Tuesday Text-Day – Bell Ringers

What are bell-ringers, and how can they be used
in both the classroom and rehearsal space?

Technically, a bell-ringer is a writing prompt that many teachers use at the start of a class period. It can be very helpful in familiarizing students with the different plays as well as encouraging them to come to grips with the fact that Shakespeare’s works can be as relevant today as when they were written.

In rehearsal a bell-ringer can be used as a part of the warm-up process to gather the cast and create a mind-set for working with Shakespeare’s text in a performance setting. Here, it would be more of a thought prompt or a group brain-storm in preparation for departing from the events of the day and entering into the world of a Shakespearean play. These writing prompts can aid in building character, setting the mood of a scene, or simply creating an atmosphere conducive to collaborative rehearsing. Most of the prompts can be adjusted to coincide with whatever play is in production.

To use these prompts, a famous line from a Shakespearean play should be posted in a spot visible upon entering the space. In a classroom, students, using a bell-ringer journal, should take a few minutes (five is recommended) to read the quote and write a quick response to it. These responses may come in various forms such as giving an opinion with supporting evidence, an explanation with examples, a paraphrase, or a bit of narrative providing backstory.