I ask kids all the time, “Have you ever seen The Lion King? Then you know the story of Hamlet!” Well, on the most part, yes, but not exactly… I came across this great infographic that showcases the differences and similarities and well … slight differences… like, oh, I don’t know, Elton John singing? Anyway, I thought you all would enjoy and possibly use this Hamlion graphic!!!
Continue reading
Two of my Shakespeare for Kids books, Julius Caesar and Hamlet, have the need for some very simple costume material: bed sheets for toga robes. All those Roman kids wear togas and Hamlet’s dad is, of course, a ghost. Both are very simple to costume up for the stage, just get some bed sheets. However, even the cheapest bed sheets are about $4-5 a piece… too pricey for my blood. But, there is a GREAT and inexpensive solution, your local hotel. (see below for some fun photos)
All hotels go through bed sheets all … Continue reading
In my most recent direction of my Hamlet for Kids there came the moment when the young actor comes on stage and says the line, “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him. When I was a kid, he was the jester, the funniest guy I knew.” And the play moves on… but, this one kid, as he was going through rehearsing in many different ways, stumbled on saying it as “Yo, Rick” and his first improv was around, “Who is this Rick guy?” But, he settled for going with the break dancer avenue, as he put it, “the best breakdancer I ever knew…” Well, see … Continue reading
I recently coached a parent who was running an after-school program, and she asked me how I do the “death auditions” for my plays. It made me realize that I haven’t done a simple quick layout of my first day for a while, so, here it is:
Continue reading
So, I’ve done dozens of afterschool / homeschool Shakespeare for Kids programs. As well as I’ve seen my plays performed all around the world. And one thing is VERY clear – these kids are creative! I want to pass on one piece of information that’s critical to anyone directing one of my plays: Let the kids harness their creativity, it will AMAZE you! Earlier today, at a rehearsal, I had one of my kids playing Hamlet say his line a about Yorick as “Yo-rick, who was this guy, a rapper?” It was impromptu, but hilarious!
I’m running a Romeo … Continue reading
I just finished a five-week afterschool program doing Hamlet for Kids the melodramatic version. So, I thought I would list a few pointers to make this particular class more fun and melodramatic for you and your kids.
First of all, the funniest part … Continue reading
So I ran across this great article and it really got me thinking about science during Shakespeare’s time.
How much science was around (well, it was all around, but how much was discovered by the 1600s?) and how was Shakespeare influenced … Continue reading
I recently came across a great video through Twitter that is pretty impressive. Jim Meskimen is a professional impersonator and he spun together a great 2 minute video that’s both engaging and original. He was able to perform the famous, To be or not to be monologue from Hamlet with about 25 different famous celebrity impersonations. You can follow Jim on Twitter at: @jimrossmeskimen
You can see the video here:
And Jim has another Shakespeare from celebrity impersonations below. This one has been seen almost 1 million times! Not too shabby!
Here is a clever idea that may engage your students in a short lesson plan, as well as open their eyes and minds to what Shakespeare has brought to the table. Create a top ten Shakespeare list. Here are some top ten Shakespeare ideas you can work with:
Let me know if you think of more, so I … Continue reading
