WORKBOOK
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
CONTENTS:
BEFORE WATCHING THE PLAY
1. Introducing the Characters
2. Background
3. Plot
a. The Nobles
b. The Mechanicals
c. The Fairies
d. The Magic Spell
4. VOCABULARY
AFTER WATCHING THE PLAY
5. Communicating
6. Creative Writing
7. Project: Design your play
8. The Teapot Prize
Index
0
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
Before the Play
INTRODUCING THE CHARACTERS
The Characters
The Team
The Nobles
Theseus – Duke of Athens
Hyppolita – Theseus´ future wife
Egeus – Hermia´s father.
Hermia – Young Athenian girl, in love
with Lysander.
Lysander – Young Athenian boy. In love
with Hermia.
Demetrius – Young Athenian boy. Wants
to marry Hermia.
Helena – Young Athenian girl. In love
with Demetrius.
Director
Luciana Lagisquet
The Mechanicals
Quince – Athenian carpenter.
Directs a play.
Bottom – Athenian weaver. Acts the part
of Pyramus in the play.
Flute – Athenian tailor. Acts the part of
Thisbe, Lion, Moonshine and Wall
in the play.
Trainer
Daniel Chestak
The Fairies
Puck – Fairy. Oberon´s helper.
Oberon – King of the Fairies.
Titania – Queen of the Fairies.
Moth and Mustardseed - Titania´s
Fairies.
Cast in order of appearance
Lucas Barreiro
Victoria Patrón
Leonardo Noda
Alejandra Artigalás
Emilio Gallardo
Germán Wainberg
Paola Larrama
Leticia Rodríguez
Stage and Costume Design
Ximena Seara
Mayra Serra
Language Advisor
Lindsey Cordery
Graphic Design
Martín Cedes
Production
Leticia Begueríe
Paola Larrama
Alejandra Artigalás
1
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
Before the Play
2
SHAKEPEARE: HIS LIFE AND TIME
Use Google to complete this text.
William Shakespeare was born in 1________ and died in 2 ________.
He was born in the city of Stratford, England. He wrote around
3__________ plays. Some of the most famous ones are 4 _________,
5_________, and 6__________.
In Shakespeare’s time, 7 _______ was the Queen of England.
His plays were performed in a theatre called The 8_______.
Women were not allowed to act in plays, so men played women’s roles.
He wrote “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” around the year 9 _______.
This play is considered a 10_______ because it has a happy ending.
The plays with a sad ending are called 11 _______.
This story is situated in Athens, which is the capital city of 12_______.
Greeks believed there were many gods; some of the most important
ones were 13_________, 14_________ and 15 _________.
16________ was the god of love. Greeks believed that he shot arrows at
people to make them fall in love.
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
Before the Play
3a
PLOT:
Part A: THE NOBLES
The Athenian Duke THESEUS and the Amazon Queen HYPPOLITA’s
wedding day is near, and EGEUS comes to them to complain about his
daughter HERMIA, saying that as she belongs to him she has to marry
the man he has chosen for her: DEMETRIUS. But she is in love with
LYSANDER, another young Athenian. THESEUS explains to HERMIA
what might happen if she refuses to do what her father has decided.
She might either be executed for disobeying him or be obliged to
become a nun forever. LYSANDER then suggests to HERMIA that they
should escape from Athens and get married in another city.
They meet HELENA, a young lady who is in love with DEMETRIUS. She
wishes she were HERMIA to gain Demetrius´ love.
Complete the Love Diagram:
Who loves who? Draw “Love arrows”.
LYSANDER
HERMIA
DEMETRIUS
HELENA
THESEUS
HYPPOLITA
Name:
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“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
Before the Play
3b
PLOT:
Part B: THE MECHANICALS
As the Duke’s wedding is near, some workmen from Athens decided to
prepare a play to perform for him. PETER QUINCE the carpenter, has
called all the men in Athens who are good enough to act on the play he
wants to direct, but only two showed up: BOTTOM the weaver and
FLUTE the tailor. The play they are going to perform is called “A very
sad tragic comedy about the horrible deaths of Pyramus and Thisbe”.
QUINCE wants BOTTOM to represent Pyramus, a young lover, while
FLUTE gets the part of Thisbe, the lady Pyramus is in love with… as
well as the rest of the parts that were supposed to be performed by
other actors who didn’t show up.
Based on the information above, decide which character says
the following lines on the play. Write QUINCE, FLUTE or
BOTTOM.
1. Answer when I call your name, Nick Bottom, the weaver?
2. What’s Pyramus, a lover or a Tyrant?
3. But I am a slow learner, I need time to study two parts.
4. Well gentlemen, here are our scripts.
5. Most radiant Pyramus, you are as white as a lily.
6. Someone can carry a lantern and say he came to represent Moonshine.
7. When you finish your lines go hide behind that bush.
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
Before the Play
3c
PLOT:
Part C: THE FAIRIES
OBERON and TITANIA, the King and Queen of Fairyland, are extremely
angry and don’t speak to each other. OBERON is jealous because
TITANIA has adopted a Little Indian Boy whose mother used to be her
friend but died. OBERON wants the child for himself and asks PUCK to
help him use a magic flower on TITANIA in order to get what he wants.
PUCK is a Fairy that works for OBERON. It is a mischievous creature
that likes playing tricks on people, animals and other fairies. Although
Shakespeare described PUCK as a male character, it is sometimes
represented by women.
Fairies are magic creatures that sometimes even fly, so they
are a challenge to represent on stage or screen. Take a look
these pictures of representations of ‘A Midsummer Night’s
Dream’ and try to guess who they are.
1999. Movie. Dir by Michael Hoffman (USA)
1970. Theatre. Royal Shakespeare Company Dir. By Peter Brook (UK)
2009. Ballet. New York City Ballet (USA)
2010. Opera. Dir. By Benjamin Britten (Australia)
Name:
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“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
Before the Play
3d
PLOT:
Part D: THE MAGIC SPELL
OBERON asks PUCK to squeeze a magic flower on TITANIA’s eyes that
will make her fall in love with an UGLY CREATURE.
Then, after seeing HELENA suffering because DEMETRIUS loved
someone else, he also asks PUCK to put some of that juice on
DEMETRIUS’ eyes, so that he can love her back.
But PUCK makes a mistake and puts the charm on LYSANDER who
used to be truly in love with HERMIA, and now wants to marry
HELENA.
Trying to amend his mistake, PUCK puts some flower juice on
DEMETRIUS eyes too, and makes sure he falls in love with HELENA.
Complete with one of the characters in capital letters above.
Before was in love with…
Demetrius
Lysander
Titania
Oberon
After the Spell is in love with…
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
Before the Play
4a
VOCABULARY:
a. “Call them in the order they appear in the script”
b. “Tell me when my next cue comes.”
c. “We are going to perform at the Duke’s wedding night”
d. “Is he a lover or a tyrant?”
e. “What kind of beard should I wear for the part”
f. “This is the best place to rehearse”
g. “Keep the plot of the story secret”
h. “Learn your lines”
i. “Thisbe, come forward”
Match the underlined words a-i to their definitions 1-9:
1. A cruel person exercising power. __
2. Present a play before an audience. __
3. The written text of a play. __
4. A thing said or done that serves as signal for actors to enter or begin
their speech or performance. __
5. The words of an actor’s line in a play. __
6. To the front. __
7. A character represented in a play. __
8. Practice a play or music part to perform in public. __
9. The main events of a play. __
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
Before the Play
4b
VOCABULARY Lists
1. Put the words in the correct category.
piping
neigh
beak
bark
chirp
nightingale
nuts
ass
mare
donkey
thorns
blackbirds
Animals
Plants
bushes
squirrel
roar
howl
rosebush
lily
Sounds
2. NOW, INCLUDING SOME OF THE WORDS ABOVE, WRITE A SHORT STORY.
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
After the Play
5
COMMUNICATING:
1. Debate:
Imagine your classroom is the Royal Court of Athens. Act out a debate
on the situation involving Hermia, Egeus, Lysander and Demetrius.
Divide the class taking the following roles:
- A Chairman (Mediator)
- Those in favour of Lysander
- Those in favour of Demetrius
- Hermia’s Lawyers
- Egeus’ Lawyers
Take some time to discuss your ideas before the Debate starts.
2. HIP HOP CONTEST
There is a Hip-Hop contest in the woods.
The girls speak on behalf of Titania and the boys speak on behalf of
Oberon. Write your rhymes and sing them to defend your position in
their conflict.
Sing about who the most powerful fairy is and who should keep the
little Indian boy.
Use a rap base from You Tube to help you. Practice with your group
and then sing it to your competitor.
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
After the Play
6
CREATIVE WRITING:
1. Write the script for a different ending for the play.
2. Choose two characters and write a letter from one of them to the
other one.
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
After the Play
7
DESIGN YOUR PLAY:
Project 1- Design scenery.
This play is set in 2 different places: The Woods and Theseus´ Palace.
Choose a set and design the scenery
1. Using recycled materials (Bottles, wires, cans, etc)
2. Using technology. (Projections, machinery, etc)
Project 2 – Design costumes.
a) Choose a character and answer:
- The kind of music he or she would listen to.
- The colour he or she would wear.
- The objects he or she would use.
- The make up he or she would use.
- The jewellery he or she would wear.
- The kind of shoes he or she would wear.
b) Design the costume for this character, draw it and describe it.
Name:
/ Group:
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”
William Shakespeare.-
WORKBOOK
TEAPOT PRIZE
8
YOU CAN WIN THE TEAPOT PRIZE!
Send your creative tasks to [email protected]
The best tasks will get THE TEAPOT PRIZE and they will be published on
the web!
Important: Make sure to mention your school and age.
Categories:
Text:
Send us an attachment with your Writing tasks “A script for a different
ending of the play” or “A letter from one character to another”.
(Individual)
Image:
Scan or take a picture of your Design for Scenery or Costume and send
it to us including the description. (Individual or small groups)
Video:
Record your Hip Hop contest, upload it to youtube and send the link to
us. (Classwork)
Name:
BOOKLET
/ Group:
Extra writing page.