Shakespeare References in Scenes For Young Actors

Scenes For Young Actors, a book edited by Lorraine Cohen, contains quite a few Shakespeare references. Even the first page, which presents a short biography of Cohen, includes this: “Ms. Cohen is the drama reviewer for Grade Teacher Magazine and has written articles for Shakespeare and Children.” The book contains a small portion of Macbeth, and introducing those lines, Cohen writes: “The following scene comprises passages from the various witches’ scenes in Macbeth. Although the witches’ roles were written for adults, they are exciting for children to play. Children are, of course, familiar with witches and they delight in the sound of the language Shakespeare has given to the three in Macbeth” (p. 75). There is also a Macbeth reference in a scene from Little Women included in this book. Beth tells Jo, “You’re a regular Shakespeare.” And Jo replies: “Not quite. I’d like to try to do Macbeth though, if we only had a trap-door for Banquo. I always wanted to do the killing part. ‘Is that a dagger that I see before me?’” (p. 82).

This book also includes a scene from Romeo And Juliet (Act II, scene 2). In the introduction to that scene, Cohen writes: “The following scene is probably the world’s best known and most popular love scene. Romeo has seen Juliet at a ball at her father’s house and has fallen in love instantly. It is after they have met that each discovers that their beloved is a member of an opposing family. Their two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, have been feuding for many years. However, this does not stop Romeo. After the ball he leaves his friends and goes to the Capulet garden where under Juliet’s window he overhears her confess to the stars that she loves him. For the moment, there is love and beauty but eventually the hatred between the two families destroys the young lovers” (p. 162). There is also a scene from West Side Story, which is an adaptation of Romeo And Juliet. In the scene’s introduction, Cohen writes, “The story of Romeo and Juliet is echoed in this story of Tony and Maria, the two young lovers whose lives are destroyed by the hatred of rival gangs” (p. 195).

The scene from Look Homeward, Angel contains a reference to Shakespeare. The character Eugene says, “And we’ll go to Europe, and beyond… the cool, green land of Shakespeare, the gloomy forests of Gaul” (p. 248). The scene from A Clearing In The Woods has a reference to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with the character Hazelmae saying, “I declare, Nora lamb, over hill over dale to this?” (p. 252). The Fairy at the beginning of Act II scene i of A Midsummer Night’s Dream says, “Over hill, over dale,” answering Puck’s question, “whither wander you?” The scene from The Chalk Garden included in this book contains a reference to Hamlet. The character Laurel says: “If you pin me down he is my stepfather! Have you read Hamlet? It tipped my mind and turned me against my mother” (p. 342). And the scene from The Corn Is Green contains a reference to Shakespeare, with the character Morgan saying, “I saw this room; you and me sitting here studying, and all those books – and everything I have ever learnt from those books, and from you, was lighted up – like a magic lantern – ancient Rome, Greece, Shakespeare, Carlyle, Milton… everything had a meaning because I was in a new world – my world!” (p. 355). Then in the introduction to a scene from Bontche Schweig, Cohen writes, “His speech is reminiscent of Portia’s, in that it asks for compassion and understanding, but it also an indictment of the society that allows the conditions that shaped Bontche to exist” (p. 358). Here Cohen is referring to a famous speech from The Merchant Of Venice. This book also contains a portion of Hamlet. In the introduction, Cohen writes: “The following monologue is taken from what is perhaps the most famous play in the entire world. Hamlet, a young prince of Denmark, has come home from England to find his father dead and his mother remarried to his father’s brother, who is now king. To add to his grief, he suspects that his father was murdered by the new king. In order to ascertain whether this is true, he feigns madness. In the following scene, Ophelia, a young girl whom Hamlet has loved, describes to her father Polonius a meeting she has had with Hamlet. She is greatly agitated” (p. 371).

Scenes For Young Actors was published in 1973.