The Globe Theatre and Elizabethan Stagecraft

Active learning works for this topic because the Globe Theatre’s open-air design and improvisational staging demand kinesthetic and collaborative engagement. Students must experience the physical layout and social dynamics to grasp how Elizabethan playwrights shaped their work for this environment.

• Year 7
• English
• 4 activities
• 35 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze how the physical structure of the Globe Theatre, such as the thrust stage and open yard, influenced Shakespeare's dramatic techniques like asides and soliloquies.
2. Compare the conventions of Elizabethan stagecraft, including minimal scenery and audience interaction, with those of contemporary theatre productions.
3. Evaluate the impact of audience participation, including heckling and applause, on the performance style and content of plays at the Globe Theatre.
4. Explain the function of specific architectural features of the Globe, like trapdoors and the heavens, in creating theatrical effects during Elizabethan performances.

Simulation Game

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Model Building: Globe Theatre Replica

Provide cardstock, scissors, and templates for groups to construct a labelled cross-section model of the Globe, including yard, stage, galleries, and trapdoor. Groups add annotations on design features. Finish with a gallery walk to share insights.

Prepare & details

Explain how the design of the Globe Theatre influenced Shakespeare's writing choices.

Facilitation Tip: During Model Building: Globe Theatre Replica, circulate with a checklist of features like trapdoors and galleries to ensure accuracy before students finalize their designs.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Simulation Game

⏱ 35 min·Pairs

Role-Play: Interactive Soliloquy

Assign pairs a Shakespeare soliloquy; one performs to the 'audience' of groundlings who respond with cheers or boos. Switch roles and discuss how reactions alter delivery. Debrief on Elizabethan participation.

Prepare & details

Analyze the role of audience participation in Elizabethan theatre performances.

Facilitation Tip: When running Role-Play: Interactive Soliloquy, stand at the edge of the performance space to model how groundlings crowded the stage, creating a visceral sense of proximity.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Stations Rotation

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Stagecraft Conventions

Set up stations for minimal props (improv scene with words only), multiple roles (quick changes), boy actors (gender swap demo), and audience effects (heckling practice). Groups rotate, recording notes.

Prepare & details

Compare the staging conventions of Shakespeare's time with modern theatrical productions.

Facilitation Tip: For Station Rotation: Stagecraft Conventions, assign roles within groups so quiet students have clear responsibilities like managing props or timing transitions.

Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room

Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Simulation Game

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Comparison Debate: Elizabethan vs Modern

In small groups, chart similarities and differences in staging, then debate as a class which approach best serves drama. Use visuals of Globe and contemporary theatres.

Prepare & details

Explain how the design of the Globe Theatre influenced Shakespeare's writing choices.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should avoid overemphasizing modern staging techniques when discussing Elizabethan theatre, as this can reinforce misconceptions about elaborate sets and lighting. Instead, focus on how dialogue, gesture, and audience participation created theatrical meaning. Research suggests that embodying roles—even briefly—helps students internalize the constraints and freedoms of the period more effectively than lectures alone.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students confidently explaining how architecture influenced staging and audience interaction. They should also demonstrate empathy with historical constraints by adapting modern expectations to Elizabethan conventions in discussions and role-plays.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Model Building: Globe Theatre Replica, students may add elaborate sets and painted backdrops, confusing them with modern stage design.

What to Teach Instead

Before construction begins, display a side-by-side comparison of a Globe stage diagram and a modern set design. Ask students to identify which elements belong in their replica and which do not, explaining how the Globe relied on audience imagination.

Common Misconception

During Role-Play: Interactive Soliloquy, students may perform in silence, mimicking modern audience behavior.

What to Teach Instead

During the warm-up for this activity, have students practice shouting a line from Shakespeare (e.g., 'A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!') to demonstrate the rowdy energy groundlings brought to performances. Redirect any silent performances by asking, 'How would a groundling react to this moment?'

Common Misconception

During Role-Play: Interactive Soliloquy, students may assume women played female roles in Shakespeare’s time.

What to Teach Instead

Assign pairs to switch roles during the activity, with one student playing a female character and the other playing a male character. Afterward, debrief how this challenges modern assumptions and why boys took on these roles.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Model Building: Globe Theatre Replica, provide students with a diagram of the Globe. Ask them to label three architectural features and explain how each feature shaped performances or writing, such as how the thrust stage allowed for direct audience engagement in soliloquies.

Discussion Prompt

After Role-Play: Interactive Soliloquy, pose the question: 'How did the experience of performing or listening to the soliloquy change when you considered the groundlings’ rowdy presence?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to reference the Globe’s layout and audience behavior.

Quick Check

During Station Rotation: Stagecraft Conventions, have students rotate to a station with a short video clip of a modern play, a Shakespearean performance, and a minimalist fringe production. Ask them to identify which conventions align with Elizabethan stagecraft and explain why in a one-sentence response.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge advanced students to write a short scene set in the Globe, restricting them to three props and no explicit stage directions.
• Scaffolding for struggling students: Provide labeled diagrams of the Globe during the Model Building activity to help them visualize key features before constructing their own.
• Deeper exploration: Invite students to research how modern theatres reinterpret Elizabethan staging, such as outdoor Shakespeare festivals, and compare their findings in a brief presentation.

Key Vocabulary

Thrust Stage	A stage that extends into the audience on three sides, common in Elizabethan theatres like the Globe, creating a close connection between actors and spectators.
Groundlings	The audience members who stood in the open yard around the stage at the Globe Theatre, paying a penny for admission and often being the most vocal part of the crowd.
Aside	A dramatic convention where a character speaks their thoughts aloud to the audience, unheard by other characters on stage.
Soliloquy	A speech delivered by a character alone on stage, revealing their inner thoughts, feelings, or intentions directly to the audience.
The Heavens	The painted canopy above the stage at the Globe Theatre, which could be used for special effects like lowering actors or props, and represented the sky or divine realm.