2023 Month-long Intensive

The Month-long Intensive is Shakespeare & Company’s signature workshop. For six days a week, morning to night, participants immerse themselves in voice, movement, text analysis, exploration of the actor/audience relationship, sonnet work, scene work, clown, stage fight, and in-depth discussions about the function of theatre and the role of the actor in today’s world.

The goal of this workshop is to expand the actor’s vocal, physical, emotional, and imaginative responsiveness to language through the Linklater voice work, and to apply it to the delights and demands of Shakespeare’s text.

Our teachers offer an integrated approach to the work where each class complements and builds upon the others, and each participant receives careful and considered attention and support.

You will study:

LINKLATER VOICE

The full progression of Kristin Linklater’s approach to voice training for actors is taught during the four weeks by Designated Linklater voice teachers. In addition to daily classes in Linklater, voice teachers regularly join in text classes and offer specialized classes to help participants integrate the voice work into their scenes.

MOVEMENT

The movement progression includes Pure Movement (Swings), Alexander Technique, physical expressivity, and dance. Participants will be guided through exercises to promote awareness of (and release from) habitual body tension, sensitivity to impulse, dynamic physical presence and stamina, delight in moving with passion and precision, and ensemble.

TEXT WORK

Basics introduces the actor to a text approach which demands an open and personal commitment to thought, word, and gesture. Basics evolves into scene work, first through Dropping In (an approach to experiencing the text on a word-by-word basis) and into text analysis and detailed scene work. Classes in Sonnet and Structure of the Verse round out the text progression, allowing actors to merge their personal connection with the form of Shakespeare’s language.

ACTOR/AUDIENCE RELATIONSHIP

The participant is invited to explore the Elizabethan world of Actor/Audience Relationship—a theatrical reality without a fourth wall, in which the immediate energy of the audience fuels the actor to reveal a deeper level of truth and experience, which in turns enkindles the audience’s ability to receive Shakespeare’s language.

CLOWN & STAGE FIGHT

Both the Clown and Fight training involve 2 short progressions to offer a foundation in playful presence and theatrical violence, respectively. Based on the methods of Jacques Lecoq, Philippe Gaulier, and Keith Johnstone, clown classes emphasize freedom of play, improvisation, and taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary. The fight classes offer unarmed theatrical combat techniques suitable for the stage. The training stresses the importance of safety while working in partnership with another actor.

You will learn:

• A deeper connection of the body and voice when acting on stage
• Confidence to be fully present on stage when speaking Shakespeare's language
• An understanding of the forms and structures that support the actor’s emotional, visceral and cognitive imagination
• The skills necessary to authentically deliver Shakespeare’s language with accuracy, specificity, and clarity of thought
• A renewed trust in yourself as a theatre artist

January 3 to 29, 2023

ARRIVAL DAY: Monday, January 2

DEPARTURE DAY: Monday, January 30

$4,875 USD

Early payment discount: Pay the full tuition by October 1 and save $600.

A limited number of scholarships are available for People of the Global Majority/BIPOC artists from the Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund. Need based scholarships are also sometimes available. Contact training@shakespeare.org for more information.

Please note: Multiple discounts and scholarships cannot be combined.

• Tuition cost includes double occupancy housing on the campus of Shakespeare & Company and all meals.
• A limited number of single rooms are available first come-first serve for an additional $600.

Shakespeare & Company is a fully vaccinated campus, from our full-time employees, seasonal staff, artists, volunteers, and program participants. To ensure the health of our Shakespeare & Company community, all Center for Actor Training participants must be vaccinated against COVID-19 (including applicable booster shots). All participants and workshop staff will also be tested 2 to 3 times during the first week and then weekly for the rest of the program. Masks will also be required during the first week, and may be required for certain classes and events during the rest of the workshop.

As conditions of the global pandemic are ever-evolving, these guidelines are subject to change and will be updated accordingly. These guidelines are consistent with and/or exceed current Board of Health and State Orders at this time, and we may continue to establish stricter policies based on local conditions and Actors’ Equity Association guidelines. We thank you for your patience, communication, and cooperation.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to campus this winter!

The Month-long Intensive is geared towards mid-career theater professionals. If you are a current undergraduate student, please consider the Summer Shakespeare Intensive.