Well-known scenes from "Hamlet," "King Lear," "Macbeth," "Romeo and Juliet," "Julius Caesar," and 15 other popular plays. Summaries, selections from the appropriate text, and captions accompany the illustrations. 30 black-and-white illustrations.

Who says only the British can act Shakespeare? In this unique guide, a veteran acting coach shatters that myth with a boldly American approach to the Bard. Written in the form of a play, this volume's "characters" include a master teacher and 16 students grappling with the challenges of acting Shakespeare. Using actual speeches from 32 of Shakespeare's plays, each of the book's six "scenes" offer proven solutions to such acting problems as delivering spoken subtext, using physical actions to orchestrate a speech, creating images within a speech, dividing a speech into measures, and much more.

A book of selected scenes from Shakespeare's most recognisable plays. Designs to solve classroom or workshop performance needs: only scenes with small casts are included; each scene contains two to seven characters; scenes are between five and twenty minutes in length; each scene is preceded by a plot synopsis and setting; scenes include character descriptions and motivation; excellent contest material.

The life of William Shakespeare is vividly depicted, from his birth in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, childhood and schooldays, through apprenticeship at his father's glove-making shop, his marriage to Anne Hathaway, and then the move to London - where Will hones his skills as an actor-playwright for The Lord Chamberlain's Men. When the newly-built Globe Theatre opens in 1599, Will Shakespeare is a key member of the company, and many of Shakespeare's most famous plays are first performed here. By his death in 1616, William Shakespeare is acknowledged as the master playwright of his age - and ever since as one of the greatest writers of all time. With lively graphic-novel descriptions of many of Shakespeare's most famous plays, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Henry V, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and The Tempest, and drawing on the latest biographical research, this is the perfect introduction for children to the life and works of William Shakespeare. "I can't think of a book more likely than this enchantingly illustrated tome to connect young people to the greatest, most exciting, most human, most surprising writer of them all. A great achievement." - Simon Callow, Shakespearean actor and biographer

I have personally compiled and edited this collection of 33 Shakespearean scenes specifically for aspiring female actors to study as well as enjoy. The scenes within this book are most suited to older, teenage actors, who have already begun to acquire some of the technical skills necessary to perform Shakespeare's wonderfully drawn, young adult female characters. These scenes are suitable for a range of acting exams and awards as well as for auditions and festivals. I have tried and tested these scenes with numerous students over the years with great success and more importantly, they have thoroughly enjoyed working on them. I have not provided guidelines as to how to perform these scenes. This is something for the individual performer to explore and what is what will make your performance individual. However, I do strongly believe, it is crucial to play characters within ones' playing range. As a developing actor, in your late teens and beyond, now is the time to tackle the more demanding female characters which Shakespeare has so brilliantly created. Continue to build your vocal skills and acting technique systematically. In this way your performances will have the necessary depth and will be exciting to watch. Learn to discover your character's subtext and objectives. This will enable your characters to spring to life and hence, help your audience believe in you. Methodical preparation will pay dividends when exploring these fascinating characters. I hope you enjoy working on them.

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