The Working Actor's Journey – Détails, épisodes et analyse

🏁 In our fourth and final week, highlights include:

• The Great Vowel Shift and Shakespeare's pronunciation

• Exploring Mistress Ford's emotions and actions

• Q&A with the creative team

⭐️ And a special thank you to Juls Hoover for hosting this month! ⭐️

-----

🛑 SUBSCRIBE to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔

🤗 BECOME A PATRON of The Rehearsal Room on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast 

Get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!

🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!

-----

🎭 CREATIVE TEAM

• DIRECTOR: J. Paul Nicholas
• DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
• FALSTAFF: Todd Scofield
• MRS. PAGE: Michele Schultz
• MRS. FORD: Corinna Christman

More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/work...

-----

😮 THE SCENE

Our group will be working on two scenes where the wives plan revenge on Falstaff!

• Act 3, Scene 3 (Falstaff's first visit to Mrs. Ford), ending before Mr. Ford arrives

• Act 4, Scene 2 (Falstaff's second visit to Mrs. Ford), again ending before Mr. Ford arrives

Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.

----- 

📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:

• Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
• Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
• William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012 

#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork

---

Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!

See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.

---

The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.

🏁 In our third week, highlights include:

• Focusing on the nuances of language, meaning, and dynamics

• How different approaches to lines could affect the overall humor and relationships

• Adjustments made to clarify character interactions

⭐️ And a special thank you to Juls Hoover for hosting this month! ⭐️

-----

🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔

🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast 

🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!

-----

🎭 CREATIVE TEAM

• DIRECTOR: J. Paul Nicholas
• DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
• FALSTAFF: Todd Scofield
• MRS. PAGE: Michele Schultz
• MRS. FORD: Corinna Christman

More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/work...

-----

😮 THE SCENE

Our group will be working on two scenes where the wives plan revenge on Falstaff!

• Act 3, Scene 3 (Falstaff's first visit to Mrs. Ford), ending before Mr. Ford arrives

• Act 4, Scene 2 (Falstaff's second visit to Mrs. Ford), again ending before Mr. Ford arrives

Scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library here and here.

----- 

📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:

• Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
• Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
• William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012 

#workingactor #rehearsal #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork

---

Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!

See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.

---

The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.

🏁 This week, the group watched a few different versions of the opening scene and discussed the various takes on performances by Catherine Tate and David Tennant (Wyndham's), Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh (Branagh's film), Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman (Public Theatre), and Dame Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens (Zeffirelli's film). They discussed the significance of food references and the implications of being "too cursed." They explored the Elizabethan context, character dynamics, and the rhythm and meaning of the text, with an emphasis on understanding Beatrice's perspective, her humor, repartee with Benedick, and her stance on marriage and men.

-----

🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!

🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast

🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!

You can also watch the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube 

-----

🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud
-DRAMATURG: Cathleen Sheehan
-And the PLAYERS: Juls Hoover, Anu Bhatt, and Shannon Lee Clair

More about this group:
https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/july-2024-acting-the-role-beatrice

-----

😮 THE SCENES
Our group will be working on various sections from Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing":
-First scene group: Act I, Scene I, lines 30-92 and Act I, Scene I, lines 111-143
-Second scene group: Act II, Scene I, lines 1-81 and Act II, Scene I, lines 123-152
-Third scene group: Act IV, Scene I, lines 269-350

Much Ado scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library:
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/2/1
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/4/1

-----

📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
-Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
-Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
-William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012

#workingactor #rehearsal #beatrice #muchado #shakespeare

---

Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!

See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.

---

The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.

Anne Gee Byrd has performed leading roles in everything from Shakespeare to Shaw across the country, and is no stranger to contemporary works, too. She has received LA Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. and was named Best Leading Actress by the LA Weekly for her performance as Mother Courage. She has also had a long television and film career, with over 80 credits on IMDb. This episode is brought to you by the FreeMeditationCourse.com - start your journey today!

You wanted these text work sessions as separate episodes and I'm happy to accommodate! First up: @ShimermanArmin from Ep #2 takes us into Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 3 with Richard of Gloucester, a soliloquy Armin used for auditions. He also talks about his general approach to Shakespeare and some of the overall principles he teaches in classes. If you're following along, this speech is at the end of Act 3, Scene 2.

Click here for show notes and more.

See additional content on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Armin’s Monologue from Henry VI, Part III (Act 3, Scene 2) by Shakespeare

RICHARD OF GLOUCESTER

Ay, Edward will use women honorably.
Would he were wasted, marrow, bones, and all,
That from his loins no hopeful branch may spring,
To cross me from the golden time I look for!
And yet, between my soul’s desire and me—
The lustful Edward’s title buried—
Is Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,
And all the unlook’d-for issue of their bodies
To take their rooms, ere I can place myself:
A cold premeditation for my purpose!
Why then I do but dream on sovereignty,
Like one that stands upon a promontory
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye,
And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Saying, he’ll lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off,
And so I chide the means that keeps me from it,
And so, I say, I’ll cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.
My eye’s too quick, my heart o’erweens too much,
Unless my hand and strength could equal them.
[ARMIN BEGINS HERE, AND CUTS LINES]
Well, say there is no kingdom then for Richard;
What other pleasure can the world afford?
I’ll make my heaven in a lady’s lap,
And deck my body in gay ornaments,
And witch sweet ladies with my words and looks.
O miserable thought! And more unlikely
Than to accomplish twenty golden crowns!
Why, love forswore me in my mother’s womb;
And for I should not deal in her soft laws,
She did corrupt frail nature with some bribe,
To shrink mine arm up like a wither’d shrub,
To make an envious mountain on my back,
Where sits deformity to mock my body;
To shape my legs of an unequal size,
To disproportion me in every part,
Like to a chaos, or an unlick’d bear-whelp
That carries no impression like the dam.
And am I then a man to be belov’d?
O monstrous fault, to harbor such a thought!
Then since this earth affords no joy to me
But to command, to check, to o’erbear such
As are of better person than myself,
I’ll make my heaven to dream upon the crown,
And whiles I live, t’ account this world but hell,
Until my misshap’d trunk that bears this head
Be round impaled with a glorious crown.
And yet I know not how to get the crown,
For many lives stand between me and home;
And I—like one lost in a thorny wood,
That rents the thorns, and is rent with the thorns,
Seeking a way, and straying from the way,
Not knowing how to find the open air,
But toiling desperately to find it out—
Torment myself to catch the English crown;
And from that torment I will free myself,
Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,
And cry “Content” to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.
I’ll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall,
I’ll slay more gazers than the basilisk,
I’ll play the orator as well as Nestor,
Deceive more slyly than Ulysses could,
And like a Sinon, take another Troy.
I can add colors to the chameleon,
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murderous Machevil to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut, were it farther off, I’ll pluck it down.

@ShimermanArmin is perhaps best known as Quark on the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series. He has been working 50 years in the business and has 200 credits on IMDb. He's also done many voiceovers, video games, and commercials. Plus: a Shakespeare scholar, teacher, director, and actor. We talk about acting in high school, working at the Old Globe, finding a mentor on Broadway, and even dive into some Richard of Gloucester. This episode is brought to you by FreeMeditationCourse.com - start your journey today!

Robert Pine is a great actor to help us kick things off! He's been working for the past 50+ years and probably best known for starring on the show CHiPs. He has over 200 credits on IMDb, appearing on almost every iconic show from the '60s to today. He’s also done commercials, video games, soap operas, theatre, and plenty of films. We talk about being pre-med, his ADD, his son Chris, longevity, and having fun. This episode is brought to you by FreeMeditationCourse.com - start your journey today!

What's ahead for this podcast? Hear excerpts from upcoming interviews! The Working Actor's Journey features in-depth conversations with actors that have worked for 30-50+ years, hearing how they got started, what challenges they faced, how they deal with auditions, actually work on material, and more.

🏁 We dive into the first week of work on the character BEATRICE: exploring the dynamics between Beatrice and Benedict; the concept of wit as a form of communication; and addressing themes such as gender roles, societal expectations, and love. You'll see the group analyze key scenes, including the gulling of Beatrice and Benedict, the wedding scene, and the pivotal confrontation where Beatrice demands Claudio's death.

🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!

🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast

🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!

You can also watch the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube 

🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud
-DRAMATURG: Cathleen Sheehan
-And the PLAYERS: Juls Hoover, Anu Bhatt, and Shannon Lee Clair

More about this group:
https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/july-2024-acting-the-role-beatrice

😮 THE SCENES
Our group will be working on various sections from Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing":
-First scene group: Act I, Scene I, lines 30-92 and Act I, Scene I, lines 111-143
-Second scene group: Act II, Scene I, lines 1-81 and Act II, Scene I, lines 123-152
-Third scene group: Act IV, Scene I, lines 269-350

Much Ado scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library:
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/2/1
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/4/1

📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
-Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
-Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
-William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012

#workingactor #rehearsal #beatrice #muchado #shakespeare

---

Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!

See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.

---

The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.

In our final week of looking at the scenes of Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the group used "Italian run-thrus" (rapid line delivery) and continued to work on the scenes switching roles. The group discussed the benefits and challenges of role-sharing and switching between the language styles of Shakespeare and Stoppard. During the Q&A, a number of artists mentioned their growth in understanding and portrayal of these characters.

Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!

Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast

You can also watch the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube 

About the Scene

Our group is working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Hamlet - AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

CREATIVE TEAM

• DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade
• DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport
• And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova

Hamlet scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/2/2/
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/3/2/

More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeare-stoppard-rehearsal-room-june-2024

BOOKS

Dr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:

• William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
• Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
• Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK

Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!

#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #stoppard #hamlet