Students from two high schools will collaborate over 8 weeks to write, film, and produce an adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Each class will be responsible for one act. Students will fill various roles such as director, actor, writer, and various production and advertising roles. Throughout the project, students will complete assignments including scripts, costumes, props, filming, and promotional materials. On April 30th, a premiere event will showcase the completed film adaptation.

1. Grosse Pointe South and Van Meter
High School Present:
The Tragedy Of Romeo and Juliet
Photo courtesy of jaffera from Flickr
http://bit.ly/eRosyJ

3. The Epic Romeo and Juliet Project
Introduction:
For the next 8 weeks, students are going to write, act and produce an act from
Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Each class will be in charge of a
select act that they will work on during the course of the unit. At the end of the unit,
all 5 acts will be pieced together on video and shown at a premier event on Saturday
April 30th.
Student Responsibilities:
Every student will have a role in the class production. They are responsible for
meeting all of the guidelines for their job.
Class work:
Students will spend Monday through Thursday in class discussing the play and
taking an in depth look at one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. Every Friday,
students will be in the computer lab working on their assigned projects for their
specific role. All students will be given due dates for all of the individual works. It is
critical that students use the in class lab time to complete their work because much
of their work will be needed by other students for their jobs.
Homework:
This project is too large to be completed in the class alone. All of the students will be
expected to work on their specific roles on their own time as well as class time. If
students ever have trouble completing any work at home, it is important that they
contact their teacher as soon as possible.
Important Dates:
Monday February 28th – Project Begins
March 11th, 18th, 25th, April 1st – Computer Lab work Day
April 15th – All work, including filmed Acts, is due
April 16th – April 22nd – Spring Break (Editing of film will take place over break)
Saturday April 30th – Premiere! The completed movie will be shown at school

4. Student Jobs
Director – 2 per class
Responsibilities:
• It is the job of the director to oversee the work of all of
the other students in class working on the Act
• It is important that they communicate with the other
students
• They will make sure that all work is completed when due
• Directors will also work with the directors of the other
Acts to ensure the movie flows together well
• Directors will need to communicate with the Producers
(teachers
• Directors are in charge of securing locations for filming
• Directors will be in charge of keeping a written account of
their work twice a week using a student created blog
o This blog can be used to share ideas, pictures and
other thoughts on the process of making a film
o Multiple directors may share a single blog
• Any other work assigned by the Producers
Cameraman – 1 per class
Responsibilities:
• Works closely with the director
o Help scout locations for filming
• Film all parts of their designated act
• Work with the advertising crew
• Provide final pieces of film to the Producers
• Work with the directors and Producers in editing
• Maintain a blog that details the filming process

5. o The blog must be updated twice a week.
o Photos of locations with explanations must be
uploaded once a week.
• Any other work assigned by the Producers
Actors – Around 20 Total
*Note – Students will audition for the various roles in the
movie
Responsibilities:
• One of the biggest jobs during the course of the project,
students will memorize the lines provided to them by the
writers
• Actors will need to work with the directors closely and be
available for filming
• Students will write a blog post twice a week detailing the
work they are putting into the role
• Any other work assigned by the Producers
Writers – 2 per class
Responsibilities:
• Writers will be responsible for meeting virtually with the
writers from the other classes
o It is critical that this is done early to determine the
type of story that is going to be told
• Once the story is decided, writers will be in charge of
editing the text and providing the actors with their scripts
• Writers need to work closely with the directors
• Writers need to work closely with the prop-masters and
costume designers

6. o Writers should provide detail to props and costumes
so they may acquire the necessary materials for the
movie
• Writers will be responsible with providing pieces of the
script to the Producers and the rest of the class at the end
of every week. Producers will make copies if scripts are
handed in at the start of the day
• Any other work assigned by the Producers
Prop- Masters – 2 or 3 per class
Responsibilities:
• Prop-Masters need to work closely with the writers and
the directors to ensure that all materials are ready when
filming starts
• Prop-Masters will be in charge of designing and acquiring
all of the materials for filming
• The Producers must approve all sketches before they are
created
• Prop-Masters must keep a blog they update at the end of
every week detailing sketches made and how the props
were created and/or acquire
• Any other work assigned by the Producers
Costume Designer – 1 or 2 per class
Responsibilities:
• The Costume Designer will need to work with the
directors and writers to find the correct wardrobe for the
actors
• The Costume Designer needs to work with the other
costume designers from other classes to ensure that

7. actors are all wearing the same clothes in the different
acts
• The Costume Designer will need to work with the actors
to make sure the find the correct sizes and pieces
• The Costume Designer will need to create sketches of the
costumes for all of the actors in the film
o All sketched must be approved by the Producers
before they created/purchased
• The costume designer will be responsible for maintain a
blog that will detail the various sketches and costume
designs they have created
o This blog must be updated every Friday
• Any other work assigned by the Producers.
Advertising
Advertising will be broken into 3 departments
Print Advertising – 9-10 per class
Responsibilities:
• Designing Posters and Fliers that promote the movie to
the school and the community
o Prints ads should contain the following
 Title
 Show date
 Location
 Actors names
 Visual elements
 Lines from the movie
• Work with actors, directors, prop masters, costume
designers and other students to get pictures for print ads
• Maintain a blog that will be updated on Fridays

8. o Blogs will be used to showcase the student created
ads
 Each student will need to provide a detailed
explanation with each ad
• Any other work assigned by the Producer
Video Advertising – 2 or 3 per class
Responsibilities:
• Create videos that promote the movie
• Work with the directors, actors, writers and other
students to create clips and film trailers
• Maintain a blog that will detail the work done each week
o A video must be uploaded every 2 weeks
 All videos must be approved by the Producers
before they are uploaded
o There must be at least two blog posts every week
detailing the steps taken to create each video
• Any other work assigned by the Producers
Social Media Advertising – 1 to 3 per class
Responsibilities:
• Coordinate with the other advertising students in the
class
• Use Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc) to
promote the movie
o Suggestions:
 Create Twitter accounts for the play
• Characters
 Create Facebook Accounts for the Movie and

9. characters
• Coordinate with the other classes to have
a central page
 Create blogs that character might use
o Parent permission to use these tools is required. See
the Producers for more details
o The Producers must clear all content created using
Social Media before it is published.
• Students must maintain one site that provides links to all
of the social media projects they create
o This blog must be updated every Friday
• Any other work assigned by the Producers
Soundtrack – 3 to 5 students per class
Responsibilities:
• Work with directors and writers
• Use creative commons music to match the mood and tone
of the movie
o Jamendo.com
• Maintain a blog that details the music choices for the
movie
o The blog must be updated once a week with a new
song and an explanation that details where it is used
in the move and why it is a good choice.
o The blog must be updated once a week with a
playlist that character from the movie would listen
to
 These songs can be popular songs with links to
videos
 Each song should have a few sentences that
explain why they like those songs.

10. • Any other work assigned by the Producers
MISCELLANEOUS
• Students will be graded on the work they complete
• A student’s grades will not be impacted by the work of
other students
• Communication is key
o Please keep in touch with your director and
Producer if there are any problems
• The due dates for assignments are firm
• If there are any questions, please see the Producer as
soon as possible