Friday 9 December 2011

Creative critical response:
Choose a scene from Hamlet that you could adapt for television or film. Rewrite the script including stage-directions then write a commentary on how and why you adapted the scene in the way you did. You should include reference to critical views about the play and how they shaped your decisions.
Approximate word count: 600 – 800 words

Today you should work on the following:

Editing Your Key Scene for TV/Film

1.     Complete, is you haven’t, the edited version of your scene from Hamlet with Director’s Notes to accompany the scene. You should also have included new stage directions about voice, sets, props and actions.

2.    Include a longer stage direction at the start that sets the scene for you new interpretation of the scene. It should describe the set and location and anything else relevant for the actors.

Relating your edited scene to context (AO4)

1.     Complete any research on your chosen time/place for your setting of the paly.

2.    Go back to the website Shakespeare Inc. and look at some of the sites highlighted in the sidebar on Shakespeare.

3.    Make notes on Shakespeare’s context and time, especially in relation to:

                                          i.    Politics of Shakespeare’s time

                                        ii.    The religious controversies of the time

                                       iii.    Social aspects of Shakespeare’s time e.g. family life

Drafting your coursework

You are writing as the director of your new version of Hamlet both for the acting company and your own benefit. You must explain carefully what you will do with this scene and why, referring closely to spoken lines and their interpretation by actors.

In addition, you must refer to how you think your production will appeal to modern audiences compared to the way in which an Elizabethan/Jacobean audience may have understood or received your scene.

Begin a draft which should keep to 600-800 words. Prepare this for next week; you should email this to me at: radagast@live.co.uk or the email on the website. I will send you a reply with comments.