WHAT: Acting Shakespeare's Verse is an acting class
that concentrates on dramatic verse techniques (which means mostly Shakespeare). An example of the kind of thing we talk about is my column in the January 9 issue of Back Stage:
HOW MUCH: Cost is $40 per class, total $320.
CLASS SIZE: Class size is limited to 10 people (I hope), so that you can work frequently.
WHEN: The next cycles will each have 8 evening sessions that will run either on Tuesday evenings beginning September 23th from 7:00PM to about 10:00PM, or on Thursday evenings beginning September 25th at the same hours. The Tuesday cycle will use KING LEAR to study the verse; the Thursday cycle will use HAMLET (a well-known play which closed June 29 in Central Park).
MORE INFORMATION: call (212) 865-1127.
Deloss Brown taught Shakespearean acting at The Juilliard
School for eleven years and now teaches in the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing of
New
York University. Click his portrait (below left) to see his résumé.
Mr. Brown, the distinguished instructor.
The first part of each class (about one and a half hours) is spent studying verse basics so that you will have the knowledge and confidence (and the practice) to handle any kind of Shakespeare challenge. Some of the topics covered are scansion, feminine endings, inverted stresses (trochees), long lines, short lines, lists and antitheses. Don't they sound boring? But they all lead to skills that will help you bring the character to life. If they don't, what good are they to you as an actor?
In the second hour and a half, actors work on scenes and monologues which can be from any Shakespeare play. In fact they can be by any writer at all, so you can use the class to prepare any audition. You should finish the cycle with at least one polished Shakespeare monologue.
In any cycle we always study the verse using one play--KING LEAR on Tuesday, HAMLET on Thursday--because Shakespeare used a different verse style for each play, matching the verse to the content. So we'll also have to discuss the content, and such things as character, intention, subtext, even (horrors!) meaning.
I scheduled HAMLET for people who haven't studied it before, and KING LEAR for students who have already seen me saw the air about HAMLET.
I don't rant about how good Shakespeare is. Everybody has already heard that, whether they believe it or not. This class is like a course in automotive maintenance. We don't talk about the beauty of the Mercedes Benz; we talk about how you drive it, what should be the tire pressure, and how you fix it when it blows a gasket.
No student has ever actually blown a gasket in class.
If you would like more information, please call me at (212) 865-1127.
If you leave your phone number, I'll be glad to call you back, and you can
ask me any questions you have (e.g., does the instructor have horns and a tail?--because obviously that picture has been retouched). You can also E-mail me; see below. When you come to class, please do not pull my tail.
I also coach privately, not just Shakespeare, any monologue. For more information
about any of the above, please call (212) 865-1127 or
E-mail me at DELOSSBROWN@prodigy.net
Thank you for your interest.
ALTERNATIVE
"I don't want to study monologues with that guy! Look at the fangs!" Well, then, you might consider my friend Karen who is the senior teacher at a reputable theater company (or her associate Charles, who is a Shakespeare expert). She didn't put it on her card so I'm not putting it here. If you click on her name or picture, you can find her impressive credentials in her bio.
