Exploring Shakespeare 2: An Actor's Perspective
This class is an opportunity for former Exploring Shakespeare students to perform scenes and monologues from the plays we've read together.
Esther Williamson, MFA
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(18)
What's included
8 live meetings
8 in-class hoursClass Experience
This class is intended as an extension of the Exploring Shakespeare series, in which learners read Shakespeare plays aloud cover to cover. By the end of Exploring Shakespeare classes, learners have a detailed knowledge of the plot, language, and character arcs of a Shakespeare play. They've got a solid foundation from which to take the next steps toward acting and character interpretation. Over the course of eight sessions, each learner will dive into at least one scene and one monologue from plays we have read together in past classes. In addition to deepening their understanding of the plays, learners will develop a foundation in basic classical acting technique, including text analysis, objective/obstacle, tactics, given circumstances, and physical and vocal characterization. Class 1 What is acting? We'll discuss the nature of acting and choose scenes and monologues to work on. Class 2 What do I want? Objective and Obstacle Class 3 What am I saying? Text analysis Class 4 What's going on here? Given circumstances Class 5 Who am I, anyway? Characterization Class 6 How do I get what I want? Tactics Class 7 What are my other options? Approaches to rehearsal Class 8 What ceremony else? Finishing touches
Learning Goals
Skills addressed:
- Shakespeare text analysis
- Identifying objective and obstacle in scenes and monologues
- Naming and playing tactics
- Breaking scenes into beats
- Physical and vocal characterization
- Mining the text for given circumstances and then using the imagination to fill in the gaps
- Speaking text from memory
- Listening and responding to scene partners
- Giving and receiving constructive feedback
Other Details
Supply List
Once learners have chosen their scenes and monologues, they'll need to print them out so they can make notes on them. We may have a couple of short in-class writing assignments, so learners should have a notebook, journal, or pen and paper handy.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Since we will be working from plays the learners have already studied, they should already have access to the texts of the plays. After they have chosen their scenes and monologues, they will need to print them out so they can make notes on them.
Joined July, 2020
5.0
18reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I am a classical actor and teaching artist who has performed in about two thirds of Shakespeare's canon. I have taught Shakespeare to high school and middle school students for the past 20 years in many different settings, from single-day workshops to two-week camps to semester-long classes. I have been a teaching artist in theatres around the US, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC, Imagination Stage in Maryland, and others. I was adjunct faculty for two years at Seattle Pacific University, where I directed the University Players, a touring troupe that wrote two scripts per year and toured them to high schools, churches, and community spaces throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Degrees earned:
BA, Theatre and English, Seattle Pacific University
MFA, Classical Acting, The Shakespeare Theatre Company/George Washington UniversityReviews
Live Group Class
$20
weekly2x per week, 4 weeks
60 min
Completed by 1 learner
Live video meetings
Ages: 15-18
1-12 learners per class
