Black Death Role Play Project

ROLE PLAY OF THE BLACK DEATH

Introduction: We have examined the causes and effects of the Black Death or Bubonic Plague that swept through Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. Now is your chance to create a visual representation of the effects of this event. You will create a two act Play where you take on the role of a member of a family to tell the story of the Black Death and its impact on your family. You will have to make decisions about what your family would do when faced with almost certain death. In the end you will share with us the results of your efforts to survive.

Organization and Preparation

To complete the following task, you will as a group create a storyboard and a script for your group.

Storyboard will include the following:

Setting

Characters

Props

Actions

You will complete one for each Act of your Play. You may break your plays into smaller parts/scenes that would help you address the assigned tasks.

Example- to demonstrate what they observe, you might have them walking through the town and seeing the experiences and actions of others. You might have other family members talking to neighbors, or finding legal documents on public buildings that explain what the local government is doing in reaction to the plague.

Script will include:

The conversation happening between the various characters.

Identification of the setting, and characters

The exact dialogue that each person will say during the play so each of you may rehearse.

Contract:

Who is responsible for what aspects of the play:

Break the script down into conversations between people and assign this to individuals. The script writing will not be assigned to one or two individuals, but is a group task. To do it more efficiently, each person should work alone, or with a partner creating a conversation that helps answer one of the questions below.

The contract will outline who is responsible for each part of the play, and will be evaluated according to your individual work. You can and should ask for assistance when necessary. Have others proof read, and share ideas to create the best play you can.

Act 1- a conversation among members of a family-

in Florence in the summer of 1348, when the plague had already gotten a hold but well before its peak. (each group will be given a different social class)

Social Classes

King

noble landlord

skilled crafts person

serf

Urban worker

Flagellants

Create a dialogue to answer the following questions:

Identify what social class, the age, gender, occupation if appropriate, age, etc. of your cast.

Describe the location and other details of the setting- some of this will be done by answering question 2 Below.

• 1. What would they be talking about?

  2. Discuss- observations, concerns and attitudes that people would have experienced during this catastrophe.

     1. What did they see around them?

     2. What is happening in their village, town, etc.?

     3. Do they know people who have died?

     4. Have they seen first hand the effects of the plague?

     5. What has been done to those who have died?

     6. The sights, sounds, smells, etc. of the people in your family group.

  3. What alternative courses of action are open to them?

• • 1. This means- other than simply dying- what actions might people take?

    2. Brainstorm- this can be part of your dialogue and then discuss question 3 and 4 to demonstrate what actions or options your social class could actually take.

• 4. Given their level of knowledge, what are the pros and cons of various courses of action?

  5. Would all of these options be open to your social class?

• • 1. Why might some be limited, and how might these limitations impact your survival?

       1. Ex: Flee - you might not have the money, knowledge, or ability to move.

• 6. Discuss- Measures taken by the church government, etc. already to deal with the problem

  7. Discuss - The advice they are getting and from whom?

• • 1. This might be rumors, or accurate information depending on who it comes from.

    2. medical treatment and knowledge of the time - how did they deal with the disease?

• 8. What would you do if you had older family members?

  9. How would the knowledge of Whether family or friends or relatives had already died

Family Characteristics: These may impact your decision and the conversation you have.

Social Class - You will be assigned to a social class.

Age - You will be provided roles

Gender

Act 2- The aftermath

- The Plague has run its course-

You have made your decision as to how best to deal with the plague. Now You will share the results of your efforts to survive.

Answer the following questions in your skit

What do you think would have resulted from your decision based on your social class, and other family characteristics from above?

If you believe the ultimate tragedy would occur and all of your family would have been lost, there should be a record of the events of your life left for someone to find and this person can read the diary as we see a flashback of major events in your life.

If people survived, then you can tell a traveler what happened to you and your family based on your decision. You too could use flashback scenes to tell your story, but you could also include a dialogue between the traveler and the survivors years after Act 1 is concluded.

Topics to Discuss

• 1. 1. What happened to your family?

     1. Who survived and who died?

     2. How, when and where did people in your family die?

     3. Where did you end up?

        1. Stayed in your home

        2. Fled

  2. What measures were taken to deal with or avoid the plague?

• • 1. What did you do if someone in the family was sick?

    2. What did you do with those who became weak or ill and travel was difficult? Did you leave anyone behind?

    3. What medications, treatments did you use?

       1. What affect did they have?

       2. did you try something new if the first treatment didn’t work?

• 3. Who did you turn to for help?

• • 1. What were the results?

• 4. What did you experience, See, hear, learn as the Plague came and went?

  5. Why do you think your family survived or perished to the disease?

  6. If you are a king or noble- you should discuss the decisions you had to make to deal with the outbreak and protect more than just your own family