Needed: Shakespeare Plays in One-Act

[Mattis]

Can anyone please tell where I can find one act versions of Shakespeare's plays for my classroom?

Pleeeese, I really need them!!!!

[Harry]

You don't say what age you teach. It might make a difference.

I don't know of any scripts, but I do know that there are shortened versions on videotape for children. Wishbone did a Tempest and there may be others. Also, I have seen books by Bruce Coville that appear to be Shakespeare for children. One of those might be adaptible.

For older students, why not just have them act selected acts or long scenes? They can study the whole play to become familiar with it then act a scene or two from the play to get the feel of performance.

[shaxper]

I believe there's a new study guide out which attempts to consolidate and translate Shakespeare into modern English. It can be found in the Shakespeare section of most book stores along with the individual plays.

Like Harry said, it would help to know what age group you need this for.


Good luck!

[Mattis]

The age is group is 6th through 12th grade. It is for study, but also for performance. I am working with an audience unfamiliar with Shakespeare, and I thought perhaps it would be best to work into it slowly. If you have anymore ideas, please tell me. Thanks for the info so far. This is the only discussion board where anyone has.

[Harry]

I suspect the Coville, Wishbone, and other children's performances might be a bit young for the older members of your group. On the other hand, some of the more sexually explicit stuff, which might go over well with the older members, wouldn't sit well with the younger. 6th through 12th grade is a broad range.

I'd still suggest scenes out of plays. Some of the comedies might work well. Midsummer's Night's Dream is a favorite. The scenes with the "mechanicals" might be extracted as a shortened version. There have been films of this play that might be shown. There's also a wonderful graphic novel of MSD by Neil Gaimon (I think I spelled his name correctly). It can be found in the Sandman series in the book devoted to dreams (Check Borders). Comedy of Errors could work. It's very early Shakespeare, and not his best, but it can be funny. There's a short scene in Two Gentlemen of Verona that can be played by a single actor and a dog.

Another thought might be in the histories. Henry IV, Part 1 and 2, have some of the best comic Shakespeare. Falstaff provides an opportunity for a fat student to star, if he's okay with being fat and teased about it. The Falstaff parts can be extracted as almost a separate play--this was even done in a movie (The Clock Chimes at Midnight by Orson Welles).

And, perhaps, a few scenes from some of the tragedies. Romeo and Juliet is popular.

[shaxper]

I think that once you have their attention, your students will be able to tackle the actual plays, but I'd suggest starting with something to whet their appetites. Perhaps, try showing them Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet (1997?) and Richard Loncrane's Richard III (1995). Both film versions manage to make the plays so exciting and entertaining for modern audiences that the language barrier stops getting in the way.

You might also try getting them to read "The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged" by The Reduced Shakespeare Company. It's a Monty Python-esq parody of Shakespeare's plays that they might appreciate once they become somewhat familiar with at least one of the plays.

Best of luck!