Performing Shakespeare: A Way To Learn

This book is for those who want to enrich the experience young people have performing Shakespeare’s plays. It is also for those who have yet to undertake Shakespearean performance with youngsters. To bring Shakespeare’s plays to life, it places the participants in the kind of performing space Shakespeare’s actors employed. Sets and costumes, no more essential now than they were in Shakespeare’s time, are deemphasized. The book eschews the picture frame proscenium stage that evolved as artificial lighting made “realistic” settings possible. It advocates a more direct relationship between audiences and actors than prosceniums allow. It proposes performing Shakespeare in workshops before preparing presentations with their daunting deadlines. Finally, it describes the learning that can accrue to young people who perform Shakespeare - learning about language, imagination, hard work and cooperation as well as learning about the complexity of the lives that lie around and before them.

The first chapter presents a rationale for undertaking Shakespearean production with young people. The second describes four programs that have had success. The third suggests ways to develop or improve your own program. A background in theatre is useful, but two of the programs examined were created by people with no theatre background. What all the directors share is a passion to help young people experience Shakespeare’s work. The chapter explores ways a director can help actors bring any playwright’s script to life by creating the experience that makes the playwright’s words, and the actions of which they are part, inevitable.

The final chapter demonstrates the kind of questions and concerns that confront a director and actors when creating a production. To do this, the chapter considers a hypothetical production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Research for this book has shown the author how meaningful the work can be. He hopes to share with you his conviction that performing Shakespeare is a unique way for young people to learn.