Arts in the Renaissance: Scene from Hamlet

Actor Kevin Hardesty performs the famous “To be, or not to be” soliloquy from Act III, Scene I of the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. Hardesty opens the segment with an introduction to the scene.

Arts in the Renaissance: Scene from Much Ado About Nothing

The main plot in Much Ado About Nothing revolves around Claudio and Hero. This scene features the more mature lovers from the play—Beatrice and Benedick. Hero’s character has been defamed, causing her fiancé, Claudio, to reject her at the alter. Enraged, Beatrice urges Benedick to kill Claudio.

African/African-American Culture: Anansi's Rescue from the River

In this video, storyteller Nana Yaa Asantewaa performs the story “Anansi’s Rescue from the River.” The Anansi tales are told by the Ashanti people of Ghana, West Africa, and have been passed down through the generations by oral tradition.

Japanese Culture: Bunraku

In this excerpt from a documentary on Bunraku, students meet an apprentice studying to be a puppeteer at Bunraku Theater in Osaka. In addition, they learn a little bit about the history of this classic Japanese art form and see puppets being manipulated.

Japanese Culture: Japanese Aesthetics

Shozo Sato provides a brief overview of Japanese aesthetics and explains the major differences between Western and Japanese aesthetics. He talks about the Japanese emphasis on stylization and the function of art and the artist in Japanese society.

Japanese Culture: Kabuki Actor's Technique

Shozo Sato describes Kabuki acting technique and the training that Kabuki performers, traditionally all male, go through in order to learn how to play male, female, young, and old characters. He demonstrates vocal inflections and actual movements—walking, how the head is held, poses—of various Kabuki characters.

Japanese Culture: Kabuki Makeup

Kabuki master Shozo Sato applies makeup to actor Michael Goldberg as he discusses about how makeup is applied and how colors and lines help suggest character. In Kabuki theater, makeup is used to express a character’s personality.

Japanese Culture: Scene from Macbeth Kabuki-Style

In the segment Macbeth: Kabuki Style, actors Michael Goldberg and Barbara Robertson perform the scene from Macbeth in which Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plot the murder of Duncan. The text used by the actors in this video was adapted to better suit Kabuki-style performance and only resembles the standard text of Macbeth.

Twelfth Night Act 1 Sc 1

In this video from Penn State's School of Theatre production of Twelfth Night, Duke Orsino is pining away for Lady Olivia, but refuses to do anything about it. In addition, Olivia is mourning for her dead brother and has vowed to be chaste for seven years, which only adds to Orsino’s morbid pleasure.

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Twelfth Night Act 1 Sc 1 Lesson Plan

In this lesson based on Act 1 Sc 1 of Twelfth Night, students characterize Orsino and Olivia. They examine themes of ideas of marriage and levels of love, using journals, video, and inquiries about marriage and courtship in the Elizabethan Era.

Twelfth Night Act 1 Sc 2

In this video from Penn State's School of Theatre production of Twelfth Night, Viola, the heroine, is rescued from a shipwreck. She finds she is in a land ruled by an eligible bachelor (Orsino) and disguises herself as a man to protect herself.

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Twelfth Night Act 1 Sc 2 Lesson Plan

In this lesson based on Act 1 Sc 2 of Twelfth Night, students characterize Viola and discuss suspension of disbelief. They examine the potential for tragedy within comedy, and vocabulary. Activities include journals, video, acting, and an inquiry.

Twelfth Night Act 1 Sc 3

In this video from Penn State's School of Theatre production of Twelfth Night, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Maria are introduced and their roles in this play established. Sir Toby wishes for the forever-intoxicated Sir Andrew to woo Olivia.

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Twelfth Night Act 1 Sc 3 Lesson Plan

In this lesson based on Act 1 Sc 3 of Twelfth Night, students characterize Sir Toby Belch, Maria, and Sir Andrew Aguecheck. They discuss vocabulary and literary devices (malapropism, aside, and dance terms). Activities include journals, video, and an inquiry into etiquette.

Twelfth Night Act 1 Sc 4 Lesson Plan

In this lesson based on Act 1 Sc 4 of Twelfth Night, students characterize Orsino. They discuss vocabulary and literary devices (cliffhanger and mythology). Activities include journal entries, persuasive tactics, and an inquiry, about wooing a woman.

Twelfth Night Act 1 Sc 5 Lesson Plan

In this lesson based on Act 1 Sc 5 of Twelfth Night, students explore the theme of the ability to see your folly, if Feste is really a fool, and puns. Activities include journal entries, creating a prompt book, and an inquiry about clowns.

Twelfth Night Act 2 Sc 1 Lesson Plan

In this lesson based on Act 2 Sc 1 of Twelfth Night,students characterize Sebastian and Antonio. They discuss the potential for tragedy within a comedy and levels of love, personification, puns, and rhymes. Activities include journals and inquiries.

Twelfth Night Act 2 Sc 2

In this video from Penn State's School of Theatre production of Twelfth Night, Olivia sends a ring to Cesario via Malvolio under the pretext that he (Viola) had dropped it. Viola realizes that Olivia has fallen in love with her (or Cesario).

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Twelfth Night Act 2 Sc 2 Lesson Plan

This lesson based on Act 2 Sc 2 of Twelfth Night focuses on gender roles and levels of love, and the literary devices of synecdoche and apostrophe. Students write about first impressions and stereotypes and critique the actor who plays Viola.

Twelfth Night Act 2 Sc 3

In this video from Penn State's School of Theatre production of Twelfth Night, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Feste are in a boisterous mood that raises the ire of Malvolio. Incensed at his highhandedness, Maria and the trio hatch a plan to fool him.

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