Photo Credit: Nic McPhee via cc
When acting Shakespeare it is very likely the language of the piece gets missed from your exploration in favour of character and style. You need to know exactly why each word is there and what you can do with every single moment.
Here is an exercise from the BBC archive which you can play with in rehearsal. This exercise lets you have fun playing the language of your lines.
In this exercise you explore a variety of styles to play the line in – which lets you actually rediscover the lines. The exercise purposely takes you to places you wouldn’t take your actual performance, but by playing the line in some ‘over the top’ ways you are able to really think about the meaning of the language.
Using this method you actually begin to discover every single word and the variety of meanings behind each word. Once you have explored the words you are then able to play with the style of delivery.
It is a terrific exercise for preparing your Shakespeare audition monologue – Shakespeare’s language is so beautiful and full of meaning. Once you think about it from a different place you get out of your own way and might just discover a unique way to deliver a piece which that panel could have already seen 3 or 4 times that day.
Watch the video and try it out for yourself:
To see the original page on the BBC website please click here
Similar Posts from Actor Hub
-
As an actor it is quite rare that you will ever be asked how old you are, but what should you say when and if you are asked? Should you ever lie about your real age? -
A funny post from actress and blogger Katie Brennan – These are the things which separate us actors from the rest of the world. How many of these ring true for you? -
Ignore all that rubbish about getting the perfect headshot, its a lot easier to get a rubbish headshot done. Follow our ten top tips and you can be sure to get the worst headshot you can as an actor. -
When you are acting Shakespeare you will often need to stretch yourself to extreme emotions. Here is a fun video exercise from the BBC archive for playing with emotional levels. -
the show belongs to the Stage Manager. It won’t happen without them. No calls are given, no audience is admitted and no curtain goes up without them. You hand over the keys and they control the destiny of the show, so find a good one, -
From Guest Blogger ‘Bitter Gertrude’ – I love auditions. I always have and I always will. I will happily sit through day-long auditions. I recognize, however, that auditioning is a deeply flawed process with huge limitations. -
It can seem a very lonely world as an actor without an agent. Just how can you get work and build up your experience without the help of an agent. There is help out there, you just need to know where to look -
To truly play a role you need to be able to look inside yourself and find what is within you which you share with the character. It can take bravery to find it but when you are able to it will be a revelation. -
From Guest Blogger – actress Sanna Haynes – There have been a few times in my life that I have attended an open call. Contrary to popular belief, as an actor, you can’t just audition for anything. Nope. For any given role that is released to be cast, actors have to be invited to audition. -
A great Set Designer needs to be able to take their artistic sensibilities and skills and apply them to the whole vision of the show. They will consider the movement of the actors, the potential difficulties of costumes and the location and operations of lighting and sound equipment.
