Shakespeare & Company's Center For Actor Training to Host 2023 Month-Long Intensive

The Center for Actor Training at Shakespeare & Company will hold its 2023 Month-long Intensive for mid-career actors at its Lenox, Mass. campus from January 3 through 29.

For six days a week, morning to night, participants immerse themselves in voice, movement, text analysis, exploration of the actor/audience relationship, sonnet work, scene work, clown, stage fight, and in-depth discussions about the function of theater and the role of the actor in today's world.

Topics covered during this Intensive will include:

Linklater Voice

The full progression of Kristin Linklater's approach to voice training for actors is taught during the four weeks by Designated Linklater voice teachers. In addition to daily classes in Linklater, voice teachers regularly join in text classes and offer specialized classes to help participants integrate voice work into their scenes.

Movement

The movement progression includes Pure Movement (Swings), Alexander Technique, physical expressivity, and dance. Participants will be guided through exercises to promote awareness of (and release from) habitual body tension, sensitivity to impulse, dynamic physical presence and stamina, delight in moving with passion and precision, and ensemble.

Text Work

This introduces the actor to a text approach that demands an open and personal commitment to thought, word, and gesture. Known as "Basics," this work evolves into scene work, first through Dropping In (an approach to experiencing the text on a word-by-word basis) and into text analysis and detailed scene work. Classes in Sonnet and Structure of the Verse round out the text progression, allowing actors to merge their personal connection with the form of Shakespeare's language.

Actor/Audience Relationship

The participant is invited to explore the Elizabethan world of Actor/Audience Relationship - a theatrical reality without a fourth wall, in which the immediate energy of the audience fuels the actor to reveal a deeper level of truth and experience, which in turn enkindles the audience's ability to receive Shakespeare's language.

Clown and Stage Fight

Both the Clown and Fight training involve two short progressions to offer a foundation in playful presence and theatrical violence, respectively. Based on the methods of Jacques Lecoq, Philippe Gaulier, and Keith Johnstone, clown classes emphasize freedom of play, improvisation, and taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary. The fight classes offer unarmed theatrical combat techniques suitable for the stage. The training stresses the importance of safety while working in partnership with another actor.

Participants arrive in the Berkshires Monday, January 2, and depart Monday, January 30. Tuition is $4,875; for more information, visit shakespeare.org, or e-mail training@shakespeare.org. A limited number of scholarships are available for People of the Global Majority/BIPOC artists from the Dennis Krausnick Fellowship Fund.

Tuition cost includes double occupancy housing on the campus of Shakespeare & Company and all meals. Shakespeare & Company is a fully COVID-19-vaccinated campus, from our full-time employees, seasonal staff, artists, volunteers, and program participants. To ensure the health of our Shakespeare & Company community, all Center for Actor Training participants must be vaccinated against COVID-19 (including applicable booster shots). All participants and workshop staff will also be tested 2 to 3 times during the first week and then weekly for the rest of the program. Masks will also be required during the first week and may be required for certain classes and events during the rest of the workshop.

About Shakespeare & Company

Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1978 by Tina Packer. Located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Company offers performance, education, and actor-training opportunities year-round, and attracts more than 40,000 patrons annually with a core of more than 150 artists.

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