Double Monologue First Draft

ROMEO

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief,

That thou her maid art far more fair than she:

Be not her maid, since she is envious;

Her vestal livery is but sick and green

And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.

It is my lady, O, it is my love!

O, that she knew she were!

She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?

Her eye discourses; I will answer it.

pause

I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:

pause

Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,

Having some business, do entreat her eyes

To twinkle in their spheres till they return.

What if her eyes were there, they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,

As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!

O, that I were a glove upon that hand,

That I might touch that cheek!

JULIET

Bring in cloudy night immediately.

Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night,

That runaway's eyes may wink and Romeo

Leap to these arms, untalk'd of and unseen.

Lovers can see to do their amorous rites

By their own beauties; or, if love be blind,

It best agrees with night. Come, civil night,

Thou sober-suited matron, all in black,

And learn me how to lose a winning match,

Play'd for a pair of stainless maidenhoods:

pause

Hood my unmann'd blood, bating in my cheeks,

With thy black mantle; till strange love, grown bold,

pause

Think true love acted simple modesty.

Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night;

For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night

Whiter than new snow on a raven's back.

Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow'd night,

Bring in cloudy night

Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,

Take him and cut him out in little stars,

And he will make the face of heaven so fine

That all the world will be in love with night

And pay no worship to the garish sun

O, I have bought the mansion of a love,

O, here comes my nurse,

And she brings news; and every tongue that speaks

But Romeo's name speaks heavenly eloquence.

Abstract- Romeo teiluJ

               My paper will explore the way Shakespeare uses mirroring to portray true love.  It is evident that Romeo and Juliet have extreme love for each other.  In many scenes they are show with similar reactions and express similar feelings.  These similarities display true love to the audience.  This analysis will help me think about true love and Romeo and Juliet's relationship.  It may also give me insight into Shakespeare and why he chose to write what he did.  In addition the staging may make the love seem more or less realistic because of the way Shakespeare chose to write and display their love for one another.  Focusing on the mirroring may also reveal new aspects of the feud, specifically the fact that the families are not entirely different.  The feud may be put into a new prospective where not only the love seems impulsive and irrational but the feud is also irrational.   

               To explore Shakespeare's use of mirroring Act 2 Scene 2 (the balcony scene), Act 3 Scene 2 and Act 3 Scene 3 will be performed.  The monologues in the balcony scene show the way Romeo and Juliet feel about each other.  Their lines are similar because of Shakespeare's use of big pieces of uninterrupted dialogue (the monologues at the beginning). In addition, Romeo and Juliet show similarity in the way they describe each other.  For example, many times they reference the stars and sky.  In Act 3 Scene 2 and Act 3 Scene 3 Juliet is talking to the Nurse and Romeo is talking to Friar Lawrence about Romeo's banishment.  Both characters have the same response to the news: banishment is worse than exile.  The group will perform each of these scenes with few differences, focusing on Romeo and Juliet.  In addition, Romeo and Juliet will be played by two girls and the Nurse and Friar Lawrence by the same boy.  These roles will emphasize how Romeo and Juliet are very similar, while the Nurse and Friar Lawrence are much different.  The fact that the Nurse and Friar Lawrence are played by the same actor will represent the similarity of their role to Romeo/Juliet.  The idea of true love will be expressed in all scenes, but most clearly in the balcony scene.  The balcony scene will be restaged on the same level between a door.  This will add to the mirroring effect because Romeo and Juliet will be shown the same on each side.  This is similar to the idea of the fish tank at the feast in the 1996 version of Romeo and. Juliet.  In addition, love will be shown in the other scenes by the way each character talks about death and banishment.  

               Three people are required to play the four characters due to the overlap of Friar Lawrence and the Nurse.  Between the three actors, each actor will participate in two out of three scenes.  The group has decided that I will play Romeo, Maddy will play Juliet and Adler will play the Nurse/Friar Lawrence.  This is ideal to display the similarity in Romeo and Juliet and their differences from their counselors.  Each member of the group will be responsible for rewriting a script based off of a scene.  I will be responsible for the balcony scene.  Maddy will write the script for Act 3 Scene 2 and Adler will write the script for Act 3 Scene 3.  Furthermore, we will come up with ideas for our costumes together and how to acquire these items and ideas about staging, keeping in mind that ideas may be already written in the script.  All other ideas will be handled as a group as they come up and individual jobs assigned as needed.

Ideas for written coursework

1) group of 2

    How is true love portrayed?

    How are Romeo and Juliet portrayed as alike?

Use scenes between Romeo and Friar Lawrence and the Nurse and Juliet 

Also the monologues from the balcony scene

Explore them as they are portrayed by the same two actors

Act 2 Balcony scene, Act 3 scene 2, Act 3 scene 3,

2) group of 2

    Explore differences between Romeo and Rosaline and Romeo and Juliet

    Comment on true love

Romeo- difference in love

Juliet- comment on true love and how it is portrayed

(Played by same person as Juliet) Rosaline- what is love to her? Why is her relationship with Romeo at a distance?

Balcony scene, Romeo talking to Benevolio about Rosaline (Act 1), 

How can the relationship of Romeo and Rosaline be displayed? Do they ever have dialogue together?

3) What is the relationship of Friar Lawrence to Romeo? To Juliet?

  What advice does he give to them

Friar Lawrence- explore how his advice differs

Romeo and Juliet (same person) how does his advice differ to each character?

                                                    How is it similar?

Use scenes in Friar Lawrence's cell with Romeo and Juliet

-marriage

-Romeo asks to be married

-Juliet confesses

-Romeo and banishment 

-Find another scene with Juliet

More scenes with Romeo= represents something?

Romeo goes to him for important advice

Man of God or Man of Blood?

7. Is any character or characters more responsible than others for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet? How so? What makes them responsible? Explain.

The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was brought on by a sequence of events.  The sequence of events was affected by multiple characters, some more than others.  The characters with the most impact were Friar Lawrence and Romeo. These characters accompanied by the society were responsible for the tragedy.  

    Friar Lawrence was the main culprit.  Assuming that Romeo and Juliet were in true love, Friar Lawrence jumped to conclusions and married them.  He thought this marriage would end the feud.  However, just marrying Romeo and Juliet is not enough to end the feud because the only way for this plan to work is to tell the parents.  Due to a lack of truth until the end, once the tragedy has occurred, marrying Romeo and Juliet creates more problems.  This is where the society comes in.  At the time, marriage happens at a much younger age and is about family reputation.  Love is not a factor in marriage.  Marriage unites two families with similar reputations.  As a result, the family looks good and gains wealth and connections from the marriage.    Reputation to the Capulets is very important.  Lord Capulet agrees that Paris should marry Juliet.  While Juliet does not want to marry Paris she must do what her father wishes and what is best for the family.  Seperately, these events are not problems, but they conflict each other.  Juliet cannot be married to two people.  Overall, while Friar Lawrence believes he is doing good, he puts himself and Juliet into a sticky situation.

    Romeo only makes matters worse.  He gets into a fight with Tybalt.  To end the fight he kills Tybalt and Prince Escalus finds out.  Thinking he is being kind to Romeo, the Prince banishes him.  This not only separates Romeo and Juliet, but it also makes the Capulet family angry toward Romeo.  The banishment also sparks both characters thoughts about dying.  Romeo speaks to Friar Lawrence: “Ha, banishment! be merciful, say 'death.”  In this quote, Romeo wishes the Prince had sentenced him to death. To both Romeo and Juliet, banishment is much worse than death because it means they will be separated.   As a response, Friar Lawrence once again tampers with fate.  He comes up with a plan that he thinks will allow Romeo and Juliet to be together outside of Verona.  The first part of the plan is to have Juliet drink a potion that will make her appear dead.  Then, he will send a letter to Romeo informing him of this predicament so that Romeo will come to see Juliet and when she wakes they can run away together.  However, he fails to properly inform Romeo that Juliet will awake. Therefore, Romeo finds a ‘dead’ Juliet and drinks poison to kill himself.  Friar Lawrence is responsible for this decision because he is aware that Romeo and Juliet would both rather die than be apart and he does not get the letter to Romeo.  Thus, lining himself up to discover both teenagers dead because once Romeo takes his life, Juliet can’t help but take hers.  In the last hope to stop Juliet from killing herself, Friar Lawrence fails. 

    In conclusion, Friar Lawrence is the most responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.  He has many opportunities to save the star-crossed lovers and fails each and every time.  He is, however, not the only one to blame.  The society had flaws, and Romeo made a poor decision that lead to his death.  In the end, Friar Lawrence accomplished one goal: uniting the families, which was a result of the tragedy.  

Google Images 

Quote: Romeo and Juliet

*No other sources used

"Now's the Time to Seize the Day"

Newsies is a newer musical that made it’s first debut in 2011 and it’s broadway debut in 2012.  Newsies was written by Harvey Fierstein with music written by Alan Menken and lyrics created by Jack Feldman. The musical is about a group of Newsboys who go on strike in New York city.  These newsboys are working to support themselves and their families.  They have little money and have to pay for the papers.  They themselves pay attention to the news because an interesting story means more people want to buy newspapers. The last topic is the railroad strike.  They see that new topic is a raise in the price of newspapers.  This causes the main character, Jack Kelly, to start a strike of their own.   However, they are not well known.  To be successful, they need to be in the newspaper.  This is where Katherine Plumber comes in.  When she firsts meets Jack Kelly, he is running from her father, Joseph Pulitzer.  She introduces herself as just a writer, but she is the daughter of the person who raised the price of Newspapers.  She is unlike her father.  She works to make a living by her own choice.  She believes that the raise in prices was unfair.  Katherine and Jack lead the other Newsies into printing a paper on Pulitzer’s old printing press.  In the end, the Newsies make the front page of the newspaper and their strike is successful.  Pulitzer agrees to lower the price to halfway in between the original price and the new price.  In addition, he will not raise the price in the near future. 

    The performance of Disney’s musical at the Bushnell in Hartford was phenomenal.  This performance of Newsies was my first time watching the show and I was very pleased.  The choreography, and the set stood out the most to me.  The dancing was amazing.  The entire cast was extremely talented.  The choreography seemed very complex.  The dancing consisted of several jumps and acrobatic maneuvers.  From experience, I know how hard these maneuvers are difficult.  The actors not only completed these tricks with graceful form, they also performed these trick simultaneously with one another.  In my opinion, the best maneuver was the double cartwheel.  I think this because I attempted this maneuver with a friend and we could not get the second person into a cartwheel.  The actors went all the way across the stage.  One final thought about the acrobatics is that no actors messed a maneuver up.  This incredibly good considering that they do this each night and are not trying to successful do the trick once.

    Another part of the show that stood out to me was the set.  The set was very simple.  It consisted of three metal staircases.  These staircases spun and moved forward and backward.  This added many dimensions to the stage.  Besides using only the bottom of the stage the actors used all levels of the steps.  In addition, the staircases spun, this helped to create chaos in the chase scenes.  A few other set pieces were used, but the stairs were the main part of the stage.  They made the stage appear more spacious than it was.   

    In conclusion, I enjoyed the show.  Since it was the first time I saw the show, I could not notice any potential mistakes and I have nothing to compare it to.  I would enjoy seeing the show again. 

 

Source: Google Images

Playbill +Wikipedia(for the writers) 

Romeo and Juliet Test Questions

Fact Based Questions:

1) What city does Romeo go to after being exiled? 

2) Why doesn't Friar Lawrence's message reach Romeo in Mantua?

3) Who is the first to sneak into the tomb to see Juliet?

4) Whose body is in the tomb when Juliet enters? 

5) Why does the Friar agree to marry Romeo and Juliet?

Thinking Questions:

1) Romeo and Juliet feel that they have fallen instantly in love. Use quotes and explain why they feel this way. 

2) Compare and contrast Romeo's love for Rosaline and his love for Juliet.  

3) Analyze the uses of light and darkness and the comparisons to the moon, stars and sun.  What do they contribute to the meaning of the play?

4) Write about Juliet's character. What is her maturity level? Does this change and how so from the beginning of the play to the end? How has her opinion of marriage change?

5) Shakespeare contrast characters and situations throughout the play.  Explain an example. What affect does this have on the audience/reader? Does this add to the message of the play?

Essay Question:

1) If Friar Lawrence's plan worked, what do you think would have happened? Would Romeo and Juliet's relationship last? Support your answer.

2) Is any character responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet? How so? (You can choose any character or multiple characters as long as you can support your answer)

Death Disguised

http://youtu.be/0KwYJekezZw

From Chaos to a Job Well Done

Staging scenes in class is difficult due to the time constraints, but it is a fun interruption to normal class activities.  Compared to sitting in a class taking notes, staging a scene involves moving around and creativity.  A good scene is one that grabs the audience’s attention.  This may be because the scene is unique or creative.  Often times, the scenes are based on what we are reading in class.  If the assignment was to adapt a scene to modern day, the scene might grab the audience’s attention by being different from expected or ‘outside of the box.’ This might mean staging the scene in a different situation, or having the characters be a little different from the original play.  The scene would also grab the audience’s attention because of the ways the actors or actresses played their roles.  They way the actor or actress chooses to portray the character may set the scene apart from other interpretations.  

The most difficult part about staging scenes in class is the short amount of time we have to meet with our group, come up with idea, write the script, stage the scene and perform it.  The groups also make it difficult.  Since it is still early in the year, we have not had the chance to work with each person in the class.  This is usually true with most performances.  In the first week or two of rehearsal, the cast and crew is still getting to know each other.  From experience as a stage manager, and from staging scenes and acting in class, both the crew and cast, need to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses.   Learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses helps the group as a whole to succeed.  Overtime, working in class will get easier because everyone will get to know these things about each other.  

Specifically to the Romeo and Juliet scene that we are staging in class tomorrow, it was difficult to learn the Shakespearean language.  It is much easier to stage a scene if you have your lines memorized.  Once you do not need your script, you can use your hands while talking. In some scenes this is necessary, but in most this just adds a little extra.  Speaking in the Shakespearean language is very difficult.  It is extremely easy to get tongue tied.  Wiebke and I, as well as some of the other groups, found ourselves talking very quickly.  This is a problem because of the language.  With any script, the lines need to be said at a relaxed pace, so the audience understands what the actors and actresses are trying to say.  This is especially important when the script is in Shakespearean language because the language is harder for the audience to follow and understand. 

Overall, staging scenes becomes easier with practice.  I feel much more confident about the latest project than I did on the one a few weeks ago. I also knew my group members better this time which helped.  In conclusion, the most difficult part is the amount of time, but it is possible to do with help and cooperation from my group members.

This photo is from rehearsal of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. 

Ryan, Jessica. Jessica, Ryan.

Setting: The Cheshire Academy Prom at Anthony’s Ocean View. Ryan and Jessica have not come together. Ryan comes alone but intends to see Rebecca and Jessica is with Peeta.  Ryan attends Suffield, Cheshire Academy’s biggest rival. 

DJ: Welcome Cheshire Academy! Are you ready to dance? Don’t be shy! The dance floor is big and I want to see all of you on it!

A teacher gets on the dance floor and starts to dance. They dance very strangely.

Come on everyone! There should be more people dancing.  Show this teacher how it’s done!

More students join including Rebecca and Peeta.  Ryan and Jessica stay behind. 

Ryan: (to a student who passes by) Do you know that girl over there? Who is she? 

He points at Jessica.

Student: I don’t know. Ask someone else.

Ryan: I will!

(On the other side of the dance floor)

Toby: What is he doing here? How did he get in? I can’t believe he has the nerve to show up here.  

Mr. Chapman: What happened? Who is here? Slow down.

Toby: He is our enemy.  He’s that guy from Suffield who tackled the ref.

Mr. Chapman: Is it really? Why is he here?

Toby: Yes I swear it’s him.  Are you going to make him leave?

Mr. Chapman: Calm down, Toby.  Just ignore him.  He shouldn’t bother you. Now, go have fun with someone your own age!

Toby: Okay, I will try not to react, but if he comes near me-

Mr. Chapman: Go on, have fun. Don’t let your prom be ruined by someone standing in the corner.

Toby sighs and walks away.  Ryan meets Jessica.

Ryan: You are beautiful. 

Jessica: You are not so bad looking yourself.

Ryan: Why have we never met before? …. Oh well, now that we have I just want to be with you.

Jessica: I want to be with you too.

Ryan kisses her.

Jessica: Wow.. 

Jessica kisses Ryan back. Jessica’s friend interrupts.

Nora: Peeta is looking for you.  He says he wants you to hurry. 

Jessica: Oh yeah. I forgot.. Thank you. 

Jessica leaves Ryan without saying goodbye.

Ryan: Who is she?

Nora: She goes to Cheshire Academy.

Ryan: Oh, no. What did I just get myself into?

Ben (Another student from Suffield who hasn’t been noticed up until this point.): We should leave.  People are starting to stare.

Ryan: Tell me about it.

Outside Jessica talks to Nora.

Jessica: Who was that? He was so hot.

Nora: I do not know his name, but I don’t think he goes to CA.

Jessica: Oh no! What have I done? I’m so stupid.  I should get out of here.

Source: Google Images

"Death is Not the Worst Thing That Can Happen to Men." -Plato

In Act 3 scene 2, Juliet refers to the death of Tybalt from two viewpoints: she misses Tybalt, and she is upset that her husband is banished.  She, like Romeo in scene 3, compares death death to banishment.  Juliet says “My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain; And Tybalt's dead, that would have slain my husband: All this is comfort; wherefore weep I then?” In this quote, she is saying that Romeo lives and Tybalt is dead.  Tybalt's death was supposed to kill Romeo, but he didn't which is comforting, but she still is upset.  This is because, to her, Romeo's banishment is like death.  Once he leaves she will not get to see him again.  Juliet sees death as both a good and bad thing.  She dislikes that Tybalt died, but she thinks it would be better if Romeo had died rather than been banished. Romeo's death would have been the end.  However, their secret love cannot continue and because of the feud no one will support it right away.  Romeo doesn't have this time. If Romeo died, Juliet would not technically be breaking vows to her husband, but this had its problems too.  Romeo's death would make Juliet very upset because then they would never get to be together.  In this situation, death can be viewed positively and negatively.  Overall, Juliet's emotions toward death are conflicted.  

Iambic Pentameter

The moon and stars alight the sky this night

To guide me home along a path so bright 

Anger

Anger is powerful because it causes someone to do irrational things.  I have been in a situation where anger caused a chain reaction.  Person 1 and person 2 had a disagreement, so both people were acting upset.  Person 1 snapped at person 3.  Person 3 got upset and person 2 realized and tried to talk to her.  Eventually person 1 calmed down and realized what happened.  This situation could have been avoided if person 1 hadn't snapped at person 3. 

"Who Says Romance is Dead?"

Warm Bodies, directed by Jonathan Levine, is an abstract version of Romeo and Juliet. It was released on February 1, 2013.  The director made many changes to the characters while keeping the plot similar to the original play by Shakespeare.  Some of these changes included the language, the setting, and the time when it was set.  The language is modern English including some comedic lines. The setting was much different.  The time is set in the future after a zombie apocalypse has occurred.  Rather than the feud between the families, the two groups are the zombies, also referred to as corpses, and the humans.  The character R comes from the corpses (Montague) and Julie from the humans (Capulet).  In both the play and the movie, love is a possible cure to the feud between Romeo and Juliet's worlds/families.  The director based many scenes and characters off of those in the play with some key changes.

In the movie, Julie talks to Nora, who is similar to the Nurse, in her room about R.  While this conversation is much later in the play, Julie asks the same questions as Juliet: why does she love Romeo/R more than any other guy?  Why does it have to be him? This scene is followed by the balcony scene.  The balcony scene in the movie happens later in the movie, after R killed someone she loves.  The scene still portrays the fact that Romeo risks his life to see Juliet. In addition, Nora also interrupts them, similar to the way the Nurse calls Juliet in the play.   

Julie's boyfriend, Perry, is similar to Paris and to Tybalt.  He is similar to Paris because him and Julie are dating, but their love isn't perfect.  At the beginning, Julie reaches for Perry's hand and he lets go, focusing on the message they are watching. This is different from the play, where Paris was more interested in Juliet than she was in him.  Perry is also similar to Tybalt because both are killed by Romeo/R.  In addition, it is brought to Juliet/Julie's attention that the person they loved killed another person who they loved.  

The movie and the play were also slightly different.  The biggest difference is that the movie is not a tragedy, but the play is.  At the end of the play, Romeo and Juliet both die, as well as other characters.  In the movie, only Perry and the bonies, who are corpses that are too far gone to be cured die.  Julie is able to convince her father that R is becoming human again, so R and Julie do not die.  Instead, they are able to be together.  Another difference is that R and Julie do not get married. Their relationship is much longer and they do not kiss until the end. 

I enjoyed Warm Bodies. I previously watched the movie with friends before reading the play and did not realize that it was an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. This movie is enjoyable with and without knowledge of the play, but connecting it to the play makes the plot more interesting.  Due to the modern language, the movie is easier to understand and makes the play more understandable.  Overall, watching Warm Bodies enhanced reading Shakespeare's play. 

Sources: 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588173/

Google Images