Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night, or What You Will

By William Shakespeare About the play: The bard’s finest comedy is a paean to the restorative power of love. Viola, the shipwrecked heroine, lands on the shore of Illyria, and disguised as a page, Cesario, searches for her lost brother. Countess Olivia mourns the loss of her own brother. When the lovely Countess meets the handsome young page, desire banishes grief in this intoxicating comedy.

Grade Recommendation: 7th grade and up Content Advisory: Includes some suggestive content, crude humor, and depictions of alcohol use.

Topics:  Shakespeare  Poetry  Elizabethan Holidays  Comedy  Status and Class  Gender Roles

Themes:  Suffering for Love  Foolishness and Folly  Triumph of Life over Loss

Student Performance Series dates:  Friday, May 17 at 10:30 a.m.  Tuesday, May 21 at 10:30 a.m.  Thursday, May 23 at 10:30 a.m.

Curriculum Standards Student Performance Series performances and workshops provide unique opportunities for experiential learning and support various combinations of Common Core standards in English Language Arts. They may also support standards in other subject areas such as Social Studies and History, depending on each play’s subject matter.

The experience of seeing and discussing Twlefth Night provides classroom links to the following Common Core standards in English Language Arts: Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details  Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot) (Grade 7).  Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text (Grade 8).  Analyze how complex characters (e.g. those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the themes (Grades 9-10).  Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced (Grades 11-12).

Reading Literature: Craft and Structure  Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning (Grade 7).  Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor (Grade 8).  Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors) (Grades 9-12).  Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact (Grades 11-12).

Reading Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas  Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors (Grade 8).  Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry); evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist) (Grades 11-12).

Student Performance Series workshops also support the following Connecticut state standards in theatre for grades 9-12:  

7: Analysis, Criticism and Meaning. Students will analyze, critique, and construct meanings from works of theatre.

8: History and Culture. Students will demonstrate an understanding of context by analyzing and comparing theatre in various cultures and historical periods.

About the Student Performance Series: Our Student Performance Series packages include  1 free chaperone ticket for every 20 student tickets  Free study guides that include historical context, thematic analysis, questions for discussion, and suggestions for learning activities (emailed to you in PDF format).  A talk back immediately following the performance. Hosted by a member of our education department staff and featuring actors from the play, the talk back provides students with the opportunity to ask questions and express their initial reactions to the play-going experience through dialogue with artists and each other.

Pre- and post-show workshops are also available for an additional fee. Designed to help integrate the play into your curriculum, our interactive workshops are led by a Hartford Stage teaching artist who visits your classroom and gets students on their feet to explore the play’s major themes, plot points, and connections to history and culture.

To book tickets for the Student Performance Series, please contact Chelsea Caplan, Education Sales Coordinator at (860) 520-7244 or ccaplan@hartfordstage.org