I have been dying to write this site up to share with you. But I wanted to let it percolate in my brain a little bit so I could do it justice. This is a completely interactive conversation with Sir Ian McKellen. You’ll be able to follow prompts in any order you wish, to experience the content how you desire. But your first choice is whether you want to use the site full-screen or in the browser. If you have the internet connection for it I recommend going full-screen.
For anyone who is teaching Shakespeare you definitely want to tune into this site, it would be a great resource for getting teens interested in it. He successfully relates his roles in X-Men, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy to what is going on in Shakespeare’s works.
The site focuses on the opening speech of Richard III. McKellen goes through the speech several lines at time, and helps explain what is going on, how the language works, and what it signifies and he answers questions about the speech.
This would also be a great tool, to help actors understand how to perform Shakespeare. He discusses how the verse really shapes the text, and how you would perform it.
He also discusses whether the play is historically accurate, why 14-year olds should read Shakespeare, why Richard is a sympathetic character, as well as, provides three different clips of this speech from various productions of the play.
He even provides a copy of his book Richard III and how he turned it into a film for free on his website. Teachers if you head to his website you can also check out the .PDF Study Guide!
This is an excellent for anyone who loves Shakespeare, or is just trying to understand it. Check it out today!
http://www.stagework.org/mckellen/
~Amanda
