Text in Action: A Definitive Guide to Exploring Text in Rehearsal for Actors and Directors

Following on from the widely acclaimed The Actor and the Text, Cicely Berry draws on her group work to emphasise how actors and directors can use the rehearsal process to heighten their collective awareness of language.
Our first acquaintance with a play is from reading it, either alone or as part of a group. During this process we concentrate on making sense of it, which can prevent us from listening to what the sound and texture of the language are telling us. The world of a play is created by its language; the imagery, rhythm and speech structures all contribute to its representation of reality.
Focusing primarily on Shakespeare, but with techniques that can be applied to modern texts too, Text in Action sets out language work that can be done by the whole group to uncover different layers of meaning within the text. It opens up new interpretations and possible reactions.

Cicely Berry, Voice Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, is world famous for her voice teaching.