XEnglish 8

Othello 3.1-3.3

Play sections covered in this lesson:

3.1 & 3.2 Cassio follows Iagos advice and asks Emilia to arrange a meeting with Desdemona.
3.3.1-99 Desdemonas interview with Cassio is cut short by Othellos arrival. Desdemona pleads with Othello
on Cassios behalf.

Whats on for Today and Why: (Tuesday, 2/17)

Please sit with your previously assigned acting companies.
1. Text and Subtext
In your performances so far, youve learned to untangle Shakespeares language by paraphrasing, asking
questions, and determining characters objectives. Youve learned how to cut scenes and to add movement.
Now you will add voice inflection and subtext, the unspoken meaning of words said aloud.
So what is the REAL meaning of a speech? What do we mean by the statement, Its not what you say; its
how you say it?
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2. Putting Subtext to Work in a Scene
We convey subtext or real meaning by means of intonation, stress, pauses and body language like stance,
gesture, and eye contact or eye avoidance.
In your companies, act 3.3.1-99.
Do a round-robin read-through.
Use questions, discussion, and paraphrase to untangle problem lines.
Cut lines (DONT MARK YOUR BOOKS! Someone may want to retype the lines--without the
ones you cut, of course. An easy way to do that would be to Google the act, scene and lines in the
Folgers Shakespeare version, copy, and paste. Then get rid of what you dont want. Then Share with
each other through Google Docs.)
Add movement.
Determine the objectives for Cassio, Emilia, Desdemona, Iago, and Othello.
Run the scene.
3. Objectives and Subtext for the rest of 3.3 (This week between Dramaturgy report days!)
Youll soon do the rest of 3.3 in relay performances. You will be in teams and will go through the steps
demonstrated here today. Youll perform only one section of the scene, then watch and listen to the rest;
therefore, it is important that you convey the scene to the audience in a clear and powerful manner.