The Shakespeare Masterclasses is a collection of rare interviews from many of the world’s most renowned Shakespearean actors, exploring their varied approaches to topics including character creation, script analysis, acting for the stage and the camera, rehearsal, preparation, and collaboration.
Ron Destro’s insightful and revealing conversations with thirteen accomplished artists provide the reader with the invaluable experience of sitting in the classroom with each of these masters. A selection of Shakespeare plays including Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale, King Lear, and The Tempest are examined to explore antithesis, line-endings, rhyme and meter, method acting, and the artistry of a good director. In addition to critical analysis of their vocation, the actors weave through personal and humorous anecdotes and favorite acting moments, and offer useful movement and vocal exercises.
This book offers a lens into the creative process of world-acclaimed actors, to expose an abundance of tips, tools, and fascinating stories about the acting profession that will be of crucial interest to acting students, directors, drama teachers, Shakespeare performance scholars, and general theatre fans more broadly.
Introduction; 1 Sir Derek Jacobi; 2 Dame Diana Rigg; 3 Tim Pigott-Smith; 4 Frank Langella; 5 F. Murray Abraham; 6 Jeremy Irons; 7 Glenda Jackson; 8 Michael York; 9 Ron Cook; 10 Malcolm McKay; 11 Priyanga Burford; 12 John Barton; 13 Cicely Berry; 14 Acting Exercises
Biography
Ron Destro is the Founding Director of the US-based Oxford Shakespeare Company, which trains actors to perform Shakespeare plays in their original locations. A Kennedy Center Award-winning playwright, actor, teacher, and director, he has staged over forty Shakespeare productions in the US, UK, and Europe.
