Intense Shakespeare

So we are in the midst of our rehearsals with the Shakespeare Intensive Program here at the Old Globe. The program is one where high school students work intensively on one Shakespeare play for four weeks to really get an immersive experience with the language and also the opportunity to work on production on a professional level. The typical day of the program is usually a workshop or master class in the morning led by one of the Old Globe staff or guest artists from the Shakespeare Festival here and then rehearsals in the afternoon.

I am directing Love’s Labour’s Lost, and Patrick Pearson is Directing Merry Wives of Windsor. Its been a great week and today in particular we had a great day where Adrian Sparks, one of the actors in the Shakespeare Company led the students in a mask workshop. What was amazing was to see the student’s physicalities transform as soon as they put on a mask and began to be influenced by the shape and form of the mask they were wearing. I think it helped loosen them up in their bodies and the mask allowed a level of comfort where suddenly those who had been a little stiff or self-conscious where a hundred times more expressive and free. It was a very helpful and interesting workshop and led to a day of rehearsals in the afternoon where suddenly the actors were accessing their characters from the outside/in versus inside/out and using the language and physicality to bring Shakespeare’s text alive. It was great! Until next time.

-Snehal