Lesson notes

Shakespeare notes

Beginning entrance B

5 specific movements on loop
To wobble
To be sick
To hold onto the side
To pray
To pick up and move
To clean myself up

Falling left, falling right.

"Have mercy on us, have mercy" "farewell cruel world"

Romeo and Juliet

Essay
Original playing conditions *
Audience sits*
Thrust staging
Scenes graphs bare set
Diagram of globe
Research the text tempest based
Documentary evidence te voyage to the new world America stranded in Caribbean pamphlet form influences
Performance on the
Learn lines
Blocking
Character
School - Wednesday 8th
Brighton - 16th Thursday

Billy's inspiration for The Tempest

About The Tempest

The Tempest first appeared in print as the first play in the 1623 Folio of Shakespeare. Throughout the play's history, the play has been variously regarded as a highlight of Shakespeare's dramatic output, as a representation of the essence of human life, and as containing Shakespeare's most autobiographical character, in the form of Prospero the magician-ruler. The 1623 text appears to have few omissions or corruptions in the text, though the play does include stage directions that are unusually detailed when compared to Shakespeare's other plays. Some strange spellings and idiosyncrasies in format do appear in the text, with prose sometimes appearing as verse, and vice versa; for these reasons, the text of the play is believed to be a transcription of a later performance at court. However, this is indeterminate, and other critics believe that the Folio text was copied from either Shakespeare's original text, or a close replica of it.

The first known performances of the play were at the court of James I, in 1611 and 1613; and the presence of the Jacobean-era masque further cements the play into this time frame. However, the first performances of the play may not have been at court at all; and, there is some remaining evidence that the play received some revision and perhaps some London performances between 1611 and 1613. The betrothal masque which appears in Act IV might have been added for the 1613 performance, since the play was staged as part of a celebration of the wedding of Elizabeth, the daughter of James I. The masque could have been added in order to make the play more occasion-appropriate, as some critics have theorized.

Although a few of Shakespeare's plays were relatively well-known before 1650, The Tempest was not among these, as seen by the few allusions to it that have survived or been discovered. Actually, a Restoration retread of The Tempest, done by Davenant and Dryden, was actually more popular than Shakespeare's original for a time, despite its reduction of the original material to a near parody. A character named Hippolito was added, who was basically a male parallel to Miranda; and Miranda and Caliban were given sisters, Dorinda and Sycorax respectively. The work was a lighthearted comedy, unlike Shakespeare's text; and, until the nineteenth century, the characters Hippolito and Dorinda were often incorporated into Shakespeare's own version. The Davenant and Dryden version was even more successful when made into an opera in the late 17th century, and overshadowed Shakespeare's version for another hundred years or so. In 1838, the original version was finally performed, minus the added characters and musical spectacle.

After the 17th century and until the 1930's, Ariel was also portrayed as a female character, despite evidence to the contrary within the text. Caliban was also changed, and beginning with Victorian productions, he became less diabolical, and more tragic and human in character. Wrapped up with Caliban was a great deal of anti-slavery sentiment, and then the part was marked with Darwinistic thought starting in the late part of the century.

For many years, The Tempest was regarded as one of Shakespeare's comedies; however, the presence of tragedy, comedy, and a good deal of romance means that the play does not easily fit into any of these three genres exclusively. Of all of Shakespeare's plays, The Tempest is most often grouped with The Winter's Tale, Cymbeline, and Pericles?three other works that are also difficult to classify, because of their similar mix of comedy, drama, and romance.

Inspiration for The Tempest is believed to have come from a letter written by William Strachey, detailing the experiences of a shipwreck survivor. The Virginia Company was newly formed in the years before the play; and, in 1609, a fleet was sent out from England, with four hundred colonists who were supposed to land in Virginia. However, a hurricane hit the ships as they neared the coast, and the governor's ship was separated from the others; luckily, they found themselves near Bermuda, and were able to land safely there and live quite comfortably on the island. The account that William Strachey wrote of this ordeal was first printed in 1625; however, the letter gained a wide audience starting in 1610, and manuscripts of it were circulated. Shakespeare also knew many others who were involved in the Virginia Company venture, like Southampton and Pembroke, to whom Shakespeare dedicated a few of his works?and there is even evidence that he may have known Strachey himself. There are clear parallels between Strachey's letter and the events described within The Tempest, so it is more than likely that Shakespeare was familiar with the text, and was inspired by it to write the play that appeared at court about a year after the letter was circulated in London.


http://www.gradesaver.com/the-tempest/study-guide/about/

Tuesday Rehearsal Video's

Character Research

Stephano 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stephano (pron.: /ˈstɛfənoʊ/ stef-ə-noh) is a boisterous and often drunk butler of King Alonso in 
William Shakespeare's play, The Tempest. He, Trinculo and Caliban plot against Prospero, the 
ruler of the island on which the play is set and the former Duke of Milan in Shakespeare's fictional 
universe.^[1] In the play, he wants to take over the island and marry Prospero's daughter, Miranda. 
Caliban believes Stephano to be a god because he gave him wine to drink which Caliban believes 
healed him.^[1]

Not boisterous and often drunk, Stephano is willing to be regarded as a Lord by Caliban, although Character Traits and Analysis

for much of the play Caliban appears to be in control, specifically Tmp/M/Scene/3.2 Tmp 3.2 M.^[1] 
Stephano is rather gullible. He believes, particularly in the aforementioned scene, everything Caliban 
says. As shown in Tmp/M/Scene/4.1 Tmp 4.1 M, he is easily distracted.^[1] (see 'The Plan' below). He 
makes false promises to Trinculo and Caliban, but in his intoxicated state he usually believes the 
promises himself.

The Plan

The plan Stephano, Trinculo and (mostly) Caliban formulate is to wait for Prospero to take his 
afternoon sleep, then steal his magic books so he cannot fight back. He is weak without them. They
 then plan to cut his 'wezand' (throat), drive a stake through his heart or beat him to death.

Stephano is then to marry Miranda and become king of the island, and he promises to appoint Trinculo
 and Caliban as Viceroys^[1] Their plan is foiled, and their vanity exposed, when flashy clothes are left out 
as a trap by Prospero's loyal servant Ariel. The usurpers, except Caliban, who urges them to continue
 with the plan, are distracted by the clothes.^[1] This means Prospero can chase them away with a pack 
of magic spirit-dogs.^[1]

Fellow Plotters

He plots against Prospero with Caliban and Trinculo.

He is already friends with Trinculo, Alonso's Jester, who he probably met at the palace. In the play, 
Trinculo finds Caliban hiding under a cloak and thinks he had been struck by lightning.^[1] Hearing a 
storm in the distance, he hides with him.^[1] At this point, an intoxicated Stephano walks past and thinks 
Trinculo and Caliban are a four-legged monster. He gives them wine and then he and Trinculo 
recognise each other.^[1]

Caliban believes the wine healed him and thinks Stephano a god. He calls him 'Lord' and possibly 
exploits this to take control inTmp/M/Scene/3.2 Tmp 3.2 M.

A key theme of the play is power.^[2] This is what Stephano wants, possibly because he is used to being
 a servant.^[2] Trinculo wants whatever is at hand, shown in his willingness to go along with the plan and 
the fact that he is the first to approach the clothes inTmp/M/Scene/4.1 Tmp 4.1 M. Caliban does not want 
power, but a kinder master. Prospero had treated him kindly until he attempted to rape Miranda, after 
which he was forced to live in a rock.^[1]

Quotes

The master, the swabber, the boatswain, and I,
The gunner, and his mate,
Lov'd Mall, Meg, and Marian, and Margery,
But none of us car'd for Kate;
For she had a tongue with a tang,
Would cry to a sailor Go hang!
She lov'd not the savour of tar nor of pitch,
Yet a tailor might scratch her where'er she did itch.
Then to sea, boys, and let her go hang!
This is a scurvy tune too; but here's my comfort. (Drinks)
Act 2: Scene II^[1]

Caliban: Hast thou not dropp'd from heaven?
Stephano: Out o' th' moon, I do assure thee; I was the Man i' th' Moon, when time was.
Caliban: I have seen thee in her, and I do adore thee. My mistress show'd me thee, and thy dog 
and thy bush.
Act 2: Scene II^[1]

I prithee, be my god.
Caliban (to Stephano), Act 2: Scene II^[1]

Flout 'em and scout 'em, and scout 'em and flout 'em;
Thought is free.
Act 3: Scene II^[1]

He that dies pays all debts.
Act 3: Scene II^[1]

Origins

It is not clear where the character of Stephano originated from.

There is one idea that he was modeled after Stephen Hopkins from London. Hopkins was aboard 
the Sea Venture when it was shipwrecked on Bermuda. He attempted to start a mutiny while stranded 
on the island. He eventually made it to Virginia and back to England, then went to Plymouth aboard 
the Mayflower.

Stephano may have been created, along with Trinculo, to add comedy and show human greed.

Shakespeare used Trinculo and Stephano primarily as comic relief but also to demonstrate the 
evil in our nature. In a way, he seemed to have been condemning humans. The Tempest is a prime 
example of the selfishness, egocentrism, and power hunger that we see and deal with every day. 
Trinculo and Stephano were two characters used to show how wrong human beings are.^[3]

Unlike Antonio, which was featured in no less than 4 plays, the name Stephano only appears in one 
of Shakespeare's other plays, The Merchant of Venice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephano_(The_Tempest)#Character_Traits_and_Analysis

Annotated Scripts

Pictures

Overview

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, whereProspero, the rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughterMiranda to her rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation. He conjures up a storm, the eponymous tempest, to lure his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to the island. There, his machinations bring about the revelation of Antonio's lowly nature, the redemption of the King, and the marriage of Miranda to Alonso's son, Ferdinand.

There is no obvious single source for the plot of The Tempest, but researchers have seen parallels in Erasmus's Naufragium, Peter Martyr's De orbe novo, and an eyewitness report by William Stracheyof the real-life shipwreck of the Sea Venture on the islands of Bermuda. In addition, one of Gonzalo's speeches is derived fromMontaigne's essay Of the Canibales, and much of Prospero's renunciative speech is taken word for word from a speech by Medeain Ovid's poem Metamorphoses. The masque in Act 4 may have been a later addition, possibly in honour of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V in 1613. The play was first published in theFirst Folio of 1623.

The story draws heavily on the tradition of the romance, and it was influenced by tragicomedy and the courtly masque and perhaps by the commedia dell'arte. It differs from Shakespeare's other plays in its observation of a stricter, more organised neoclassical style. Critics see The Tempest as explicitly concerned with its own nature as a play, frequently drawing links between Prospero's "art" and theatrical illusion, and early critics saw Prospero as a representation of Shakespeare, and his renunciation of magic as signalling Shakespeare's farewell to the stage. The play portrays Prospero as a rational, and not an occultist, magician by providing a contrast to him in Sycorax: her magic is frequently described as destructive and terrible, where Prospero's is said to be wondrous and beautiful. Beginning in about 1950, with the publication of Psychology of Colonization by Octave Mannoni, The Tempest was viewed more and more through the lens of postcolonial theory—exemplified in adaptations like Aimé Césaire's Une Tempête set in Haiti—and there is even a scholarly journal on post-colonial criticism named after Caliban. Because of the small role that women play in the story, The Tempest has not attracted much feminist criticism. Miranda is typically viewed as having completely internalised the patriarchal order of things, thinking of herself as subordinate to her father.

The Tempest did not attract a significant amount of attention before the closing of the theatres in 1642, and only attained popularity after the Restoration, and then only in adapted versions. In the mid-19th century, theatre productions began to reinstate the original Shakespearean text, and in the 20th century, critics and scholars undertook a significant re-appraisal of the play's value, to the extent that it is now considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

Characters

Prospero, the main character. The overthrown Duke of Milan. He now lives on an island and has become a great sorcerer. Miranda, Prospero's daughter, who then falls in love with the Prince of Naples, Ferdinand. Ariel, a mischievous spirit who does Prospero's bidding and is visible only to him. He became Prospero's "slave" because he was saved by him from being trapped in a tree by Sycorax. Caliban, a villainous island native, son of a witch namedSycorax, who ruled the island before Prospero arrived. He now works as Prospero's slave but despises him. Sycorax, a deceased Algerian sorceress and mother ofCaliban who was banished to the island before Prospero arrived and enslaved the spirits on the island, including Ariel. She is not seen or heard in the play, only referred to by other characters. Iris, Ceres, and Juno, spirits and goddesses

Alonso, King of Naples Sebastian, Alonso's treacherous brother. Antonio, Prospero's brother, who usurped  his position as Duke of Milan. He and  Sebastian plot unsuccessfully to kill Alonso and his family so as to come to the throne. Ferdinand, Alonso's son. Falls in love  with Miranda. Gonzalo, a kindly Neapolitan courtier, who  secretly providedProspero and Miranda with  food, water, and books when they were  pushed out to sea. Adrian and Francisco, lords. Trinculo, the King's jester and friends  with Stephano. Stephano, the King's drunken steward and  friend of Trinculo who tries to help Caliban  overthrow his master Boatswain

Three plots then alternate through the play. In one, Caliban falls in with Stephano and Trinculo, two drunkards, who he believes have come from the moon. They attempt to raise a rebellion against Prospero, which ultimately fails. In another, Prospero works to establish a romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda; the two fall immediately in love, but Prospero worries that "too light winning [may] make the prize light," and compels Ferdinand to become his servant, pretending that he regards him as a spy. In the third subplot, Antonio and Sebastian conspire to kill Alonso and Gonzalo so that Sebastian can become King. They are thwarted by Ariel, at Prospero's command. Ariel appears to the "three men of sin" (Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian) as a harpy, reprimanding them for their betrayal of Prospero. Prospero manipulates the course of his enemies' path through the island, drawing them closer and closer to him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest