Neil Freeman: Services Offered
My teaching approach is to start with easy games to discover the hidden principles of debate and argument (so key to the heart of all Shakespearean characters) the games also offering a comfortable means to revel in the richness of the language.
I then guide actors, directors, teachers, students as to how to make practical use of the texts given to the first Shakespearean actors (texts so different from their modern counterparts) so as to glean literally hundreds of extra theatrical clues the modern texts have unwittingly wiped out no matter how carefully prepared. Participants are offered two sets of texts, the original based on rhetoric and the modern based on grammar, and encouraged to explore both as if they were their own Shakespearean detectives - discovering the facts first and then playing with the myriad of possibilities after, the whole based on both brain and body experiences.
For availability, fees, and teaching testimonials, please contact us.
The visit could cover just a single topic or everything listed below:
- discovering the Shakespearean thinking process (debate and argument) via the sonnets
- how to use the original texts (quartos and First Folio) without denying modern scholarship
- exploring Shakespeare's rhythms as a practical tool (i.e. how to scan for more theatrical/performance details without bursting into tears or cursing)
- applying any or all of the above to monologues/speeches/scenes
The time involvement ranges from:
- a one day to a week (or longer) for actors with directors watching
- a separate workshop for directors and/or teachers
- a two-three week period text-coaching on a production
- a longer six week block handling the complete Shakespeare experience
- a longer six to eight week block directing a black-box workshop ‘prop-basket’ production (usually in the round) with found costumes and props, no lights, sets or special effects
