Contents
Part One: For Actors in Training: Acting Shakespeare
Chapter 1: Common Understandings
Are These Skills Difficult to Learn?
Why the British Seem Better at This
What If These Skills Are Too Difficult?
Chapter 2: The Basic Skill Set for Working with Heightened Language
What is a Regular Blank Verse Line?
What Are Feminine Endings and Elision?
What is a Short or Shared Line?
What Are Scansion and Stresses?
How Do I Select the Breathing Points?
Text Study Seems Academic: Does It Matter?
Chapter 3: Scansion, Phrasing, and Caesura
Chapter 4: Support the Line and Thought
More Values from Kicking the Box
Chapter 5: Practice the Breathing Skill
Chapter 6: Practice the Speaking Skill
Say What You Think When You Think It
Chapter 7: Working with Structure and Rhythm
Chapter 8: Practice Identifying Antithesis
Antithesis: The Actor’s Friend
Part Two: A Demonstration of Teaching and Learning Skills
Procedure
Selecting monologues and sonnets
The OED Questions and answers
Subtext
Verse or realism
Shakespeare’s limited appeal
Rhythm of blank verse
Blank verse structure
Creating blank verse
Irregular feet
Scansion
Elision
Feminine endings
Trochees
Selecting monologues
End of line support
Caesuras
Use the diaphragm
Kick the box
Review
Using the skills in realism
Lines that are questions
Phrasing
Phrases within phrases
Punctuation marks
Next assignment
Selecting sonnets
Scanning difficult lines
Short lines
More on the OED
Breathing
Lowering the voice
More scanning of difficult lines
First breathing exercise
Breathing work
Second breathing exercise
Third breathing exercise
Circling phrases
Phrasing exercise
Impulse to speak
Supporting the end of the phrase
Combining breathing and phrasing exercises
Questions on “character”
Combining more skills
Subtext
Playing what the role requires
Subtext exercise
Imposing “attitudes”
Review of skills
First application of skills to monologues
Technique for giving notes
Exposing weaknesses
Problems from realistic actor training
Checking more monologues for skills
Descriptive words
More on OED
Enhancing the verbs
Acting difficult or unclear words
Structure of a sonnet
Structure of a monologue
Breaking the meter, trochees
Antithesis
Running the monologues
Checking word definitions
Transitions
Breaking the “attitude” habit
Listening to ourselves
Questions about the plays
Summary list of skills
Short lines
Text analysis
Checking scholarly sources
“Natural talent”
Running the monologues
Applying structure and text analysis
Imagery
Imagery exercise
Imagery exercises
Imagery exercise
Falling behind
Actor questions
Finding the images in text
Intentions and actions
Active and passive choices
Character
The actor’s job
Being specific
Defining character intentions
More enhancing verbs
Active intentions
Using the skills unconsciously
More listening to ourselves
Becoming natural
Knowing your character
Character questions
More listening to ourselves
Physicalization
Achieving your intention
Loving your words
Adding a monologue partner
Blocking suggestions
Actor reactions to partners
Rhetorical questions
Prepare for performance
Chapter 30: Session Twenty—The Final Session
Performance
Summary
Actor comments about the workshop
Part Three: For Community Theatre Actors and Directors
Chapter 31: Working with Amateur Actors and Session One
What is blank verse?
Scansion of regular and irregular lines
Feminine endings
Walking the rhythm
Beating out the rhythm
Reading lines incorrectly
Caesura
End-of-line support: kicking the box
Scansion practice
Applying first skills
Working hard lines
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
Punctuation
Breathing
Breathing exercises
Breathing and phrasing
Marking phrases
Chair exercises
Memorization
Caesuras
Back-to-back hearing exercises
Antithesis
Applying the skills
Running the rehearsal speeches
Listening and giving notes
Preparing for transition
Chapter 35: Session Five—The Last Session
Transition day
Working speeches with all skills
Running speeches without concentration on skills
Pronouns
The right voice
Lowering the voice
Nervousness
Final evaluations
Actors’ comments
Coach’s Notes
Part Four: For Secondary Schools and Reading Shakespeare Aloud
Chapter 36: Reading Shakespeare Aloud
Skill Worksheet 1: Support the Final Word of Each Line (“Kick the Box”)
Skill Worksheet 2: Scansion—Emphasize the Stressed Words or Syllables
Skill Worksheet 3: Phrasing—Separate the Thoughts
Skill Worksheet 4: Breathe Only at the Punctuation Marks
More Advanced Study Worksheets
Chapter 38: Scenes and Monologues
Part Five: For Professional Actors and Coaches: The One-Day Brush Up
Chapter 39: The Morning Session
First Usual Problem: Scansion is Irregular
Second Usual Problem: Too Many Syllables
Chapter 40: The Afternoon Session
Chapter 41: The Evening Session
Revisiting a Familiar Skill: Breathe!
Selected Video and Film Performances
I will arm me, being thus forewarned.
HENRY THE SIXTH, PART 3, IV, i