Speaking Shakespeare

From A Midsummer Night's Dream's Puck to Othello's Desdemona, this new edition of Speaking Shakespeare gives you all the necessary tools to bring any of Shakespeare's eclectic characters to life.
Patsy Rodenburg uses practical exercises and textual analysis to hone in on your dramatic resonance, breathing and placement in order to unlock your potential for playing these iconic characters. Speeches and scenes such as Mark Antony's 'O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth' and the bloody scene in which Macbeth admits to Lady Macbeth that he has 'done the deed' are placed in context and discussed in depth.
Combining clear practical, textual and imaginative work with a brilliant analysis of scenes and speeches from the whole range of Shakespeare's plays, this is an essential and inspiring guide for anyone working on his plays today. It brings a renewed focus on the language of power, so frequently spoken in the worlds of politicians and company directors, which will give readers insight into the potency of clear, direct communication, specifically in the context of Shakespeare.
Each chapter has been revised following the author's 20 additional years of experience as a voice coach and includes techniques necessary for a clear and convincing performance.

Patsy Rodenburg, OBE, is Professor of Text and Poetry at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, UK, after serving as Head of Voice from 1981–2016. In 1981 she was appointed the Voice Coach for the Royal Shakespeare Company, responsible for the works of the Company in London, and in 1990 was appointed the first Head of Voice at the Royal National Theatre where she ran the department until 2006.

She has worked with theatre companies across the UK including Theatre de Complicitè, Shared Experience, Cheek by Jowl and the Royal Court, having coached numerous West End and Broadway productions. Patsy has also worked at many major theatre companies all over the world, including Stratford Festival Theatre (Ontario, Canada), Kabuki Theatre (Japan), Indian National Theatre (Mumbai, India), Lithuania National Drama Theatre (Vilnius, Lithuania), Royal Dramatic Theatre (Stockholm, Sweden), The Market Theatre (Johannesburg, South Africa), Beijing Opera (China) and Verbier Festival (Verbier, Switzerland). She has been teaching storytelling to teachers and corporate leaders since 1976.

www.patsyrodenburg.co.uk