THR 341 - Intermediate Acting: Shakespeare & His Contemporaries

Course unit(s): 1
Prerequisite(s): THR 250 Acting Process
This course affords the intermediate acting student an opportunity to explore methods for rehearsing and performing pre-modern texts by William Shakespeare and other English Renaissance playwrights such as Ben Jonson, Cristopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton and John Webster. With a focus on the practical demands of heightened language beginning with classical prose and moving into verse, the course addresses technical, stylistic, historical, and interpretive considerations as they relate to the feat of performance. Special attention is paid to (1) linguistic energy, (2) the synchrony of thought, action and speech, and (3) the relationship between the vocal life of the actor and the experience the character. An emphasis on voice/speech development supplements study by providing insight to enhance the student’s execution of language. The course is designed to build upon a foundational understanding of acting with the assumption that, despite formal differences inherent in the material, classical characters can be understood as operating within the same recognizable psychological parameters as contemporary characters. Performing classical texts is also acknowledged as requiring a shift in acting-style, and as such, is capable of providing actors with tools applicable to a variety of period and/or genre work.