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Performing Shakespeare / Oliver Ford Davies.

Kislak Center for Special Collections - Furness Shakespeare Library (Van Pelt 628) PR3091 .D316 2007
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Van Pelt Library PR3091 .D316 2007
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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Davies, Oliver Ford.
Contributor:
Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Dramatic production.
Shakespeare, William.
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Study and teaching.
Acting--Study and teaching.
Acting.
Physical Description:
xiv, 274 pages ; 22 cm
Place of Publication:
London : Nick Hern Books, 2007.
Summary:
Drawing on a lifetime's experience of playing Shakespearean roles, Oliver Ford Davies offers practical advice to actors, directors and drama students on a wide variety of scenes, characters, speeches and individual lines from almost every one of the plays.
The three core sections of Performing Shakespeare take us through the whole process of Preparation, Rehearsal and Performance, preceded by discussions of the Elizabethan actor and Shakespeare's language.
Also included are revealing interviews with other notable Shakespearean actors such as Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Harriet Walter, Josette Simon, Simon Russell Beale, Barbara Jefford, Adrian Lester and Juliet Stevenson.
Performing Shakespeare is an 'invaluable guide to those who act and to all those who wish to gain deeper insights into the performance of Shakespeare's plays'. Stanley Wells from his Foreword.
Contents:
1 The Elizabethan Actor
The Roots of Elizabethan Theatre 3
The Actors 5
The Theatres 7
Repertoire, Casting and Touring 10
Rehearsal 11
Voice, Gesture and Accent 14
Character and Personation 18
Boy Players 20
Performance 22
2 Shakespeare's Language
Verse 28
The Iambic Pentameter 30
The Structure of the Verse 34
Rhyme 38
Monosyllables and Stichomythia 39
Prose 41
Prose into Verse 43
Words 44
Metaphor and Simile 46
Assonance, Onomatopoeia and Alliteration 47
Wordplay and Puns 48
Doubles and Repetitions 50
Irony, Paradox, Ambiguity and Antithesis 51
Quarto and Folio, Punctuation and Spelling 54
3 Preparation
The Text 59
Reading the Play 60
Lists and Structure 62
Backstory and Omissions 64
Function in the Play 66
Research 67
Preconceptions and Labels 68
Physical Image 70
Family Relationships 71
Class and Money 73
Character 74
The Director 76
Period and Design 79
Memorising 81
Voice and Sonnets 83
4 Rehearsal
Language 88
Directions in the Text 94
Voice and Movement 96
Shape 98
Soliloquy 102
The Journey 106
Stanislavsky, Objectives and Subtext 107
Hamlet's Advice to the Players 110
Naturalism 113
Ambiguity, Irony and Inconsistency 115
Politics and Power 118
Sex 121
Women 123
Comical-Tragical 127
Clowns and Fools 129
Supporting Parts 132
Acting on Film 136
Character 139
Imagination, Energy, Interplay and Enjoyment 144
The Director 149
5 Performance
Telling the Story 155
The Audience 158
Imagination, Energy and Interplay 162
Anticipation and Hindsight 165
Pace, Pauses, Silence and Stillness 166
The Controlled Dream 170
Bringing It All Together 172
1 Two Case Studies
Duke Vincentio in Measure for Measure 179
Viola in Twelfth Night 197
2 Interviews with Actors
Judi Dench 215
Ian McKellen 219
Harriet Walter 225
Josette Simon 231
Simon Russell Beale 235
Barbara Jefford 242
Adrian Lester 245
Juliet Stevenson 250.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages [262]-267) and index.
ISBN:
9781854597816
1854597817
OCLC:
145747179

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