Plays, Poems and Pratfalls: Will Shakespeare, An Introduction
45 Minutes
1 or 2 Males, 1 or 2 Females
| Cast Size: | |
|---|---|
| Run Time: | |
| Play Type: | Audience Participation, Comedy, Drama, High School, Middle School |
Download Script Sample PDF
Plays Poems And Pratfalls – An Introduction the Shakespeare
WOMAN
Hi, I’m (ACTOR’S NAME).
MAN
And I’m (ACTOR’S NAME)
WOMAN
And we’ve got something special for you
MAN
From the works of William Shakespeare.
WOMAN
Now, most of you have probably heard of Shakespeare — he wrote a lot plays and poems.
MAN
Oh boy did he: thirty-seven plays! And 154 poems.
[WOMAN]
[Has anyone seen one of Shakespeare’s plays?]
[IF THE AUDIENCE ANSWERS “YES”]
[WOMAN]
[What did you see?]
[MAN]
[Oh, I love (PLAY NAMED BY AUDIENCE MEMBER). All those witches and swordfights
(HE “duels”)
and funny-looking costumes [OR: fairies and mistaken identities and funny-looking costumes OR THE APPROPRIATE EQUIVALENT FOR THE NAMED PLAY].
(Giggles)
Would you want to wear a toga? Me neither.
(WOMAN coughs.)
Oh! Sorry.]
IF THE AUDIENCE ANSWERS “NO” OR IF THERE’S NO RESPONSE
[MAN]
[Well, I have. I really loved two of them! One had witches and swordfights
(HE “duels”)
and funny-looking costumes, and the other had fairies and mistaken identities and funny-looking costumes. Would you want to wear a toga? Me neither.
(WOMAN coughs.)
Oh! Sorry.]
WOMAN
Has anybody tried to read anything he wrote?
[MAN]
[What did you read?]
[WOMAN]
[What did you think about it?]
MAN
Kind of strange, huh? All those weird words that don’t make any sense, like
WOMAN
Fair is foul
MAN
And foul is fair
BOTH
Hover through fog and filthy air.
MAN
Yuck!
WOMAN
Well, they were written more than four hundred years ago — Shakespeare lived in England, from 1564 till 1616 — and the language does sound kind of peculiar today, especially the first time you hear it.
MAN
But — the stories the plays tell, and the ideas in them, can be both fun and exciting
WOMAN
And, once you know the story of a play, the language is a lot easier to follow.
MAN
So, this morning we’re going to tell you some of the stories
WOMAN
And poetry
MAN
And introduce you to some of the characters
‘
WOMAN
of William Shakespeare.
MAN
And we thought we’d start off with something absolutely ridiculous.
WOMAN
Kind of like you?
MAN
Duh. Yeah.
WOMAN
Well! This is a story about sprites and fairies
MAN
And strange happenings
WOMAN
From one of Shakespeare’s silliest comedies
MAN
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
WOMAN
Like most plays, it has several stories in it, which are called plots
MAN
And one of them has to do with Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the Fairies.
WOMAN
When the play begins, Oberon and Titania are very upset with each other because each has accused the other of being in love with
WOMAN (contd)
(Gasps)
a mortal.
MAN
Shame, shame on them. —
(Singsongy, to WOMAN)
Titania loves a mortal, Titania loves a mortal
WOMAN
(Sticks her tongue out at him)
Hmph!
MAN
And so
WOMAN
Titania goes off in a huff
MAN
And Oberon decides to play a little trick on her
WOMAN
With the help of Puck, his chief sprite.
MAN
So, imagine: It’s the middle of a warm summer night.
WOMAN
You’re in a great forest
MAN
Filled with the sounds and the smells of animals and birds,
(SOUND up.)
and moonlight…
(LIGHTS change.)
WOMAN
As we bring you Oberon, the Fairy King, meeting with Puck…
MAN (Oberon)
My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememb’rest
Since once I sat upon that great high cliff
And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin’s back
Singing in such a sweet and harmonious voice
That the rude sea grew civil at her song,
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres
To hear the sea-maid’s music.
WOMAN (Puck)
I remember.
MAN (Oberon)
That very time I saw (but thou couldst not)
Flying between the cold moon and the earth
Cupid, all armed. A certain aim he took
And loosed his arrow smartly from his bow
As it should pierce a thousand hearts.
But […]
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before, milk-white, now purple with love’s wound,
And young girls call it love-in-idleness.
Fetch me that flow’r; the one I showed thee once.
The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids poured,
Will make a man or woman madly love
Whatever next live creature it may see.
Fetch me this flow’r, and come back here again
Before the great sea creature can swim a league.
WOMAN (Puck)
I’ll go once around the earth and be back
In forty minutes.
A 45-minute introduction to various works of The Bard. Written to be performed by 2 or 4 actors within a single class period. ideal for ages 8 – 12. Includes excerpts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, As You Like It, and one of the sonnets: number 18. Printable PDF available
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Play Details
Download Script Sample PDF
Plays Poems And Pratfalls – An Introduction the Shakespeare
WOMAN
Hi, I’m (ACTOR’S NAME).
MAN
And I’m (ACTOR’S NAME)
WOMAN
And we’ve got something special for you
MAN
From the works of William Shakespeare.
WOMAN
Now, most of you have probably heard of Shakespeare — he wrote a lot plays and poems.
MAN
Oh boy did he: thirty-seven plays! And 154 poems.
[WOMAN]
[Has anyone seen one of Shakespeare’s plays?]
[IF THE AUDIENCE ANSWERS “YES”]
[WOMAN]
[What did you see?]
[MAN]
[Oh, I love (PLAY NAMED BY AUDIENCE MEMBER). All those witches and swordfights
(HE “duels”)
and funny-looking costumes [OR: fairies and mistaken identities and funny-looking costumes OR THE APPROPRIATE EQUIVALENT FOR THE NAMED PLAY].
(Giggles)
Would you want to wear a toga? Me neither.
(WOMAN coughs.)
Oh! Sorry.]
IF THE AUDIENCE ANSWERS “NO” OR IF THERE’S NO RESPONSE
[MAN]
[Well, I have. I really loved two of them! One had witches and swordfights
(HE “duels”)
and funny-looking costumes, and the other had fairies and mistaken identities and funny-looking costumes. Would you want to wear a toga? Me neither.
(WOMAN coughs.)
Oh! Sorry.]
WOMAN
Has anybody tried to read anything he wrote?
[MAN]
[What did you read?]
[WOMAN]
[What did you think about it?]
MAN
Kind of strange, huh? All those weird words that don’t make any sense, like
WOMAN
Fair is foul
MAN
And foul is fair
BOTH
Hover through fog and filthy air.
MAN
Yuck!
WOMAN
Well, they were written more than four hundred years ago — Shakespeare lived in England, from 1564 till 1616 — and the language does sound kind of peculiar today, especially the first time you hear it.
MAN
But — the stories the plays tell, and the ideas in them, can be both fun and exciting
WOMAN
And, once you know the story of a play, the language is a lot easier to follow.
MAN
So, this morning we’re going to tell you some of the stories
WOMAN
And poetry
MAN
And introduce you to some of the characters
‘
WOMAN
of William Shakespeare.
MAN
And we thought we’d start off with something absolutely ridiculous.
WOMAN
Kind of like you?
MAN
Duh. Yeah.
WOMAN
Well! This is a story about sprites and fairies
MAN
And strange happenings
WOMAN
From one of Shakespeare’s silliest comedies
MAN
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
WOMAN
Like most plays, it has several stories in it, which are called plots
MAN
And one of them has to do with Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the Fairies.
WOMAN
When the play begins, Oberon and Titania are very upset with each other because each has accused the other of being in love with
WOMAN (contd)
(Gasps)
a mortal.
MAN
Shame, shame on them. —
(Singsongy, to WOMAN)
Titania loves a mortal, Titania loves a mortal
WOMAN
(Sticks her tongue out at him)
Hmph!
MAN
And so
WOMAN
Titania goes off in a huff
MAN
And Oberon decides to play a little trick on her
WOMAN
With the help of Puck, his chief sprite.
MAN
So, imagine: It’s the middle of a warm summer night.
WOMAN
You’re in a great forest
MAN
Filled with the sounds and the smells of animals and birds,
(SOUND up.)
and moonlight…
(LIGHTS change.)
WOMAN
As we bring you Oberon, the Fairy King, meeting with Puck…
MAN (Oberon)
My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememb’rest
Since once I sat upon that great high cliff
And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin’s back
Singing in such a sweet and harmonious voice
That the rude sea grew civil at her song,
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres
To hear the sea-maid’s music.
WOMAN (Puck)
I remember.
MAN (Oberon)
That very time I saw (but thou couldst not)
Flying between the cold moon and the earth
Cupid, all armed. A certain aim he took
And loosed his arrow smartly from his bow
As it should pierce a thousand hearts.
But […]
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before, milk-white, now purple with love’s wound,
And young girls call it love-in-idleness.
Fetch me that flow’r; the one I showed thee once.
The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids poured,
Will make a man or woman madly love
Whatever next live creature it may see.
Fetch me this flow’r, and come back here again
Before the great sea creature can swim a league.
WOMAN (Puck)
I’ll go once around the earth and be back
In forty minutes.