{"id":341,"date":"2008-11-05T21:24:03","date_gmt":"2008-11-06T01:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.memorizeshakespeare.com\/?p=341"},"modified":"2012-02-16T08:50:32","modified_gmt":"2012-02-16T08:50:32","slug":"nervous-about-performing-shakespeare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/playfighting.ca\/combat\/stage-combat-2\/nervous-about-performing-shakespeare\/","title":{"rendered":"Nervous About Performing Shakespeare?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The audience is on your side.<\/p>\n

This is true in all performing arts. No one goes to any type of show hoping to see the performer fail. Every person in every seat in the theatre wants to see a great show. If they came to see a comedy, they are ready and waiting to laugh.<\/p>\n

They are not hoping you’ll fail.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But Shakespeare Is a Special Case<\/h2>\n

In most shows, most of the audience doesn’t know the material. But people who come to see Shakespeare generally know the plot, the best scenes, and their favourite lines by heart.<\/p>\n

Oh no! They’ll be expecting so much more!<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you think they’re hoping you’ll screw up? No! Unlike other audiences, they are more supportive and enthusiastic, which means they’re rooting for you even more.<\/p>\n

Making the Character Your Own<\/h2>\n

And here’s the really important part: a lot of actors think they have to reinvent the famous characters, and unless they do something completely original in every scene, then the audience will be bored.
\n
\n“Ho hum… I used to like Macbeth, but this actor is performing it as if he were a Scottish King who usurped the throne, and I’ve seen that before.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course they’ve seen it before. But they’ve never seen YOU do this part before. Even if you try to copy Ian McKellen’s performance, because you have your own voice and body it will be new.<\/p>\n

So don’t try to force the part to be completely different from every thing that came before. Audiences still watch Shakespeare because they love to see the same brilliant plays over and over again. They’re cheering for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The audience is on your side. This is true in all performing arts. No one goes to any type of show hoping to see the performer fail. Every person in every seat in the theatre wants to see a great show. If they came to see a comedy, they are ready and waiting to laugh. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[20],"class_list":["post-341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stage-combat-2","tag-acting-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t