Twelfth Night 1 - A Twelfth Night Party & the Acting Circle
"an initial approach to the plays can best by achieved through the performance of an immediately comprehensible scene." Michael Tolaydo
Play On ! - Twelfth Night 1 - A Twelfth Night Party and the Acting Circle: I always believe that lessons should begin or end in the actual text - today's lesson ends in the text with the Acting Circle. The same activity that's been used in Macbeth and Beowulf (though there it's more of a text circle than an acting circle). Going back to those activities may be useful if you haven't done this before (and reading through the activity in Shakespeare Set Free from the Folger Library is even more useful). How fortuitous to be doing this play right around the time that it (or at least the title) takes place: Twelfth Night - aka the Twelfth Day of Christmas or the Feast of the Epiphany. There are two major parts to today's lesson - first, the students perform skits which they will make up on the spot (well - they have 5 minutes to plan it out); the next part is the Acting Circle where the students will read a scene from Twelfth Night cold (sight unseen) - first looking at the words - then what is being said - and finally they will get up an act it out with the entire class being the (now) well-informed directors.
Lesson Overview - Play On ! - A Twelfth Night Party and The Acting Circle
Let the Party (Play) Begin
The classroom is decorated festively as much as possible and there is festive Renaissance Dance music playing (I've included the playlist I used below). I also would have the class arranged in a big circle (for the final activity). As the students come in I hand them an "invitation" to the party (you can find these below). Each invitation has 1) the definition of what a "Twelfth Night" is 2) Instructions for putting on a short skit 3) What the premise of their particular short skit is. There are four different skits that take a different number of students - so it's important to color code your printed out invitations and to print out the right number for each respective skit. That way you can have them all in the right order and simply pass them out to the students as they arrive. Skit A can be about 1/3 of your class (9 at my school) - so you would make 9 copies of the invitation with Skit A. Skit B is the same (for numbers). Skit C only require three students (I would usually pass these out to the most extroverted of my students Skit is about a 1/4 of your class. Look at the Invitation Handouts and it should be clear.
What is a "Twelfth Night"
Here is the definition in their invitations, taken directly from Shakespeare Set Free (get this book if you don't already have it). I usually ask one or two students to read the definition aloud.
“Twelfth Night is a “period of holiday abandon in which the normal rules and order of life were suspended or else deliberately inverted, in which serious issues and events mingled perplexingly with revelry and apparent madness.” It was a time for pranks and disguises, playful games and folly. Twelfth Night is the twelfth night after Christmas, the last night of the extended Christmas season, and “…thus it marks the boundary between games and diguisings and the business of the workaday world."
The Skits
Now let's have some fun. The students are already grouped (by the invitations you handed out) - so they can get started quickly. You've been doing this (I hope) for a while with your students so they shouldn't take long to get into the groove. It's such a great way to begin and get the blood flowing after the long two-week Winter Break. I usually allow 2 groups to practice outside (the largest and the smallest groups) and the rest can use the room. Give them 5 minutes. Walk among them - push them on - remind them to be creative, funny, and thoughtful.
Next you perform the four skits in any order you see fit - and see if the rest of the class can guess what is happening (in the case of these particular skits that in itself can be hilarious). The class should be in a big circle so you can have the skits peformed in the middle of the room. When students guess what is happening, don't belabor the point. Don't go into meaning or anything else - just let it settle on their heads and prepare them for the play that is to come.
The Acting Circle
Please see the examples from Beowulf and Macbeth for more detailed instructions on the acting circle - and even better, The Folger's Shakespeare Set Free. The scene to be used here is included below in the handouts.
Have the students limber up their hands - they will be taking a lot of notes in the next few minutes. By the end of the period - their copies of the scene should be covered with their notes, circles, underlining, and stage directions.
TheTwelfth Night(Actors') Circle - please see Shakespeare Set Free - Twelfth Night and Othello - "Up on Your Feet with Shakespeare: The Wong Way and the Right" by Michael Tolaydo (page 41). I will not be producing that handout here with its instructions and urge you to purchase a copy of Shakespeare Set Free - it is indispensable.
1) A first go around - Names and Pronouns (Note - if you are short for time you can kill this go-a-round and skip to #2)
Unlike the Macbeth Acting Circle - because Twelfth Night is a very different play - and a play of Identity, rather than circling unknown words on the first trip around the circle - I ask students to circle names and pronouns. This will get them thinking about who is who - AND make the second trip around (comments, questions) much easier. Tell the students to "circle every word that denotes a NAME or a pronoun of a name (she, her, thou, etc.). Don't worry about what's happening in the scene - let's concentrate on the names & pronouns for now.
How do students do the reading? Announce that every student gets to read UNTIL they get to a piece of terminal punctuation. Ask them what they think terminal punctuation is. You'll get some great answers: It is a period, question mark, exclamation point, colon - but not semi-colon and not a comma. This is a great way to read - every student gets to read, it keeps them on their toes waiting for when "they are up." And it continues what we began in the last lesson - getting the rhythm of Shakespeare's language.
Were not you even now with the Countess Olivia. Ok so now you go around in a circle (start clockwise - the next time you can go counterclockwise). Each student reads until they get to terminal punctuation For instance, the first student will read aloud: "Were not you even now with the Countess Olivia". The next students picks it up (try to get them to go fast - to eliminate pauses between each reader) with "Even now, sir; on a moderate pace I have since arrived but hither."
If you have time - go over the names and pronouns that they circled - but just having them do the circling is probably enough.
2) A Second Trip around the Circle - meaning, comments, and questions
After you finish - or if you skipped step 1 - you are now ready to do another trip around the Acting Circle - this time concentrating on "what is actually happening in the scene". Tell students that you expect them to be continually writing (unless they are the one reading the lines).
They should write down (very quickly - give them time to limber those hands again)
WHO are these people? (this is especially important in this scene - in this play).
comments they have based ONLY on what's happening in the text
what IS happening based on the text
questions about why lines are spoken or what they mean in this scene
See my Acting Circle Notes below for the things that the students usually come up with (and also that I feel are important). Remember - the first go around is vocabulary that the students circle - this trip around the circle (perhaps in a counterclockwise movement - though I usually go around the same way - if for no other reason than the students have established a rhythm and an expectation of those readers that are before and after them).
REMEMBER: Students (and you for that matter) should be writing constantly. Underlining, commenting, questioning. If they are not - stop the circle and have them do so. At the end of the period - you will want to hold up one of your students handouts - and it should be COVERED with circles (they should take notes on the vocabulary after you do that go-around and talk about what they circled) and notes. Remember - all students read until they get to terminal punctuation. I have included an audio of a class doing the Acting Circle below to help you see how it goes.
After the second go around - have the class give themselves a round of applause for doing it so well. And then ask - "What's the first thing you noticed or had a question on?" It should be about Who are these people? - Where are they coming from? What's the deal with the ring? notice the students are doing the questioning (or commenting) you are only facilitating. So go ahead and facilitate - "Why does Malvolio want to give this ring back?" You will get a lot of answers -ALL of them must be based in the text - and the text that can be found on this page. Focus on the text on the page. A
DO NOT ALLOW ANY OUTSIDE KNOWLEDGE - MAKE SURE YOUR COMMENTS AND THE STUDENT COMMENTS ARE GROUNDED ONLY ON WHAT OCCURS IN THIS SCENE....
When you done with the second circle - hold up a student's sheet - and remind them: "This is what you can figure out on your own - without a teacher, without footnotes... - just keep asking yourself questions."
3) Acting Out the Scene & The Prop
Now that the students have an understanding (that they have come to themselves - give yourself some internal applause for doing such a great job facilitating), it is time to act out the scene (where even more understanding will come. Remember - I'm including an audio recording of this class below, so you can see how it goes.
You will need two volunteers - Malvolio and Viola. Get them up quickly - tell them to bring their handouts (with the scene up there). And put them in the middle. I also give them a prop. A oversized ring (made of a paper plate with a hole in it. This prop is SO useful for when you get to the scene where Malvolio gives the ring (or tries to) to Viola. Through this simple prop comes a lot of understanding - which is an incredibly valuable lesson for these students who will be putting on their own Macbeth Scenes soon.
Now - tell the rest of the class that they are the director. The actors will listen to their stage directions. Begin with - where do you want the actors? All standing together? Where? And why?
In the handout with my Acting Circle Notes you can find stage directions as well - you can find it below in the handout section. Remember - let the students direct, not you. Be aware of how much time you have.
After you are done make sure the actors and the directors (the whole class) give themselves a big round of applause. Everytime we've done this, there has not only been a lot of laughter, but there has also been an inkling of recognition of what Viola is confused about. AND - I'm sure you have some recognition of this play, Twelfth Night, being the basis of the popular teen movie - "She's the Man."
Please make sure students get a copy of the bookmark with all of the dates the readings are due.
Twelfth Night Party Invitation
See the description above - but this "invitation" has the definition of what a Twelfth Night is as well as instructions for the skits that the students will be performing. You will be printing out unequal numbers - based on the skit so make sure you read what it says above. These should be organized so that you can pass them out at the door and students will be able to quickly join their groups and get started.
Twelfth Night Act 2, scene 2 lines for the Acting Circle, Handout
This is the blank copy of the script that the students will use for the Acting Circle. The print is big and there is plenty of room for them to take their notes directly on the script. Remember - make sure they don't have any other books, plays, dictionaries out. You need this "blank" slate.
There are lots and lots of notes on this handout. There are the round one circled names and pronouns. There are the comments and questions that can be said and asked after the one reading. Remember - none of these should be based outside of this single page of the play.
There are also stage directions for the final - Acting Part of the circle where two students act out the play - with the rest of the class being the director.
Remote Teaching
Believe it or not - I actually did this remotely and it worked very well. With the handouts that you have here - and the fact that they did this kind of thing before twice (The Beowulf Circle & The Macbeth Circle) it just takes a little preparation.
Twelfth Night Reading Bookmark
On the first side of the bookmark are the due dates (these usually end up changing depending on our progress) along with some general ideas and themes to look for. On the flip side are various characters from the play along with a short description - because this play is based on mixed-up identities - this can be really helpful, especially as a bookmark kept in the script as you read it.

Class Recordings
Audio - a recording of the day's activities from one of my classes....
We begin with students getting invitations as they walk in the door - then they act out skits that are related to the play. Next, we talk about those skits and how they fit in with a "twelfth night" party. We then have an Acting Circle. Reading a scene twice - first for characters, next for meaning. Finally we act out that scene based on what we learned.
Playlist for Background Music
A Playlist that I created for our Twelfth Night Party
Lots of lively music just perfect for setting the scene - and for when the students are practiciing their skits. In addition to the Renaissance Dances (English) there is also a song of the famous "If Music be the Food of Love" quote from the play.
Misc. Pictures & Signs
I have a sign for outside the classroom door that I put up to help with the festive mood (see the playlist up above). I also wanted you to see how I made the HUGE ring for when the students are acting it out.
This is the THIRD volume in the series and it has lessons for Twelfth Night and Othello. Here is the description from Amazon: "This volume of the Shakespeare Set Free series is written by institute faculty and participants, and includes the latest developments in recent scholarship. It bristles with the energy created by teaching and learning Shakespeare from the text and through active performance, and reflects the experience, wisdom, and wit of real classroom teachers in schools and colleges throughout the United States. "
Here is the description from Amazon: The authoritative edition of Twelfth Night from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play, Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play, Scene-by-scene plot summaries, A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases, An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language, An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play, Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books, An annotated guide to further reading, Essay by Catherine Belsey
Macbeth - Folger Edition - Text Only
The Folger Library has an online edition of the play without the annotations - Shakespeare words (what appears on the right hand page in the paperback edition. It also includes in this online edition the very useful synopses that appear before each scene.
Twelfth Night Day 2- Act I - Reading Aloud & Discussion: For posting our discussions, I will follow the same format as I did with Macbeth. There will be those same pages with my notes on them - what I look at when we have a class reading (discussion). There will be - on these web pages - in my lesson description, Some Points Covered in Today's Reading - this will reiterate some of the that are in my play notes (which I hope you can read) in an intelligible, more explicated way. There will also be an audio recording of one of my classes having that day's reading and discussion. Though every year I did not succeed - by the end of the period I want to be done with Act I (essentially covering every Act in a day.
ALTERNATE: Twelfth Night Day 2 - Act 1 - Small Group Reading Aloud & Discussion: As an alternate to doing a whole-class reading, you can do this as a small group. You really want to begin the play with a whole-class reading and discussion. However, there are reasons to do it in small groups too. In my case, the students would be putting on their Macbeth Scenes in just a few weeks and this allows them to work together in groups. There were also times when I couldn't be in class and I didn't want our progress on the play to stop. This lesson is designed to cover Act 1 when the teacher is not present - or even if he is and you want the students to have total control and remove yourself from the reading.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
The Once and Future King or Macbeth Day (students putting on their scenes)
Thoughts on the Lesson
It was hard leaving The Tempest behind and doing this play instead - BUT, this play is much more obviously a comedy. And it works so well with the upcoming (in two weeks or so) unit on Literary Criticism..