Shakespeare & Company to Host Workshops in Los Angeles, New York & Boston

Shakespeare & Company's Center for Actor Training is now accepting applications for three different Master Workshops taking place this winter. Upcoming programs include the Los Angeles Weekend Intensive, February 19 through 21; the New York Weekend Intensive, February 26 through 28; and the Boston Weekend Intensive, March 11 through 13.

"I now wake up every morning searching for ways to make my art more relevant and impactful," said 2015 Training alumna MaConnia Chesser. "After my training at Shakespeare & Company I possess an intense awareness that my voice matters and I'm eager to share that voice with my artistic community and the world."

Led by senior Shakespeare & Company faculty, the Weekend Intensives are designed to meet the needs of actors who seek an introduction to Shakespeare & Company's training methods or an opportunity to re-awaken and revitalize their relationship to Shakespeare's text. Intensives run in about a dozen cities across the country annually and focus on specific acting tools required for Shakespearian performance. The format is a condensed version of the Company's more extensive Month-Long Intensive in January.

"I know of no other short-term training program which delivers the impact and visceral awakening that the Weekend Intensive does," said Director of Training Dennis Krausnick. "Whether desiring a preview experience of Shakespeare & Company Training or providing an opportunity for alumni to re-awaken the power of Shakespeare & Company methods they have experienced in earlier training, these weekend workshops deliver an opportunity to flourish in the in-depth Shakespeare & Company Training without the hassle of traveling long distances for a short period of training."

The Weekend Intensive begins Friday evening with an introduction to Shakespeare & Company's aesthetic and an opportunity for the actors to shift gears and focus on their work through a series of exercises involving voice, body and memory work. Day two focuses on the actor's individual voice and experiences, which are incorporated into a monologue that the actor has prepared for the intensive. Day three moves more vigorously through voice and bodywork, with the actors reconnecting with Shakespeare's text, revisiting their monologues in First Folio format, and exploring how the structure of the verse might influence character and performance. Each of these three events will be led by Director of Training Dennis Krausnick.

Classes will run Friday from 7pm - 10pm, Saturday from 10am - 10pm, and Sunday from 10am - 4pm. The workshop is limited to 14 participants. The cost for each participant is $300.

For applications or more information on the Master Workshops, please contact the Training Office at 413-637-1199 x114, email training@shakepeare.org or visit Shakespeare.org/training.

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