Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare's comedy, Twelfth Night, is the focus of our dramatic inquiry class. We began by dramatizing some of the backstory of the main characters, twins: Viola and her brother Sebastian. These two were involved in a terrific shipwreck and both feared the other had been lost. We created a soundscape and recreated a shipwreck. Viola is left all alone and decides to disguise herself as a boy and becomes a servant in Duke Orsino's household. We played a game with the words, "If music be the food of love, play on." We set up family "portraits" to understand the characters and their relationships with one another. We studied a scene from Act 3 Scene 2 and dramatized various interpretations. Malvolio, a servant for Countess Olivia, is trying to keep peace and order in the house. However, Sir Toby, the countess's uncle, and Sir Andrew are causing lots of noise. They get angry and along with the maid, Maria, they decide to play a trick on Malvolio. We will engage in some dialogue and investigate when is it OK or not OK to play a trick on someone. What happens if the trick goes too far? We will continue our investigations in preparation of a school performance by The Ohio State University on March 28th.