Courses

Have you ever seen a great Shakespearean performance in a theater and wondered: “How do the actors do it?” In this acting workshop, we will traverse the landscape of the Shakespearean monologue. The emphasis will be on process rather than result. The workshop will provide a substantial introduction to the craft of acting Shakespeare, and reinforce basic concepts for those who have previously studied Shakespearean acting.

Throughout the course, we will utilize monologues from the exciting texts of Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others, and we will explore the characters, language, and compelling works of this master writer. We will experience Shakespearean performance in a safe and supportive environment, and we will learn techniques to develop free, dynamic, strong, and flexible voices as we find new vocal range in size and in pitch. We will explore language in terms of rhythm, alliteration, punctuation, and vowel and consonant sounds. In the first half of the workshop, these techniques will be applied to various monologues in a creative group environment. In the second half of the workshop, the instructor will work directly with each student.