SHAKESPEARE ACADEMY Director GEOFFREY G. FORWARD Academy Phone (310) 455-9927 |
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In this document: What SkillsdoI need to Be a Great
Shakespearean Actor? |
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Historical Perspective
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TO STUDY SHAKESPEARE? England is a wonderful place to go for a visit, to get a feel for the countryside, castles, inns and other places about which Shakespeare wrote. If you open yourself to it, you can sense the presence of Shakespeare in his old haunts in London and Stratford-Upon-Avon. But you dont have to go to England to study good Shakespearean acting. In fact, sadly, many actors come back from a summer of studying Shakespeare in England with woefully inadequate professional skills. The professional training you think youll get in England,
you can get here
IN THE WORLD RIGHT HERE... |
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GREAT SHAKESPEAREAN ACTOR? Acting, Voice, Diction, Movement, Appreciation for the Beauty of Speech, Poetry and Rhythm, and an Historical Perspective of the Elizabethan Period. This all adds up to Style. You get it professionally at
ACADEMY THAT I WONT GET IN A REGULAR ACTING CLASS? In the Academy we specialize in those techniques you must have to be an excellent Shakespearean actor. These include: You continue working on good acting technique here, with emphasis on its application to Shakespeare. The basic elements of good acting are the same whether you are acting in film, on television, in a modern stage production or a classical play, but there is a technique and style to acting Shakespeare that all good Shakespearean actors learn. It puts the professional polish on your performance. Voice is especially important when you are performing Shakespeare. You learn and practice regular warmups and exercises that develop your resonance and diction. You use Standard American Stage Speech, which is the kind of speech used by professional American actors when they are doing non-dialect roles, including Shakespeare, on camera or on stage. You explore the sensuous beauty of your voice and learn how to use it to express the emotion and meaning in the lines. What do you do with your hands? How do you stand? You learn how to be physically at ease doing Shakespeare. Naturalness within the needs of the situation and the character is the key. You learn what is appropriate to acting Shakespeare, from absolute stillness to grandiose gesture. Shakespeare wrote his verse dialogue in iambic pentameter. Scansion is the technique for analyzing the rhythms in the verse lines. There is no mystery to scansion. In one session you learn the four simple steps of correct scansion. Its so clear and easy that youll say, along with many others, Why wasnt I taught this before? I dont know. When I found out how easy it was I was just as surprised as you will be. Some actors and directors claim you dont need to be able to do this kind of analysis. That shows a great misunderstanding of what professional Shakespearean acting requires. An actor should be prepared! You learn a simple and unique four step approach to discover the meaning and emotion in the linesbased on acting techniques actually used by Elizabethan actors. Its the approach Shakespeare used in his writing and acting. MONOLOGUE and DIALOGUE ANALYSIS You learn how to discover the thought process within a speechfrom an actors point of view. You learn how to connect the thoughts to each other to build the dramatic effect. The Elizabethan view of life was in many ways different from and in many ways similar to ours. Often an awareness of these parallels and differences gives insight into the needs and intentions of Shakespeares characters. A study of the Elizabethan period is part of the workshop. Every actor must work every class period. Members begin with sonnets and monologues and then move on to scenes. One of the aims of the workshop is to give you two good audition monologues. Videotaping of the workshop is available, though it is used at the discretion of the director of the workshop. |
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SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOP MEMBERS SAY: Thanks for being so patient. Im really enjoying the class. For the first time I feel like Ive finally got a grasp on Shakespeares style! K.P., Actor Thank you for your persistence. A good swift boot is at times required! M.P., Actor Im so glad I decided to take this class. Shakespeare isnt intimidating anymore, its FUN! Geoffrey Forward has been supportive and patient with my lack of knowledge of Shakespeare. Im ready to enroll in a second course to continue working on my monologues. I definitely do and have been recommending the class to my friends. L. H., Actor I really enjoyed the class, felt that I learned a lot, and look forward to working further with you. A.C., Lawyer His work with us not only made the work more accessible, but fine tuned as an actor. B. Misty Wycoff Mr. Forward understands the wholeness of Shakespeare. His teaching extends from the actors voice and diction right through to a clear understanding of Shakespeares words. Simple yet powerful. It has been a privilege to have been in this workshop. Beth Macmillan Geoffrey G. Forwards workshop is very enthralling! I learned a lot from you. Thank you, sir! Brian Donalson Geoffrey, Thank you for giving us the workshop. I found it extremely interesting and educational. I would like to go through more of the history of Shakespeare. James Wood Mr. Forwards workshops made Shakespeare accessible, exciting and fun. I saw grown actors diving for dictionaries and tasting text as if for the first time. If you want a clear direct way to untangle text, his method works. If you want to get excited about Shakespeare, Geoffrey will take you there. Anonymous Geoffrey G. Forwards The Actors Shakespeare Workshop was a revelation. No actor should attempt Shakespeare without this knowledge. Lois Brady Im really enjoying your Shakespeare class. Even the iambic. Ross Mackenzie Geoffrey, thank you very much for your fabulous workshop. I learned so much from your class; voice, imagination, history, emotion and character, that this will be something that I will bring not only to Shakespeare, but to the whole art of acting in general. Thanks for making Shakespeare come to life! It was a real joy and I cant wait until your next class. Jack Freiberger Mr. Forwards class is a complet and comprehensive understanding of Shakespeare and his language. Mr. Forward is patient and thorough with his students as well athe complexities of the Bard. Pauline Tannous Dear Geoff, I wanted to thank you firstly for writing a recommendation for me but mostly for all youve taught me in your class. I cant tell you how much I look forward to Saturdays and how elated I feel after each class. I appreciate all your taught me as well as your help with my audition monologues and recommendations. I hope I one day get the chance to work with you as actor and director, but for now Ive enjoyed student and teacher. Thanks again. Amanda Rafuse I really enjoyed the class, felt that I learned a lot, and look forward to working further with you. Anthony Castanares Geoff, thanks for being so patient. Im really enjoying the class. For the first time I feel like Ive finally got a grasp on Shakespeares style. Kevan Patriquin |
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ON GEOFFREY G. FORWARDS SPEECH BOOKS: Move over, Henry Higgins!...At last everything weve always wanted to know about speech (but were afraid to ask)...not only covers what to do, but almost more importantly, Mr. Forward explains to us how to do it! Allan Hunt, Award-winning ...an invaluable tool for anyone... I am particularly impressed with Expressive Speech where you give a creative process to making the mechanics of speech meaningful and fun... I certainly will be recommending your book...! Joel Asher, Director, Acting Coach
Never again do the same old monologue everyone else is doing! |
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Mailing address: The Academy outdoor, full-size Shakespearean stage is located in beautiful Topanga Canyon, midway between Santa Monica and Malibu. Shaded by giant oak trees, cooled by the ocean breeze, with a magnificent view, it is 15 minutes from the Pacific Ocean and 10 minutes from San Fernando Valley. Directions to the Forward Globe Stage: Depending on where you are coming from, you may want to take Pacific Coast Highway (1) or Ventura Freeway (101). From Pacific Coast Highway, turn north on Topanga Canyon Blvd.. Drive approximately 12 minutes up the canyon. Look for the address 1909, on your left. From the Ventura Freeway (101) take Topanga Canyon Blvd., south. Drive approximately 10 minutes into the canyon. Look for the address, 1909, on your right. |
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