In this video, I describe my method for uncovering and utilizing the core message in a speech or scene: the telegram exercise. This is one way to help move the story forward in a way that the audience will understand. The exercise is based on Stanislavski’s concept of the single stress – emphasizing the most […]
Shakespeare
The Five-Act Structure in Shakespeare
A game between the forces of Good and Evil: Light and Darkness. In Shakespeare’s comedies: The side we hope will win, the Light, versus the side of Darkness… Sympathy, empathy vs. Antipathy, Hatred Truth vs. Lies, Seeming Harmony vs. Discord In Shakespeare’s tragedies and regeneration plays: Love vs. Hate Life vs. Death Heaven vs. Hell […]
Shakespeare: Examples of Work on Various Scenes
HENRY IV pt 1 V iii. Original text SUFFOLK: Fond man, remember that thou hast a wife; how then can Margaret be thy paramour? MARGARET: ‘twere best to leave him for he will not hear. SUFFOLK: There all is marr’d; there lies a cooling card. MARGAERT: he talks at random; sure the man is mad. […]
Shakespeare: A Look at Sonnet 23
In this article, I’ll analyze Shakespeare’s Sonnet 23 for performance. I’ll break down each step of the process down the line. Dividing the Sonnet I will start with dividing the sonnet into sentences, to look at the flow of sense and the breathing needed. I find, however, that if I keep to the punctuation of […]
Cuckolds, Bastards, and the Position of Women in Shakespeare
In this article, we’ll be discussing a number of topics and their implications in Shakespeare’s time. Specifically, we’ll focus on cuckolds, bastards, and women, and their positions in society. Cuckolds A cuckold is a deceived husband, usually one who doesn’t yet know of his wife’s infidelity. The word comes from ‘cuckoo,’ the bird who takes […]