Adapt a Shakespeare scene. Cast your company. Convey a theme. — A guided performance task where students divvy the parts, memorize their lines, and bring a classic to the stage.
The Assignment. This unit, you analyzed the structure and meaning of the play and discussed how directors make artistic choices across different adaptations. Now it's your turn. Working in a chosen group, adapt a scene to convey a theme you find compelling.
You will:
Scoring. 100 points total — 80 for the video, 20 for self-reflection.
| Criterion | 20 Exceptional | 19–18 Effective | 17–16 Developing | 15–0 Emerging |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analysis | Deep, perceptive understanding of the scene with themes, symbolism, and motivation thoroughly connected. Insightful, textually-supported, logically cohesive. Exceeds the task. | Solid understanding with clear identification of themes, symbolism, and motivation. Logical with textual evidence; some ideas may need more depth. Meets the task. | Basic understanding but overlooks key themes or motivations. Somewhat unclear or disjointed, with gaps and weak textual support. | Limited or superficial understanding. Analysis is weak, unfocused, lacking depth or textual support. Does not meet the task. |
| Criterion | 10 Exceptional | 9–8 Effective | 7–6 Developing | 5–0 Emerging |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lines Delivery | Fully memorized, fluid, confident, expressive. Clear, loud, easily understood. | Mostly memorized, some fluidity. Occasional pauses or minor stumbling; overall clear. | Partially memorized. Uneven, with noticeable stumbling or trouble being heard. | Not memorized or often read. Hesitant, unclear, or too quiet. |
| Language to Convey Meaning | Strong understanding of the lines; pauses, pacing, tone, and vocal variation purposefully enhance meaning. | General understanding; some use of pauses and tone, though not always fully supporting meaning. | Limited understanding. Pauses and tone inconsistent or purposeless. | No clear understanding. Flat, monotone; emotional intent not conveyed. |
| Planned Movement / Gestures | Intentional movement, gestures, and facial expressions that enhance meaning. Fully in character throughout, even when silent. | Generally appropriate movement and expressions; mostly stays in character with occasional breaks. | Some movement and expression, but often unplanned or disconnected. Inconsistent engagement. | Minimal or distracting movement. Breaks character often; limited engagement. |
| Costumes / Props | Costumes reflect characters accurately. Props and visuals enhance the presentation. | Costumes generally reflect characters. Props or visuals add some enhancement. | Costumes used but may not clearly reflect characters. Props limited. | Costumes minimal or absent. Little to no use of props. |
| Effort / Interpretation | Preparation clear. Creative, engaging interpretation that honors the spirit of the original. Fully engages audience. Within 8–10 min. | Preparation evident. Thoughtful interpretation, mostly aligned. Generally engaging. Close to 8–10 min. | Preparation uneven. Interpretation lacks cohesion or strays too far. Inconsistent engagement. Noticeably short or long. | Little preparation. Unclear interpretation, off-track. Little energy. Does not meet the time frame. |
| Production | Lighting, sound, and editing consistently high quality and greatly enhance the video. Camera angles and sound effects used creatively. | Good lighting, sound, and editing. Some variety in angles and sound, though not always consistent. | Uneven lighting, sound, or editing. Limited variety. | Poor lighting, unclear sound, minimal editing. Variety absent. Technical quality hinders understanding. |
Select one scene, or combine two to hit the 8–10 minute mark. Recommendations update based on your group size.
Pick a scene above to see your cast.
Shakespeare's scenes travel. Pick a time and place — or mash two together — to give your adaptation a fresh lens. Click any card to drop its setting and costume ideas into your proposal below.
Fill in the setting, theme, and group decisions below (they auto-flow into the printable sheet). Then print or save as PDF and turn in to your teacher.
| Student | Role(s) | Lines | Est. Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Select a scene to populate. | |||
Read and print the original Shakespearean text for your chosen scene(s). Toggle "Highlight my lines" to see what each student needs to memorize.
Enter your groups. The tool gives each group a different scene (so the whole class covers more of the play) and auto-divvies each group's cast.