As a former teacher, Bill knows how to bring Shakespeare to the students. He can deliver lessons and interactive presentations in classroom visitations as well as workshops for teachers who are looking for ways to introduce and teach the best of the Bard.
No More Shakes-FEAR!
10-50 teachers - 2 hours - $200
Provides teachers with tools for confidently introducing Shakespeare to students. The centerpiece is a scansion workshop and sample lesson on Shakespearean language and blank verse; special attention is paid to how character and action are revealed within the rhythm of the poetic line.
Attendees receive resources, reproducible handouts, and a lesson plan.
Previously delivered to Ventura County Reading Association in an abbreviated form, under the title “What’s the Matter with Shakespeare: words, words, words.”
[note: requires space enough for at least 10 attendees to be used as examples for the audience]
They’re Plays, NOT Works: Teaching Shakespeare
20-50 teachers - 6 hours - $600
Provides teachers with tools for confidently introducing Shakespeare to students. The centerpieces of this presentation are:
- the scansion workshop and sample lesson on Shakespearean language and blank verse from “No More Shakes-FEAR”
- a student activity and sample lesson called “Shakespeare in a loop”
- a student activity and sample lesson called “Shakespearean statues come to life”
a student activity and sample lesson called “Cue Me!” - a rhetoric workshop and sample lesson on “chunking” Shakespeare speeches called “Speak the speech I pray you… ALL OF YOU!”
The presentation uses the same framing device as “No More Shakes-FEAR.”
Attendees receive resources, reproducible handouts, and lesson plans.
Attendees should expect to get up, moving, and doing Shakespeare!
[note: requires space enough for participants to form a large circle and move throughout the space]
Chopping Down the Tree, Once Cut at a Time
(or “Family Ties in Shakespeare’s History Tetralogies [abridged]”)
10-50 teachers - 90 minutes - $150
Join Bill for an interactive discussion of the family relationships in Shakespeare’s English history tetralogies. Setting up the context for the beginning of the Bard’s cycle, Richard II, then moving through the “Henriad” (both parts of Henry IV, and Henry V) and the depiction of both the close of the Hundred Years’ War and the War of the Roses (the three parts of Henry VI), and culminating in the rise of the Tudor house in Richard III, this fun and fast-paced 90-minute look is based on attendee interaction.
Determined by participant selections, Bill will present not only the history in the plays, but Shakespeare’s contemporary events that shaped the plays’ composition.
[note: a small table, a few chairs, and a large whiteboard]
Introduction to Blank Verse and the Sonnet
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Introduces students to the sonnet, with attention paid to scansion (focusing on iambic pentameter), structure, and rhyme scheme. Close reading Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun…”) follows and ties together the concepts presented.
[note: requires space enough for at least 10 attendees to be used as examples for the audience]
Shakespeare in Practice: Scansion and Character (Part One)
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
A perfect workshop for a drama class or one about to begin study of a Shakespeare play, this session uses close reading of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet to uncover both the emotion and physicality of the speaker. Focus is paid to scansion and figurative language.
[note: requires space enough for at least 10 attendees to be used as examples for the audience]
[note: this workshop can be combined with Shakespeare in Practice: Scansion and Character (Part Two) for a single 90-minute presentation, or as two 45-minute presentations on separate days]
Shakespeare in Practice: Scansion and Character (Part Two)
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
A perfect workshop for a drama class or one about to begin study of a Shakespeare play, this session uses close readings of the “To be or not to be” soliloquy from Hamlet to uncover both the emotion and physicality of the speaker. Focus is paid to scansion and figurative language.
[note: requires space enough for at least 10 attendees to be used as examples for the audience]
[note: this workshop can be combined with Shakespeare in Practice: Scansion and Character (Part One) for a single 90-minute presentation, or as two 45-minute presentations on separate or back-to-back days]
Shakespeare in Practice: Once More… in a Loop
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Perfect for a drama class, this session uses the Henry V “Once more unto the breach” speech to show students how to approach Shakespearean text, using scansion, research, and simple playing with delivery to uncover the character, personality, and motivation of the speaker.
[note: requires space enough for participants to form a large circle]
Shakespeare in Practice: Living Statues
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Developed for drama classes, this session uses body awareness and movement to allow students to embody emotion, language, and speeches from Shakespeare.
[note: requires space for participants to form a large circle and move about the room]
Shakespeare in Practice: That’s My Cue!
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
A perfect workshop for a drama class or one about to begin study of a Shakespeare play, this session uses the concept of a “player’s cue script” to introduce a Shakespeare scene in a way that demands attention from and adds interaction and activity to the participants. Focus is paid to scansion, context, and vocabulary. Contact Bill for a list of play/scene options.
[note: requires space for up to 5 participants to perform as examples for the audience]
Shakespeare in Practice: Speak the Speech
10-40 students - 90 min - $125
A perfect workshop for a drama class or one about to begin study of a Shakespeare play, this session uses the concept of rhetorical devices to provide students a deeper understanding of a set speech from Shakespeare. Contact Bill for a list of play/scene options.
[notes: requires space for up to 15 participants to perform; can be presented as one 90-minute session or two 45-minute sessions on back-to-back days]
Chopping Down the Tree, Once Cut at a Time
(or “Family Ties in Shakespeare’s History Tetralogies [abridged]”)
10-50 students - 90 minutes - $150
Join Bill for an interactive discussion of the family relationships in Shakespeare’s English history tetralogies. Setting up the context for the beginning of the Bard’s cycle, Richard II, then moving through the “Henriad” (both parts of Henry IV, and Henry V) and the depiction of both the close of the Hundred Years’ War and the War of the Roses (the three parts of Henry VI), and culminating in the rise of the Tudor house in Richard III, this fun and fast-paced 90-minute look is based on attendee interaction.
Determined by participant selections, Bill will present not only the history in the plays, but Shakespeare’s contemporary events that shaped the plays’ composition.
[note: a small table, a few chairs, and a large whiteboard]
Romeo and Juliet: Themes and Lessons
10-50 teachers - 3.5 hours - $300
Provides teachers with extensive information about Romeo and Juliet, including general background, character breakdowns, the role of time in the play, how age is portrayed, and how the play is tied with its comic counterpart, the Pyramus and Thisbe play-within-a-play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Scansion workshop and scene breakdowns help bring the text alive. YouTube research assists in the creation of classroom playlists for comparison purposes. A multimedia “A-Z book” is presented as a possible student project.
Attendees receive resources, reproducible handouts and three lesson plans (scansion for acting clues, math and geometry in Romeo and Juliet, and the use of the sonnet in the play).
[note: requires space enough for at least 10 attendees to be used as examples for the audience]
Romeo and Juliet: Intro, Sources, and Themes
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Provides students with an extensive (and, thus, spoiler-filled) introduction to Romeo and Juliet, including discussions of sources, characters and themes. A breakdown of the provided Character Map follows and ties together the concepts presented.
Romeo and Juliet: Scene Study (speech, scansion, and meaning)
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
After a brief introduction to blank verse, students are guided through a close reading of Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene, with special attention paid to figurative language and how character and action are revealed within the poetic line.
[note: requires space for up to 5 participants to perform]
Romeo and Juliet: Math and Geometry
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Give your students a break from the typical read-through of the play with this presentation that takes a close look at the roles of time and symbolic symmetry in Romeo and Juliet. A breakdown of the provided infographic handout follows and ties together the concepts presented. [note: this presentation is filled with spoilers!]
Romeo and Juliet: Review, Discussion and Q&A
10-60 students - 45 min - $60
A great way to end the unit of study on Romeo and Juliet, this review of the play includes Socratic discussions of the themes of family, time, and justice, with textual evidence cited for the concepts. The session ends with a Q&A and “stump Bill” segment.
Julius Caesar: Themes and Lessons
10-50 teachers - 3.5 hours - $300
Provides teachers with extensive information about Julius Caesar, including general background, historical context, character breakdowns, the concept of stoicism in the play, the role of women, and how closely the play hews to Shakespeare’s source material in Plutarch’s Lives. Scansion workshop and scene breakdowns help bring the text alive. YouTube research assists in the creation of classroom playlists for comparison purposes. A multimedia project focused on rhetoric is presented as a possible student activity.
Attendees receive resources, reproducible handouts and three lesson plans (scansion for acting clues, rhetorical and convincing arguments, and Shakespeare’s flexible use of time in the play).
[note: requires space enough for at least 10 attendees to be used as examples for the audience]
Julius Caesar: Intro, Sources, Themes, and Preview
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Provides students with an extensive (and, thus, spoiler-filled) introduction to Julius Caesar, including discussions of historical context and sources, characters and themes. A breakdown of the provided Character Map handout follows and ties together the concepts presented.
Julius Caesar: Scene Study (speech, scansion, and meaning)
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
After a brief introduction to blank verse, students are guided through a close reading of Antony’s funeral oration in Julius Caesar, with special attention paid to rhetorical devices and how character and action are revealed within the poetic line.
[note: requires space for up to 5 participants to perform]
Julius Caesar: Plutarch’s Lives and Shakespeare’s ‘history’ and fictions
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Give your students a break from the typical read-through of the play with this close look at the differences between the real history, what is found in Shakespeare’s source–Plutarch’s Lives–and the text from Julius Caesar.
Julius Caesar: Plutarch and History Infographic
A breakdown of the provided infographic handout follows and ties together the concepts presented.
[note: this presentation is filled with spoilers!]
Julius Caesar: Review, Discussion and Q&A
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
A great way to end the unit of study on Julius Caesar, this review of the play includes Socratic discussions of the themes of marriage, civil rule, and the supernatural, with textual evidence cited for the concepts. The session ends with a Q&A and “stump Bill” segment.
Macbeth: Themes and Lessons
10-50 teachers - 3.5 hours - $300
Provides teachers with extensive information about Macbeth, including historical and theatrical context, character breakdowns, the concept of parallelism and opposition in the play, a look at the supernatural, and the use of gender roles in the play. Scansion workshop and scene breakdowns help bring the text alive. YouTube research assists in the creation of classroom playlists for comparison purposes. A multimedia project focused on supernatural elements is presented as a possible student activity.
Attendees receive resources, reproducible handouts and three lesson plans (scansion for acting clues, parallelism and opposition, and Shakespeare’s use of the supernatural in the play).
[note: requires space enough for at least 10 attendees to be used as examples for the audience]
Macbeth: Intro, Sources, Themes, and Preview
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Provides students with an extensive (and, thus, spoiler-filled) introduction to Macbeth, including discussions of historical context and sources, characters and themes. A breakdown of the provided Character Map handout follows and ties together the concepts presented.
Macbeth: Scene Study (speech, scansion, and meaning)
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
After a brief introduction to blank verse, students are guided through a close reading of the “Tomorrow and tomorrow…” speech in Macbeth, with special attention paid to scansion and vocabulary, as well as how character and action are revealed within the poetic line.
[note: requires space for up to 5 participants to perform]
Macbeth: Witches, Incantations & Ghosts
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Give your students a break from the typical read-through of the play with this presentation that takes a close look at the supernatural, and how these relate to the Elizabethan beliefs, in Macbeth. A breakdown of the provided infographic handout follows and ties together the concepts presented.
[note: this presentation is filled with spoilers!]
Macbeth: Review, Discussion and Q&A
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
A great way to end the unit of study on Macbeth, this review of the play includes Socratic discussions of the themes of revenge, madness, and self-doubt, with textual evidence cited for the concepts. The session ends with a Q&A and “stump Bill” segment.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Themes and Lessons
10-50 teachers - 3.5 hours - $300
Provides teachers with extensive information about A Midsummer Night’s Dream, including historical and theatrical context, character breakdowns, the concept of theater in the play, a look at love, and the use of class and gender roles in the play. Scansion workshop and scene breakdowns help bring the text alive. YouTube research assists in the creation of classroom playlists for comparison purposes. A theater activity for “Pyramus and Thisbe” is presented as a possible student project.
Attendees receive resources, reproducible handouts and three lesson plans (scansion for acting clues, class and gender roles, and Shakespeare’s subversion of the conventions of comedy in the play).
[note: requires space enough for at least 10 attendees to be used as examples for the audience]
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Intro, Sources, Themes, and Preview
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Provides students with an extensive (and, thus, spoiler-filled) introduction to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, including discussions of historical context and sources, characters and themes. A breakdown of the provided Character Map handout follows and ties together the concepts presented.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Scene Study (speech, scansion, and meaning)
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
After a brief introduction to blank verse, students are guided through a close reading of the “lovers’ fight” scene in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with special attention paid to scansion and rhyme, as well as how character and action are revealed within the poetic line.
[note: requires space for up to 5 participants to perform]
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Men and Women
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Give your students a break from the typical read-through of the play with this presentation that takes a close look at the gender (and class) roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A breakdown of the provided infographic handout follows and ties together the concepts presented.
[note: this presentation is filled with spoilers!]
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Review, Discussion and Q&A
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
A great way to end the unit of study on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this review of the play includes Socratic discussions of the themes of revenge, madness, and self-doubt, with textual evidence cited for the concepts. The session ends with a Q&A and “stump Bill” segment.
Hamlet: Themes and Lessons
10-50 teachers - 3.5 hours - $300
Provides teachers with extensive information about Hamlet, including historical and theatrical context, character breakdowns, the concept of theater in the play, a look at royal succession, and the use of revenge and expectation in the play. Scansion workshop and scene breakdowns help bring the text alive. YouTube research assists in the creation of classroom playlists for comparison purposes. A multimedia activity regarding the events that transpire in Hamlet's absence is presented as a possible student project.
Attendees receive resources, reproducible handouts and three lesson plans (scansion for acting clues, class and gender roles, and Shakespeare’s subversion of the conventions of the revenge drama in the play).
[note: requires space enough for at least 10 attendees to be used as examples for the audience]
Hamlet: Intro, Sources, Themes, and Preview
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Provides students with an extensive (and, thus, spoiler-filled) introduction to Hamlet, including discussions of historical context and sources, characters and themes. A breakdown of the provided Character Map handout follows and ties together the concepts presented.
Hamlet: Scene Study (speech, scansion, and meaning)
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
After a brief introduction to blank verse, students are guided through a close reading of the “To be or not to be…” speech in Hamlet, with special attention paid to scansion and vocabulary, as well as how character and action are revealed within the poetic line.
[note: requires space for up to 5 participants to perform]
Hamlet: Revenge & Ghosts
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
Give your students a break from the typical read-through of the play with this presentation that takes a close look at the concepts of revenge and the supernatural, and how these relate to the Elizabethan beliefs, in Hamlet. A breakdown of the provided infographic handout follows and ties together the concepts presented.
[note: this presentation is filled with spoilers!]
Hamlet: Review, Discussion and Q&A
10-40 students - 45 min - $60
A great way to end the unit of study on Hamlet, this review of the play includes Socratic discussions of the themes of revenge, madness, and self-doubt, with textual evidence cited for the concepts. The session ends with a Q&A and “stump Bill” segment.
Design Your Own Workshop!
Teacher or Class Visitation - tbd - tbd
Don’t see a workshop that meets your needs? Contact Bill and we can build one specially suited to your audience!
session notes
Notes:
- Student / Classroom sessions may contain no less than 10 and no more than 40 students.
- A MINIMUM of 3 (three) classroom sessions must take place during the same school day to schedule a visit; this can be waived if a classroom sessions is scheduled with a teacher “themes and lessons” workshop on the same day.
Audio-Visual Requirements:
- Whiteboard
- Projection screen or blank white wall, and projector (optional) w/speakers and HDMI input
- OR Large-scale video screen with HDMI input and speakers
- Electrical outlet within 9 feet of speaker area
- Firewall-less WIFI (optional, if a strong signal to the Verizon network is available)
Travel, Lodging, Per diem:
- for engagements in Ventura County, there are no travel, lodging or meal charges
- for engagements outside of Ventura County, but within a 100 mile radius (“as the crow flies”; including the cities of Santa Maria, Bakersfield, Lancaster, Corona, and Irvine): there is a car travel mileage charge of $0.56 per mile based on a Google Maps estimate of a roundtrip to destination.
- for engagements outside that 100 mile radius, contact Bill for a price estimate that includes travel, incidentals, and lodging (if necessary)