Shakespeare
“Thank you so much for helping me with my monologue. Going into my audition, I had so much confidence. I had a deeper understanding and comprehension of my monologue. I learned so much about first folio work, iambic pentameter, and just little punctuation hints in Shakespeare’s works. Thank you so much for your help, because now I have been accepted to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts!” – Allie
Shakespearean Treasure Hunt
Shakespeare wasn’t meant to be read as literature, it was meant to be actively explored and performed. Shakespeare wrote everything one needs to know in the text. There was no director during Shakespeare’s time to help the actors interpret the text and shape the actor’s performance. It is believed that once Shakespeare completed the play the actors rehearsed for three days before it was performed for a paying audience. Therefore, any acting notes Shakespeare wanted the actors to know he put into how he wrote the lines, providing a veritable treasure chest for anyone delving into his plays. If he wanted to give his actors clues that something emotional is going on in a scene he would break the iambic pentameter and would write lines with up to fourteen syllables. The use of alliteration was not only a poetic tool and something to help the audience visualize what was happening, but it also helped the actors to memorize quickly knowing that a line of text had similar sounds. These, as well as many other tools, can help the student dig deeper into Shakespeare’s text and unlock deeper meanings that are below the surface.
Shakespeare Residency
The residency was built to run as a two-day workshop, consisting of six 1 1/2 hour sessions, broken down into three sessions on each day. Workshops normally run from 10AM – 3PM, with a 1/2 hour lunch break between sessions 2 and 3 of each day. However, because the residency is broken into 6 separate sessions, the duration is flexible. For example, one session per week, for 6 weeks; two sessions per week, for 3 weeks; etc.
Residency Sessions
- Session 1: Who’s Your Shakespeare? – How do teenagers connect to Shakespeare on a personal level?
- Session 2: Treasure Hunting Through Shakespeare’s Text – How do we find the clues and gifts that Shakespeare left us in the text to help us better understand the speeches?
- Session 3: Getting Physical (Part 1) – How do we begin to get Shakespeare’s text into our bodies?
- Session 4: Getting Physical (Part 2) – How does exploration of Laban’s Effort Actions impact the way that a text is spoken?
- Session 5: Getting The Character Off The Page – How do we understand the physicality and emotional tone of characters in Shakespeare?
- Session 6: All The World’s A Stage – How do new text reading and physical skills affect performing the speeches?
Student and Teacher Feedback
“I never thought I could ever understand, let alone have fun, with Shakespeare! I enjoyed the workshop so much.” – Sarah, New Jersey Performing Arts and Career Prep High School
“I never though Shakespeare could be so much fun, but you totally opened my eyes to all kinds of possibilities for me in the future! Before the workshop, I never wanted to do any kind of Shakespeare, but now I would love to do one of his plays. Thank you for all that you taught us. I learned so much!” – Courtney, New Jersey Performing Arts and Career Prep High School
Schedule a Workshop
If you have questions, or would like to book a workshop, you can fill out the quick contact form to the right or email us at dennis@dennisbaker.net
