. dnchung@pylusd.org gatepathways.blogspot.com 3

THEATRICAL PORTFOLIO CHECKLIST:GROUP DELIVERABLES - THE THEATRICAL PORTFOLIO [200 POINTS]: SCRIPT: Rewritten scene from the play into a different historical time period (era) MOVIE: DVD GROUP PRESENTATION OF MOVIE CONCEPT: Short speech given to the class INDIVIDUAL DELIVERABLES [100 POINTS EACH]: LINGUIST o DICTIONARY of Shakespearean words and period slang (idioms, allusions, puns, insults, wordplay) o SOUNDTRACK including five different songs and an explanation to justify each selection ARTISTIC DESIGNER o CHARACTER SKETCHES: Drawings/Illustrations/Digital Pictures of both Shakespearean and modern-­‐day characters/scenes as well as a written explanation for each o SCENE SKETCHES: o MOVIE POSTER: 8”x11” or 11”x17” Poster and a written explanation of the design choices DIRECTOR o THINK LIKE A SOCIOLOGIST RESEARCH PAPER comparing and contrasting the roles of men and women in Shakespeare’s day and the modern-­‐day time period selected by the group HISTORIAN o THINK LIKE A HISTORIAN RESEARCH PAPER comparing and contrasting the historical time period of Shakespeare’s day and the modern-­‐day time period selected by the group BLOGGER o Create a “digital” theatrical portfolio o Using Google’s Blogger, create a blog “highlighting” each role (Linguist, Artistic Designer, Director, Historian) as well as the experience “behind the scenes” of making your film. GROUP PROJECT PROPOSAL: TAMING OF THE SHREW / OEDIPUS THE KING FILM PROJECT HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD: ACT: SCENE: INDIVIDUAL ROLES: LINGUIST: ARTISTIC DESIGNER: PRODUCER: DIRECTOR: HISTORIAN: BLOGGER/OTHER: PROPOSED TIMELINE: • Research: • Research Papers: • Script: • Filming: • Portfolio (draft/s): • Editing: • Final DVD: • Final Portfolio • Blog dnchung@pylusd.org gatepathways.blogspot.com 4 FINAL DEADLINE: