Much Ado About Nothing - Romeo And Juliet - Two Gentlemen Of Verona - The Taming Of The Shrew - The Merchant Of Venice - Othello
Set against the backdrop of the stunning Umbrian countryside, you will have the opportunity to explore Shakespeare’s Italian plays through a combination of lectures, film, scene work and acting exercises as well as watching and participating in performances of extracts. There will be a particular focus on Much Ado about Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice and Othello.
Participants will have the opportunity to rehearse and present scenes throughout the week, and to present an extract at the end of the course. No previous acting experience is necessary!
Although acting will be part of the course, the focus will be on exploring and understanding the plays and their context. Our course is user-friendly and interactive. There will also be opportunities for you to do exercises in basic acting and Shakespearian verse speaking. The atmosphere will be fun, supportive and accessible. Participants will need to bring with them a paperback copy of the complete works of Shakespeare.
DAVID THOMAS has managed to combine a successful career as an educator and businessman with extensive experience of theatre and opera. This includes the annual open air Shakespeare performances in Windsor Castle, where he has played Benedick, Hamlet, Touchstone, Richard III and Henry VI, and has directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It and Much Ado about Nothing. Opera experience includes directing Otello, Turandot, Don Carlos and Aida, attracting notices which include “astonishingly successful” and “perhaps the best production of the opera I have ever seen.” David is presently Chairman of Educate and a trustee of several educational charities. He is an occasional broadcaster, mostly on educational issues, and was the first winner of the UK’s Channel 4’s “Come Dine with Me” TV series.
PAULINE GRAY trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and her first professional engagement was in an OUDS production of A Man Has Two Fathers by John McGrath with undergraduates Alan Bennett and Dudley Moore at the Oxford Playhouse. She then spent four years in repertory in Oxford, Farnham, Margate, Lowestoft and Hull playing many parts from ages9 to 90. Film and television followed and later a run at the Mermaid, London. Recent work includes Miss Prism and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, Mrs Higgins in Pygmalion and Winnie in Happy Days. Her Shakespeare roles include Katharine in Henry V, Viola in Twelfth Night, Hymen in As You Like It, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra. She is currently touring in her one-woman show My Dear Howey.
HARRY GRAY has had a passionate interest in theatre from a very young age. In adulthood he has acted in and directed a vast range of plays both classical and modern. His experience with Shakespeare is in both acting and directing. His productions include Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Macbeth, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, The Winters Tale and the title roles in Hamlet, Richard III and many other plays. Used to working with both amateurs and professionals, he has been a member of Progress Theatre, Reading for over forty years and Artistic Director for five of them. He has also worked extensively with Berkshire Shakespeare Players in their Reading Abbey open air Shakespeare seasons.
His most recent productions include An Experiment with an Airpump, Goodnight Children Everywhere, and Skylight.
DATES: 28th APRIL and 13th OCTOBER 2007
PRICE £1,350.00 per person.
| Saturday | - Day One |
| Afternoon arrival and welcome get-together | |
| 16:00 | Introduction – Was Shakespeare an Italian? |
| David Thomas with Pauline Gray and Harry Gray | |
| 17:00 | Interactive workshop |
| Harry, Pauline and David | |
| 19:00 | Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant |
| Sunday | - Day Two |
| Much Ado about Nothing | |
| 09:30 | The play in context |
| David with Pauline and Harry | |
| 11:00 | Beatrice and Benedick – an acting perspective |
| Pauline and Harry | |
| 12:30 | Lunch |
| 14:00 | Workshops (3 groups): choosing a scene to perform |
| 16:00 | Shakespeare’s Venice – “Othello” and “Merchant” |
| David | |
| 19:00 | Dinner at a local restaurant |
| Monday | - Day 3 |
| Othello | |
| 09:30 | The play in context |
| David, Harry and Pauline | |
| 11:00 | Othello and Iago: an acting perspective |
| Harry and David | |
| 11:45 | Othello and Desdemona: an acting perspective |
| Pauline and Harry | |
| 12:30 | Lunch |
| 14:00 | Workshops: working on the scenes to perform |
| 16:00 | Masterclass |
| Harry, Pauline, David | |
| 17:00 | Shakespeare and Verdi: “Otello” in context |
| David | |
| 19:00 | Dinner at a local Restaurant |
| Tuesday | – Day 4 |
| AM | At leisure – We transport you to a local market town |
| PM | Visit to Gubbio Theatre Scenes from Othello: The Triangle David, Pauline and Harry (David – we will try and get permission for you to perform this from the stage of this Roman amphitheatre) |
| 19:00 | Dinner at a local Restaurant |
| Wednesday | - Day 5 |
| The Merchant of Venice | |
| 09:30 | The play in context |
| David | |
| 11:00 | Masterclass (1) Portia |
| Pauline | |
| 11:45 | Masterclass (2) Shylock |
| Harry | |
| 12:30 | Lunch |
| 14:00 | Workshops: preparing to perform |
| 19:00 | Dinner at a local Restaurant |
| Thursday | – Day 6 |
| At Leisure All Day – We visit Assisi | |
| 19:00 | Dinner at a local Restaurant |
| Friday | – Day 7 |
| Are there any Italian Plays by Shakespeare? | |
| 09:30 | Bringing it all together |
| 10:30 | Masterclass |
| David, Pauline and Harry | |
| 11:30 | Brush up your Shakespeare: Taming of the Shrew and “Kiss me, Kate” |
| 12:30 | Lunch |
| 14:00 | Scenes from Shakespeare, starring the participants |
| 19:00 | Farewell Dinner at a local Restaurant |
| Saturday | – Day 8 |
| AM | - Depart |
