LET”S THROW A WEDDING FOR ROMEO AND JULIET!

THE CAPULETS AND COMPANY

Group Five ~ Music and Dance~ What Will We Do For Fun? Did those Elizabethans like to "Move It? Move It?”

The first thing your group will do is to search your resources and determine what types of music will be appropriate for this wedding. You are to prepare a song list of music that your guests will enjoy during both the ceremony and reception. You should also provide a tape or CD with a collection of songs.

Your group must complete the following tasks:

* Music and Dance Fact Finding Sheet (one per group member)

* List 3 - 5 pieces of music to be played at the wedding ceremony and reception, including song titles, composers, and performers. If lyrics are available, please include them.

* Tape or CD of a collection of at least 3 songs that may be used the day of the wedding. Please select one piece for the ceremony, one for the dinner, and one for the reception. Include at least a one-paragraph rationale for each of the selections you have made.

After you compile the music you have to get your guests moving to burn off those party calories. How did those Elizabethans dance? Your group will research the latest dance crazes and the most modern moves. After you have determined how the Elizabethans danced, you'll need to offer a crash course to the other guests at the wedding.

Your group must complete the following tasks:

* A one to two page summary of dance during the Elizabethan period. Please include the types of dance, important features of each dance, and the purposes of dance.

* A dance cheat sheet to assist your guests. The cheat sheet should include at least 1 dance and instructions for performing each of the steps.

* A dance lesson provided by the members of your group for the rest of the class.

* Gather supplies from the Art Room to assist each member of the class to create a masque. We will need markers, poster board, masque templates, scissors, a few hole punchers and sticks or yarn. Each masque should be creatively and carefully decorated.

GROUP SCRAPBOOK: All the above information should be written and compiled into an attractive scrapbook.

Group Six ~ Food - What Will You Feed Them?

After you clothe your guests you have to feed them. Many of us have been to weddings, proms, birthday parties, award dinners, and various social functions where we have endured the worst food of our lives. Instead of the tasteless fare of careless cooks, YOU are going to scour the internet and determine the best menu for your guests. Remember... this is the wedding to end all weddings! After you determine the foods that will be served for each course you will create an actual menu and prepare at least three of the foods you will be serving.

Your group must complete the following tasks:

* Food Fact Finding Sheet (one per group member)

* A one to two page summary of food and drink of the Elizabethan period.

* A menu of all foods and drinks to be served at the wedding. Include at least 4 appetizers, 4 main dishes, 4 desserts and 2 beverages.

* Design a menu that is computer generated, hand drawn, painted, or prepared as a collage. It should reflect the feel of the time period.

* Design a recipe book for at least 4 of the dishes/beverages that you will serve at the banquet. Illustrations should be included with the text.

* Prepare at least 4 of the foods on your menu. Try to be as authentic as possible in the ingredients and preparation. Any modern substitutions should be noted. (Our Room Parents will help organize the rest!)

* Include your finding about foods, nutrition, table manners, and meals/banquets of this time period

GROUP SCRAPBOOK: All the above information should be written and compiled into an attractive scrapbook.

Group Seven - The Reception Guest List & Conversation: Who Is Invited, Where Do They Sit, and What Do They Talk About?

One of the toughest tasks when planning a wedding of this size is simply getting all the people together. You have two households, both alike in dignity, to consider. From the head of each household, to his immediate family, the bride and groom, their friends, their servants, their servants' servants, well connected businessmen and politicians, old family friends, the shady relatives from the highlands, the royalty!! Your task is awesome. You can't afford to offend anybody, yet there must be peace in the wedding hall.

Your group must complete the following tasks:

* Guest List Fact Finding Sheet (one per group member)

* Guest List (including the rank, title, occupation, and interests of each guest) The guest list should include 30 people, including family members.

* Table Seating Chart with Names of Guests

* Each table should include ten guests. The wedding party should sit at a separate head table.

* The seating should take into consideration the different social classes, as well as the differing personalities.

* To your table-seating chart, attach a brief rationale for the placement of those particular guests at the table. Make certain that you include a rationale for each of the tables at the reception.

* A Sample Conversation Between the Guests at One of the Tables (minimum of 2 pages of dialogue)

* Topics might relate to everyday life, politics, social events, and cultural events.

* Keep the swords in check. Don't have your guests explode into a major argument. (Minor ones are ok)

GROUP SCRAPBOOK: All the above information should be written and compiled into an attractive scrapbook.

Group Eight: Fashion ~ What Do the Wedding Party and Guests Wear?

The first thing your group will do is to search your resources and determine what types of outfits your wedding party and guests will wear. What can we expect to see at this stellar fiesta? You are to design an ensemble for Juliet. You are to create a scrapbook of outfits that her guests will be wearing.

Remember this is the wedding of the century. The guests will be DRESSED TO THE NINES. Feel free to use the resources for the other groups.

Your group must complete the following tasks:

* Fashion Fact Finding Sheet (one per group member)

* A scrapbook of outfits that the Capulet’s and their guests will be wearing

* Include a 1-2 page summary of Elizabethan fashions for men, women, and children at the beginning of your scrapbook. Be sure to make distinctions between the clothing of different social classes.

* Include a written description of each outfit (materials, style, color, type of person who would wear it). You should also include a rationale for why this outfit would suit that particular person.

* The pictures may be from books, magazines, the Internet, or original drawings.

* Pay particular attention to Juliet’s ensemble. You will design and find an outfit for Juliet to wear in the ceremony. REMEMBER: You have two steps. 1) To design your "dream" version ON PAPER of the costume Juliet would wear and 2) to pull costume items from the costume shop or home to create a simple costume for Juliet to actually wear in our wedding. WE ARE NOT CREATING AN ELABORATE COSTUME! The costume Juliet wears is simply a suggestion of your ideal version on paper!

* Share your findings with the class in order for them to create a simple costume to wear to the wedding.

GROUP SCRAPBOOK: All the above information should be written and compiled into an attractive scrapbook. Your group scrapbook should include a picture and written description for each of the following types of guests at his wedding: upper class man, upper class woman, lower class man, lower class woman, bridal party, bride, and groom.

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Congratulations on all your efforts!!! Now you know what it takes to put on a wedding of epic proportions. I hope you had fun broadening the scope of your knowledge of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, and the history behind the play. You should be proud of yourselves! If you have any more questions about Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare or his time, you know where to find out about the real stuff, so get going!