Shakespeare is Good for You - 'An Olympic Course in Acting' - Shakespearean performance techniques as training tools in contemporary acting conservatoires

Abstract

In the same way exercise is said to be good for you, experts in Shakespearean theatre claim that performing Shakespeare is good for the actor because of its high levels of challenge and stimulus.

This thesis seeks to test the truth of this claim by examining how the techniques acting students learn to perform Shakespeare contribute to enhancing students’ acting abilities. This research aims to identify a specific pedagogic field, focusing on Shakespeare, established by the teaching and, more importantly, the writing of Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) directors John Barton (1928–2018) and Peter Hall (1930–2017) and influential voice coaches who worked predominantly at the RSC: Cicely Berry (1926–2018), Kristen Linklater (1936–2020) and Patsy Rodenburg (1953–). This pedagogic field is shaped by a set of shared understandings, assumptions and practices, for all of which Shakespeare, and particularly Shakespeare’s language, is fundamental.

After establishing the historical emergence of conservatory-based actor training (Chapter 1) and detailing the specific challenges of performing Shakespeare (Chapter 2), in Chapter 3, I consider the ‘vocal’ approach to Shakespeare, which is core to contemporary training. In Chapter 4, I examine the particular challenges presented by Shakespeare’s texts and how curriculums focused on responses to these challenges develop and extend students’ acting skills beyond the precise scope of performing Shakespeare. I explored these ideas by conducting four interviews with contemporary Heads of Acting and Voice at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (Royal Welsh), Jonathan Munby and Simon Reeves, and their counterparts at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), John Bashford and Katerina Moraitis. Although there are differences in emphasis between the four teachers, all agree on the centrality of Shakespeare’s language, claiming that students develop as actors by dealing with its challenges and quirks.