Speaking in Shakespeare's Voice

Speaking in Shakespeare's Voice
Author: Linda Gates
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2019-05-15
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 081013991X

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
Total Pages: 225
Release: 1993-01-01
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1559366389

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.

Speaking Shakespeare

Speaking Shakespeare
Author: Patsy Rodenburg
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 460
Release: 2015-11-10
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 125010288X

In Speaking Shakespeare, Patsy Rodenburg tackles one of the most difficult acting jobs: speaking Shakespeare's words both as they were meant to be spoken and in an understandable and dramatic way. Rodenburg calls this "a simple manual to start the journey into the heart of Shakespeare," and that is what she gives us. With the same insight she displayed in The Actor Speaks, Rodenburg tackles the playing of all Shakespeare's characters. She uses dramatic resonance, breathing, and placement to show how an actor can bring Hamlet, Rosalind, Puck and other characters to life. This is one book every working actor must have.

Shakespeare on Toast

Shakespeare on Toast
Author: Ben Crystal
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2015-12-24
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 178578031X

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 the Speech

Speaking the Speech
Author: Giles Block
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Acting
ISBN: 9781848421912

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

Speak with Distinction

Speak with Distinction
Author: Edith Skinner
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2007-02-01
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9781557837240

(Applause Acting Series). The classic Skinner method to speech for the stage! This 75-minute audio CD and booklet is a companion to the paperback Speak with Distinction (ISBN 1557830479). Revised with new material added by Timothy Monich and Lilene Mansell.

Shakespeare's Accents

Shakespeare's Accents
Author: Sonia Massai
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2020-04-09
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1108429629

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

How to Speak Shakespeare

How to Speak Shakespeare
Author: Cal Pritner
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2001
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9781891661181

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.

Speak the Speech!

Speak the Speech!
Author: Rhona Silverbush
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 1089
Release: 2002-09-18
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 0571211224

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.

Freeing the Natural Voice

Freeing the Natural Voice
Author: Kristin Linklater
Publisher: Drama Pub
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2006
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780896762503

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.