What: Stage any one act of "The Scottish Play" using items you would ordinarily find on a table in a diner, drive-in, dive, BBQ joint, Scottish pub, Waffle House, IHOP, cafeteria, or city cafe
How: Interpretive Video Project with a Writing Component
Why: Demonstrate your understanding of the play
When: By April 8th (Blue) or April 9th (Silver)
Particulars:
You will need to stage one act of Macbeth on a table using only the kinds of things you might find on the table at an ordinary mid-scale restaurant. Solo projects only need to stage one act of their choice whereas group acts need to stage the entire play (one act each). Each student will "perform" their chosen act using the items as players, blocking the action, reciting critical lines, and acting out the scenes in order. You will also need to record a video of this performance for submission with your dramatis personae, both of which are due on or before your class' due date. Your recording must be a Quicktime file or MP3, i.e. a non-esoteric, commonly-playable file that could be easily accessed by my mother.
The dramatis personae will be comprised of a list of all characters in your chosen act, what items will represent each character, and explanations for how the items represent the characters. Each of these explanations will be one paragraph in length with citations from the text substantiating the comparisons. (E.g., this bottle of Texas Pete represents Lady Macbeth and her spicy temper, as seen in Act II, sc iii, lines 132-56.) There is the expectation that the comparisons will be abstract; after all, mustard rarely moves around as much as Macduff. Would this have been more easily performed with sock puppets or action figures or My Little Ponies? Yes. Yes, it would have, which is why we wanted to see what you could do with condiments.
You: "But what items are found on a table in a diner, drive-in, BBQ joint, Scottish pub, Waffle House, IHOP, cafeteria, or city cafe?"
Me: Really?
Me: Okay. Salt, pepper, napkin dispenser, catsup, mustard, mayo, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, pepper sauce, creamers, sugar, sweeteners, butter, pancake syrup, international varieties of flavored pancake syrup, paper towel roll, menu, malt vinegar, horseradish, B&B plate, utensils, soy sauce, chop sticks, sweet and sour sauce, straws, whatever else you might ordinarily see on a table in a restaurant.
The dramatis personae will be comprised of a list of all characters in your chosen act, what items will represent each character, and explanations for how the items represent the characters. Each of these explanations will be one paragraph in length with citations from the text substantiating the comparisons. (E.g., this bottle of Texas Pete represents Lady Macbeth and her spicy temper, as seen in Act II, sc iii, lines 132-56.) There is the expectation that the comparisons will be abstract; after all, mustard rarely moves around as much as Macduff. Would this have been more easily performed with sock puppets or action figures or My Little Ponies? Yes. Yes, it would have, which is why we wanted to see what you could do with condiments.
You: "But what items are found on a table in a diner, drive-in, BBQ joint, Scottish pub, Waffle House, IHOP, cafeteria, or city cafe?"
Me: Really?
Me: Okay. Salt, pepper, napkin dispenser, catsup, mustard, mayo, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, pepper sauce, creamers, sugar, sweeteners, butter, pancake syrup, international varieties of flavored pancake syrup, paper towel roll, menu, malt vinegar, horseradish, B&B plate, utensils, soy sauce, chop sticks, sweet and sour sauce, straws, whatever else you might ordinarily see on a table in a restaurant.
