How to Act Shakespeare

If you want to learn how to act Shakespeare like a pro (after you watch my three videos on iambic pentameter) you are going to fall in love with this incredible series from the 80s, Playing Shakespeare.

Maybe you have college auditions coming up and you know you are going to have to act a Shakespeare monologue or maybe a local theatre is about to do a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and you are dying to play Helena.  Either way, having some tools to help you rehearse is going to be a game changer.

Here’s how they describe Playing Shakespeare on the Amazon page where it’s for sale (yeah, might be nice to have a copy!):

“Led by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s John Barton, the series features nine master classes on Shakespearean performance with 21 of Britain’s finest actors, including Oscar winners Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Iris), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler’s List), and Peggy Ashcroft (A Passage to India), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, Gods and Monsters), Patrick Stewart (X-Men), and David Suchet (Agatha Christie’s Poirot). The enlightening series aired on PBS in the mid-1980s and its companion book remains a popular acting guide to this day. Bonus features include a 20-page viewer’s guide and exclusive extras that take the educational experience beyond the screen.”

Sure, it’s totally dated and you can definitely tell by the actors’ hair, which makes it even more fun to watch in my opinion.

This series for actors is going to blow you away and it’s here on YouTube totally free.  I have embedded the entire playlist above for you to watch.

Or you could not watch it, but as King Lear says, “nothing will come of nothing”.  😉

Happy rehearsal!