1 10 2 https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/6615c520f2b116255add5d51707e2422.jpg f510e81f2e6e3e984a204d7050f8d0f7 https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/e9d9e8f98b752c983df1f46632238a8a.pdf 2a29dc3b5be63f15ecdd360a87ccaf21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interviews Description An account of the resource This section contains a selection of video interviews in which open-air theatre practitioners and researchers discuss their experience of performing or attending productions at open-air theatres. These interviews can be used alongside the project's educational resources, as many of our contributors discuss their involvement in directing, designing for, investigating, or performing Shakespeare's plays (with links to the most relevant clips available through our <a href="https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/search?query=Educational+Resources&query_type=exact_match&record_types%5B%5D=Collection&sort_field=title">education packs</a>), or to learn more in general about open-air theatre practice. All video interviews are captioned and written transcripts are provided. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Stephen Purcell and Zoë Hudson Description An account of the resource <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/88">The Pantaloons</a> reimagine Shakespeare in vibrant and anarchic retellings, drawing from a wide variety of popular theatre traditions, from commedia dell’arte and pantomime to stand-up comedy and silent movies. Their imaginative productions invite the audience to become co-creators of the play-world, resulting in humorous and uplifting performances. Dr Stephen Purcell is the Artistic Director of The Pantaloons and an Associate Professor of Shakespeare and Performance Studies at Warwick University. Dr Zoë Hudson is the Designer for The Pantaloons, and is a social historian and theatre practitioner. In this video, Zoë and Stephen talk about their company's experience of touring and performing at open-air sites. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Dr Zoë Hudson and Dr Stephen Purcell in conversation with Sarah Sharp Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vbS6Hk7D2vY?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe> Relation A related resource <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/1">Education Pack - Storms in The Tempest and Pericles</a> <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/4">Education Pack - Plague and Perfume in Romeo and Juliet</a> <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/139">Education Pack - Fairies and Flight in A Midsummer Night's Dream</a> <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/2">Education Pack - Air Pollution in Macbeth</a> Language A language of the resource English A Midsummer Night's Dream Macbeth Outdoor productions Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare The Tempest https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/c50cacf6dda41d40627f7ecd8cdd193e.png 59bc3fd3f80c0f1f48aaaa869356c8f8 https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/86b92a20b7ca12a7f62725995241a4f7.pdf 58880e6c76b1c0ba93c2def98e1bcb5a https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/d12f01ccf8b384bd26b5411da3b63abb.ppt 1c53d092e327be45f0869b7e46ff9ec8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Educational Resources (14-16 years) Description An account of the resource These educational resources are designed to introduce secondary-school pupils studying the plays of William Shakespeare to the significance that questions of air quality and aerial resources acquire within his drama. In this section, you will be able to access and download lesson plans and associated resources for teaching pupils about the significance of air pollution in Macbeth, ghosts and polluted air in Hamlet, or storms in The Tempest and/or Pericles. We have designed these education packs for use with pupils aged approximately 14-16 years old, in accordance with the UK National Curriculum learning objectives for KS4 English. In addition, each session comes with individual learning objectives that indicate how the session will promote learning about performed drama and/or environmental history. Each lesson plan is presented as an hour-long session, but we have included suggestions for potential extension activities. These resources could also be adapted for use with older children or within alternative curricula. If you have any feedback on or suggestions for improving these resources, please email the project team at: atmospherictheatre@exeter.ac.uk. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarah Sharp Type The nature or genre of the resource Educational Resources Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Evelyn O'Malley, Chloe Preedy, and Courtney Priday. The suggested activities are informed by work undertaken with Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton, and the Minack Theatre Academy. Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Lesson Plan Text Air Pollution in Macbeth - Education Pack In Macbeth, smoky stage effects and verbal descriptions of contagion are used to evoke a polluted aerial environment in which witches, ghosts, and other demonic spirits associated with foul atmospheric conditions can manifest. The poor air quality provides an environmental context for the villainous behaviour of characters such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, shrouding the play’s unfolding action in fumes. This education pack gives a lesson plan and extension activity to explore the symbolism of air pollution in Macbeth that is designed for pupils aged approximately 14-16 years, although it could be adapted for use with older pupils. This education pack has been developed as part of the AHRC-funded project, Atmospheric Theatre: Open-Air Performance and the Environment. The suggested activities have been informed by work with Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton and the Minack Theatre Academy. Quotations in this education pack are from: William Shakespeare, Macbeth, ed. Pamela Mason and Sarah Clark, Arden Shakespeare Third Series (London: Bloomsbury, 2015). If you are looking for a free online edition of Macbeth, our recommended options are: William Shakespeare, Macbeth, ed. George Hunter (London: Penguin, 2005). Accessed through Shakespeare’s Words (2018): https://www.shakespeareswords.com/* William Shakespeare, Macbeth. In The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, ed. Jeremy Hylton (MIT, 1993): http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/full.html. * This website allows 20 free page-views, after which you need to pay for access. Lesson Plan For this lesson you will need: • The accompanying power point slides to this education pack • Act 1 Scene 1 of Macbeth (Resource 1 and Slide 2) • Images from past productions of Macbeth (optional) (Resource 2) • Writing materials for students • Print out for each student of Atmospheric Symbolism Chart (Resource 3) This lesson plan is designed to address the following UK National Curriculum learning objectives for KS4 English Literature. Pupils will learn to: • read and appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage through reading at least one play by Shakespeare; • identify and interpret themes, ideas and information; • analyse a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluate their effectiveness and impact; • draw on knowledge of the purpose, audience for and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation. Lesson Specific Learning Objectives: Pupils will learn to: • understand the historical context of air pollution in Shakespeare's England; • apply knowledge of this historical context to analysis of Macbeth; • appreciate how this context relates to modern performances of Macbeth. Starter Activity: (10 minutes) 1. Read through the opening scene together (including stage directions) (Resource 1 and Slide 2). 2. Discuss what atmospheric conditions the students imagine the scene taking place in while reading. Direct them to look to the play-text for clues, identifying clues in the dialogue, e.g. “In thunder, lightning, or in rain”, “the fog and filthy air”. Circle or underline these key phrases as a group. 3. With the students working in pairs, ask them to come up with ways it might be possible to create these conditions on stage. Choose some students to share their ideas with the whole class. You may wish to show the class images from previous productions of Macbeth once they have come up with some ideas of their own, so that they can see how past directors have staged this scene. There are lots of free and downloadable images available online: see Resource 2 for details. 4. Discuss with the pupils what effects are created on stage for the audience. How does the opening storm set the mood for the rest of the play? What clues might it give about the characters who enter during the middle of this storm? 5. Now ask the pupils to imagine what could be done in Shakespeare’s time to create a similar impact at an open-air theatre without access to modern special effects. Scholars inform us that, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, fireworks were often used to create the stage effect of thunder and lightning at open-air theatres. However, these fireworks had a noticeable impact on the playhouse air quality, as critic Jonathan Gil Harris observes (see Slide 3). ‘The controlled detonation of fireworks would have helped to create not only the necessary sound and light effects for the opening scene, but also the poor air quality described by the three witches... Squibs, perhaps in tandem with rosin powder, were almost certainly used at the beginning of Macbeth to produce the effect of its famous stage direction: ‘Thunder and lightning’... Like all gunpowder products, the squib combined foul-smelling ingredients—sulphurous brimstone, coal, and saltpetre: in his 1588 manual on the manufacture of explosives, Peter Whithorne writes that the latter ‘is made of the dunge of beasts’ [24r]’ (Jonathan Gil Harris, ‘The Smell of Macbeth’, p. 466). 6. With the pupils working in the same pairs, ask them to take it in turns to describe what they imagine it would have been like to have seen the opening scene from Macbeth when the play was first performed at Shakespeare’s Globe around 1606. Encourage them to consider how the “cutting edge” effects of fireworks and the onslaught of foul smells might have influenced their experience as playgoers. Main Activity: (20 - 25 minutes) Ask students to respond to the following statement in bold, using Mary Floyd-Wilson’s quote as inspiration for analysing Macbeth. This activity can be carried out as a writing exercise or a group discussion (see Slide 4). Scholar Mary Floyd-Wilson points outs that the witches are very closely linked to the elements, but she also suggests that it is difficult for audiences to know whether the witches make the air foul or the foul air enables the witches to manifest. ‘Although it remains unanswerable whether the witches engender Scotland's "fog and filthy air" or that air breeds witches (1.1.11), Macbeth depends on a correspondence between witchcraft and weather… From the very first lines of the play, "When shall we three meet again. / In thunder, lightning, or in rain?" (11. 1-2), the witches are identified with the elements’ (Mary Floyd-Wilson, ‘English Epicures and Scottish Witches’, p. 143) Now set the students the question below and ask them to produce a written response to this question (or, if you prefer, use this question as a prompt for additional group discussion): Examine how the witches interact with atmospheric conditions, both literally and symbolically, in Macbeth. Points to consider (Slide 5): • How do the witches interact with the physical air on stage if it is smoky? - Do they appear mysteriously through the gloom? - Might they manipulate the fog using their bodies to allude to their powers? - What do they say that suggests that the air is smoky? • What might this air tell us symbolically about their characters? - To what extent are these characters mysterious/supernatural/connected to the elements? - At a time when demonic spirits were believed to make their bodies out of dirty air, how do you think playgoers might connect the witches to the polluted atmosphere? - How might the fog the witches shroud themselves in be symbolic in relation to the rest of the play? - Might the witches be polluting themselves as well as signs of the impending atmospheric pollution? Is their very presence evidence of polluted air? Encourage the students to engage in analysis of the play-text as well as referring to the imagined staging ideas from the starter activity. The following quotations should be useful as prompts for more detailed analysis: • Witches: ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair, / Hover through the fog and filthy air.’ (1.1.9-10) • Banquo [about witches]: ‘The earth hath bubbles, as the water has, / And these are of them. Whither are they vanished?’ // Macbeth: ‘Into the air; and what seemed corporal, / Melted, as breath into the wind.’ (1.3.79-82) • The repeated stage direction ‘Thunder’ in all scenes with the witches, most noticeably in Act 4 Scene 1. Plenary Activity: (10 - 20 minutes) This can either be set as a writing task or held as a group discussion at the end of the lesson. 1. How has thinking about air pollution in Macbeth changed your understanding of the play? What new ideas have been suggested to you? What have you learnt? Extension Activity: (15 - 20 minutes) Atmospheric conditions can be interpreted symbolically throughout Macbeth and relate to the main themes of the play. The following quotes can be used as an example of this (see Slide 6): Lady Macbeth [to spirits]: ‘Come thick night, / And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, / That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, / Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark’ (1.5.50-54) o Idea that clouds of smoke, like night, assist murderers; the symbolic association of night and atmospheric pollution with moral contagion and wicked deeds. Ross [to Old Man, following Duncan’s murder by Macbeth]: ‘By th' clock 'tis day, / And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp. / Is't night's predominance, or the day's shame, / That darkness does the face of earth entomb / When living light should kiss it?’ (2.4.6-10) o Idea that the stage/play world is now strangled by smoke/dark night in a reflection of moral pollution. 1. Give each student an Atmospheric Symbolism Chart (Resource 3) to fill in using the provided quotes and explanations. They will need to decide which quotation matches which theme and which explanation ties together the quote and the theme and fill in the squares on their chart with them (Resource 3 and Slide 7). With more able students, ask them to find their own examples to match up to each theme using quotes or stage directions from anywhere in the play. 2. Discuss answers with the class. Ask students to share their explanation for why they put each quote where. Some quotes might fit multiple themes, so the explanation is key in establishing how effectively the students can relate the context of air pollution to the main themes of Macbeth. Resource 1 Macbeth ACT 1 SCENE I. A desert place. Thunder and lightning. Enter three WITCHES. 1 WITCH When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain? 2 WITCH When the hurly-burly's done, When the battle's lost, and won. 3 WITCH That will be ere the set of sun. 1 WITCH Where the place? 2 WITCH Upon the heath. 3 WITCH There to meet with Macbeth. 1 WITCH I come, Gray-Malkin. 2 WITCH Paddock calls. 3 WITCH Anon. ALL Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air. Exeunt. Resource 2 If you wish to use images of previous productions of Macbeth to demonstrate how the first scene could be staged, plenty of images can be found online. You may find the following links useful as a starting point. The Minack Theatre The Minack Theatre in Cornwall is an open-air theatre, which hosted a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth (an operatic adaptation of Shakespeare’s play) in 2019. You can access various photographs of this production at: https://www.minack.com/explorewhatwe-doour-past-shows/verdis-macbeth. Royal Shakespeare Company The RSC has a large digital catalogue of previous productions. All these images are free to download and use within the classroom. Visit the RSC Image Library at: https://images.rsc.org.uk/action/viewHome You can then Browse → Plays → Macbeth → Use the search bar to find images relating to “witches”. Shakespeare’s Globe Shakespeare’s Globe has developed a wide selection of educational resources that can be accessed for free, alongside digital images of past productions. See the Teach Shakespeare webpages: https://teach.shakespearesglobe.com/. For an image of how the witches were interpreted in a past production of Macbeth, see the file ‘Macbeth: Images’. Resource 3 Example of a completed theme and symbolism table: Print out for students on following page. Theme Quote Explanation Appearance and Reality ‘This castle hath a pleasant seat, the air / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle senses.’ (1.6.1-3) It might appear to the King that the air is sweet, but the castle is symbolically polluted by Macbeth’s plots. Order and Disorder ‘By th' clock 'tis day, / And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp. / Is't night's predominance, or the day's shame, / That darkness does the face of earth entomb / When living light should kiss it?’ (2.4. 6- 10) The day and the night have become disordered due to the unfolding plots of murder and deceit. Ambition ‘Two truths are told / As happy prologues to the swelling act / Of the imperial theme.’ (1.3 130- 133) Like a balloon or bubble, Macbeth is swollen by ambition after he hears the witches’ words - though their promises are ultimately empty. Evil and the Supernatural ‘Hence, horrible shadow,’ (3.4 104) The ghost of Banquo has materialised from the air and then disappears into air at Macbeth’s bidding. Violence ‘Come thick night, / And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, / That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, (1.5.50-53) Lady Macbeth summons a symbolic smoke to hide her evil and violent deeds. Guilt and Conscience ‘As she is troubled with thick coming fancies / That keep her from her rest.’ (5.3 38-39) Lady Macbeth’s mind is polluted by her guilt. Loyalty to Royalty ‘heaven's cherubim, horsed / Upon the sightless couriers of the air, / Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, / That tears shall drown the wind.’ (1.7 22- 25) It was believed that kings were connected to God and so doing harm against them would upset the airy heavenly spirits. Atmospheric Symbolism Chart Theme Quote Explanation Appearance and Reality Order and Disorder Ambition Evil and the Supernatural Violence Guilt and Conscience Loyalty to Royalty Atmospheric Symbolism Quotes and Explanations Explanation The day and the night have become disordered due to the unfolding plots of murder and deceit. The ghost of Banquo has materialised from the air and then disappears into air at Macbeth’s bidding. It was believed that kings were connected to God and so doing harm against them would upset the airy heavenly spirits. It might appear to the King that the air is sweet, but the castle is symbolically polluted by Macbeth’s plots. Lady Macbeth summons a symbolic smoke to hide her evil and violent deeds. Lady Macbeth’s mind is polluted by her guilt. Like a balloon or bubble, Macbeth is swollen by ambition after he hears the witches’ words - though their promises are ultimately empty. Quotes ‘Two truths are told / As happy prologues to the swelling act / Of the imperial theme.’ (1.3 130-133) ‘This castle hath a pleasant seat, the air / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle senses.’ (1.6.1-3) ‘Come thick night, / And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, / That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, (1.5.50-53) ‘heaven's cherubim, horsed / Upon the sightless couriers of the air, / Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, / That tears shall drown the wind.’ (1.7 22-25) ‘By th' clock 'tis day, / And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp. / Is't night's predominance, or the day's shame, / That darkness does the face of earth entomb / When living light should kiss it?’ (2.4. 6-10) ‘Hence, horrible shadow,’ (3.4 104) ‘As she is troubled with thick coming fancies / That keep her from her rest.’ (5.3 38-39) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Education Pack - Air Pollution in Macbeth Description An account of the resource This education pack includes a lesson plan and associated resources that can be used to explore the issue of air pollution in relation to William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The resources are designed for pupils aged approximately 14-16 years. but could be adapted for use with older pupils. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CC BY-NC 2.0 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarah Sharp Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Evelyn O'Malley, Chloe Preedy, and Courtney Priday. The suggested activities are informed by work undertaken with Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton, and the Minack Theatre Academy. Relation A related resource Image Gallery (#1): <a href="https://teach.shakespearesglobe.com/macbeth-images?previous=/library/category/images-10" target="_blank" title="Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Globe" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Globe (various productions)</a> Image Gallery (#2): <a href="https://images.rsc.org.uk/action/browseItems?categoryId=211&categoryTypeId=1" target="_blank" title="Shakespeare's Macbeth at the RSC" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shakespeare's Macbeth at the RSC (various productions)</a> Image Gallery (#3): <a href="https://www.minack.com/explorewhat-we-doour-past-shows/verdis-macbeth" target="_blank" title="Verdi's Macbeth at the Minack" rel="noreferrer noopener">Verdi's Macbeth at the Minack (2019)</a> Interview with Emma Gersch Emma Gersch is the Artistic Director of <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/90">Moving Stories</a>. Moving Stories creates inclusive and accessible theatre that engages and inspires its audiences. They have made large scale Shakespearean productions for the <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/10">Minack Theatre</a>, staged new writing across Europe and the UK, and created site specific events in bedrooms, offices, and castles. Moving Stories is also the home of <a href="https://www.movingstories.org.uk/bandofmothers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Band of Mothers</a>, a group of artists who harness the creative power of motherhood and allow it to inform their creative work. In this video, Emma discusses her extensive experience of directing plays for performance in open-air contexts, including Macbeth. Emma Gersch on Macbeth (edited start time): <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-zplOIFBc_E?start=1124&rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe> <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/142">Interview with Emma Gersch (full version and transcript)</a> Macbeth Pollution Shakespeare