OTHELLO
STUDY GUIDE
N OV E M B E R 6 - 7 , 2 0 1 7
2017-18
POP! FIELD TRIP
PERFORMANCE SERIES
, Othello:
A Guide for Teachers
The Warehouse Theatre
2017 Educational Touring Production
For more information, contact Mallory Pellegrino,
Director of Education
mallory@warehousetheatre.com
,Hello Educators!
Each year, The Warehouse Theatre works with dozens of schools in
South and North Carolina, bringing customized workshops to
students in grades 3 – 12. We support English Language Art, Theatre,
and Literature standards, by bringing the actor’s approach to
Shakespeare to the students, empowering them to speak the
speeches and embody the words as well as learn how to apply
these tools to their own experience. Through our curricular strategies
and arts-integrated approach, we celebrate inclusion, critical
thinking, teamwork, process, and problem solving.
Shakespeare continues to be an important part of the curriculum in
most states, and regardless of changes in standards and best
practices, we believe that interacting with these complex texts
teaches valuable skills which have an impact on young students’
lives beyond the ELA or theatre classroom. Critical thinking, close-
reading, looking at situations from different perspectives, examining
societal and personal morals and motives, encountering and
deciphering structure, building vocabulary and cultural references –
Shakespeare brings this and much more to the young scholar!
It is in this spirit that we have designed this study guide – intended for
educators in middle and high schools to use as a tool to enhance
student comprehension and enjoyment of The Warehouse Theatre’s
production of William Shakespeare’s Othello. The exercises
contained in this guide are designed to align with the curricular
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, goals in the middle and high school English Language Arts,
Literature, and Theatre classroom. This guide may be used as a
supplement to classroom study of this text—and is best used in the
context of attending The Warehouse Theatre’s touring production of
Othello. Please feel free to “pick and choose” articles and activities
as they complement your work in the classroom!
This study guide is divided into Three Sections for your convenience:
THE BASICS for a general overview and knowledge of the play,
THE BARD for information about Shakespeare’s life and time,
and THE BONUSES for experiential and more advanced activities.
We hope you will find this guide useful, and that you will let us know
what information, topics for discussion, and exercises you integrate
into your curriculum. Please feel free to let us know what you would
like for us to include in future study guides or resources.
Thank you for your support of The Warehouse Theatre! If we can
support your curriculum in any additional ways, please contact me
at mallory@warehousetheatre.com
All my best,
Mallory Pellegrino
Director of Education
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