Tuesdays from January 28th until May 18th is the Whitefriars Shakespeare Club from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Odyssey Theatre. The Club is open to students in Grades 5-8. Students should know that this Club, while exciting is an intensive study of Shakespeare and classic texts. The Club is free and open to students in Grade 5-8, but students who can not handle the dedication needed will be asked to leave. Unlike the “main stage” plays, where any interested student is invited, actors are expected to fully commit to their work and go deeper into the material in this Club.
This club is an intensive study of Shakespeare’s dramatic works and other classic texts from the point of view of the actor. It is important to remember that Shakespeare’s verse dramas were written to be performed and that only when they are approached this way as playable, theatrical texts do they have their maximum impact. Through text analysis, scene study, vocal work, and acting exercises we attempt to find, not only the meaning, but the music and theatrical power of Shakespeare’s and others’ words. We spend a great deal of time discussing blank verse and the different techniques for speaking it out loud and work to develop the end-of-line breath support needed to perform this language. We also study such topics as scansion, phrasing, word emphasis, antithesis, and imagery.