The Working Actor's Journey

Session released from the Rehearsal Room ARCHIVE - August 2023

🏁 In our first week, some highlights include the participants:

• speaking about their locations, past experiences in theater, and the current state of the industry
• sharing their excitement about working on scenes from the play and discussed the purpose of the project, which is to provide learning opportunities for young professionals
• exploring the character of Angelo and his complicated past, as well as the role of the Provost in revealing Angelo's true nature
• analyzing Isabella's entrance and her high status as she pleads with Angelo.
• discussing an upcoming monologue by Angelo and the importance of exploring different approaches to the material

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🛑 Subscribe to get notified of our next rehearsal session! And click that BELL notification to never miss an update! 🔔

🤗 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!

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🎭 CREATIVE TEAM Measure for Measure Team: DIRECTOR: Stefan Novinski DRAMATURG: Miranda Johnson-Haddad ANGELO: J. Paul Nicholas ISABELLA: Charlotte Northeast PROVOST / LUCIO: Rachel Dilliplane

More about this group: https://workingactorsjourney.com/workshop/shakespeares-measure-for-measure-august-2023

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😮 THE SCENE Our group will be working on Act 2, Scene 2 – Angelo's first meeting with Isabella, where she comes to plead for her brother's life.

Measure for Measure scene from the Folger Shakespeare Library: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/measure-for-measure/read/2/2

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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 #measureformeasure #shakespeare #shakespeare #textwork

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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.

---

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 session, the group:

• discussed the idea of a bookish, nerdy Beatrice and how age can influence the portrayal of the role.
• refined the dynamics of key scenes, considering Beatrice's quick wit and the layers of meaning in her dialogue with Benedick.
• evaluated Beatrice as the fool of the house and contemplated her growth from defensive barb-thrower to a woman discovering love.
• delved into how the rehearsal context and current events can shape a performance.

Plus, what about a web series of Beatrice as a childless cat lady in 2024?! Who's in? 🙋‍♀️😹

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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

---

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.

🏁 This week, the group discussed Beatrice's emotional state, and the play's thematic elements like gender roles, public perception, and the use of wit. They also explored the historical and cultural context of the play, and theorized about its inspiration.

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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

---

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.

🏁 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

-----

🎭 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.

🏁 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

The Rehearsal Room has been our successful workshop series beginning in June 2020 - and now it's time for something different!

For the first time, I'll be releasing the weekly rehearsal sessions on YouTube for ALL to enjoy.

The goal here is to reach more actors, artists, and theatre lovers who would benefit from:

1. a deeper examination of material
2. insight into how the collaborative process brings a show to life

I'd love for you to follow along, so subscribe to our YouTube channel – and then click the bell icon to get notification of when new videos are released!

There's no reason our Rehearsal Room can't be its own weekly "show". I'm inspired by all of the participants who have been willing to come together to do this in a "down and dirty fashion" – a la public access channels! – and time will tell how large and popular this could become – but I have high hopes. 😁

Thank you to our group of artists in June willing to experiment here!

I'm very excited to share our sessions with a much larger audience and thrilled that you're here for the next step.

Oh – and if you'd like early access to the sessions BEFORE they go live on YouTube AND you'd like priority for sending questions in to the artists (ahead of YouTube comments), become a patron here!