Bard Outloud: Intro to Acting Shakespeare

Catalog description

This course provides a hands-on, performance-based introduction to reading, understanding, and performing Shakespeare’s works. Students will begin with text analysis, gaining a broad foundation in Shakespeare’s text, including but not limited to: use of language, meter, scansion, alliteration and antithesis in order to approach sonnets, monologues, and scenes from Shakespeare’s canon. Students will work as a class group to analyze sonnets as an introduction to working on Shakespeare’s plays. Throughout the course of the semester, students will work on a monologue and a scene for action-based acting and character work. Students will be expected to prepare and rehearse material outside of class and will be paired for a final assignment of preparing a Shakespeare scene for rehearsal and presentation in class. Monologue and scene suggestions will be provided from a list handed out by the instructor. This is not a lecture-based seminar on Shakespeare’s writing, but rather an introductory approach to analyzing text for clues and insights into performing Shakespeare’s works. Open to all students of all levels of experience.