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We rely on the generous support of people like you to sustain our tradition of artistic excellence, and secure a bright future for our Company.
Create a new relationship with Shakespeare’s text, with yourself as an actor, and with your place in the world of theatre.
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:
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 15 and save $600.
A limited number of scholarships are available for People of the Global Majority/BIPOC artists from the Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund. Application and audition video due by October 15. Contact training@shakespeare.org for more information.
Please note: Multiple discounts and scholarships cannot be combined.
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.
Shakespeare & Company is a very special organization; one that has a long history, and carefully refined training techniques that have evolved and developed over the past 40 years. But it is the people at Shakespeare & Company that make it what it is. The staff and faculty are among the most compassionate, sincere, and knowledgeable an actor will encounter, more
Shakespeare & Company is a professional live theatre company in the heart of the Berkshires, presenting a vibrant summer performance season featuring the works of Shakespeare in repertory with classic and contemporary plays. The Company offers one of the most extensive actor training programs by a regional theatre in the country, and is also home to an award-winning and nationally recognized theatre-in-education program.