Enjoying Shakespeare

Froggy has been enjoying Shakespeare since a much younger age than I thought possible before I had children thanks to the suggestions and guidance of our curriculum.  We started our Shakespeare experience with the Nesbit and Lamb retellings.  With these rich retellings in her experience, Froggy was able to attend and truly enjoy the live performances of our local Shakespeare theater company.

And this year, our Shakespearean adventure has entered a new chapter.  We are reading Othello in all its original glory with the help of No Fear Shakespeare.  The side by side approach allows us to enjoy the rich beautiful language while still understanding the story.  It is a major jump from the retellings and therefore we are taking much longer working our way through the play than in previous years but it is worth it.  I was concerned that the complicated language, the switching back and forth, or the lengthy speeches would be a deterrent.  It hasn't.  I suspect in large part thanks to the scaffolding provided by the retellings.
So you may ask why Othello for our first No Fear approach?  It was both on the rotation for our curriculum and part of the season for our local company.  I am still waffling on taking her to the live production but leaning heavily in favor of going.  We chose the Page and Stage performance to have a chance to chat with the artistic staff before the performance.