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November 1, 1999
Creating a Web Site with Resources for Teaching Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
By Sheryl Hinman
For teachers, one of the Internet's greatest features has been its facility to let colleagues find and connect with one another. I, for example, became an eager harvester of online abundance, gleaning scores of lesson plans and supplemental materials from sites created by others. A posting by a first-year literature teacher, however, motivated me to build a site myself.
On a Shakespeare message board, a teacher desperately requested lesson plans for Julius Caesar. Several teachers responded, but all commiserated with her about the difficulty of helping today's high school students understand and enjoy this complex drama.
Because I'm an avid Shakespeare enthusiast, I came away pondering ways I might contribute to others. I knew of an initiative called ThinkQuest for Tomorrow's Teachers, a competition to encourage educators to collaborate in building academic sites. The program hosts an extensive and widely used library of educational sites.
I jumped at the chance to form a team-and so did six other people. Our team of two high school teachers, two college professors, two education majors, and a technology mentor worked for ten months to create the site of our dreams.
We advanced from brainstorming storyboard meetings, to individual research and writing, and finally to marathon site-production sessions. From the beginning, we knew we wanted a site that was interactive and which would provide unique resources.
Globenext: The Tragedy of Julius Caesar approaches the play by introducing students to the professional theater personnel who work so hard to bring it alive. For example, drama professor Elizabeth Carlin Metz interviewed five directors and three actors who have worked on and performed the play. Visitors to our site can learn about these participants' insights, see photos and artwork from their productions, and even listen to excerpts from two scenes.
Approaches to the play vary significantly as different directors seek to uncover and reveal different aspects of and meanings in the play. Director Oskar Eustis, for example, explains why he set the play in the Kennedy era. Joanne Zipay discusses why she developed a production in which women played the men's roles and men took the roles of Portia and Calpurnia. Actor John de Lancie, who played Cassius in a radio version coproduced by the BBC and L.A. Theatre Works, provides details about the special problems that confront actors perform in recording studios.
Our team's two education majors sought out the Plutarch text that inspired Shakespeare's work so that site designers could create a section that matched the historical account with the dialogue in two key scenes.
Our enthusiasm continued to build throughout the project. A high point came when computer art instructor Steve Ferguson unveiled his front page mural. He described the symbolism behind his turbulent interpretation of the play. Team members talked at length about the ideas it generated for us, and we were excited by the thought that scholars worldwide would have a chance to discuss it. Although the site was aimed at the high school classes that were reading or had read the play, we know at least one college art instructor who has used the mural and other artwork to discuss design.
The site was launched in late August in time to commemorate the play's 400th anniversary. Our collaboration continues as we receive information and questions from visitors.
In a recent newspaper interview, Ferguson said he could hardly wait to repeat the process next year. I understand his reaction. I was fired up by the chance to collaborate, I was challenged by the intellectual and technical aspects, but, most important, I was energized by the opportunity to touch the global classroom.
E-Mail: Sheryl Hinman
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