Feudal Yes…And

GRADES 7-8 ELA AND THEATRE

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Exploring Feudal Arts – what causes them and how they are resolved – through the lens of speaking and listening skills and the theater strategy of “yes, and”.

Begin with the “Yes…and” theater strategy. Provide the class with a current event topic and a starting sentence such as “The summer Olympics should value the safety of their athletes” and then invite a student to add to that argument with a “yes…and…” statement. This continues for several rounds of play.

At the conclusion of the pre-assessment, ask students to discuss all of the ideas they heard and then create a separate list of what they felt was implied by the ideas.

Lesson Process:

Step 1:  Explore the idea of “feuds” with students – what is a feud, what are some famous feuds in history and why or how are feuds resolved?

Step 2: Review the feud between the Montagues and Capulets in Romeo and Juliet. While there is no direct mention of the history behind the feud, what is its outcome? What fueled the feud in the play?

Step 3: All feuds have a beginning. Group students into two teams: the Montagues and the Capulets. Have students create a single, benign act (like accidentally tripping someone from the opposite family) and act it out between one person on each team. Audio or video record this step and step #4.

Step 4:  Each person goes back to their team and (taking turns), shares what happened. The next person on the team must take it a step further with a “yes, and” statement such as “Yes, and after he tripped you I bet he laughed about it to his friends.” Think about how to present your statement convincingly for your team.

Time Required:
30-45 minutes

Materials List:

  • Video or audio recording equipment
  • Speakers and/or video playback device
  • Copies of Romeo and Juliet
  • Yes, and theater technique
  • Space for movement.
  • Paper, pencils

Assessment:

Analyze how sentence choice, voice, and gestures can affect both speaking and listening in conversations.