Month: July 2016

Shakespearean Tragedy Bingo

Posted by

0

Shakespearean Tragedy Bingo CardOk, let’s start with, I didn’t make this… but, it’s pretty darn cool! (credit to Mya Gosling) Shakespearean Tragedy Bingo.  My first thought was, it’s going to be a pretty long game.  But, my second thought was to actually make this into a game.  Have all the different scenes that relate to the squares put in the “Shakespearean Tragedy Bingo” bag.  Pull out the scene and play, review it slightly for a quick learning lesson, and have the kids mark their cards!

If I was a highschool teacher, I would use the Shakespearean Tragedy Bingo as a tool to show kids how there is so much cool stuff to Shakespeare’s plays.  How life today, in some parts, is no different than 400 years ago.

When trying to engage kids with Shakespeare, I find the tragedies are the most engaging!  Have fun with this one teachers!

-Brendan

Shakespearean Tragedy Bingo was originally published on Shakespeare for Kids Books

Crystal Ball for Caesar – Magic 8-ball!

Posted by

0

Soothsayer's magic 8-ball

Soothsayer and Caesar

So, I always have fun and do my best to work the laughs for the audience in my melodramatic Shakespeare for Kids plays.  That’s certainly true with my performance of Julius Caesar for Kids! I used one specific prop to get some laughs. The Magic 8 Ball! (find it here on Amazon) That’s right, the soothsayer came out to warn Caesar about the “Ides of March” and then pulled out the Magic 8-ball to prove it so! The audience loved it, and, more importantly, the kids loved using it! Fun for all!

Enjoy!magic 8-ball

Crystal Ball for Caesar – Magic 8-ball! was originally published on Shakespeare for Kids Books

Simple and Free Caesar Costumes – Toga!

Posted by

0

Caesar togas bed sheets

Et tu, Brute?!

Two of my Shakespeare for Kids books, Julius Caesar and Hamlet, have the need for some very simple costume material: bed sheets for toga robes. All those Roman kids wear togas and Hamlet’s dad is, of course, a ghost. Both are very simple to costume up for the stage, just get some bed sheets. However, even the cheapest bed sheets are about $4-5 a piece… too pricey for my blood. But, there is a GREAT and inexpensive solution, your local hotel. (see below for some fun photos)

All hotels go through bed sheets all the time, a simple cut or stain and they toss them out. This is where we come in. Just ask if they have some old sheets you can have and they will most likely fill a bag’s worth for you! Easy-peasy! (and most importantly, free!)

shakespeare bed sheets

A bag of bed sheets

Now, just poke two eye-holes for the ghost. As for the Romans, simply tie them in a knot on their shoulder, put a gold rope around their waist, presto-chango, done! (be sure they wear shorts and a t-shirt, this is a kid-friendly show you know!)

As for the golden rope, yep, I’ve done the work for you, you can find that here on Amazon! At 18 yards in length, it’s enough for about 8-10 kids.

See you on the stage!

 

the cast in toga bed sheets

Julius Caesar cast

toga bed sheets

Pompey and his minions

Caesar's ghost costume bed sheets

Go away, Caesar’s ghost!

Simple and Free Caesar Costumes – Toga! was originally published on Shakespeare for Kids Books

Long John Silver Wooden Leg

Posted by

0

So, I recently did the play, Treasure Island for Kids, and it was an absolute blast. However, when it came to costumes, those were relatively easy, until… Long John Silver.  How do I show a wooden leg on a kid, on stage? I can’t have him hoping around the entire time, bound to cause tripping issues.  I can’t…

Long John Silver Wooden Leg was originally published on Shakespeare for Kids Books