Here are directions for making “Cue Scripts” for any scene from any Shakespeare play.
However, you should feel free to experiment with the other early and modern editions of Shakespeare’s plays. In the period, multiple versions of a single play title were circulating in print. For instance, Romeo and Juliet appeared in three different versions. In 1597, the first quarto or Q1 was published, and this text is almost half the length of Q2, the second quarto, published in 1599. In 1623, Shakespeare’s plays, including Romeo and Juliet, were published in a large collected edition, now called the First Folio (F1). If you compare Q1 and Q2, you will find that they are very different texts; Q2 and F1 are close but not identical. With advanced Shakespeare classes, you could have students compare the cue scripts for a character in Q1 vs Q2. Some plays such as The Tempest will only have two editions as options: M and F1. This means that The Tempest first appeared in print in the First Folio (F1), so no quarto versions are available. For texts like Hamlet, there are many more options, including Modern editions based on the Folio (FM), first quarto (Q1M), and second quarto (Q2M).
5. After you choose an edition of the play (by unchecking the appropriate boxes), find and click on the button, “Character
Scrolls.” Choose a character from the play and click “Generate.” The page that appears will include ALL of the speeches for
that chosen character along with his/her cue lines and stage directions. Notice that the “cue lines” here consist of the
entire line spoken by another character. You may decide to leave these extra cues in the text to help students with a
rehearsal. Or, you might cut all but the last 2-3 words to recreate original rehearsal conditions.
6. Once you’ve chosen a scene to perform, prepare scripts for each character in the scene. You can copy and paste each
character’s part into a separate document and then reformat the script for ease of use. (You will notice that for the
“Pyramus and Thisbe” Cue Scripts, I bolded speakers’ parts, deleted stage directions, cut cues down to 2-3 words, and
added glosses from my edition of the Norton Shakespeare. You do not need to make a separate “Prompter” book; usually,
the students’ textbook is an adequate “Full Script” from which to work. However, your modern textbook edition may be
slightly different from the Internet Shakespeare’s Modern edition.)
7. Gather props, roll up scrolls, and prepare students for a lively Shakespearean Rehearsal!
*Please note that you can also make cue scripts (or have your students make cue scripts) by simply typing out passages from your favorite Shakespeare edition.
- Go to the Internet Shakespeare Editions website: http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/
- In the “Site Search” box (top left), type “Text Statistics” + “Title of Play.” So, for example, enter “Text Statistics Romeo and Juliet” and click on the search button.
- Choose the “Text Statistics” link for the appropriate play. This should be the first link in the search results.
- When you open the page, you will see a number of options. The first is the choice of an edition. For Romeo and Juliet, you have four options: M, F1, Q1, Q2. The first option is a modern (M) edition fully edited by a Shakespearean scholar. I recommend using this modern edition (M) to prepare easy-to-read cue scripts.
However, you should feel free to experiment with the other early and modern editions of Shakespeare’s plays. In the period, multiple versions of a single play title were circulating in print. For instance, Romeo and Juliet appeared in three different versions. In 1597, the first quarto or Q1 was published, and this text is almost half the length of Q2, the second quarto, published in 1599. In 1623, Shakespeare’s plays, including Romeo and Juliet, were published in a large collected edition, now called the First Folio (F1). If you compare Q1 and Q2, you will find that they are very different texts; Q2 and F1 are close but not identical. With advanced Shakespeare classes, you could have students compare the cue scripts for a character in Q1 vs Q2. Some plays such as The Tempest will only have two editions as options: M and F1. This means that The Tempest first appeared in print in the First Folio (F1), so no quarto versions are available. For texts like Hamlet, there are many more options, including Modern editions based on the Folio (FM), first quarto (Q1M), and second quarto (Q2M).
5. After you choose an edition of the play (by unchecking the appropriate boxes), find and click on the button, “Character
Scrolls.” Choose a character from the play and click “Generate.” The page that appears will include ALL of the speeches for
that chosen character along with his/her cue lines and stage directions. Notice that the “cue lines” here consist of the
entire line spoken by another character. You may decide to leave these extra cues in the text to help students with a
rehearsal. Or, you might cut all but the last 2-3 words to recreate original rehearsal conditions.
6. Once you’ve chosen a scene to perform, prepare scripts for each character in the scene. You can copy and paste each
character’s part into a separate document and then reformat the script for ease of use. (You will notice that for the
“Pyramus and Thisbe” Cue Scripts, I bolded speakers’ parts, deleted stage directions, cut cues down to 2-3 words, and
added glosses from my edition of the Norton Shakespeare. You do not need to make a separate “Prompter” book; usually,
the students’ textbook is an adequate “Full Script” from which to work. However, your modern textbook edition may be
slightly different from the Internet Shakespeare’s Modern edition.)
7. Gather props, roll up scrolls, and prepare students for a lively Shakespearean Rehearsal!
*Please note that you can also make cue scripts (or have your students make cue scripts) by simply typing out passages from your favorite Shakespeare edition.