Goals

Students will learn about the time and place of Othello so that they understand the society the characters come from. They will also create a model of an actual set design.

 

Details

Duration: 120+ minutes

Assessments: Student writing, Computer model/program, Research

 

Description

Following are the tasks and instructions to complete this section.

Student Instructions:

Your group must research and compile the following information, which contextualizes the setting of Othello. You must cite your sources (NO WIKIPEDIA!) and you must have at least 2 textual sources and 1 visual source per category. There is a question to get you started for each category, but this is just a prompt (meaning that your research should not only be limited to answering this question). Your research must be thorough and detailed. Answers should be noted in bulleted format and include images.

a. Geographical – Where does Othello take place?

b. Date – What is the time period and season that the play takes place?

c. Economic – What is the economic status of the characters in Othello? What is the economic situation of the countries/communities in which the play takes place?

d. Political – What was going on politically at the time that Othello takes place?

e. Social/Cultural – What is important to know about the society and culture featured in Othello?

f. Religion – What is/are the main religion(s) practiced by the characters in Othello?

g. Set Design – (Students met with a guest speaker who is a professional set designer. Please SEE RESOURCE attached for her lesson plan.)

Create an original and utilitarian set for the production of Othello. Remember that although the play includes scene changes and the use of props, the set design (otherwise understood as the set up of the stage) needs to be used throughout the play. Options include:
o Create a labeled drawing on an 8' x 11" piece of card stock or construction paper (no computer paper).
o Create a 3-D design.
o Use a computer application (e.g. google sketch-up) to create the set-design.

Set Design Objectives
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Author Reflections

Students were used to completing this type of research because we studied the historical context for each book we read during the year as part of our examination of critical/literary theory. Again, there was a range of how deeply students scoured resources for information.

Having a guest set-designer come in built a lot of excitement around this part. There were many groups (4/5 per class) that created either a 3D design or a technology-inspired piece. I think this was because the professional set-designer brought in 3D pieces and talked about how even professionals created a small set that represented the larger set as part of the process.