First, I would like to thank everyone who made my participation in the program possible. I owe a debt of gratitude to ESU Lebanon Mrs Youmna Asseily, and Mrs Mona Shaheen, and ESU-London for giving me the scholarship and the chance to get an understanding of Shakespeare on stage, how it should be taught in the classroom, and meet new wonderful people. I thank the Globe Director Patrick Spottingswoode, who has repeatedly said he wishes to bring Shakespeare’s words to life through ‘the soul of lively action’. I tell him you at the Globe are doing that and marvelously too. I thank president Amine Daouk for his trust and nomination of me to this wonderful program. You will soon see a Shakespeare project implemented at AlMakassed.
The program:
On day one we agreed on a set of common goals to reach after the seven day course and worked towards them:
· Setting historical context
· Exploring activities to enliven the teaching of Shakespeare
· Seeking opportunities to cultural exposure
· Seeking enrichment of personal experience
The program started with a Shakespeare tour around London, where we, the delegates, were divided into five groups of six each. We were given a guide booklet on where to find a representation of Shakespeare in London. Afterwards we would reflect on its staging and location, posture, costume, age depicted, status of art form, and the effect of medium on artists’ style of representation. The tour was of great value since it showed how Shakespeare is present everywhere in London and in the English culture, in different forms as monuments, paintings, signs, stones above a public square; even in different places from libraries, to cathedrals, to piazzas; even in bars and restaurants and souvenir shops. Even for those who were in London before, it was new because they did not notice before how Shakespeare is literally everywhere. Concerning the other days, the sessions were either staged inside the Globe rooms or at a nearby venue. There were movement classes, voice classes, text classes, a clothing session, and a music demonstration. These classes aimed at giving us a firsthand exposure from the members of Globe Theater on how productions at the Globe are conceived, prepared for, staged, and mounted. Furthermore, we participated in a Shakespeare’s exhibition tour and a Heaven to Hell backstage tour. We watched three plays: Henry VIII, Henry IV part 1, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. We also had the chance to participate in two critique sessions on the plays we attended, and we attended an ESU reception dinner at Dartmouth House.
As you can notice from the aforementioned, there was something for everyone; for teachers of English, for teachers of drama, for actors, for directors etc…A lot is online, but when a person is there and experiences all this wealth firsthand, it is totally a different experience. New kinds of techniques to use with our students were on offer. There were also many ideas for activities that can be used as icebreakers or for extracurricular activities, such as cardio graphic drawing and archetypes movements. I really appreciate the integrity of the course. All sessions were integrated and all presenters were talking about the same thing from a different angle. So if we combine all the pieces we would get the complete picture of how Shakespeare should be taught in our classrooms and how Shakespeare plays should be staged. Most of the sessions were practically oriented and the very few which were not stood out. There were connections between the sessions; they were well thought of and flew logically. There was an amalgam of cultural representatives and a sense of unity and friendship. However, there was not enough time for socializing because the program was packed off. To remedy this, we planned to start a facebook group for us and join the ESU facebook group. I also promised to start a blog for our group called: Friends of Will; and I will invite all participants to be authors and share all the experiences we will have in our country when teaching or staging Shakespeare.
The course aim was to “provide teachers equivalent to British secondary school level with insights into the crafts involved in creating a production for the Globe Theatre.” It has reached its aim and more than that! This course sums up the Globe and what’s happening there. It is charged with positive energy and this energy emitted to us. The whole week recharged us and we went back home with a full luggage of new ideas. We will definitely be more interesting to those whom we work with, whether teachers or students. I can confidently call it the jewel of ongoing professional training, because it was all brand new to me. It made me enter a world I have never been to before: the world of dramatic play. In terms of personal enrichment I cannot set the measure and say it made reach a certain point, because I would never know how it will inspire me and where it will take me after working with other Makassed teachers on the project I proposed in my application. The project fits perfectly well in what I have taken and I hope it will be successfully implemented the coming academic year.
It is difficult to suggest what to add to this course. There are few things, however, that I wished were present; for instance, a visit to Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace, handouts on all sessions taken, a list of recommended readings, especially on dealing with Shakespeare in the primary level, an afternoon off for socializing or rest, more discussion on Shakespeare in different curricula, a wrap up session with all the presenters…
To sum up I would like to say to me it was an injection of new spirit. I deeply thank everyone who made my participation possible. To you all I say you are all great people who really made a difference. Thanks to YOU all.
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