Rehearsing Shakespeare

Rehearsing Shakespeare offers a dynamic guide to practice in rehearsals and workshops for actors, directors and trainers in a UK and global context. The book analyses the roots and development of modern-day approaches to Shakespeare and applies theory of verse analysis to practical work, ranging from the drama student to the highest professional level in major global theatres. At the heart of the book are a series of carefully tested acting exercises, worked with professional actors and drama students across the world, both in English and in translation. Featuring several case studies from the author’s own work and the work of others, it explores how acting and directing relate to design and other forms of artistic collaboration during Shakespeare production. An excellent resource for students and teachers of acting and directing courses, drama and English literature students at all levels, new professional actors and professional actors undertaking the exciting task of acting and directing Shakespeare at an international level, Rehearsing Shakespeare offers practical approaches to cutting and editing through to the core challenges of any Shakespearian play.

Up until now, facts about theatrical rehearsal have been considered irrecoverable. But in this groundbreaking new study, Tiffany Stern gathers together two centuries' worth of historical material which shows how actors received and responded to their parts, and how rehearsal affected thecreation and revision of plays. Plotting theatrical change over time, from the mid-sixteenth to the late eighteenth century, this book will revolutionize the fields of textual and theatre history alike.

In this first substantive study of directing Shakespeare in the USA, Charles Ney compares and contrasts directors working at major companies across the country. Because of the complexities of directing Shakespeare for audiences today, a director's methods, values and biases are more readily perceptible in their work on Shakespeare than in more contemporary work. Directors disclose their interpretation of the text, their management of the various stages of production, how they go about supervising rehearsals and share tactics. This book will be useful to students wanting to develop skills, practitioners who want to learn from what other directors are doing, and scholars and students studying production practice and performance.

Up until now, facts about theatrical rehearsal have been considered irrecoverable. But in this groundbreaking new study, Tiffany Stern gathers together two centuries' worth of historical material which shows how actors received and responded to their parts, and how rehearsal affected the creation and revision of plays. Plotting theatrical change over time, from the mid-sixteenth to the late eighteenth century, this book will revolutionize the fields of textual and theatre history alike.

When we pick up a copy of a Shakespeare play, we assume that we hold in our hands an original record of his writing. We don’t. Present-day printings are an editor’s often subjective version of the script. Around 25 percent of any Shakespeare play will have been altered, and this creates an enormous amount of confusion. The only authentic edition of Shakespeare’s works is the First Folio, published by his friends and colleagues in 1623. This volume makes the case for printing and staging the plays as set in the First Folio, which preserved actor cues that helped players understand and perform their roles. The practices of modern editors are critiqued. Also included are sections on analyzing and acting the text, how a complex character can be created using the First Folio, and a director’s approach to rehearsing Shakespeare with various exercises for both professional and student actors. In conclusion, all of the findings are applied to Measure for Measure.

Honoring Shakespearean scholar Michael Neill, this eleventh issue of The Shakespearean International Yearbook brings together essays by a diverse group of writers, to examine Neill's extraordinary body of work, employing his many analyses of place as points of departure for new critical investigations of Shakespeare and Renaissance culture. It also challenges us to think about the conception of place implicit in the "International" of the Yearbook's title: the violence as well as calmness, the settling and unsettling, that has worked to produce—and still works to produce—the "global." Many of the essays move out of early modern England, whether spatially (journeying to Ireland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Sudan, and New Zealand) or temporally (traveling to 20th- and 21st-century reproductions, rewritings, or reappropriations of Shakespeare and other texts). The volume concludes with an Afterword by Michael Neill. The Shakespearean International Yearbook continues to provide an annual survey of important issues and developments in contemporary Shakespeare studies across the world. Among the contributors to this volume are Shakespearean scholars from Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, and the US.

Shakespeare education is being reimagined around the world. This book delves into the important role of collaborative projects in this extraordinary transformation. Over twenty innovative Shakespeare partnerships from the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Europe and South America are critically explored by their leaders and participants. –Structured into thematic sections covering engagement with schools, universities, the public, the digital and performance, the chapters offer vivid insights into what it means to teach, learn and experience Shakespeare in collaboration with others. Diversity, equality, identity, incarceration, disability, community and culture are key factors in these initiatives, which together reveal how complex and humane Shakespeare education can be. Whether you are interested in practice or theory, this collection showcases an abundance of rich, inspiring and informative perspectives on Shakespeare education in our contemporary world.

This original and innovative study offers the reader an inventive analysis of Shakespeare in performance.