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Mastering Shakespeare: An Acting Class in Seven Scenes
by Scott Kaiser
Shattering the myth that only the British can act Shakespeare, a veteran acting coach presents a boldly American approach to the Bard. Written in the form of a play and set in an acting studio, this volume’s “characters” include a master teacher and sixteen acting students grappling with the challenges of acting Shakespeare. Readers will be intrigued as they learn to approach Elizabethan drama in the Method concepts of action, objective, and obstacle familiar to American actors.
Each of the book’s seven scenes presents specific acting challenges and offers specific solutions: using operative words and punctuation to divide a speech into measures; establishing focal points and creating images within a speech; delivering spoken subtext; using physical actions and opposing physical movements to orchestrate a speech; and much more. Examining speeches from 32 of Shakespeare’s plays, this invaluable tool presents a logical and cumulative progression of skills for actors of all levels of experience. This book is a necessity for any wanting to illuminate each word of Shakespeare’s speeches.
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Reviews
“Scott Kaiser has written a book, which will become, I am certain, a seminal work on the technique and craft of classical acting.”
—John Sipes, Movement Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, Oregon
“Scott Kaiser’s intriguing and entertaining text explores some of the most fundamental issues in acting Shakespeare. Drawing on Stanislavski, textual analysis, voice and body work, he presents a highly workable system for contemporary actors to cut their classical teeth on. I would recommend it to all teachers, young actors and theater students.”
—David Carey, Voice Tutor, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London
“In Mastering Shakespeare Scott Kaiser has not only given the actor terrific insight into the craft, he has done so in a format that is absolutely intuitively correct for the actor, who is used to reading a script and translating it into personal experience.”
—Mark Booher, Conservatory Director, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts
“Scott Kaiser reminds us that there is important carving and shaping to be done with Shakespeare's brilliant, complex text. And he gives us excellent advice on just how to do that.”
—Linda Emond, Obie Award–winning actor
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