Performing the work of William Shakespeare can be daunting to new actors. Author Herb Parker posits that his work is played easier if actors think of the plays as happening out of outrageous situations, and remember just how non-realistic and presentational Shakespeare's plays were meant to be performed. The plays are driven by language and the spoken word, and the themes and plots are absolutely out of the ordinary and fantastic - the very definition of outrageous. With exercises, improvisations, and coaching points, Acting Shakespeare is Outrageous! helps actors use the words Shakespeare wrote as a tool to perform him, and to create exciting and moving performances.
"TABLE OF CONTENTS PROLOGUE: WHAT YOU MOST AFFECT Let the Earth O’erflow So What Do I Mean, Really, by ‘Outrageous’? And What Do I Mean ‘Caused by Love’? How ‘Outrageous’ Applies to Playing Shakespeare Two Suggestions ACT 1: SHAKSPER YOUR BFF Who He was, What he Did and What that Means for Us Actors Shakespeare’s Theatre The Elizabethan Stage Shakespeare’s Audience The Actor’s Task All Women’s Roles Played by Boys Scrolls, No Scripts! Shaksper’s ""Outrageous"" Plays Summary: What This Means for Your Acting ACT 2: HOLDING UP MIRRORS Shakespeare as a Cold Read Lessons Introduction Warmup Lesson 1: Doing Exercise 1: Howl Exercise 2: Sing Exercise 3: Don’t Think About It Exercise 4: Hop, Kneel Crawl and Hug! Exercise 5: Wrestle, Kick, Speak! Exercise 6: You Are Being Chased Exercise 7: Every Line is a New Discovery Exercise 8: Become the Words: The Queen Mab Speech Variation: Let the Class Choose What You Become Lesson 2: Verse Exercise 9: Write it in Prose Exercise 10: Tear the Words! Exercise 11: Hang Your Verse Exercise 12: Verb to Verb Lesson 3: Sound Exercise 13: Gobbledygook Exercise 14: Duh, Hell-o, F—K! Lesson 4: Emotion Exercise 15: In-Motion, Not E-Motion Exercise 16: My Cat is Dead Exercise 17: The Last Line 6 Times Exercise 18: Grow From the Ground Up Exercise 19: Roll on the Floor Exercise 20: Dueling Shakespeare Summary ACT 3: WORDS, WORDS, WORDS! Thou and You The Poetry That Doesn’t Rhyme The Joys of Iambic Pentameter Shared Lines A Feminine Ending More Tools from Shakespeare’s Arsenal Scansion in Action Rhymed Verse and Couplets: A Poet and Do Know It Sonnets Exercise 21: Write a Sonnet Prose: How We Talk Dag-nabbit! Shakespeare’s Made-Up Words Summary ACT 4: DIVERS SCHEDULES: A FEW ITEMS PICKED UP WATCHING ACTORS DO SHAKESPEARE Item 1: There is No Subtext in Shakespeare Item 2: There is Never a ‘Fourth Wall’ Item 3: Size is About More than Being Big and Loud Item 4: Play What the Scene is DOING—Not Just What the Words Mean Item 5: Antithesis is Fighting for an Answer by Comparing Opposites Exercise 22: Play the Antithesis Item 6: Don’t Report, Make a Discovery! Item 7: Leave Your Hands ALONE Item 8: Speak a Soliloquy as if Your Life Depended upon it—Because it Does Item 9: Pretty Speeches are About Blood and Guts Item 10: Paint the Picture! Exercise 23: A Pig in Slop—with the Words Item 11: Shakespeare is Too Big for Film Item 12: All Shakespearean Characters are Philosophers, and Poets POSTSCRIPT: ""A very ribbon in the cap of youth."" GLOSSARY—A Listing of Common Shakespeare Terminology PRACTICE SPEECHES for Men and Women BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RECOMMENDED READING"
"Herb Parker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Performance, Theatre and Dance, with East Tennessee State University. Directing credits at ETSU include Othello, Race, The Trojan Women, Six Characters in Search of an Author (KCACTF ""Excellence in Directing"" Meritorious Achievement Award), Caesar 2012 (his adaptation of Julius Caesar), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, As You Like It, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (KCACTF ""Excellence in Directing"" Meritorious Achievement Award) and Little Shop of Horrors (also a KCACTF ""Excellence in Directing"" Meritorious Achievement Award recipient). Professor Parker is a long-time member of the Actors Equity Association. He is the author of A Monologue is an Outrageous Situation! How to Survive the 60-Second Audition, published by Focal Press in 2016."
