Mastering Shakespeare: An Acting Class in Seven Scenes

By Scott Kaiser and Scott Kaiser

Book Overview

Who says only the British can act Shakespeare? In this unique guide, a veteran acting coach shatters that myth with a boldly American approach to the Bard. Written in the form of a play, this volume's "characters" include a master teacher and 16 students grappling with the challenges of acting Shakespeare. Using actual speeches from 32 of Shakespeare's plays, each of the book's six "scenes" offer proven solutions to such acting problems as delivering spoken subtext, using physical actions to orchestrate a speech, creating images within a speech, dividing a speech into measures, and much more.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1581153082
• ISBN13: 9781581153088
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Allworth
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 6.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Masterful

This is a great book for actors because it intelligently draws connections between what you already know and what you need to know. The workshop-style format in which it's written veryh insightful into the thought and exploring processes of finding the meat of Shakespeare's characters. As an actor, I highly recommend it for anyone who is serious about the Bard.

Masterful!

Jacalyn Royce, in Shakespeare Bulletin, Volume 22, Number 4, said this about Mastering Shakespeare: "Mastering Shakespeare places Kaiser in the company of John Barton, Cecily Berry, and Patsy Rodenburg: master teachers who have applied scholarship and practicality to develop methods through which contemporary actors can achieve lucid and physically honest performances of early modern characters-and written smart, inspiring, and useful books about the process.

Packed with important insights

Scott Kaiser's text covering fundamental issues in acting Shakespeare draws on both drama and literary basics, revealing a method whereby contemporary young actors can hone their art of Shakespeare plays. From pronunciation and focal points to learning how to 'speak a score' to an audience, Mastering Shakespeare is packed with important insights.

Actors, Teachers, Students: Buy this Book!

This book is so useful! As an actor graduating with my MFA in May, I have already successfully used the tools outlined in this book for auditions, scene work and in performance. The information is fresh, clear and really accessible. I would recommend this book for actors of all levels, as well as for teachers looking for simple, practical advice to offer their students working on Shakespeare.

A must buy

I have had the very good fortune to have worked with Scott Kaiser as an actor at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and so when his book was published I was quick to pick up a copy. This book is a brilliantly informative, insightful and entertaining compilation of the type of work that Mr. Kaiser expertly has employed with professional actors and students over many years of directing, coaching, and teaching. It serves actors of all levels as an invaluable guide to working with Shakespeare's language -- it is destined to become a classic. Anyone interested in classical acting and performing Shakespeare should definitely buy a copy of this invaluable resource.