The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Residency provided an in-class experience different from an average ELA class. Over the period of just two days, I along with the rest of class began to delve into the story of Hamlet. This learning experience was not only entertaining but extremely educating. The classroom became an open space for creative creations unique to everyone’s personality. Not only was everyone participating, but everyone was having a pleasurable time. On the first day, the class got into a large circle and we played a game involving directions. The class was instructed to slide and walk; among other things. At first, the game seemed particularly easy, until a twist was introduced. After we had all gotten comfortable with following these simple set instructions, …show more content…
On the second day a new game was introduced, with the main goal of teaching us the difference between “thou” and “you” in the context of Shakespeare. We played the game referring to those nearby using “thou” and those across from us using “you”. This game was challenging as the game sped up and was an interesting way to teach the lesson. The main activity of the first day involved breaking up into groups and acting out lines of text given to us. Without much direction, each group acted their line out. When the story was explained and everyone acted their scene out, it resulted in a short synopsis of the events of Hamlet. In my group, we acted out a line about what Horatio saw as Claudius was watching a play involving murder. The main activities of day two involved understanding the art of lying and reviewing a scene between Hamlet and Ophelia. During the activity we talked about signs that someone is lying while Rianna and Sviat prepared for the next portion of the activity. As a class we came up with signs such as sweating, strange vocal changes, lack of eye contact, and excessive eye contact. Rianna and Sviat practiced the same story, while one was telling the truth the