Clues to Acting Shakespeare (3rd ed) Read online

  Canterbury: O, let their bodies follow, my dear liege, (1)

  With blood, and sword, and fire to win your right! (2)

  In aid whereof we of the spiritualty (3)

  Will raise your highness such a mighty sum (4)

  As never did the clergy at one time (5)

  Bring in to any of your ancestors. (I, ii) (6)

  Read the speech aloud and see if you can do lines 3–6 without a breath. If you can’t make it, take a breath after “sum,” but notice that the speech flows better without the breath. Note, too, that “spiritualty” must be elided to three syllables.

  Try these lines of Chorus before Act IV in Henry V.

  Chorus: Now entertain conjecture of a time (1)

  When creeping murmur and the poring dark (2)

  Fills the wide vessel of the universe. (3)

  From camp to camp, through the foul womb of night, (4)

  The hum of either army stilly sounds, (5)

  That the fixed sentinels almost receive (6)

  The secret whispers of each other’s watch. (IV) (7)

  Read the speech aloud, breathing only at the punctuation. Support all last words, especially “universe,” “sounds,” and “watch.” Don’t insert a breath after “dark.”

  Keep these simple clues in mind:

  • The words ride out on the breath; just send them.

  • Inhaling gives you a moment to grasp your next line.

  • Breathe at every opportunity. If you cut a breathing point, do it intentionally because you don’t need it.

  • Strong breathing gives you power; lack of breath signals weakness.

  Always read and work on Shakespeare aloud. This language is meant to be spoken, and much of the sense is discovered through speech. Shakespeare doesn’t just work better aloud, it works ten times better! Therefore, when you work on the lines, use the opportunity to practice breathing and voice skills as well.

  Once you can use these basic tools, you’ve come even farther on the journey to playing Shakespeare.

  Ay, marry, sir, now it begins to work.

  THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, III, ii

  CHAPTER 6

  Practice the Speaking Skill

  Now mark him, he begins again to speak.

  JULIUS CAESAR, III, ii

  MODERN ACTOR TRAINING in America emphasizes memory recall, playing the subtext, and character development. In many ways, this training makes words secondary to feelings. The actor nowadays tends to “reflect” on the thought, then express it by “handling” the words. The actor may manipulate the words to express the subtextual thought.

  The moment required to reflect creates a pause. That “pause to reflect” may come at any time—before the thought, in midthought, or after the thought. The placement and length of the various pauses are based on how the character feels about the thought. During a “pause to reflect,” the actor usually breathes and reflects, which makes it a different kind of pause than the no-breath caesura—which is a pause to set up a word or thought and is not intended to provide time to “reflect.”

  Today, this pause-to-reflect acting style dominates most films, stage productions of many realistic plays, and especially modern scripts, which call for great subtextual clarification. This technique is at the core of realistic acting.

  A problem with this approach emerges, however, when the more important requirement of “playing your action” becomes secondary to “playing your feeling.” Because the desire to play your feeling is so grounded in realistic actor training, even good actors often forget to play their action first.

  When an actor allows the concept of “playing your feeling” to dominate, the end result is often indulgent acting. The result of indulgent acting is ponderous text, unrealized author intentions, and loss of audience.

  SAY WHAT YOU THINK WHEN YOU THINK IT

  With Shakespeare, you will be most successful if you

  • Say what you think when you think it while . . .

  • Playing your action

  By “say what you think,” I mean, cut out the moment of “reflection” on the thought and simply speak the thought. Don’t think, then talk. Just think while you talk. In other words, act on the words, not between them.

  Shakespeare’s language is written so that the actor rarely needs to “reflect” to express feelings or reasoning, because characters say aloud what they are reasoning and feeling. In Shakespeare, the thought is not hidden in the subtext. What’s to be said is right there on the surface.

  For many actors, dealing with this concept is not easy. The dominance of subtextual acting in film is embedded in our minds. We hear most dialogue read with pauses and searching and poured-out feelings. If we’ve never tackled Shakespeare before, it is possible that all of our acting has been based on subtextual line readings.

  Yet, to determine that language written hundreds of years ago might require different speaking skills than modern language is not really surprising. After all, if a good play, as Hamlet says, intends “to hold, as ’twere, the mirror up to nature,” then both modern and Elizabethan writers will mirror their respective languages and speaking habits.

  When Shakespeare’s language was written, the concepts of “character” and “subtext” as we think of them today were unknown. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, before Sigmund Freud and electronic media, people probably spoke feelings and thoughts more clearly than we do today. Writings of the period demonstrate that practice. In modern-day conversation, however, our tendency is often to disguise what we mean. We are taught as children to “be polite” and not to annoy others with what we really think or feel.

  As the thought in modern plays is often revealed more in the subtext (what you’re thinking) than in the text (what you’re saying), modern acting focuses on the skills required to find and speak that subtext. But Shakespeare didn’t write that way.

  As you study what and why a specific Shakespearean character is speaking, you will discover that the words are exactly the same as the thoughts. The character is saying exactly what he or she means. So you don’t need to play the subtext. In fact, your work will be stronger if you forget acting subtext and, in doing so, remove the “reflective” pauses that usually accompany “subtextual” line readings.

  Certainly there are subtextual thoughts in Shakespeare. The point is that the thoughts are also in the language. If useful, of course, and if you are playing the language convincingly, you can work with whatever subtext seems necessary. But in doing so remember that Shakespeare put the thought into the spoken words. Your “subtext” will be a modern-day application; it may cause you to lose the rhythm, and your acting may become indulgent, ponderous, and unclear.

  Answer every man directly.—Ay, and briefly.—Ay, and wisely.

  JULIUS CAESAR, III, iii

  WORKING WITH SUBTEXT

  Here are some examples of speeches that could be broken up for subtextual reflection—so the character can “feel it”—or could be spoken without the reflection, in which case the character, without taking pause, says directly what he or she is thinking or feeling. See which way works better for you.

  In The Merchant of Venice, Antonio is about to lose “a pound of flesh,” and probably his life, to Shylock. Bassanio, who created the problem, has this to say:

  Bassanio: Antonio, I am married to a wife

  Which is as dear to me as life itself;

  But life itself, my wife, and all the world

  Are not with me esteemed above thy life.

  I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all

  Here to this devil, to deliver you. (IV, i)

  Read the speech through a couple of times for sense. Next, let’s create some subtext. Be Bassanio and read the speech, playing these basic feelings about the situation. Play out each one.

  1. Hate Shylock: Create a subtext which says, “I hate this man,” and play the speech around that subtext.

  2. Love your wife: Create a subtext around your great love
for Portia and how tragic it would be to lose her.

  3. Persuade Antonio of your love: Create a subtext that allows you to thoroughly assure Antonio that you would do anything for him.

  4. Apologize: Create a subtext that says how sorry you are to have allowed this problem to develop.

  Here are possible results of these four subtextual readings:

  1. With this subtext, the speech is about your hatred of Shylock.

  2. With this subtext, the speech is about your sacrifice, not Antonio’s.

  3. With this subtext, the speech is about the struggle within you, not what Antonio is facing.

  4. With this subtext, the speech turns sentimental and indulgent.

  Now just read the speech as it is written, adding nothing, but taking this moment to reaffirm your honest feelings to Antonio. Say what you think as you think it. Your action, “to reaffirm,” is measured in Antonio and how he responds to you.

  Isn’t everything you need right there in the words? Is it necessary to apply subtext? Is it necessary to be extremely emotional for any reason? Is it necessary to take any pauses other than the natural breathing points?

  Also notice that when playing any of the four subtext examples, you forget to play your action. You lose sight of your objective, because your concentration is on a subtextual feeling. The action is lost, because those feelings, when expressed, are all descriptive.

  To hear and see some other examples, in part five are listed a few film and video performances that may be helpful. I’ve indicated in what way the various performances are successful. Some are brilliant, and these clearly illustrate the points we’re discussing.

  ACHIEVE YOUR OBJECTIVE

  In The Comedy of Errors, Antipholus of Ephesus tries to inform the Duke about the ill treatment to which he has been subjected by his wife and others.

  Ant/Eph: By the way we met

  My wife, her sister, and a rabble more

  Of vile confederates. Along with them

  They brought one Pinch, a hungry lean-faced villain,

  A mere anatomy, a mountebank,

  A threadbare juggler, and a fortune-teller,

  A needy, hollow-eyed, sharp-looking wretch,

  A living dead man. This pernicious slave,

  Forsooth, took on him as a conjurer,

  And gazing in mine eyes, feeling my pulse,

  And with no face, as ‘twere, out-facing me,

  Cries out, I was possessed. Then all together

  They fell upon me, bound me, bore me thence,

  And in a dark and dankish vault at home

  There left me and my man, both bound together,

  Till, gnawing with my teeth my bonds in sunder,

  I gained my freedom, and immediately

  Ran hither to your Grace; whom I beseech

  To give me ample satisfaction

  For these deep shames and great indignities. (V, i)

  Read the speech through a couple of times for sense. Next, be Antipholus and apply the following subtextual possibilities.

  1. Get vengeance: Convince the Duke how evil was this fellow, Pinch, and carefully describe all his characteristics.

  2. Hate your wife: Create a subtext which places all blame on her.

  3. Despise what happened to you: Create a subtext which allows you to feel sorry for yourself.

  4. Seek sympathy: Create a subtext which draws sympathy from the Duke.

  Here are possible results of these four subtextual readings:

  1. In this reading, you completely lose track of your objective—which is not about Pinch.

  2. In this reading, “he doth protest too much!”

  3. In this reading, the action you are playing to achieve your objective is colored with whining and whimpering, and I soon lose interest.

  4. In this reading, you are trying to guide the Duke’s feelings, therefore playing the wrong action, which is to seek his reasoned justice, to which you are entitled.

  Use the language to achieve your objective. Now you are Antipholus, so say what you think as you think it and reach for your objective. Know each action, and state clearly and emphatically what happened to you.

  Don’t dwell on Pinch, but use your memory of him to accent how you were treated, and move the entire first part of the speech to reach the line, “I was possessed.” (That is your “proof” that your accusers are liars.) Your action is to reduce your accusers to liars—so reduce them.

  Now, play the second part of the speech to reach the line “and great indignities.” Notice, there are no full stops between “Then all together” and “great indignities.” As quickly as you relate one thing, the next thing is on your lips. There is a great urgency to reach “give me ample satisfaction,” and then the final line, which summarizes why you deserve that satisfaction.

  Your objective is to obtain satisfaction—so obtain it. “Detours” from this action are not required. Your success is measured in what the Duke does when you finish.

  Here are additional notes for working on this speech. If you set out to obtain satisfaction, you won’t delay unnecessarily to describe Pinch, to seek sympathy, or for any other reason. If you select too much indignation, we lose interest; too much excitement and we lose the reasoning; too much anger and the emotion buries the words—and we don’t hear your argument. Find the balance between your built-up frustration over what happened to you and your need to obtain satisfaction.

  If you appear to be “mad,” your accusers will appear to be right. You must use your reason to (1) prove your sanity by control of your actions, and (2) prove you are deserving of satisfaction. Balance your reason and your emotion to achieve your objective and allow your argument to be heard. Reach for your objective, and the action will pull you along without delay.

  He has strangled

  His language in his tears.

  HENRY VIII, V, i

  I speak as my understanding instructs me . . .

  THE WINTER’S TALE, I, i

  CHAPTER 7

  Working with Structure and Rhythm

  REFER TO THE SONNET you have selected. To understand speech structure is only one of many reasons why you should work on sonnets. Notice how the sonnet develops. In fourteen lines, there is usually an opening statement or idea, followed by development of the idea, and a concluding thought. In the sonnet, the concluding thought is expressed in a rhyming couplet.

  The basic line structure through which the thought is expressed is usually 4-4-4-2. Some sonnets do not have a full stop (i.e., period, question mark, exclamation point) until the end of the final line, and the main thought is carried for fourteen lines. Others have full stops after each four lines. The structure is determined by the way Shakespeare chooses to develop the thought.

  SPEECH STRUCTURE

  I pray, can you read anything you see?

  Ay, if I know the letters and language.

  ROMEO AND JULIET, I, ii

  Shakespeare’s speeches are structured much the same as sonnets. There is usually an idea stated and then developed, followed by a concluding or summary thought.

  Since most speeches are in three parts, the actor can use the structure as a guide to performance choices.

  The opening idea needs to be clearly stated, or the development will fall on deaf ears. The development section often includes the rich poetry, the imagery, and the antithetical thoughts, and can be the hardest part of the speech to make clear. Handle the conclusion with conviction.

  The speech structure is such that one can cut a Shakespearean play to less than one hour by simply keeping the opening and closing of each speech and taking out the poetry, which is usually in the middle. What you have left is the action line without the richness.

  Using your rehearsal material, break up the sonnet and the monologue so that you isolate the opening thought, the development, and the conclusion. Check your work against these two examples.

  Here are a sonnet and a monologue, which will illustrate and compare speech structure. Fi
rst the sonnet:

  Sonnet 57

  Being your slave, what should I do but tend (1)

  Upon the hours and times of your desire? (2)

  I have no precious time at all to spend, (3)

  Nor services to do, till you require. (4)

  Nor dare I chide the world-without-end hour (5)

  Whilst I, my sovereign, watch the clock for you, (6)

  Nor think the bitterness of absence sour (7)

  When you have bid your servant once adieu; (8)

  Nor dare I question with my jealous thought (9)

  Where you may be, or your affairs suppose, (10)

  But, like a sad slave, stay and think of nought (11)

  Save, where you are how happy you make those. (12)

  So true a fool is love that in your will, (13)

  Though you do any thing, he thinks no ill. (14)

  Lines 1 and 2 set out the thought and end with a full stop.

  Lines 3 and 4 explain the thought. Then there is another full stop.

  Lines 5–8 explore the thought; there is no full stop, and the exploration continues.

  Lines 9–12 take the idea even farther, and end with a full stop.

  Lines 13 and 14 summarize the reason for the problem that was pondered in the previous ten lines, after being set out in the first two.

  A BRIEF DIVERSION

  If you wish to work on this sonnet, here are some ideas. Don’t get all sentimental. Instead, play the irony. Play the tongue in cheek, laughing at yourself for having gotten so deeply into this love affair that you excuse whatever your lover does.

  There are other ways to read these lines, but this approach introduces you to the irony playable in the sonnets and cautions against sarcasm or sentimentality.

  Sarcasm (sneering or cutting) is always the last choice you should make for a line reading. Use it only if the character choice absolutely demands that the thought intended for the listener is sarcastic.