Shakespeare 1

Keith Agius

Shakespeare 1 is a thorough introduction to the mechanics & performance demands of Shakespeare, under the expert tutelage of Bell Shakespeare & film/TV actor, Keith Agius.

Shakespeare is an integral part of any actor’s development , and all actors will have to handle the rigour’s of Shakespeare at some stage. For any performer wanting to enter WAAPA, NIDA and other institutions Shakespeare Monologues are mandatory.

Learn from the best in the industry, and get great pleasure from bringing Shakespeare to life!

This Course is Now Booked Out

The Teacher

Keith graduated from NIDA in 1986. Since then he has worked extensively here and abroad as an actor, director and teacher. Some of his theatre credits include: Hamlet (Q Theatre); Woman In Mind (STC); Noel Coward in Two Keys & A Small Family Business (Marian St); Wogs Out Of Work (Australian tour); The Adman & Heroic Measures (Playbox); Because You Are Mine (Red Shed); A Midsummer Night’s Dream & Hamlet (Theatre UpNorth); Often I Find That I Am Naked (Savage Wit); Alive At Williamstown Pier (Griffin); Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream & Twelfth Night (Night Sky); The Herbal Bed (New Theatre); Homebody/Kabul & Whore (B-Sharp Belvoir St), The Sneeze (Theatre Forward), the 20^th Anniversary production of King Lear and most recently Julius Caesar (Bell Shakespeare). Film/TV credits include A Country Practice, Phoenix 2, Blue Heelers, State Coroner, White Collar Blue, All Saints, Fireflies, The Surgeon, Home & Away and most recently Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo and Crownies.

Keith has taught and also directed numerous student productions at Actors Centre Australia, Sydney Theatre School, Australian Academy of Dramatic Art and Actors Studio Australia.

The Course

The first thing any actor approaching Shakespeare must do is understand ‘what’ is being said. The course will begin with a thorough exploration of meaning through analysis of the text. Each student will have a monologue and a scene to investigate, rehearse and perform. We will cover blank verse and prose and discover the hidden directions Shakespeare has left for us.

You will learn by getting up and doing but also observing others while we workshop the text in performance. Shakespeare is all about language, making the words your own and relishing the muscularity of great storytelling. Suggested reading and/or viewing is ‘Playing Shakespeare’ by John Barton. Students are also encouraged to obtain the Arden Shakespeare edition of each play they will cover (to be confirmed) as well as one of the following for text work: ‘Shakespeare’s Words’ by David & Ben Crystal, ‘Shakespeare Lexicon & Quotation Dictionary’ by Alexander Schmidt or C.T. Onions’ ‘Shakespeare Glossary’.

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