Shakespeare's verse and the training actor

A focus on the clarity of the verse in the preparation and performance of Shakespeare's plays has been seen by some modem directors and teachers as an impediment to effective storytelling. Contemporary directors and actors in both film and theatre are focussing more on making the text sound 'natural', rather than formally structured, in order to improve the accessibility of the text for a modern audience that is more familiar with interpreting a visual world than an aural one, and more appreciative of a naturalistic acting technique rather than the heightened commitment required for Elizabethan text. Furthermore, many actors and directors have written and spoken about the lack of exposure young actors have to Shakespeare in performance, let alone to performances of these texts that are illuminating or inspirational. The plays do hold tremendous appeal as literature, but it is quite clear that they were never originally intended to be experienced in that form, just as the reading of · sheet music and performance of live music are two distinct experiences. Shakespeare lived and breathed and wrote for the theatre and it is within this environment that we can most fully understand and engage with his work. This is true for students of the text, for audiences, and most significantly for the actors whose job is to communicate the verse.Although. the teacher of Shakespeare in an acting course has to compete· for tuition time with many skills that seem more · immediately relevant to current industry demands, my belief is that the tools a student develops through learning to read and perform Shakespeare's text serve the overall growth of the ·professional actor. I also believe that a focus on the clarity and. confidence of the verse speaking will improve the quality of any Shakespeare play in performance, regardless of the other interpretive choices made by the creative team.This thesis aims to identify the most effective ways of training students of acting to work with Shakespeare's verse. I -will be documenting my verse work with students from the Acting course · at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts from 2006-2008, exploring and reflecting on three key components of the work conducted with the students during that time: practical voice and poetry classes; a full public production of Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale; -and a post-training workshop in 2007 .