Engaging Review/Final Exam

Wow.  First off, I cannot believe the semester is over. This FLEW by! Probably one of the most engaging semesters I've had (no pun intended). This class was a really creative and interesting way to learn about Shakespeare, and I really feel like I have learned a ton!

I would like to refer to my Mid-Term Assessment Post, because my sentiments on how I met the learning outcomes are very similar now as they were then. With some small differences:

The collaborative and social learning outcomes before the midterm were mediocre. I feel like I would comment minimally on my group members' blogs. During class we would definitely have meaningful discussions, but always commenting electronically was sometimes difficult for me.

My group for the final project did a TON of collaboration. Every single person contributed to the project usefully, and consistently. I had a blast with the cast, while still being productive. We had many discussions having to do with what themes of Shakespeare's we wanted to convey, and why. We really dove into texts; I even ended up reading an additional play (Romeo and Juliet) in preparation to write the script.
Six creative brains are far better than one, and I feel like because of that, we ended up with a great show!

Before, I had a hard time getting into the social learning aspect, and reaching out through the internet. None of my comments were commented on... none of the links I posted brought anyone to my blog (that I know of, I guess. But no one commented, so I'm assuming). 

However, I think our final project is very sharable! I'm going to make a complete/edited version of the script, and I think I'm going to try and distribute it. There are several small theater companies and high schools (including my own) in Colorado, who I'm sure would really love such a project. I think our show is a great way to get people interested in Shakespeare, who might not have otherwise been--that's the point right?!

I feel like the "Lovers of Shakespeare" project really embraced the learning outcomes of this class: because of it:

• I gained literacy, no question. literally pouring over scripts, comparing and contrasting his language and portrayals of characters, I learned a lot. 
• I analyzed critically. Picking very specific speeches for very specific reasons. At least in my head I was analyzing every line.
• Engaging creatively was the name of the game. That was pretty much the PURPOSE of the show.
• I hope we shared it in a way that was meaningful. I know at least the class enjoyed it, and if I can get it distributed, as is the current plan, hopefully we can share it on a much broader scale!

So Dr. Burton,

THANK YOU.

for the work you've put into US, so that we could put work into learning Shakespeare.

words words review

I saw the mask club "words words words" on thursday. A student-run, student-directed, black-box show, taking three shakespeare plays, and cutting across several scenes of each...

 It was basically a 30 minute version of our show with some VERY distinct and important differences. 

1) the three shows were Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Much ado about Nothing. 

for obvious reasons that's different. (ours is R+J, Hamlet, and Love's Labour's)


2) their theme was not examining what shakespeare thought of love, but was examining communication.


while I understood their attempt, I did not understand the followthrough. What I got was a series of stories involving a serious lack-of-communication. 


3) their couples were in grey, white and black, which echoed the feeling of their show, I guess.


our color scheme (red, yellow, and blue) is much more fun, and well... colorful. which hopefully sets the tone for our more upbeat production.


4) their show was intended for serious drama, and to evoke intense emotion... i think...


ours is to laugh at ourselves, the ways love can go wrong, and hopefully add enough of a modern twist to shakespeare that people who wouldn't normally think to look at shakespeare, might think again. We want to bring Shakespeare literacy to a level that any person can understand, be entertained, and enjoy the show/shakespeare.


you can find more about our show on our group blog