Stanford has a graphic novel project that teaches students narrative structure through graphic storytelling, and some of the lessons from the university's project can be adapted for "A Midsummer Night's Dream." To do this project, the class should be broken up into groups---writers who will adapt the play into a graphic novel script; concept artists who create the look of the novel; sketch artists who will draw the rough panels for the story; and drafters who will draw the final art. Additionally, to help the students, the teacher might allow a play's synopsis via Cliffs or Spark Notes. By doing this project, the students will have to read and analyze the story's structure carefully and learn ways to not only read Shakespeare at a deeper level, but also to tell the story in a primarily visual format. This is an advanced high school or college level project and should last at least a semester.
Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and similar sites have changed the way people use media. Students reading "A Midsummer Night's Dream" can learn about not only social media by doing this project, but also about characterization, story structure, plot and themes. The teacher should set up a blog site as well as a private Facebook or Twitter page for the class. Students will be assigned characters and put into groups. They will post messages on the blog and on the social media site as their characters. This assignment will teach them about subtext, character motivation, plot and other story elements in addition to how to use electronic media. A follow-up paper can be assigned at the end of the unit where students can articulate what they've learned. They can refer back to their posts to cite their creative processes.
The act of adapting a work of literature into another format is a bit like translation. The adapter has to bring the story out of one "language" into another for a new audience. This exercise will teach students how to read Shakespearean literature by breaking it down into its most basic elements. For this project, the students will be assigned scenes from the play to adapt into a modern play using modern language. They'll use the play's characters, settings, plot and other literary devices to do the assignment. For preparation , they should read the play, watch several film adaptations of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and do theoretical research on literary adaption. Once all their scenes are rewritten, each scene will be workshopped to work out all the bugs from which a final version of the play should emerge. It can be performed for the public as the final assignment for the class.