Speaking in Shakespeare's Voice
Speaking in Shakespeare's Voice

Author: Linda Gates

Publisher: Northwestern University Press

Published: 2019-05-15

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 081013991X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Speaking in Shakespeare's Voice: A Guide for American Actors is a book for undergraduate and graduate students of acting as well as for the professional who would like to perform Shakespeare with the skill of a classical actor. It is also valuable for European actors interested in performing Shakespeare in American English and British actors who would like to explore Shakespeare from an American perspective. This guide focuses on the technical elements of voice and speech, including breathing, resonance, and diction, as well as providing an introduction to verse speaking and scansion and to Shakespeare’s rhetorical devices, such as antithesis, alliteration, onomatopoeia, irony, metaphor, and wordplay. These topics are annotated with examples from Shakespeare’s plays to demonstrate how an actor can apply the lessons to actual performance. The book also explores the history of Shakespearean performance in the United States and provides guidance on current editions of Shakespeare’s text from the Folio to online Open Source Shakespeare. A helpful appendix offers examples of two-person scenes and contextualized monologues.

Freeing Shakespeare's Voice
Freeing Shakespeare's Voice

Author: Kristin Linklater

Publisher: Theatre Communications Group

Published: 1993-01-01

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1559366389

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A passionate exploration of the process of comprehending and speaking the words of William Shakespeare. Detailing exercises and analyzing characters' speech and rhythms, Linklater provides the tools to increase understanding and make Shakespeare's words one's own.

Shakespeare on Toast
Shakespeare on Toast

Author: Ben Crystal

Publisher: Icon Books Ltd

Published: 2015-12-24

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 178578031X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Actor, producer and director Ben Crystal revisits his acclaimed book on Shakespeare for the 400th anniversary of his death, updating and adding three new chapters. Shakespeare on Toast knocks the stuffing from the staid old myth of the Bard, revealing the man and his plays for what they really are: modern, thrilling, uplifting drama. The bright words and colourful characters of the greatest hack writer are brought brilliantly to life, sweeping cobwebs from the Bard – his language, his life, his world, his sounds, his craft. Crystal reveals man and work as relevant, accessible and alive – and, astonishingly, finds Shakespeare's own voice amid the poetry. Whether you're studying Shakespeare for the first time or you've never set foot near one of his plays but have always wanted to, this book smashes down the walls that have been built up around this untouchable literary figure. Told in five fascinating Acts, this is quick, easy and good for you. Just like beans on toast.

Speaking Shakespeare
Speaking Shakespeare

Author: Patsy Rodenburg

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-08-24

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1350161675

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From A Midsummer Night's Dream's Puck to Othello's Desdemona, this new edition of Speaking Shakespeare gives you all the necessary tools to bring any of Shakespeare's eclectic characters to life. Patsy Rodenburg uses practical exercises and textual analysis to hone in on your dramatic resonance, breathing and placement in order to unlock your potential for playing these iconic characters. Speeches and scenes such as Mark Antony's 'O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth' and the bloody scene in which Macbeth admits to Lady Macbeth that he has 'done the deed' are placed in context and discussed in depth. Combining clear practical, textual and imaginative work with a brilliant analysis of scenes and speeches from the whole range of Shakespeare's plays, this is an essential and inspiring guide for anyone working on his plays today. It brings a renewed focus on the language of power, so frequently spoken in the worlds of politicians and company directors, which will give readers insight into the potency of clear, direct communication, specifically in the context of Shakespeare. Each chapter has been revised following the author's 20 additional years of experience as a voice coach and includes techniques necessary for a clear and convincing performance.

Shakespeare's Accents
Shakespeare's Accents

Author: Sonia Massai

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-04-09

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1108429629

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A history of the reception of Shakespeare on the English stage focusing on the vocal dimensions of theatrical performance.

Freeing the Natural Voice
Freeing the Natural Voice

Author: Kristin Linklater

Publisher: Drama Pub

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 9780896762503

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Describes the mechanics of the voice and obstacles of spontaneous, effective vocal expression and details exercises for developing and strengthening the voice as a human and actor's instrument.

How to Speak Shakespeare
How to Speak Shakespeare

Author: Cal Pritner

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781891661181

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This classroom and theater-tested program teaches amateur and professional actors alike how to understand and effectively communicate the poetry of Shakespeare. Organized around passages from Romeo and Juliet, a simple, three-step process is presented. In the first step, Test Your Understanding, readers learn the value of looking up words in the Oxford English Dictionary and paraphrase passages to ensure that they truly understand the words they are speaking. The second step, Stress for Meaning, presents essential tools for speaking Shakespeare effectively, including iambic pentameter and correct rhythm, and explains how to syncopate for meaning. The final step, Celebrate the Poetry, honors the poetry of Shakespeare through a discussion of the use of punctuation, repeated sounds, and connecting key words and phrases. Exercises bring all the elements of these steps together.

Playing Shakespeare
Playing Shakespeare

Author: John Barton

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2010-11-10

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 0307773914

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Playing Shakespeare is the premier guide to understanding and appreciating the mastery of the world’s greatest playwright. Together with Royal Shakespeare Company actors–among them Patrick Stewart, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Ben Kingsley, and David Suchet–John Barton demonstrates how to adapt Elizabethan theater for the modern stage. The director begins by explicating Shakespeare’s verse and prose, speeches and soliloquies, and naturalistic and heightened language to discover the essence of his characters. In the second section, Barton and the actors explore nuance in Shakespearean theater, from evoking irony and ambiguity and striking the delicate balance of passion and profound intellectual thought, to finding new approaches to playing Shakespeare’s most controversial creation, Shylock, from The Merchant of Venice. A practical and essential guide, Playing Shakespeare will stand for years as the authoritative favorite among actors, scholars, teachers, and students.

Speak the Speech!
Speak the Speech!

Author: Rhona Silverbush

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2002-09-18

Total Pages: 1089

ISBN-13: 0571211224

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A detailed guide to approaching Shakespearean text, Speak the speech! contains everything an actor needs to select and prepare a Shakespeare monologue for classwork, auditions, or performance. Included herein are over 150 monologues. Each one is placed in context with a brief introduction, is carefully punctuated in the manner that best illustrates its meaning, and is painstakingly and thoroughly annotated. Each is also accompanied by commentary that will spark the actor's imagination by exploring how the interrelationship of meter and the choice of words and sounds yields clues to character and performance. And throughout the book sidebars relate historical, topical, technical, and other useful and entertaining information relevant to the text. In addition, the authors include an overview of poetic and rhetorical elements, brief synopses of all the plays, and a comprehensive index along with other guidelines that will help readers locate the perfect monologue for their needs.

Speaking the Speech
Speaking the Speech

Author: Giles Block

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781848421912

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The most authoritative, most comprehensive book yet written on the practicality of speaking Shakespeare.