Company Rehearsal: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

The course is designed so that self-motivated students will benefit from the training. We expect you to undertake a certain amount of self-directed study and preparation out with class times.

Students should be open, honest, generous, respectful, hard-working and willing to work as part of a team.

The below is an outline of the course content and may be subject to change.

Week One : The Unique Needs Of Shakespearean Performance

The focus will be on differentiating playing Shakespeare from other forms of acting such as contemporary stage or screen, with a focus on audience relationship and elliptical energy. We will understand the story of the play being performed, and undertake exercises using excerpts from the text to tackle some of the fundamentals of verse speaking.

Week Two : Act 1 – On Its Feet Out Loud

In this session we will embody the first act of the play and methods for establishing and differentiating character, audience relationship, finding and playing the argument.

Week Three: Act 2 – On Its Feet Out Loud

In this session we will embody the second act, with a focus on playing stakes and intentions, listening with the body, and maximizing contrast between characters, and playing with expectations.

Week Four: Act 3 – On Its Feet Out Loud

In this session we will embody the third act of the play and concentrate on the Tipping Point – emotional extremes, playing transformation, and affecting audiences.

Week Five: Act 4 – On Its Feet Out Loud

In this session we will embody the fourth act, how to create suspense and tension, playing characters out of control, and seeking reconciliation or retribution.

Week Six: Act 5 – On Its Feet Out Loud

In this session we will embody the final act, sticking the landing, and providing an effective and affecting resolution for the audience.

Week Seven: First Half Stagger Through – Sweating Shakespeare

In this session we will perform half the play stopping and starting to sharpen, clarify and add richness and detail to our initial sketches.

Week Eight: Second Half Stagger Through – Sweating Shakespeare

In this session we will perform the second half the play and use all that we have learned so far to bring it to vivid life.

Week Nine: Dress Rehearsal x 2

In this session we will run the play twice in quick succession, with notes in between, to pressure-test our studies and identify areas for final polishing.

Week Ten: Run-Through & Performance

In this session we will do final preparations for the piece before sharing it to an audience of invited guests, with a Q+A to reflect on the experience.

This course will be informed by classical and contemporary approaches to acting and performance, covering verse & rhetoric, imagination & emotion, multisensory & object work, physicality & voice.

These will be discovered based on the needs of the scenes being explored as we prepare to perform one of Shakespeare’s classic plays. There will be exercises, games and further homework to help you progress.

The style of engagement within this course is open, supportive and fun, yet it is also challenging and hard work. Self-directed preparation of a monologue will be an expectation during your time with us. Commitment, focus, energy and professionalism will be expected at all times by the tutor.

• Plan and prepare to attend all classes
• Communicate any access needs in advance
• Commit lines to memory outside of rehearsals
• Engage with the supporting materials sent out ahead and throughout the course
• Dress comfortably in clothes which are suitable for the activity you are taking part in.
• Bring a notepad and pen/pencil in case you wish to make notes.
• Please bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated during your class and snacks to keep energy high

Robert Myles

Robert Myles is an actor, writer and director. He directed the 36 First Folio plays of Shakespeare, one a week every week for nine months, with The Show Must Go Online, which he co-founded at the start of the 2020 pandemic. TSMGO became a multi-award-winning pandemic digital theatre project that brought together over 500 actors and creatives from 60 countries. His book, co-written with Dr. Valerie Clayman Pye, Innovation in Digital Theatre: Rethinking Theatre with ‘The Show Must Go Online’, is in press with Routledge.

Over his career in Shakespeare, Rob has played over 30 Shakespearean roles in off-west-end and regional touring productions. He is the creator of The Shakespeare Deck, a powerful, portable text-work tool for actors and creatives, and host of the Owning Shakespeare Podcast, with guests including Adjoa Andoh and Paterson Joseph. He has spoken at Harvard University, taught Shakespeare at East 15 and Wolverhampton University, given seminars at NYU London and done Q+As with King’s College London, University of Texas and many more.

Beyond Shakespeare, Rob is also an action designer, and a teacher-in-training with the British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat. In addition to theatre, he has directed several short films, short documentaries, action for camera, and more. He is now exploring the role creative technologies can play in the future of live storytelling with The Stratford Festival, Theatre Royal Bath and others.

This course will run in-person on Tuesday evenings for 10-weeks, 6pm – 9pm, 21 January – 25 March 2025.

The course fee is £345 and can be paid in full or in instalments before the course end date.