The Working Actor's Journey Nathan Agin

🏁 This week, the group watched a few different versions of the opening scene and discussed the various takes on performances by Catherine Tate and David Tennant (Wyndham's), Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh (Branagh's film), Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman (Public Theatre), and Dame Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens (Zeffirelli's film). They discussed the significance of food references and the implications of being "too cursed." They explored the Elizabethan context, character dynamics, and the rhythm and meaning of the text, with an emphasis on understanding Beatrice's perspective, her humor, repartee with Benedick, and her stance on marriage and men.
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🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
You can also watch the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube 
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🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud
-DRAMATURG: Cathleen Sheehan
-And the PLAYERS: Juls Hoover, Anu Bhatt, and Shannon Lee Clair
More about this group:
https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/july-2024-acting-the-role-beatrice
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😮 THE SCENES
Our group will be working on various sections from Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing":
-First scene group: Act I, Scene I, lines 30-92 and Act I, Scene I, lines 111-143
-Second scene group: Act II, Scene I, lines 1-81 and Act II, Scene I, lines 123-152
-Third scene group: Act IV, Scene I, lines 269-350
Much Ado scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library:
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/2/1
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/4/1
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📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
-Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
-Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
-William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #beatrice #muchado #shakespeare
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Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
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The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
 
 

🏁 We dive into the first week of work on the character BEATRICE: exploring the dynamics between Beatrice and Benedict; the concept of wit as a form of communication; and addressing themes such as gender roles, societal expectations, and love. You'll see the group analyze key scenes, including the gulling of Beatrice and Benedict, the wedding scene, and the pivotal confrontation where Beatrice demands Claudio's death.
🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
🤗 Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
🙏 Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level and higher: Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
You can also watch the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube 
🎭 CREATIVE TEAM
- DIRECTOR: Erika Rolfsrud
-DRAMATURG: Cathleen Sheehan
-And the PLAYERS: Juls Hoover, Anu Bhatt, and Shannon Lee Clair
More about this group:
https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/july-2024-acting-the-role-beatrice
😮 THE SCENES
Our group will be working on various sections from Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing":
-First scene group: Act I, Scene I, lines 30-92 and Act I, Scene I, lines 111-143
-Second scene group: Act II, Scene I, lines 1-81 and Act II, Scene I, lines 123-152
-Third scene group: Act IV, Scene I, lines 269-350
Much Ado scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library:
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/1/1
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/2/1
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/much-ado-about-nothing/read/4/1
📚 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
One of our dramaturgs, Dr. Gideon Rappaport, has written three books on Shakespeare:
-Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe
-Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK
-William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012
#workingactor #rehearsal #beatrice #muchado #shakespeare
---
Get your copy of "Keys the Pro's Use to Unlock Any Script" - plus two other free guides of acting and career advice!
See additional content on Instagram and YouTube.
---
The WAJ podcast is designed to show you HOW the work is done, WHAT the realities of the working actor life are like, and to share all the different ways actors have come to this career. There is no one path and no single answer. We want to learn from all of those further down the road, to shorten the learning curve and to discover what helps and what doesn’t when it comes to having a lifelong career as an actor.
 
 

In our final week of looking at the scenes of Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the group used "Italian run-thrus" (rapid line delivery) and continued to work on the scenes switching roles. The group discussed the benefits and challenges of role-sharing and switching between the language styles of Shakespeare and Stoppard. During the Q&A, a number of artists mentioned their growth in understanding and portrayal of these characters.
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
You can also watch the full sessions on YouTube: https://workingactorsjourney.com/youtube 
About the Scene
Our group is working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Hamlet - AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova Hamlet scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/2/2/
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/3/2/
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeare-stoppard-rehearsal-room-june-2024
BOOKS
Dr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012 Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #stoppard #hamlet

This week, the actors practiced delivering lines from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" using a technique that involved looking at the camera when speaking and looking at the screen when listening to capture the feeling of direct engagement. Emphasis was placed on understanding the meaning behind the words, which sometimes led to emotional revelations. They worked on specific lines to bring out operative words and discussed the implications of ambition within the text. The exercise aimed to illuminate nuances of the text by slowing down and emphasizing clarity in delivery.
Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Watch the session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MYuYgB7GRFw 
About the Scene
Our group is working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Hamlet - AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova Hamlet scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/2/2/
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/3/2/
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeare-stoppard-rehearsal-room-june-2024
BOOKS
Dr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012 Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #stoppard #hamlet

Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Watch the session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MYuYgB7GRFw 
About the Scene Our group is working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Hamlet - AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova Hamlet scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/2/2/
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/3/2/
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeare-stoppard-rehearsal-room-june-2024
BOOKS
Dr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012 Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
#workingactor #rehearsal #shakespeare #stoppard #hamlet

Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session!
Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon - get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more: https://www.patreon.com/wajpodcast
Watch the session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Lv9Rs26SJRw
About the Scene Our group is working on sections of Act 2, Scene 2 and Act 3, Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Hamlet - AND they will also look at the beginning of Act 2 in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
CREATIVE TEAM
DIRECTOR: Geoffrey Wade DRAMATURG: Gideon Rappaport And the PLAYERS: Marcelo Tubert, Nick Cagle and Dan Cordova Hamlet scenes from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/2/2/
https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/3/2/
More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeare-stoppard-rehearsal-room-june-2024
BOOKS
Dr. Gideon Rappaport has written three books on Shakespeare:
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Edited and Annotated: https://amzn.to/3xdt012 Appreciating Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/3XjY6Pe Shakespeare’s Rhetorical Figures: An Outline: https://amzn.to/3KEzyZK Thank you to our current patrons Joan, Michele, Christion, Jim, Magdalen, Ivar, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
#workingactor #rehearsal