Twelfth Night 4 - Born Great - Act 3 - Creative Summary & Pantomime
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."
Twelfth Night 4 - Act 3 - Creative Summary & Pantomime: For Act 3, we take a hybrid approach to going over the scenes. We begin with a short class reading of Scene 1 up to line 69. From that point onward it gets very interesting (and fun) indeed. The class is divided into groups - most groups will be summarizing a given scene - but while one of them reads the summary aloud, the rest of the group will be giving an over-the-top pantomime performance of that scene. Hilarity, understand, and much creativity ensues. One group, however, will be putting on (acting out with words and everything) the first part of scene 4 - arguably the funniest scene in the play - and perhaps the funniest scene in all of Shakespeare. This is where Malvolio - under the spell of the fake letter - smiles, fawns, and flaunts his yellow garters for the very bewildered Olivia. The students perform the pantomimes (and scene) in the right order - so by the end of the class we have gone over the entire act.
Lesson Overview - Born Great - Twelfth Night - Act 3 - Creative Summary and Pantomime
As always, there is a quiz. Give it quickly - you'll need the rest of the period.
Act 3, scene 1 up to line 69
Do a normal class reading of these lines - up to line 69. Stop for questions and point out the parts that you think are important. A few things to talk about:
The pun that opens the scene (live by the church) - the students like this joke - they've heard variants of it since they were little (dad jokes)
lines 19-21 -The play on her name is but a word. This is kind of cool to go over, especially if you are doing the Literary Criticism Unit next with Deconstructionism
lines 61-70 - The irony of Shakespeare's fools very often being the wisest characters in the play AND Viola is aware of that.
Summary and Pantomime
You will quickly put the students into groups - you will need six groups - But for one of the groups, this time, you will have the class help you with casting the one scene that gets acted out (the first part of Scene 4). Ask the students who they think - and who wants to be Malvolio. By now, they know exactly what kind of person Malvolio is - so their instinct is usually great. Of course, you want that person who gets to be Malvolio to also want to do it - and in the years that I did this - I never had someone turn it down. Usually they are the most enthusiastic for wanting to perform the scene (it is the yellow garter scene). For that Malvolio, above all, you want a student who is a good sport - and naturally funny. The lines will do the next.
Instructions for all Groups (but Four - who will be actually acting out the scene) - these are taken from the student handout found below.
Use the Folger’s summary (at the beginning) as your guide but quickly add any points that you feel they left out – that the audience needs to know. You will need to quickly look through the scene. Add them directly to the Folger’s summary (in the appropriate spot). One person should read your summary while the others ACT it out. The more exaggerated your movements – the better! Put on a mime show for us – with different members of your group playing different parts. Use your body movements to show us what character it is – BE OVER THE TOP. Keep it under 3 minutes – remember – show with your bodies what is happening in the scene. For 4b and 4c Make sure you are only summarizing your part (this will take more work – you will need to go into more detail than the Folger Summary – and make sure you don’t do the other two parts of Scene 4)
Instructions for Group Four (acting it out) taken directly from the student handout
Be loud – briefly plan out your movements – try to add as much of the physical comedy as you can. Remember – Malvolio must come across as being really crazy – though he is just following the instructions on the letter from Maria – Don’t be afraid to go over the top! Keep that insane, ridiculous smile on at all times! Push each other!
The Prop
For Group Four I had a prop that they were instructed to use: Two lengths of Bright Yellow Lace Trim that they could put on each of Malvolio's legs - for the yellow cross-gartered stockings referenced in Maria's letter - and the scene. This adds to the hilarity beyond belief.
Timing
Give the students time (and room) to prepare their respective pantomime (with narration) and their one scene. I usually gave about 10-12 minutes. This will give you enough time to go through all of the scenes - pantomimed and acted. Go amongst your students and really get them to give it their all. Give Group Four their prop (the yellow lace). The pantomimes really have to be over the top in order to effective. Same thing with Group Four - their Malvolio must be willing to make a total fool of himself (and to be laughed at - by characters and audience).
Here is the breakdown for what will happen in your class today:
Group One - Summary & Pantomime Scene 1, lines 70 to the end
Group Two - Summary & pantomime Scene 2
Group Three - Summary & pantomime Scene 3
Group Four - Scene 4 - lines 1 to 69 Act Out the Scene with script (and prop)
Group Five - Summary & Pantomime - Scene 4 lines 70 to 150
Group Six - Summary & Pantomime - Scene 4 lines 151 to the end of the scene
Good luck and have fun (I know we did)
Group Pantomime and Scene Acting Instructions
You will have to print out and cut these in the right numbers in order to give each group their instructions. There are instructions for both the Pantomime/Summarize Groups and for Group Four who will be acting it out. There are also brief directions for the teacher - though the directions above are more complete.
Most Recent Test for the Reading - Act 3
I call these tests (rather than quizzes) because they require more time (and with notetaking - effort) than the usual reading assignment - so I want to reward that effort with more points. It's so important to quiz (see my page on Quizzing) - if the class doesn't read first - a great opportunity is lost - for the students to discover on their own - to question on their own - before it is talked about in the entire class. Remember if you're not going to be here the day the small group reading is done - best to wait to give these tests when you see your students.
TwelfthNightAct320170118-.m4aClass Recordings
Audio - a recording of today's reading and discussion of the play.
We read the first part of scene 1 of Act 3 and then we break into groups for the rest of the Act. The groups read a summary of their scene while the other members of the group pantomime the action. We also choose actors for one scene (scene 4) with Malvolio and that group actually acts out the scene (to the great amusement of the class).
The Folger Script for today's reading.
Please note that the Folger Online Edition of Twelfth Night will have the same corresponding page & line numbers that I reference. Also, the script is available to download from them as a PDF, Microsoft Doc, and with or without line numbers. My students had their own copies (which I strongly recommend) that they could take notes directly in - and which have so many valuable footnotes on the left side of the page. See my handout on Reading Shakespeare in my opening Macbeth Lesson.
Remote Teaching
This is a tough one to do remotely - though I do think we were actually able to do it - but I believe we did Pantomime/Summary for all groups.
This is the kind of lace that is useful to give to Group Four so that Malvolio can be properly attired.
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.
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. "
Twelfth Night 5 - Act 4 - Small Group Reading and Discussion: Again, the students will be reading the play aloud (as we do in class) - and the Group Leader will be asking questions (and not reading lines aloud) when they get to the appropriate line). Remember - it is important that the students do this just like we do as a class at large - only smaller. For very small groups (2-3) you should advise them to combine with other group(s) to try to have a minimum of 5 students in a group. If the group is over 8 - you may want them to split into two (but keep next to each other). There is also a quote and question about connecting their reading to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
One of the most fun classes all year. This activity does at least three things. One - in order to pantomime a scene - you must first understand it. Two - in order to write an expanded summary you must also understand all of the important things that happen in that scene. Three - it shows students through scene 4 with Malvolio and the yellow garters how much fun Shakespeare was - and can be (remember their scenes from Macbeth are coming up in a few weeks).