Hi, My name is Jeff Rufo. I'm a visiting faculty fellow at the Center for Cultural Analysis, Rutgers. Prior to this appointment, I was an assistant professor of English at Trinity University in San Antonio. My research is on early modern literature and culture, with special emphasis upon drama and the history of political thought. I'm excited to write for Pixels and Pedagogy, so thanks to Claire for this opportunity!

Email me at jarufo@gmail.com

There are a lot of good reasons to think hard, if not creatively, about how to teach Shakespeare's Hamlet--a play most experience at some point in life (I first read it in high school, in the 90s) whether they want to or not. I needn't rehearse the way in which Hamlet remains at the heart of the Western literary and cultural tradition. And yet, despite its near omnipresence in twenty-first century Anglophone cultures, the play can be challenging to teach. This is due neither to a dearth of quality material to discuss with students (regardless of level), nor a lack of pedagogical resources on Shakespeare and this particular play (see, for instance, the Folger Shakespeare Library's publications geared towards teaching). Rather, I think that teaching Hamlet is difficult because it's hard to know where precisely to dig in when facing such a treasure trove.

In Spring 2011, while teaching at Trinity University in San Antonio, I taught a course called "Hamlet in Performance." Collaborating with my friend and colleague Kyle Gillette (Department of Speech, Theater, and Human Communication at Trinity), we secured a pedagogical innovation grant to develop a Shakespeare course for theater and literature students. We used the funds mostly to work at research libraries and teaching institutes, preparing to teach the play through performative and historical lenses. My time was spent at the Folger in Washington, D.C., where I attended some great workshops. (I highly recommend spending at least one week there, no matter what you teach or write about.)

Course Description: "Hamlet in Performance" will give students critical and artistic approaches to considering Shakespeare in different intellectual, social, and aesthetic contexts, taking Hamlet as a point of departure. Mixing theory and practice, this class will introduce students to the overlapping ways in which literary and theatre studies challenge, inform, and feed one another. Combined with the traditional analytic approach to literary texts, with its emphasis upon close reading and critical contexts, “Hamlet in Performance” will also attend to problems of directing, acting, and adapting Hamlet. Students will be asked to weigh the thematic resonance of these performance questions in Hamlet itself, questions which must be understood as central metatheatrical components of the play’s analytic sensibility concerning “being” and “seeming.” For instance, how do production decisions and spectator perspectives influence questions of interpretation?  Conversely, how do theoretical questions inform performance and production decisions? We will focus on Hamlet as a play in many ways about theatre, about staging, about issues inherent in theatre studies and performance studies, such as the nature of memory, acting as a form of ghosting, theatre as a space for political reflection, drama as embodied philosophy, and performance as “a rehearsal for death.” Through close reading, directing, performing, and by viewing the enactment of the same scenes across different media, students will get to the heart of these important questions about dramatic literature and its theatrical interpretations.

"Hamlet in Performance" was, for the most part, a success. Kyle and I learned a lot from the experiment, and would have liked another crack at it. The most significant learning took place when we had students take on projects in which small groups were asked to create adaptations of (or inspired by) the play itself. We felt that the best work was done when students focused on a single episode, piece of dialogue, theme, or question in the play. Some of the concepts that our students excavated and repurposed in their own productions were "ghosting and haunting," metatheatricality, Machiavellian rhetoric and performance, spying, and addiction. 

Some of the more memorable presentations focused on an especially notable scene--the famous play within a play. In Act 3 scene 2, Hamlet hires an itinerant troupe of professional performers to stage a play known as "The Murder of Gonzago," which Hamlet later calls "The Mousetrap." Here's a synopsis of what happens in the scene:

Hamlet tells a group of actors how he wants them to perform the play that's about to begin. He'd like it to come off naturally: they shouldn't be too loud, or gesticulate too much, as bad actors often do. Instead, they should use their discretion to build up suspense with their actions. Most importantly, they shouldn't be tempted to get a cheap laugh, since the audience might miss the important parts. Throughout the scene, Hamlet gives directions as if experienced with acting. He pulls Horatio aside, and asks a favor. Horatio is asked to watch Claudius's reactions, especially when the play depicts killing of King Gonzago (in precisely the way the Ghost says he was killed). If the play does not reveal Claudius as the killer, Hamlet promises Horatio that he will admit to having seen a "damnèd ghost" rather than the honest spirit of his late father. Hamlet's play, The Mousetrap, is a game of chicken which, if he wins, will reveal--with absolute certainty--Claudius's guilt.

Before the play itself begins, there is a dumb show, which shows the following things silently: A man murders a king while he is sleeping in his garden. His loving wife, initially inconsolable over the king's death, marries the usurper, who has crowned himself king. Then, oddly, the the play itself begins, only with words this time. In the first scene, the Queen repeatedly swears to her husband (the King) that she will never remarry. Oh, sure, says the King in the play: she's faithful now, but she'll forget all her faithfulness as soon as she's in her new husband's bed, which should happen roughly about the time her old husband dies. Hamlet says the play, called "The Mouse-Trap," is a "wicked piece of work," but wouldn't bother anybody with a clean conscience. The husband/King is taking a nap when his nephew sneaks in and pours poison in his ear —exactly what Claudius did to Hamlet's father. Seeing this, Claudius gets out of his seat and rushes out of the room. As everyone but Hamlet and Horatio rushes out of the room, Hamlet gloats about this brilliant performance.

This scene seems to connect directly back to problems that can only be considered central to the play's meaning: questions of knowledge, concerning the actions and morality of others. If Hamlet is to trust his father's ghost and kill his uncle Claudius (the new King of Denmark), he must acheive absolute certainty that he is doing "the right thing," whatever that might be.

Going through the collaborative and deliberative process of generating and giving a production pitch--as opposed to"staging" a reading of the original dialogue--encouraged our students to consider the contemporary relevance (or enduring meanings) of Hamlet. Using performance in an English classroom, with its primary focus on printed texts, need not always be a staid affair. We wanted our students to experiment, to play seriously, to take risks, and even to court failure. Shakespeare is an invitation to engage, no matter how much cultural value we tend to ascribe to him. Anything that we as teachers can do to break down the barriers that keep him apart from us (above us?) will help the uninitiated come to understand and appreciate "him." Although focusing on Shakespeare's language will always be a fruitful approach, younger students may benefit from focusing more on the forest than the trees.

Adaptation / Production Pitch assignment:

General description: The “production pitch” midterm assignment will count for 15 % of your final grade and is to be done in groups of 5. It will consist of suggesting a possible production of Hamlet pitched to a “board of directors” or group of programming coordinators for some sort of theater, performance space, or cultural institution. For the purpose of this assignment, these roles will be played by members of the class during your pitch. You will choose as a group what theater, performance space, or cultural institution we are (e.g., The Foxwoods Theater on Broadway? The rebuilt Globe in London? The Off-Center in Austin? The ruins of an old castle in Denmark or old pyramid in Cairo? An elementary school somewhere in rural Oklahoma?). This decision should deeply inform your interpretation and vision, and should include specific research into the venue in question. 

Please note: the “pitch” must directly involve and feature all group members. It must last between 15 and 20 minutes (make sure to rehearse and time this, as all presentations will be cut off after the time limit). Attendance is required at both sessions, because you will serve on the “board of directors” during the other pitches and will be expected to ask follow-up questions at the end of each presentation.

Structure: Here is one way in which you might wish to structure your group’s production pitch. Begin by having one member of the group introduce the concept and outline the major elements. Then, after the broad vision has been sketched out, hand off to the next member of the group. Each member might then address a specific aspect of your vision as outlined below in the 4 major categories, or you might choose to divide the visual aspect among group members and then look at the other categories together. It might be helpful to have a short scene performed or read aloud if you feel this can elucidate some aspect of your approach. Finally, give some “concluding remarks” (like the conclusion of an academic essay or closing remarks in a trial) in which you address the significance of your work (and the other points mentioned in the “assessment” category below). In both your introduction and concluding remarks you should address us as the hypothetical board and explain why our theater in particular needs this production. Remember: the goal is to make us want your production in our next season.

Content: Each group is asked to present its unique “vision” of a performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that it proposes to stage, or otherwise present. This vision should include detailed descriptions and ideas pertaining to the following aspects of production design: 

• Visual and aural aspects. These should include but not be limited to the choice of performance space, costuming, lighting, set design, and sound design. Your presentation should give a tangible sense of how this production will look and sound. While you can and should talk about the choices you will make, we want to see actual images -- sketches, visual research, collages, etc -- so that we can better understand your vision. Please give a sense of at least five different scenes, including one Ghost scene and the Mousetrap.

• What will you be looking for from the actors you intend to cast for the major roles? How do you see Gertrude or Laertes or Polonius, for example? What traits would describe your take? You might use either well-known stage or cinema actors or students in the class to give us a sense of how you see these parts physically, vocally, and in terms of personal affect. Attend not only to individuals but also to the chemistry between people. Describe your casting choices or approaches for at least 5 characters. 
• Script. What version of the play or which text will you use? How will you deal with “cuts” and other aspects of language? Include both your base or “control” text -- First Folio? Arden? “Bad” Quarto? -- and a few ideas about specific cuts to make, if any. You could certainly choose to do a 4 ½ hour production, or even, for that matter, think really big and do a giant 48 hour production with slow motion and lots of repetition and added subplots. Remember also that sometimes thinking big means thinking small: maybe you want to do a 30 minute version appropriate for a tour of area high-schools.... 
• Interpretation. How do your visual, casting, and script choices, which should convey a “directorial vision” of the play in performance, relate to your interpretation of the play -- specifically, its plot, characters, themes, and meanings? Your discussion of interpretation should also relate specifically to the ideas we’ve discussed in class: textual problems and ambiguities, ideas about metatheater, ghosting, the nature of character, the history of Hamlet in performance, etc. This part should receive a few minutes in your presentation but should also and more importantly dominate the written component: 5 pages you will turn in that will summarize aspects 1-3, detail who in your group did what, and make a case for your interpretation.

Assessment: Your grade for the project will be determined based on the following four criteria, which are of equal “value”:

• Boldness of choices and clarity of your “vision.” Brave, striking choices score higher than safe ones. Your choices should reflect a strong point of view, intensive effort, and a striking aesthetic. Ask yourself, what is the goal of the production as you see it? It should be a worthy one!
• Amount of detail and rigor in your “research.” You needn’t consult outside texts and materials for this component, but we encourage all groups to explore what is available on the web and in the library. You might wish to draw inspiration from film versions, from artistic renderings of the play, from literary criticism and theater reviews, for instance. You must include references to texts we have read in class (Rosenbaum, Dawson, States, Stoppard, et. al.).
• Sophistication of interpretation. How does your vision relate to the themes and texts of the course? This includes a consistency of theme and unity of vision. Do your visual, aural, casting, and script elements unify, or at least clash in an interesting and thoughtful way?
• Relevance. Why does this production need to be done whenever and wherever you are proposing? Why does the particular theater or venue’s audience need this production of Hamlet? What is unique about your group’s talents and experiences that qualifies you to bring this vision to life?

I visited with teachers at a New York City public school yesterday: the Quest to Learn Institute of Play in lower Manhattan. They teach a curriculum centered on games and game design. After witnessing some of the innovative, playful approaches to Shakespeare at this school, I'm now wondering what a "game version" of The Mousetrap scene might look like. What are the most crucial moments of dialogue, for instance, that must be adapted or otherwise absorbed into the game? Is role play or simulation the most likely scenario for Quest students, or is theatricality and performance too far removed from Common Core directives to be "useful" in the classroom, as concerning learning outcomes? Put simply, what might we expect to learn from a lesson in which students use Hamlet as the basis for a game? Adaptations don't need to be theatrical or performative in nature, as in our assignment above. Rather, they can be acts of cultural translation--ways of reconfiguring narrative material that make a text's intrinsic values more explicit (dare I say real?), and not only to our students, but to all stakeholders in academic and educational communities.

Note from Claire: Hyperion to a Satyr is a great blog to explore that has a wealth of information about Hamlet, including a series of posts (click here) all about The Mousetrap. Check it out!

As promised, here are some paper prompts for both The Glass Menagerie and Trifles.  Some of these prompts are individual to one author or the other, and some ask for an argument that synthesizes readings of the two plays. As I noted before, I have benefited from the advice of my friend and co-teacher, Tiffany Gilmore. The paper prompts below were written variously by Tiffany or by me.

• Modern plays, and Tennessee Williams’ in particular, are often intensely dialogue-driven and often include minimal stage directions and sets.  Consider how either stage directions or props help develop the theme(s) of one of the plays we read.  You may not choose the glass menagerie as a prop to develop the theme for dreams/fantasy/illusions.  However, all other props are available: the father’s portrait, the victrola, the furniture, etc.  You may use multiple props within one argument but your essay should not list an analysis of several props (the furniture represents this….. the photos on the wall represent this….the clothing represents this….) Avoid the obvious: “the shabby apartment , furnishings and clothing represents the poverty of the Wingfield family.”
• Trifles is about small things which “say” a lot, what do we learn about the other characters, the plot, or something else through these small things which are overlooked by the male characters?  Stage directions focus the attention on the character/actor’s movements.  How is a character developed through their movements in or relationship to the physical space of the set?  How is a particular theme developed through stage directions that we could not get through dialogue alone?
  
• Compare and contrasts the images of the sets for Trifles and The Glass Menagerie. Why do you think that these sets are so sparse? How does that sparseness do signifying work in the plays? How does the physical space of modern theater affect the way that you judge Tom and Mrs. Wright?
  
• Does Glaspell seem to think that justice has been achieved by the end of Trifles?  Whether or not you think Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters were right for hiding the evidence from the men, how does the play make you want to see it one way or another?  You might consider how the plot develops, the stage directions impact our understanding of central conflicts in the play, or certain items seem loaded with symbolic meaning.  How do these literary devices make the reader consider justice from a certain point of view? 
  

And this final paper prompt is one that I liked a lot--but it's putting The Glass Menagerie into dialogue with Shakespeare instead of with Glaspell. Even though it's a bit off-topic, I thought I would share it with you!

• Compare and contrast the theme of dreams in the two plays we read in our class, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Glass Menagerie.  How does reading the two texts together give you insight into the kind of statement about dreams that one of the plays is making? We spoke at length about how the dreamers in The Glass Menagerie can seem to be both courageous and selfish—and how the play presents dreams as either necessary or dangerous.  Does that discussion of dreams affect how you think about the types of dreamers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, whom Theseus helpfully lists as lovers, madmen, and poets?  Alternatively, does thinking about the ambiguity regarding whether or not the dreamers in the forest outside of Athens learn from their journey help you to conceptualize whether or not Tom has learned anything as he presents his memory play to us?

First off, thanks to Claire for giving me the opportunity to guest post on her blog. I currently teach full-time at South Louisiana Community College. My interests are British literature and women's studies, but I teach everything from developmental English to American literature.

Erin M. Breaux     
erin.breaux@solacc.edu

     Over the last few years, I have gotten much more creative in my approach to the classroom. It's been exciting for me as a teacher. At the same time, I decided to require that students get more creative in gen-ed literature surveys. Those who are adventurous and artistic will run with it--going above the requirements, clearly in their element! Some will be very uncomfortable with such an open assignment; they are used to organized essays, and they don't know what to do when given a different option. But this is an assignment where I can and do reward effort and process. Some may complain at first because they'll think that they aren't creative or that this will be harder than a regular essay. But so many students say in their reflections that they actually ended up having fun and that they are proud of what they wrote/created.

     Let's face it--the students taking my gen-ed Brit Lit survey are there because it is required, and they are not planning to be English majors. I began to wonder whether they *had* to have the traditional literature analysis essay. Could I let them work on the same skills, and perhaps spur them to appreciate the fun of literature, by utilizing creative projects? In fact, through the assignments I share, students can practice and show close reading, attention to detail, and understanding of literary elements and forms. The assignments are win-win because they are also FUN for me to read. I sometimes have to make myself grade composition essays first because I want to skip them and read the fun stuff--i.e. these literature projects! :)

Either of these projects could be adapted into a low-stakes or in-class assignment if you prefer. I think having the whole class or small groups do a collaborative imitation in class could be fun though I haven't tried that.

Creative Adaptation/Imitation Project:
     The first assignment that I share below can be adapted for almost any literature course, and you could give more specific prompts or ideas connected to course texts if you desired. As you see, students also reflect and explain a bit so it helps me gauge their effort. In the future, I would like to build in a day on which students share an excerpt with the class. 

Choose a literary work by one of the authors on our reading schedule (or, if you would like to work with an author in the anthology who we did not read, you just need to get it approved by me), and then do one of the following options. Some students have successfully melded two of the options:

1.     rewrite a scene/excerpt in the literary work from a different character/speaker    perspective or point of view
2.     rewrite a scene/excerpt in a different genre or different author’s style so that the product becomes an interesting juxtaposition
3.     write a different backstory, ending, or extension of story/text to explore how the work would change
4.     rewrite a scene/excerpt with modern situation/setting in order to consider modern relevance of the older text
5.     write a parody/satiric version of a literary text so that you gently or harshly make fun of the original text or ideas within
6.     write a personal creative work inspired by a literary text in order to see how literature can prompt exploration of your life

All options should include you doing some imitation of the style of the original text/ author/ genre. By style, I mean literary devices, sound, syntax (types of sentences, order of words), and diction/language (formality, tone, words used, figurative language). Any genre elements are in play here, too, like drama being separated by character and including stage directions, and poetry including poetic lines (not prose) and, if applicable to original, rhyme (some half-rhyme is ok). You are not required to imitate meter unless you like the challenge! 

After completing the creative version, I want you to reflect on what you did. Include an at least one-page paper about the reason for choosing original text, process of writing, any challenges, your attempts to overcome them, your goal(s), your reasons for certain choices, what was most interesting, and how well you think you accomplished your goals/vision. Consider this like an artist’s statement that may be posted next to artist’s painting in an art gallery—and mix that with an assignment reflection.    

You will be graded on the following elements:

• Clear imitation/inspiration from genre, literary, stylistic elements of original 
• Content/theme makes logical sense with knowledge of original
• Unique connections between original and adaptation
• Uses creativity and shows effort  
• Process Paper included and meets requirements

I have allowed a few students to do multimedia versions. In Women’s Lit, I have received an original spoken word poem on religion and homosexuality and a video that included music, images, and student text on how women have been portrayed in modern music. In British and American survey courses, a few highlights have been “Prologue of a Millennial”—a satiric imitation of a pilgrim’s prologue in Canterbury Tales but the subject was a 21st century millennial, and a poem inspired by Gwendolyn Brooks' “We Real Cool” that explored the challenges of living as a young black man with characteristics that some black classmates considered too “white.” It was honest and touching. This is when you know that literature has impacted a student! This spring, a student wrote a poem “Mrs. Jekyll” in the style of Carol Ann Duffy, while making central an invisible character from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The juxtaposition was perfect.

Multi-Author Conversation Project:
     I have also tried a group project which is a fun way to end the semester. I give the students a couple of days in class to work with their groups, and then they perform. The project requires that students think about what positions and personalities the authors would logically have, and it makes them reflect back on the works read and information learned. Most groups are quite creative and use contemporary references with humor. 

In groups of 3-4, you are going to join 3-4 authors in actual conversation with each other. Each person will assume the role of a particular author and speak as him or her. You can have them discuss a cultural/social or literary issue whether historical or contemporary (today’s society)—one that they could legitimately discuss even though you’re crossing the time/space continuum. It would be pretty hard to have Bierce and Williams (Am Lit) or Wordsworth and Yeats (Brit Lit) discussing Britney Spears, for example, but having female authors discuss her as possible feminist pop culture icon and their characters could work. What the authors say should analyze the issue and show what their actual perspectives were or would likely be based on what you know and have read by them. You can use examples and quotes from their works or each other’s works. Be creative but also show me that you’ve thought about these author’s works, their ideas, and relevant issues--and you’ve considered connections and applications based on that information.

You’ll present your conversation to the class by reading your script, which should not have speech by author A then speech by author B, etc. It should be a back and forth, speak and respond, conversation. Of course, memorization or extemporaneous speech is not necessary, but feel free to improvise if it comes to you! You will turn your “script” into me after you present it. (P.S. No acting skills are necessary although you should not read your script in monotone! But bringing a prop that would represent your author or setting would be fun or if you’re good at impersonations, have at it!) Your conversation should be 8-10 minutes long with all authors speaking around the same amount.

I will grade each person based on his or her author persona and on the overall conversation. Here are the specific elements I’ll be looking at:

• Creativity & Effort
• Analytical Thinking and Connections
• Logical Content of Script
• Knowledge of Author and Works
• Flow of Script as a whole
  

     Who knows what will happen when Allen Ginsberg, Anne Sexton, and Mark Twain are together in an insane asylum, for instance, and the audience doesn't even realize where they are until the very end? Or how would gothic and supernatural writers from the 18th and 19th centuries (Radcliffe, Rossetti, Gaskell, and Stevenson) judge Twilight and Harry Potter? Those are examples of conversation scenarios that students have done. We have ended the semester with laughter each time! Frankly, they know that if they get me to laugh, that is a good sign!

I hope these assignments give you inspiration and ideas. Infusing creative writing into my literature surveys has been such a reward for my students and me.

Have you tried creative projects in your literature classes? Please share and let us know how they worked!