A Trip in Time to the Globe Theater

1. A Trip in Time to theGlobe Theater By Vivian O’Grady and Kayla Amundsen

2. Take a trip in time back to when Shakespeare lived and the Globe Theater was the place to be! Drama is at its peak and better than ever! Plays performing tonight: • Hamlet (1600) • A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1660) • Romeo and Juliet (1594) • The Comedy of Errors (1594)

3. Hamlet Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakspeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play expresses how prince Hamlet pledges revenge on his uncle Claudius, who had murdered his father. Claudius then took the throne and married Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. The play vividly shows much madness—both real and fake, and from extreme rage to overwhelming grief—and analyzes themes of treachery, revenge, love, and moral corruption. This play is a MUST and everyone will enjoy it!

4. A Midsummer Night's Dream A romantic, heart-warming, bust-your–gut, laugh out loud comedy of fairies, love, and a donkey head! “The course of true love never did run smooth,” comments Lysander, and that is totally true for this play! An ironic love story that humorously, but timidly, sweeps the audience into a moral lesson about following your heart. A must-see for the comedian within you!

5. Romeo and Juliet Here’s a story of a forbidden love between two teenagers in the romantic era of mystery and loyalty to one’s heart. The teenagers are in love, but of course parents have to just get in the way! Secret marriges, untimely deaths, and fights are just a few of the things you’ll get out of this play! "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare was forever wrong with that line: The names of Romeo and Juliet are forever etched into the hearts of the people who see this play!

6. The Comedy of Errors • This play suggests that Shakespeare had been interested in insanity earlier in his career. In this play, it displays many themes, including appearance vs. reality, time, coincidence, and love. Despite this play being quite farce, it is also surrounded with seriousness. Besides the fact that an old man is to be executed, there are many more shadows cast over the funny events of this play. People who enjoy seeing a play that will make you laugh, but also maybe make you cry, we suggest you go see this play!

7. Fun Facts • Before you travel to this wonderful structure of drama, you must know some things of it: • Though Shakspeare’s plays were acted out at other theaters, the Globe Theater in the Southwark district of London was the theater where Shakspeare’s best-known works were first played. • It was built by the carpenter Peter Smith and his workers in 1597 and took six months to build, finally being finished in 1598. • The materials used to build the Globe were timber, nails, stone (flint), plaster, and thatched roofs. • The Globe theatre was also used for gambling and illegal trading within the building and the grounds around it. Fights also usually broke out among audience members, adding to entertainment! • There were no toilets at all in the Globe Theater; so all you time-travellers better make sure you go before leaving!

8. Party Time! • Your day at the Globe Theater is guarenteed to be an exciting event! The grounds will be swarming with people all bursting with positive energy to see the play. Stalls selling souveniers and refreshments will be busy. To all you who might not be into seeing the play and just wanting to see the structure itself, then go over to the market stalls and ‘soak in’ that holiday-like atmosphere! The Globe Theater particularly attracts young people; so teachers, if your students are absent, go check the Globe Theater! While you’re at the Theater, a trumpet will sound to signal that the play is about to begin, which means you better find a seat before they are all taken.

9. Shakespeare Actors Needed!!! • No rehersel time for actors, so the complete scene of the play will not be explained until performed. • Because of no rehersal time, the actors have “cue scripting”, which means someone will whisper the lines from you from back stage, which really comes in handy when you’re the one that forgets your own lines! • No females are needed, however, because girls do not act in plays back during this time. (Awkward!) Female characters were always played by young boys. The acting profession was not a respectable one, so it was unthinkable that a woman would appear in a play.

10. Globe Theater Audience • To all you commoners out there, referred to as groundlings during the Elizibethan era, you only have to pay one penny to stand in the ‘Pit’ of the Globe Theater. The rich nobles can watch the play from a chair, set on the side of the actual stage. Men and women can attend these plays, but all the ladies should wear masks to disguise your identity, as most did back then. • Make sure you don’t travel back to the Bubonic Plague so you will not get sick and die. They usually didn’t do plays during these times.

11. Money, money, money! $$$ • To sit in the Pit, just pay one penny. • To sit in the first gallery, this will cost two pennies! • To sit on the second gallery, this will cost three pennies! (Sooo expensive!) • William Shakespeare will recieve aproximatly 10% of profits.

12. Shakespeare: The Actor? • Shakespeare acted in some of the productions of his plays. • He began his career on the stage in 1592, probably playing the title role in Edward I. It is also assumed that he played smaller roles in his plays, including: • As You Like It (Adam) • Macbeth (King Duncan) • Henry IV (King Henry) • Hamlet (Hamlet’s father)

13. Purpose of the Globe Theatre • The purpose of constructing the Globe Theatre is to enlighten audiences (and time-travellers) with comedy, tragedy, romance, and action! It brings you into a new world of amazement, and you’ll be swept away in all the excitement! Come and visit the Globe Theatre, the center of all drama!

14. Theaters Banned!? • In December of 1674, the Common Council of London issued this statement below: " great disorder rampant in the city by the inordinate haunting of great multitudes of people, especially youth, to plays, interludes, namely occasion of frays and quarrels, evil practices of incontinency in great inns having chambers and secret places adjoning to their open stages and galleries, inveigling and alluring of maids, especially of orphans and good citizens' children under age, to privy and unmeet contracts, the publishing of unchaste, uncomely, and unshamefast speeches and doings . . . uttering of popular, busy, and seditious matters, and many other corruptions of youth and other enormities . . . [Thus] from henceforth no play, comedy, tragedy, interlude, not public show shall be openly played or showed within the liberties of the City . . . and that no innkeeper, tavernkeeper, nor other person whatsoever within the liberties of this City shall openly show or play . . . any interlude, comedy, tragedy, matter, or show which shall not be first perused and allowed . . . " • All Theaters located within London city were banned and had to move South of River Thames.

15. The Fire • Be careful not to travel back to June29, 1613 if you want to see the Globe Theater! On that day, a fire broke out because the cannon used for special effects misfired and shot towards the thatched roof, causing it to burn down. It is not known if there were any casualties during this event, but there definately was panic! Finaly, in 1614, the Globe was rebuilt. So remember: Don’t go back to June 29, 1613 unless you know how to be fire-proof!

16. The End of the Globe....  • In 1642, under the influence of the Puritans, the English Parliment abolished all stage plays and theaters. The Puritans were a religious group and they thought of plays as ‘evil’. Under the rule of Oliver Cromwell,the leader of the Puritans, the English Civil War broke out. In 1644, the Globe Theater was demolished. • The site of the old Globe Theater was discovered in the 20th century, and a New Globe Theater was built near that spot. 

17. To book your own trip to the fabulous Globe Theater, just call (123) – 456 – 7890. After calling, we can set you up for your trip! But we are not open on Sundays, so don’t try to call then. But we ARE open on all holidays! Yay!  • “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” By this it means that you have your parts to fill in life, and one of those being to come travel back in time to the Globe Theater!

18. Build Your Own! • After taking a trip to the marvelous Globe Theater, why not do a fun hands-on project and make your own model? • To make one, you can use anything, from food to wood. I say it is much more fun to use just food, though, since it brings about more of a challenge. When we did this, we used four round cakes (each being about three inches high), lots of icing, marshmallow cream, graham crackers, chocolate bars, and a small candy used to represent Shakespeare! But don’t limit yourselves to just these! Use your imagination! I guarentee you will have a great time, no matter how you do it! Just remember: If you do use just food, keep it in a refridgerator or freezer so it will stay together.

19. Bibliography • "Globe Theatre". Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 5/5/09 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre>. • "The Old Globe Theatre History". William Shakespeare info. 5/2/09 <http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-globe-theatre.htm>. • "Pictures of William Shakespeare". William Shakespeare info. 5/2/09 <http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-pictures.htm>.