Clues to Acting Shakespeare (Third Edition)

Book excerpt: “A workhorse of a book! Beautifully conceived and executed. Clues to Acting Shakespeare is a no-brainer purchase for acting collections in all libraries.” —Library Journal Clues to Acting Shakespeare has become a popular guide for actors, directors, teachers and Shakespeare enthusiasts, selling over 15,000 copies of previous editions. This third edition retains the second edition’s unique solutions to challenges that face directors and actors at advanced levels and is expanded to include an entirely new section for amateur and community theatre groups. In this new edition, readers will be delighted to find: New section to aid community theatres to perform Shakespeare’s plays, including five recorded workshops of community theatre actors coached and trained by the author Updates to the successful sections on training student actors (MFA and BFA programs), and professional actors (including audition tips)—highlighted by twenty author-coached workshops with professional and advanced student actors Improved section for teachers of high school and child actors with worksheets and sample lesson plans New exercises and resources for all levels of acting and production To aid professionals, Clues to Acting Shakespeare offers a one-day brush-up for auditions and preparation to play Shakespeare immediately. Text analysis, character studies, and both classical British training and American methods are explored. The exercises and recorded workshops provide inspiring advice to all actors and demonstrate concepts discussed throughout the book. The critical skills required for acting Shakespeare, including scansion, phrasing, caesura, breathing, speech structure, antithesis, and more are covered in detail. The comprehensive exercises using the Bard’s plays and sonnets teach actors to break down the verse, support the words, understand the imagery, and use the text to create vibrant performances.