PROFESSIONAL SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOP & SHOWCASE

‘COME AND HAVE A GO
IF YOU THINK YOU’RE BARD ENOUGH’

For the past four years the Principal Theatre Company has ran a number of SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOPS for professional actors, culminating in showcases of Shakespeare scenes & monologues for industry professionals at RADA’s GBS Theatre. Many of the actors that have taken part in these workshops have gained paid acting work as a result of being seen in the showcases. Obviously this is one of the main aims of the course.

About The Workshops

Paul Gladwin (Joint Artistic Director) takes between 10 – 15 actors and over a period of 7/8 weeks works with them on scenes from several Shakespeare plays. They work for 3 to 4 hours a week studying Shakespeare’s text in detail – breaking down all of the different elements and intricacies as listed below. Each actor then has the opportunity to showcase themselves in a specific scene and monologue.

Through these classes Paul helps the actors find all of the clues that Shakespeare himself set down for us to analyse.

Paul makes the classes fun, but challenging.

The workshops consist of relaxation techniques, getting to grips with the language through Shakespeare theatre games & exercises, text analysis (Working from the First Folio), monologues, duologues and set scenes. Paul works privately with each actor on a set Shakespeare speech - preparing it to audition standards.

After studying the text in detail, Paul then directs the actors in their scenes & monologues, and in week 7/8 the actors stage a showcase of their work in a central London venue. We use a near bare stage and a minimum of props. The emphasis is on Shakespeare’s words and how the actor uses them. We invite a number of industry professionals to cover our work. We also invite family & friends.

The cost of the ‘Workshop and Industry Showcase’ is £300.

PAUL WORKS ON FINDING AND
EXPLORING EACH IMAGE

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ALWAYS MAKE EVERY LINE SCAN

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IRREGULARITIES - Why?

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ASSONANCE

Is the resemblance of sound between two
sylables
‘Oh it came o’er my ear…’

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ONOMATOPEIA

Is a word that makes a sound similar to its meaning. The sound is akin to
what it describes.
                  ‘Blow winds and crack your cheeks….
                   Howl, howl, howl.’

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HYPERBOLE

Is an exageration, which seeks to illuminate, or sometimes to denigrate.

                   ‘I would die a hundred thousand deaths.’

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METAPHOR – WHY?

MACBETH
     There the grown serpent lies. The worm that’s fled
     Hath nature that in time will venom breed,
     No teeth for th’ present.

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SIMILE

MACBETH
    Then comes my fit again; I had else been perfect,
     Whole as the marble, founded as the rock,
     As broad and general as the casing air…

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ALLITERATION – WHY?

‘Sweet sound that played upon a bank of violets.’

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MONOSYLABIC LINES –WHY?

‘I have done the deed, didst thou not hear a noise?’



PROFESSIONAL SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOP & SHOWCASE ‘COME AND HAVE A GO IF YOU THINK YOU’RE BARD ENOUGH’ For the past four years the Principal Theatre Company has ran a number of SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOPS for professional actors, culminating in showcases of Shakespeare scenes & monologues for industry professionals at RADA’s GBS Theatre. Many of the actors that have taken part in these workshops have gained paid acting work as a result of being seen in the showcases. Obviously this is one of the main aims of the course. About The Workshops Paul Gladwin (Joint Artistic Director) takes between 10 – 15 actors and over a period of 7/8 weeks works with them on scenes from several Shakespeare plays. They work for 3 to 4 hours a week studying Shakespeare’s text in detail – breaking down all of the different elements and intricacies as listed below. Each actor then has the opportunity to showcase themselves in a specific scene and monologue. Through these classes Paul helps the actors find all of the clues that Shakespeare himself set down for us to analyse. Paul makes the classes fun, but challenging. The workshops consist of relaxation techniques, getting to grips with the language through Shakespeare theatre games & exercises, text analysis (Working from the First Folio), monologues, duologues and set scenes. Paul works privately with each actor on a set Shakespeare speech - preparing it to audition standards. After studying the text in detail, Paul then directs the actors in their scenes & monologues, and in week 7/8 the actors stage a showcase of their work in a central London venue. We use a near bare stage and a minimum of props. The emphasis is on Shakespeare’s words and how the actor uses them. We invite a number of industry professionals to cover our work. We also invite family & friends. The cost of the ‘Workshop and Industry Showcase’ is £300. PAUL WORKS ON FINDING AND EXPLORING EACH IMAGE __________________________________ ALWAYS MAKE EVERY LINE SCAN __________________________________ IRREGULARITIES - Why? ___________________________________ ASSONANCE Is the resemblance of sound between two sylables ‘Oh it came o’er my ear…’ ____________________________________ ONOMATOPEIA Is a word that makes a sound similar to its meaning. The sound is akin to what it describes. ‘Blow winds and crack your cheeks…. Howl, howl, howl.’ _____________________________________ HYPERBOLE Is an exageration, which seeks to illuminate, or sometimes to denigrate. ‘I would die a hundred thousand deaths.’ _____________________________________ METAPHOR – WHY? MACBETH There the grown serpent lies. The worm that’s fled Hath nature that in time will venom breed, No teeth for th’ present. ______________________________________ SIMILE MACBETH Then comes my fit again; I had else been perfect, Whole as the marble, founded as the rock, As broad and general as the casing air… ______________________________________ ALLITERATION – WHY? ‘Sweet sound that played upon a bank of violets.’ ______________________________________ MONOSYLABIC LINES –WHY? ‘I have done the deed, didst thou not hear a noise?’		______________________________________ ANTITHESIS - SETTING ONE WORD AGAINST ANOTHER – WHY? HENRY V ‘Disguise fair nature with hard favoured rage.’ _________________________________ CAESURE - Sense break – WHY? _______________________________________ SHORT VERSE LINE CORDELIA Nothing, my lord. (DE, DUM, DE DUM, DE DUM,) KING LEAR Nothing! . (DE DUM, DE DUM, DE DUM, DE DUM,) CORDELIA Nothing. (DE DUM, DE DUM, DE DUM, DE DUM,) ________________________________________ SHARED VERSE LINE MACBETH I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise? LADY MACBETH I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. Did not you speak? MACBETH When? LADY MACBETH Now. MACBETH As I descended? __________________________________ FEMININE ENDINGS = 11 SYLLABLES – WHY? HAMLET ‘To be or not to be, that is the question. ‘ _______________________________________ END STOP - Energetic hesitation – WHY? ANTONIO In sooth I not not why I am so It wearies me, you say it wearies you; But how I caught it, found it, or came by it, What stuff tis made of, whereof it is born, I am to learn. ________________________________________ THE IMPORTANT WORDS ARE USUALLY FOUND AT THE END OF THE LINE – WHY? __________________________________ 75% of Shakespeare’s verse has the crux – or the important meaning - in the last words of the lines - WHY? ----------------------------------------------------- Director Paul Gladwin, from the award winning Principal Theatre Company, will be running a series of weekly SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOPS very soon. The workshops will end with a SHAKESPEARE SHOWCASE of scenes & monologues in a central London venue for industry professionals. We will be inviting every major and minor Shakespeare Company in the country to view our work. During the workshops you will rehearse a scene from a Shakespeare play, and each workshop will last between 2 – 6 hours per week. Paul’s 2007 open air summer production of Twelfth Night was seen by thousands of people and was awarded 4 stars by ‘Time Out’. In 2008 alone, Paul has directed Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III and A Midsummer Night’s Dream all for the Young Shakespeare Company. Later this year Paul will direct an open air production of Romeo + Juliet for Principal, and Macbeth and Twelfth Night for the Young Shakespeare Company. Paul has also set up a film production company and is in the process of financing a three year deal to shoot three films - the first of which has Lynda Bellingham already confirmed. The cost of the Workshop and Industry Showcase is £300. Professionals wishing to apply should send details to: Paul Gladwin. The Principal Theatre Company Flat 3, 18-24 Chaseside, Southgate, London, N14 5PA shakespearework@aol.co References We have a selection of references of actors who have undergone the Professional Shakespeare Workshop and Showcase: Please click here to download - 31Kb Word.doc

About The Workshops

PAUL WORKS ON FINDING AND EXPLORING EACH IMAGE

PAUL WORKS ON FINDING AND
EXPLORING EACH IMAGE