Scenes from Shakespeare: Fifteen Cuttings for the Classroom [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), Michael Wilson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1993

Shakespeare in easy-to-use segments for high school and college students. Now students are able to sample a variety of his plays and come to a more complete understanding. Scenes only require from 2-7 characters and are 15-25 minutes in length, making them ideal for classroom performance or for contests, auditions and acting workshops. Each scene is preceded by a brief description of the characters and a plot synopsis.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9-12-Fifteen scenes, 15 to 25 minutes in length, are presented as motivational pieces for classroom production. Each one opens with a brief description of the play, setting, and characters (two to seven per scene). Wilson has eliminated the subtext (timing, pacing, action, etc.), preferring to leave this to teachers' discretion. Conspicuously absent are selections from Macbeth, which is mandatory reading in most high school curricula. Included are excerpts from Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Julius Caesar and Othello-all tragedies. The Merchant of Venice is the only offering from the comedies, although even that play is not always classified as such these days. All in all, a meager offering.
Judie Porter, Media Services Center, Portsmouth School Department, RI
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Mike Wilson is a Meriwether Publishing author.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Meriwether Publishing; 1 edition (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916260909
• ISBN-13: 978-0916260903
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, Concise and CLEAN!, October 18, 2003

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This review is from: Scenes from Shakespeare: Fifteen Cuttings for the Classroom (Paperback)

I teach Drama at a Classical Christian school and whereas Shakespeare is encouraged, some of his work is well, um...shall we say, a bit "naughty".
I like this book because Mr.Wilson gives brief scenes that show range of character without making me blush in front of the Headmaster!