Middle School Theatre

Lessons for week of March 30 through April 3

Objective: Students will read and understand a shortened version of a classic
play, ROMEO AND JULIET
Assessment: Class discussion.
Activity: See below

The rest of the nine weeks, whether we come back to school or stay on remote/online learning, will be
based on the classic play by William Shakespeare, ROMEO AND JULIET.

For the week of March 30 through April 3, you will…

1. See two videos on YouTube explaining the play.
2. Read through a shortened thirty-minute version of the play (the play is about three hours long).
3. Look at the full-length version on Sparknotes, and look at the translations that can help you
better understand.
4. Write down any questions you have about anything in the play. Vocabulary, characters, plot,
meaning…anything. The more questions, the better.
5. Join for a very short Zoom session (on online virtual meeting site) on Thursday, April 2 at
1:00PM. Shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes. You will be presenting the questions in a Chat. I
will walk you through it.

Here are two video summaries of the play:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnFHtx9Lb8g Romeo and Juliet on Cambio
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRrvQ1vZxcg Video SparkNotes: Shakespeare's Romeo and
Juliet summary

You can find the script at the link below…

https://www.marsd.org/cms/lib/NJ01000603/Centricity/Domain/761/Romeo%20and%20Juliet.pdf

When reading the script: Take it slow. The language is an older kind of English (about 400 years old!).
Don’t get frustrated if you don’t get it. Simply write any and ALL questions you might have.

If you want you can go the link. It is for the Sparknotes full text of ROMEO AND JULIET with an
accompanying translation.
https://www.sparknotes.com/nofear/shakespeare/romeojuliet/

Between seeing videos and reading the script, it should only take you about 45 minutes to an
hour. So, you should be ready to talk about it by Thursday’s Zoom meeting.

1
We will have a Zoom session on Thursday, April 2, at 1:00 PM. It’s an online virtual meeting site.
You’ll go on, put in a code, and then your face will pop up. You’ll see me, and then you’ll write your
questions in a chat box. It’s so easy, even old Mr. Garcia could figure it out. The meeting should only be
about 30 minutes.

Here’s what you do to get on zoom…

 On the day of the meeting, at about 12:55 PM…

o Simply copy and paste this web address onto the web address bar…
 https://zoom.us/j/986825386
o Then, you’ll be asked to type in this Meeting ID: 986 825 386
o Then, just wait as it all loads up. You might get on it before me, so if you don’t see me
right away, just wait five minutes.

The shortened version of the play is divided into 25 scenes.

 Prologue: Page 3 (literally, an actor comes out and tells us what is going to happen in the play! Spoiler Alert!)
 Scene 1: pages 3—6 (opening fight scene, and then we meet Romeo)
 Scene 2: page 6
 Scene 3: page 7 (super short but important scene—We meet Juliet)
 Scene 4: pages 7—8
 Scene 5: page 8—10 (the party scene where Romeo and Juliet meet!)
 Scene 6: page 10 (super short scene—Benvolio and Mercutio looking for Romeo after the party)
 Scene 7: pages 10—12 (big scene—the famous balcony scene)
 Scene 8: pages 12—13
 Scene 9: pages 13—14
 Scene 10: page 14 (very short scene)
 Scene 11: pages 14—15 (super-duper short scene—the secret wedding—Yes, they get married!)
 Scene 12: pages 15—17 (big scene—deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio)
 Scene 13: pages 17—18
 Scene 14: pages 18—19
 Scene 15: page 19 (very short)
 Scene 16: pages 19—22
 Scene 17: pages 22—23
 Scene 18: page 24 (very short)
 Scene 19: pages 23—24
 Scene 20: pages 24—25
 Scene 21: pages 25—27