• Buy this Book
• Book Creators
• Related Blog Posts
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

Dear Reader,

When I was in eighth grade, my English teacher had us read Much Ado About Nothing. A traveling troupe of players was coming to my hometown to perform it and she wanted us to be very familiar with the play by the time we saw it. We didn't just read it silently, we read it aloud, we performed it, we discussed it, we picked it apart, and we put it back together again. That experi... More

Dear Reader,

When I was in eighth grade, my English teacher had us read Much Ado About Nothing. A traveling troupe of players was coming to my hometown to perform it and she wanted us to be very familiar with the play by the time we saw it. We didn't just read it silently, we read it aloud, we performed it, we discussed it, we picked it apart, and we put it back together again. That experience opened doors for me, because "Shakespeare" was no longer a confusing jumble of antique words. Shakespeare turned out to be a complex, insightful playwright whom I could understand and relate to, at the age of 13.

This book is an overview of Shakespeare's work with a heavy emphasis on acting and getting involved in the material. You'll learn about Shakespeare's life and the times he lived in, and how to understand his language. Then, you'll get to know the plays themselves: the four main categories, the types of characters, and the greatest moments of his plots. Finally, you'll learn the basics of performing his plays and get to know the best ways to support his work as an audience member. Also, you'll find out what to read if you want to know more, which are the best Shakespeare movies, and where to look for Shakespeare's most famous lines.

And you won't learn sitting down! Shaking Hands with Shakespeare contains more than 50 ACTivities to get you out of your seat and into the world of the Bard, including performing a scene using different acting styles, organizing a Shakespearean awards show for all the best characters, and writing and performing your own "Shakespearean" scenes based on modern storylines.

I hope Shaking Hands with Shakespeare will help you...well, shake hands with the Bard. Introduce yourself. Learn about him, and find out what he knows about you. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, and I hope that, in time, you can grow to love him as much as I do. Trust me, you'll never be bored.

"For here, I hope, begins our lasting joy."
Henry VI, Part 3 Act V, Scene vii, Line 46

Allison Wedell Schumacher
Seattle, WA