Zeffirelli revisited: What is a Youth?
2 It is the granddaddy of them all.
3 It has survived BBC versions, cartoon versions, Moulin Rouge versions and now the latest, a new version that was filmed in Verona by a fellow named Carlo Carlei
4 I have good news for Zeffirelli purists: it survives, and it lives.
5 It works once more, the same way that it worked when we all first experienced it.
6 I watched students awaken to Shakespeare all day yesterday. Romeo and Juliet landed gently in my last class of the day, a class filled with freshmen who locked into the story. Great moment.
7 All day I brought Shakespeare. I was particularly nervous about Much Ado, because it had been a tough set-up getting my sophs to buy in.
8 Both sophomore classes rocked it. It rocked them as well. Win win. Kenneth Branagh's running gag with the folding lawn chair worked, as did most of the precise timing and placement of lines with music and movement. What a lovely dance. And a witty.
9 Romeo and Juliet worked on many levels in my first two freshmen classes, but I honestly didn't expect what happened with my last class.
10 I had a hidden mic next to my chair in front of the room. I buried the microphone cord under copies of Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado. I hid the mic itself under a renegade Renaissance mask. Old musical trick.
11 I did some quiet color commentary as the film rolled along. I tried to keep comments simple, but relevant. I mentioned Zeffirelli's use of color, blending the costumes with the foregrounds, backgrounds and textures. I pointed out how Abram in Romeo and Juliet threatens Sampson and Gregory with a snap pea. I mentioned the blocking of the scenes into artistic stagings, a Zeffirelli specialty.
12 I did it carefully. I measured the comments evenly and filled them with interesting and relevant tidbits.
13 They listened. They appreciated the commentary. It contained simple stuff: the names and ages of the actors, Juliet's birthday, things like that.
14 When masquers formed a circle for What Is aYouth? I spoke of the song. THE Romeo and Juliet song. A rose will bloom and all the rest. America learned it as A Time For Us. Many students heard the song for the first time yesterday. My last class hooked into it. I put the mic down on the table and let that moment occur. I stopped talking.
15 I shut up and for a few minutes the entire world stopped.
16 When teachers talk of great moments in the year, they talk of these sorts of moments.
17 I've seen that scene a bazillion times.
18 Yesterday it felt like the first. For many of them it was. Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were new to them. All of it was brand new. The music danced with the masquerade. The new masques on the wall watched and entered the scene like a crowd gathering around a street performance.
19 When it was done the bell rang; the students picked up back packs, books and cell phones. I didn't hear too many comments, but this really sweet girl named Julia said in almost disbelief, "How cute."
20 Julia is the quintessential ninth-grader: sincere, fun and spirited beyond words. She clearly bought into the chemistry that was happening to the two lovers. They all did. Every second of that scene mesmerized my entire class. Julia's words didn't speak as loudly as her heart. I smiled. Sweet moment.
21 As far as I can tell, she has no idea what is to happen.
22 I SO want it to end happily.
23 My last class of the day continues to amaze this year. They seem at times rowdy beyond words, but within seconds they engage. I never know who is going to bring it, but let's say for now that they are all on my good list.
24 Zeffirelli. We forget our first experience with the most classic mainstream version of R and J.
25 The song rained down. I looked around my room and saw Renaissance masks everywhere as they left. It all worked. The music still played after they had all departed.
26 How one moment can turn a tough year around is beyond me, but yesterday time stood.
27 There is no Friar Lawrence yet.
28 Imagine that.
29 "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine..."
30 Mannerly devotion.
31 Remember this?
32 So sweet.
33 So cute.
34 It became the room, and the room became the Cafe Verona.
35 It changed the year, silently and beautifully.
36 Lovely day.
37 More to come.
38 Peace.
~H~
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