Macbeth: The 30-Minute Shakespeare

The 30-Minute Shakespeare

by William Shakespeare, Nick Newlin (Editor)

Planning a school or amateur Shakespeare production? The best way to experience the plays is to perform them, but getting started can be a challenge: The complete plays are too long and complex, while scene selections or simplified language are too limited.

"The 30-Minute Shakespeare" is a new series of abridgements that tell the “story” of each play from start to finish while keeping the beauty of Shakespeare’s language intact. Specific stage directions and character suggestions give even inexperienced actors the tools to perform Shakespeare with confidence, understanding, and fun!

This cutting of MACBETH is edited to seven key scenes, opening with the Weird Sisters predicting Macbeth's fate. Also included are Macbeth and his villainous wife plotting to murder King Duncan, the appearance of Banquo's ghost at the banquet, the Witches' unforgettable "double double toil and trouble" scene, and Lady Macbeth's riveting "out, damned spot" sleepwalk. In the finale, the entire cast recites Macbeth's poignant "tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow" speech in unison.

The edition also includes an essay by editor Nick Newlin on how to produce a Shakespeare play with novice actors, and notes about the original production of this abridgement at the Folger Shakespeare Library's annual Student Shakespeare Festival.

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Reviews

[Hilary Goodread]

I love these editions! It is so hard to introduce the wonderful world of William Shakespeare to new students. So worthwhile doing, but it's very difficult to make the great material accessible to both young people today and also people of all ages not yet familiar with this poetic and human literature and living theatre work!

Compounding the challenge, as those familiar with the Bard know only too well, "two hours' traffic of our stage" often stretches to more like three or four.

Enter editor Nick Newlin, giving us these beautiful abridgments -- that play in under 30 minutes! -- and, that retain all the original characters' original language! The 30-Minute Shakespeare -- by definition -- are not the full length works. Perfectly, The 30-Minute Shakespeare serve as a fabulous entry: a key to open the door into Shakespeare's timeless, historic world and into his universal, truthful experience, enacted in Elizabethan and Jacobean England.

And enacted is what these wonderful, handy volumes are designed to be (just like the original scripts). Newlin gives awesome, folksy, anecdotal, and very specific, clear instructions, detailing (from amongst the infinite possible number of ways) one approach to get these plays up on their feet, with The 30-Minute Shakespeare script in the hand of student and novice actors. Nothing more need we ask: these books are gems, perfect as what they are, serving a very specific purpose and fulfilling the exact need for which they exist.

Indispensable! Ideal for youth, and others of all ages, for the first time being introduced to the beautiful plays of Shakespeare.

[Shanan]

I have used Nick Newlin’s 30-Minute Shakespeare series both onstage and in the classroom with children as well as adults. These are outstanding tools to introduce Shakespeare to a class of nervous, skeptical or otherwise fearful students who think Shakespeare is “not for them” or “makes no sense.” These versions work for scene work in class as well as full-scale production for both the novice as well as the more experienced actor. I love the Narrator convention in these versions because it allows kids—especially kids where English is their second language—to participate and ease into the language. The plotlines are clearly laid out in these versions—and told through character dialogue, so you avoid simply providing a synopsis of the play. As many theater educators and directors know, time is often valuable and sparse, so Newlin’s versions allow you to dig right and give the students a chance to create a whole, well-rehearsed play instead of feeling like they never quite had enough time. Recently, I directed two of Newlin’s versions with high school students: The Tempest and Much Ado About Nothing into one night of performance and it was a huge success! The students got to play multiple Shakespearean roles and, for the girls especially, this was a huge ego (and college application) boost. Newlin’s series is hands-on, delightful, respectful and, most of all, approachable. Highly recommend!

[Karen Speicher]

Kudos to Nick Newlin for successfully distilling Shakespearian plots into workable formats for high school students while keeping the precious language of the bard intact. Moreover, the 30-Minute plays are not mere excerpts. They follow the stories from start to finish using a narrator to segue from scene to scene. Also, the books are complete with detailed production tips based on Mr. Newlin's vast experience working with adolescents.

A retired ESOL teacher, I know that students love drama, and many otherwise shy individuals open up when given scripted words and a pretend character as a guise. "Macbeth" is replete with the intensity of murder, jealousy, and psychological guilt--a sure match for the intensity of the teenage spirit!

In an era when the arts are given short shrift in many schools, the 30-Minute Shakespeare offers an inexpensive and exciting opportunity for truly motivated educators to facilitate creative expression among their students while addressing the language arts standards of the common core curriculum.

[Kelly]

I have seen nearly as many versions of this one as Romeo and Juliet, but now what I really want to see is a student performance of the 30-Minute Shakespeare version, because there is no doubt that it would be incredible. Everything a class would need to make their production a success is included in the book. As a longtime high school English teacher and former purist, I am genuinely grateful that this wonderful resource is now available to kids who need a little boost to help them see what's really great about Shakespeare. And all the really great parts of the play are still in here! This series will put Cliff Notes out of business because they aren't even necessary or worthwhile anymore when you can read the real language in the same amount of time and gain a better understanding of the material. Cannot recommend enough!

[Beth]

I love what Nick Newlin has done with this classic!
The 30 minute Shakespeare series is pure brilliance. Each book takes language that is difficult for high school students and focuses the language on the meat of the story, keeping the Shakespeare alive. Not only that, but he differentiates for different learning levels. As a high school teacher, I can tell you that this differentiation is so important and useful. Each book in this series makes Shakespeare more accessible to regular people, especially for students. I wish every middle and high school English and drama teacher in the country would consider The 30 Minute Shakespeare series for their classroom and/or stage. They're that good.

[Mmb]

What a delight. I used the book series in classes with not only students whose skills in English class varied, but also with some students who did not speak much English. They made for nice, brief, up-on-your-feet experiences for the students. In the future, I will try breaking students into small groups working with, perhaps, three plays. My students would have a ball--a nice shift from my grammar lessons!

[Rebecca]

This entire series is a wonderful resource. The clever way in which the meaningful themes and quotes are distilled allows my younger students to explore the themes and provocative use of language and vocabulary. They are able understand and to see parallels in their own lives with both the complexity and simplicity of the human experience. I think Shakespeare would be pleased to see his work made accessible to so many! Highly Recommended.

[Sylai Ephet]

What an excellent way for people to access Shakespeare! Acting really builds one's sense of self confidence. These are a great lead in for beginner actors and even nonnative speakers.

[Lisa Marsh]

The 30-Minute Shakespeare series allows non-theatre types—both students and teachers, as well as community groups—to experience Shakespeare. While whittling down the original play necessarily means forgoing certain portions of the work, the script does provide a complete play. Key characters are still built, and famous lines are still included. Given the confines of most school programs, this series helps Shakespeare feel doable—it’s accessible without dumbing down the wit and nuance that are elements of Shakespeare magic.
Perhaps the most valuable parts of this series are the sections on performing. As teachers we want to give students the courage to perform these famous and daunting works, and Newlin’s notes and suggestions give us teachers and group leaders the courage to try to organize and lead a performing group. More than simply reading a play in a class, Newlin urges the power of the performance—the plays the thing, if you will. He suggests how to ready the group for taking part in a play through games and simple props, as well as where to find additional resources to bolster our coaching. Newlin provides seeming personal encouragement for casting, directing, and delving into meaning, tasks that can make leaders nervous. His lessons are motivational.

[Marcus]

Very project specific book for theatre educators. Found the supporting materials particularly inspiring in terms of the value of doing this sort of work, and especially focusing on Shakespeare.