The Tempest Workbook

[Maral Mende]

Asmany teachers seem to be moving towards the utilisation of workbooks within the classroom, I thought it might be useful to distill my thinking further around workbooks and how the way in which I design workbooks seeks to serve the subject, teacher and student as effectively as possible.

Whilst the initial creation of the workbook is labour intensive, workbooks should act as an object of longevity: they stand to provide a framework that meets the needs of the subject in a way that is faithful to the discipline itself. To unpack this further, we cannot force designs or delivery upon subjects through a blanket, one-size-fits-all ideology and hope for the best: the enactment of one subject has entirely different requirements around exposition and the way in which knowledge is organised, sequenced, considered to the next subject, so on that note, I write with as an English teacher first and foremost. However, some of the underpinning principles of workbook design outlined intend to inform and provoke thinking outside of my own subject specialism.

Workbooks can provide the teacher with a framework that is robust enough to acknowledge the essential, but loose enough to not confine or restrict delivery . They should not act to replace the knowledge of the teacher- in fact, quite the opposite- the workbook acts as a workload-reduction methodology that then enables the teacher to develop a rich, empowering level of subject knowledge instead of tinkering over animations, or formatting PowerPoint slides. Quite simply, it provides a gateway for the teacher to rid themselves of the role of administrator, trawler of search engines, photocopier extraordinaire, so that they can be, well, a teacher. This does emphasise the need for thoughtful design that transcends the aesthetic- it must hold value to the original purpose with which the designer sought it to attend.

There is a feeling of familiarity for the teacher, because each key moment of introduction of new knowledge provides the teacher with the opportunity of exposition; each exposition is followed by the opportunity to ascertain misconception; each opportunity to ascertain misconception is followed by the opportunity to correct such misconceptions. Furthermore, the creator has sufficient knowledge of the text or content that they have already worked hard to anticipate these misconceptions within their design, and to any expert of the text, the key moments, these non-negotiable moments are highlighted to students through the careful plotting out that weaves its way thorough the workbook as a whole.

Workbooks must hold value through our enactment in the classroom. Working alongside an exercise book, alongside multiple resources, tattered as one of two or three booklets in action for that lesson, it becomes perplexing to understand- to both the student and the teacher- what the purpose of the workbook is. If the workbook is the central holding place for exposition, exemplar or feedback for improvement, its value becomes implicitly realised as a natural consequence.

Finally, and this is possibly a blog for another time, it is worth consideration as to how the workbooks you use are evaluated and developed at subject level, to ensure that they still do justice to the knowledge required by students. We should be mindful as to when and how we revisit the workbook to provide time and scope for discussion around the way in which the workbook needs to evolve alongside the inevitable evolution of the subject.

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In this workbook, I'll guide you through a few simple lessons and reflection prompts that will shine a light on the ways you're holding yourself back and give you actionable insights on how to move forward with a bit more grit and a dash of magic.

The activities provided in this pack can be used either as stand-alone practical approaches to the play or as supporting activities for students seeing the production. They have been designed with KS3 and KS4 students in mind but can be adapted for other age groups. Some are best suited to an open space such as a hall, but many can be used in a classroom.

This island was once ruled by the witch Sycorax but is now inhabited only by her son, Caliban, and Ariel, a spirit. Since Prospero landed, she has ruled the island and its two inhabitants by using magic she learned from her studies. Her daughter Miranda has grown up seeing no human being other than her mother.

Using magic, Prospero discovers that her enemies (Antonio, Alonso and Sebastian) are sailing close to the island and sees an opportunity for revenge. She uses her powers to raise a storm which shipwrecks them. When the horrified Miranda questions this, her mother tells her the story of their arrival on the island and assures her that no real harm will come to the survivors.

The shipwrecked travellers wash up on the island and are immediately separated. At Prospero's bidding, the invisible Ariel leads them astray. Ariel leads Ferdinand, the King's son, to Prospero's cell, where he and Miranda fall instantly in love. A wary Prospero sets heavy tasks to test Ferdinand.

Satisfied that Ferdinand has proved worthy of her daughter, Prospero presents the young couple with a wedding masque to bless their love. She is distracted from this, however, when she remembers Caliban's plot.

As Prospero's plan draws to a finish, she vows to abandon her magic. Ariel brings Alonso and his followers to Prospero's cell where she confronts her enemies as the duke of Milan and forgives them. Through the wedding of Ferdinand and Miranda, the rift between Naples and Milan is healed. Finally, Prospero grants Ariel her freedom and prepares to leave the island for Milan and her restored Dukedom.

One of the main features of our 2023 production is our female Prospero, played by actress Alex Kingston. Shakespeare wrote Prospero as a male character but changing the casting in this way creates some interesting dynamics in the play for us to explore.

This physical activity introduces the story through its themes and characters. It also allows students to tell a story using their physicality. (It is best suited to a hall or large, clear classroom but you could work in smaller spaces by dividing up the group so half can watch and swap over).

Discuss this activity together. Was it easy to create the images with small groups or large groups? What were the challenges? Did the time constraints help? Do these images give any clues as to what this play is about?

This writing and performance activity explores the different strands of the story by allowing students to work in small groups, improvising and adapting text. (You will need: Resource A - Tempest News from the Resource materials at the end of this page).

Many productions of The Tempest use the character of Caliban to explore the subject of colonialism, particularly in island cultures. As a group, look over the key words and phrases written down and discuss:

Caliban is the son of the witch, Sycorax, and has often been portrayed as being physically different because of this. Prospero using Caliban as a servant has also been explored in other productions through the themes of slavery and colonisation.

This activity in two parts explores the shipwreck and the tempest both from a physical and emotional perspective, allowing students to imagine the chaos of the wreck itself and the effect it has on those involved.

The director of our production, Elizabeth Freestone, is very passionate about the environment. During lockdown, she did an MA on Shakespeare and Climate Change which brought her attention to The Tempest. Her concerns are central to our 2023 production:

This creative activity in 3 parts encourages students to consider the effect of humanity on our environment and their role within that by bringing their found objects to life. (You will need: pieces of blank paper & coloured pens for part A. For part C, see below.)

* Some time before this activity, give your students the task of collecting some found objects of their own. These could be clothes they no longer want, items of rubbish or recycling, anything washed up on a beach if they are near to the coast. Ask them to wash these items carefully before bringing them in preparation for part C of this activity.

Not only do we have a female Prospero in our production, we have a female Sebastian and Gonzalo. In a world usually full of men, we show the power hungry side of women as well. Power is corruptible and magic is corruptible and sometimes all you need is a little push"

These 3 activities allow students to explore the simple effects of power and powerlessness. A and B are physical activities, and C is a writing and discussion activity. (For C, you will need: large piece of paper and coloured pens - red, black, green & blue if possible).

This writing and discussion based activity leads directly on from A and B above. It encourages the students to work together in processing what they know about The Tempest characters in terms of power. (You will need: large piece of paper and coloured pens - red, black, green & blue if possible).

Book Reviews also the archives of the Academy of Arts. It would be of more than just historical value to compare systematically the productions of the learning plays, the Berliner Ensemble, and Brecht's classes at the Academy. Another area where we would suggest going beyond Jameson is the analysis of the work of theatre practitioners who are influenced by Brecht but who are not "Brechtians" in the sense outlined by Jameson in Brecht and Method. One of the most prominent examples would be Robert Lepage, who clearly acknowledges his debt to Brecht. In an interview (June 1997) he stressed Brecht's relevance for today by referring to Brecht's awareness of the relationship between a cultural and a technological revolution. "The website, for instance, changes our culture," Lepage stated, "and people behave as if nothing is happening. Brecht's early awareness is crucial for us today." Lepage's 1998 production of Shakespeare's The Tempest adopted many structural elements of Brecht's theatre, but his interpretation of the play can be considered ideologically neutral, demonstrating that historical processes perpetually repeat themselves without change. Robert Wilson directed Brecht's OzeanJlug at the Berliner Ensemble in 1998. The directorial art of both Lepage and Wilson poses the question of whether Jameson's understanding of Brecht's method is only one possibility among many. VOLKER GRANSOW, YORK UNIVERS ITY, TORONTO (FREE UNIVERSITY BERLIN) PIA KLEB E R , UN tVER S ITY OF TOR ON TO Theater der Zeit / Brecht Yearbook 23: drive b: (1998). Communications: From the International Brecht Society. Vol. 26, no. 2. (Dec. 1997) "His plays will last as long as there is drama"; "his theories of directing and acting point a way out of and beyond Europe" (96). Richard Schechner's heroic statement, from the wonderfully varied hybrid workbook/sourcebook drive b:, of the importance of Brecht for the history and the future of the theatre seems oddly out of place in a centenary year that has seen as much gripe and grudge as celebration. The idea that a German left-wing intellectual might write good plays, might have something to say to the wider world, and more: might be witty, fleet of foot, full of poetry, alive with images and ideas - for theatre, for the arts in general, for life even in a "post-Fordist" society - seems hard for some to grasp. This publication may persuade: it is good to celebrate one of the great achievements in drama and the theatre, one of the great lives in politics and literature this century. It's good to (re-)read Brecht. drive b: is an elegantly presented 176 pages packed with thought-provoking fragments: memoirs, interviews, poems, and critical essays by writers (including Nadine 290 BOOK REVIEWS Gordimer and Glinter Grass), critics (Hans Mayer, Sue-Ellen Case), directors and theatre practitioners (Robert Wilson, Augusto Baal), and many, many others , All are arranged in deliberately disharmonious sequence and scattered with excellent illustrations, Some pieces are in English, the majority in German , All the longer contributions come with a brief abstract in the "other" language , yet it has to be said: you only get the half of it if you don't have German. There are pieces on Brecht and hip-hop; the symbolism and iconography of cigar-smoking theatre directors: Brecht's potential for deconstruction; Brecht and the secret services in Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and the US; "productive misreadings" in South Africa and Brazil, unproductive ones in North America; Brecht and boxing. There should be more books like this, at the same time both serious and playful, full of material for scholars and theatre people alike. The publication has been compiled and edited by Marc Silberman (ofthe University of Wisconsin - Madison) and is sponsored by the Berliner Ensemble , the German theatre journal Theater der Zeit, and the International Brecht Society, of whose yearbook drive b: is a special centenary number. The lBS Brecht Yearbook is more usually a collection of articles arising in part from the annuallBS conference; as such it is an invaluable scholarly journal . But the organization has another publication too: the biennial Communications , edited by Gudrun Tabbert-Jones (of Santa Clara University). This is a relatively informal...

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