How to Adapt ‘Julius Caesar’ for Upper Elementary Students

In previous Edutopia articles, I have written about how I run an after-school Shakespeare-themed drama club for upper elementary students. The club has two core goals: to introduce students to Shakespeare’s rich and complex plays, and for students to learn acting and presentation skills. Each year, we adapt a different play with the students, inspired by the plays I see over the summer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

This year, we are tackling the historical and political world of Julius Caesar. When I was a middle school student in England, this play was my first entry into the world of Shakespeare, and I’ve always loved it. However, using the play in my drama club posed particular problems that I hadn’t encountered before.

How to Tackle the Politics

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” (Cassius, Act 1, Scene 2)

Julius Caesar details the conspiracy by Roman senators to prevent Caesar from becoming dictator perpetuo—dictator for life—along with the bloody consequences of the conspiracy. This is a heavy, serious play based on historical events that bring up questions about power, authority, and responsibility, which are still being debated today. I steered clear of modern connections by immersing the children in the world of ancient Rome. When students joined the club, I gave each of them a copy of the children’s book Who Was Julius Caesar? by Nico Medina, illustrated by Tim Foley. The book provides an excellent account of Caesar’s life and the Roman world he lived in over 2,000 years ago.

In previous school years, my students and I have created updated settings for the plays. This time, our play is firmly based in the historical setting. I used a grant from the Bend-La Pine Education Foundation to purchase Roman backdrops, tall cardboard columns, and Roman-themed costumes for all the students.

The students knew very little about Julius Caesar, not even the fact that he changed the name of a month to “July” to be named after him. I added scenes to the script that fleshed out Caesar’s backstory and the reasons he was so popular, successful, and dangerous. As a result, creating this play was also an in-depth social studies lesson.

How to Manage the Violence

“Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods...” (Brutus, Act 2, Scene 1)

The play also has a lot of violence, from the dramatic assassination of Caesar to the subsequent civil war and suicides of two of the main characters, Brutus and Cassius. I didn’t feel that these actions were age-appropriate, but the violence is central to the story. After searching for a way to navigate this, I settled on Monty Pythonesque humor, especially in what was achieved in their musical, Spamalot.

So instead of the Roman soldiers fighting with swords, they wield plastic fish. The students love this. Instead of stabbing Caesar to death with daggers, they direct their anger in another gut-wrenching way: using dad jokes! We had a lot of fun searching through joke books to come up with the most cringey, pun-filled jokes possible. Using terrible jokes in place of violent acts lasted all the way through to the end of the play.

Add in Humor Where You Can

“Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war...” (Antony, Act 3, Scene 1)

Doing a play this serious with grade four and five students requires as many opportunities for humor as you can fit into it. For example, in an early scene, Cassius meets the other conspirators at night. They compare notes on the strange omens and terrible supernatural sights they’ve witnessed. We decided to have a dancing chicken (because I already had the costume) and some zombies.

The play is also famously male-oriented, with female roles relegated to the wives of Caesar and Brutus. I created a brand-new character: Julia Caesar. She is the sister of Julius and plays the role of a comic sibling or sidekick. Her presence allows us to make the point that history written by men tends to record only what the men say and do. It also helped that the role was created for an actor who is especially good at being funny and spirited.

How Students Can Show Commitment

“...not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (Brutus, Act 3, Scene 2)

As is usual for this club, the students have to work hard at home to learn the lines for what amounts to a 45-minute show. I also invited them to come in at recess to help build the cardboard columns and create posters for the start of the play (when the Roman citizens are cheering on a newly victorious Caesar). Most of the cast happily gave up their play time and brought other keen non-club members. Within a week, we had the stage background and props ready to be used in rehearsal.

I love that fourth- and fifth-grade students living in central Oregon can be excited about a 400-year-old play about a real-life drama that occurred over 2,000 years ago. This is the power of drama.