Shakespeare advice?

Question

If one has a chance to perform Shakespeare, should one perform it? Is the experience a wonderful thing, or is it not a stage-changing experience?

Answer 1

I have acted in several of Shakespeare's plays and I would recommend it to any serious student of the theater.
The words he wrote are a joy for the actor to speak and the characters will make you draw upon all your talents.
Be very careful with the punctuation. It is the key to acting Shakespeare. Pay particular attention to the rhythm of the speeches; this will help your understanding.
Good luck.
D

Answer 2

In my experience in theatre classes and drama group settings, Shakespeare almost always turns out to be a lot less scary than people imagine.

The key is to read the play and try to understand what is being said. when you break the lines down, and translate some of the older, unrecognisable words, it all begins to make sense. Wil's work is about the words and so great care should be taken to pronounce clearly and to know what it is that your character is trying to say.

A good tip is to buy a copy of the play for what you americans would say high school level. equivalent here in the uk are the oxford school shakespeare editions, which have modern translations for the difficult words and explanations of the difficult paragraphs on the right of the text. Something I found very helpful with Tempest, and Prospero's angry rantings.

other than that, remember that his plays were written to be performed. The true way to experience Shakespeare's writing is to perform it, whether that be on a stage or in a slightly less frightening setting of a theatre group/drama class. You can appreciate it in an un-matched way by doing so.

Answer 3

It all depends.

Shakespeare intimidates a lot of people, particularly my fellow Americans. If you're one of them, then I'd say stay away from it both as a performer and as a member of the audience.

Shakespeare didn't write for the purpose of boring or torturing his audiences, nor generally to teach them some lesson, and there weren't enough royalty for that to have been his sole audience. He wrote to entertain the masses.

Forget trying to get the Olde English accent down. Focus on being sure you know the meaning of the words, as many that were common then have fallen into disuse, but Shakespeare did not put in any extra words, nor leave any out.

Don't let it intimidate you.

Answer 4

I have never actually performed it, but I judged part of a regional high school drama competition, and I think the young actors and actresses learned a lot about performing by tackling something difficult like Shakespeare. It was a treat to see how they put together their costumes and worked together. Just the act of stretching one's mind back through history to get into the character of someone who lived 400 or more years ago is a psychological and social challenge and helps young actors mature, or else they appreciate coming back to the present that much more. :)

Answer 5

Some people (me, for instance) find it absolutely exhilarating. Others have no use for it. Basically, those that enjoy it should pursue it.

The beauty of playing Shakespeare is that you can never get to the bottom of it. The language and the characters are VAST; the material will flex to accomodate whatever you can possibly bring to it. It will tax every one of your fundamental acting skills -- physical, vocal, imaginative/analytical -- to the utmost. It's the ultimate challenge, but it brings along with it the ultimate payoff: if you can play this material in such a way that the audiences truly "get it," you'll never forget the experience.

Answer 6

Though shakespeare's plays can be intimidating, once one understands the story and characters, the plays are easy to relate to even today. Because an actor has to learn to speak the shakespearian language as they would speak naturally it makes the actor more aware of how they act and speak their lines in all the work they do. Take the chance.

Answer 7

i believe the answer would be dependent on the shakespearan play that was chosen to be brought to life. shakespeare wrote dramas and comedies.
take the chance, if offered to you. but, before you say YES review the play, characters, plot line, etc. to make certain it's a comfortable fit.

Answer 8

i think it's up to the individual. i would say yes, perform it, unless the person is a high school student, because at my high school we did "midsummer's" last year, and totally slaughtered it. it was horrible. so if there is the correct experience and love for shakespeare, i say go for it!

Answer 9

I guess it depends on you. If you don't like it then it'll be hard to be comfortable in the role. However, if you've never done it, then give it a shot. You might actually like it. As for the experience, that's up to you to decide after you do it.

Answer 10

IF you have been asked then BRAVO to you, go for it you MUST have TALENT to even approach WILLIAM ....good luck sureilll