SESSION 1:
TWISTED SHAKESPEARE
Adaptating Shakespeare’s texts is almost as old as Shakespeare himself. Some directors have taken a looser approach in their adaptations, transforming the story outlines and characters from Shakespeare’s plays into different settings and historical contexts. In this case, the director must find the delicate balance between familiarity and originality.
Last week we dealt with Claire McCarthy's version of Hamlet in Ophelia (2019) The story is this time retold through Ophelia's eyes (Remember this week's assignment is to retell Hamlet - a synthesized version- from Ophelia's point of view)
But, what would happen if I made Ophelia transform into Hamlet himself?? That would be twisting Shakespeare's to the extreme. This is what happens in today's examples...
1. Watch the following trailers and decide which of Shakespeare's works they are reinterpreting. Then, read the plots below and match them with their adaptations:
The Lion King (2019)
2. Warm bodies (2013)
4. Ran (1985)
5. O (2001)
6. My Own Private Idaho (1991)
7. C................... (2011)
8. R............... (1995)
PLOTS:
a. Lucentio loves Bianca but cannot court her until her shrewish older sister Katherina marries. The eccentric Petruccio marries the reluctant Katherina and uses a number of tactics to render her an obedient wife. Lucentio marries Bianca and, in a contest at the end, Katherina proves to be the most obedient wife.
b. Jealous and crippled, Richard of Gloucester wants to be King of England and uses manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal. He murders his brothers, nephews, and any opposition to become King Richard III. In the end, Henry of Richmond raises an army, kills Richard in battle, and becomes King Henry VII.
c. King Lear divides his kingdom among the two daughters who flatter him and banishes the third one who loves him. His eldest daughters both then reject him at their homes, so Lear goes mad and wanders through a storm. His banished daughter returns with an army, but they lose the battle and Lear, all his daughters and more, die.
d. A young lovesick Romeo Montague falls instantly in love with Juliet Capulet, who is due to marry her father’s choice, the County Paris. With the help of Juliet’s nurse, the women arrange for the couple to marry the next day, but Romeo’s attempt to halt a street fight leads to the death of Juliet’s own cousin, Tybalt, for which Romeo is banished. In a desperate attempt to be reunited with Romeo, Juliet follows the Friar’s plot and fakes her own death.
e. Roman general Coriolanus makes his name defeating an enemy army and defending Rome. The Senate nominates him as consul but he cannot win the people's vote, so he is banished from Rome and allies with his old enemy. He comes to attack Rome, his mother persuades him not to, and his new-found ally kills him for the betrayal.
f. The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. The play ends with a duel, during which the King, Queen, Hamlet's opponent and Hamlet himself are all killed.
g. While his son Price Hal spends time in the taverns, King Henry IV argues with his former ally Hotspur. Angry, Hotspur gathers a rebellion, and Henry and Hal go to battle to stop him. Henry's army wins the battle, while Hal redeems himself from his wild youth and kills Hotspur.
h. Count Claudio falls in love with Hero, the daughter of his host. Hero's cousin Beatrice (a confirmed spinster) and Benedict (an eternal bachelor) are each duped into believing the other is in love with them. Claudio is deceived by a malicious plot and denounces Hero as unchaste before they marry. She faints and is believed dead, but recovers to be proved innocent by a chance discovery. Benedict wins Beatrice’s love defending her cousin’s honour, and to his surprise, Claudio is reunited with Hero, who he believed dead.
i. Iago is furious about being overlooked for promotion and plots to take revenge against his General; Othello, the Moor of Venice. Iago manipulates Othello into believing his wife Desdemona is unfaithful, stirring Othello's jealousy. Othello allows jealousy to consume him, murders Desdemona, and then kills himself.
SESSION 2:
A CREATIVE GROUP PRESENTATION
You are going to work in small groups to re-create a well-known scene from one of your favorite plays or films.
Deadline: ...........
You need to follow these steps:
Tell your partners which is your favorite film and choose a scene. Discuss which of the films mentioned in the group you would choose to rewrite.
Find the script on the Internet. You just need to google script + name of the film
Get familiar with the scene you like since you will have to reinterpret it using creative thinking techniques. The scene should be no longer than three minutes (no more than 200 words)
You can use props, clothes and atrezzo, to make the scene more visually interesting.
Rewrite the scene following the tips in Step 2 above.
Decide who is playing each character and learn your lines by heart. Rehearse several times before recording the scene.
The scenes will be shown in the class and will be voted. Fluency, pronunciation, performance, will be some of the evaluation criteria.
SESSION 3:
WHY ANIMALS DON'T WIN OSCARS
Simple, acting is only done by humans. With few exceptions of course, some famous animals were trained to act and react for the camera...but they were not good enough to win awards. Acting as we know it—the thoughtful and considered portrayal of a character through a variety of situations—is unique to our species alone. There are examples of sociality, language, or parenting among animals, but not acting. Performance of characters is cross-cultural, but it is environmentally and culturally created, not “natural.”
What are the skills needed for acting?
separation of fiction and reality: If you think your character is actually you, you’re not acting
pretend play: pretend is not the same as acting. Pretend does not always have a narrative or particular perspective. A 12-month-old can hold a toy phone up to their ear and say, “Hello.”
task switching: involves the ability to unconsciously shift attention between one task and another. allows a person to rapidly and efficiently adapt to different situations.
attention deployment: emotional regulation
metacognition or task emotions, convince their lover not to leave them. The ability to lie. Acting involves the same metacognitive understanding of truth and fiction as lying.
memory: there's the need to remember lines. Early actors focus entirely on reciting, please DON'T!!, their lines, in order, correctly...But learning the lines and then not having to think about them consciously- knowing them so well they come automatically- is one of the marks of becoming a mature actor.
The good thing is that you need the sum of all this to become a good actor.
There's something called Table Read, an initial read-through of a script conducted often around a table with writers, producers, and other crew members present, something you will have to do when you have already decided what scene and have rewritten it and with the aim to avoid reciting the text.
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