The Working Actor's Journey

BEN WHITEHAIR RETURNS for a great discussion!

I am thrilled to welcome Ben back to the show—we did this Q&A as part of the October virtual workshops.

We chat about the pandemic, social media trends, SAG-AFTRA, and more!

Ben (@benwhitehair, who appeared on ep. 11) is the co-founder of Working.Actor, co-founder of The Social Media Advantage (TSMA), and Chair of the SAG-AFTRA NextGen Performers Committee.

As you'll hear, Ben is BUSY, so I'm deeply grateful he found some time to squeeze this chat between all his other virtual meetings, self-tapes, and work!

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Today we have a great discussion with an often overlooked role in the theatre: the dramaturg!

And if you're wondering exactly what that person does, you're in the right place!

Gideon Rappaport is San Diego's premiere Shakespearean dramaturg and is the author of the forthcoming book A Shakespeare Companion for Students. For the October workshops, he's collaborating with the casts on two scenes, from Troilus and Cressida and King Lear.

Only $5 for each evening!

Tuesday, October 27th @ 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET: Tickets for TROILUS AND CRESSIDA

Wednesday, October 28th @ 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET: Tickets for KING LEAR

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We're doing the virtual Shakespeare workshops again in October! Plus, hear an excerpt from the rehearsals of Richard III!

The future of Shakespeare scene study is here: we're running a 4-week accelerated online workshop with professional actors and directors from theatre, TV, and film!

Join the ONLY Shakespeare Scene Study where professionals and lifelong veterans of the industry are your scene partners! Be an actor in the scenes OR sit in on everything! All through Zoom.

There's early bird pricing now through September 25th and we've added SO MUCH more to this round!

Learn more about the workshops!

Get Anna's self-tape course "What's My Frame?" for 20% off with code WAJ at checkout: workingactorsjourney.com/whatsmyframe

Get a FREE Shakespeare monologue consult with coach Aubrey Saverino—just mention the WAJ podcast: aubreysaverino.com/private-coaching

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What if your scene partner were a professional actor? How might that up your game and what might you learn from someone who has been working for decades?

Now you can make that happen! We're opening up registration on Wednesday, July 22nd at 12 pm Pacific Time for a series of virtual Shakespeare Workshops to happen in August 2020.

Learn more about the workshops!

Our roster of professional actors include guests from the show Robert Pine, Tony Amendola, Anne Gee Byrd, and Peter Van Norden, along with other industry veterans James Newcomb, Elizabeth Dennehy, and Marcelo Tubert.

https://workingactorsjourney.com/virtual-workshops

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You're invited to sit in on a NEW online event happening LIVE on Thursday, June 18th: we're doing an open workshop of Shakespeare's Richard III, bringing together both veteran and rookie actors!

There's limited space, so register for the workshop today: workingactorsjourney.com/virtualworkshop

First up are a couple of scenes from Shakespeare's Richard III with Tony Amendola (Utah Shakespeare, Berkeley Rep) as Richard, Marcelo Tubert as Clarence, and Anne Gee Byrd as Queen Margaret. We'll also be joined by a trio of younger actors (playing Brackenbury, Elizabeth, and the Duchess), along with dramaturg and teacher Gideon Rappaport!

Now two important things to note:

1. The workshop will *NOT* be recorded or replayed—you must be there live!
2. A portion of the proceeds will go to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Get your tickets now! workingactorsjourney.com/virtualworkshop

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Today you'll hear the FULL production from our recent LIVESTREAM reading of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor (more info and watch the show here).

It's an all-star cast of past guests from the podcast, including Harry Groener, Dawn Didawick, Peter Van Norden, Anne Gee Byrd, Tony Amendola and many more!

For this "Merry Wives" episode, you'll hear our introduction to the play, a great section from our dramaturg Gideon Rappaport, and then the full show, including both our intermission and post-show discussions!

• SIR JOHN FALSTAFF (a rogue with no money but many plans) - Peter Van Norden
• MASTER FORD (gentleman of Windsor) - Harry Groener
• MISTRESS FORD (Ford's wife) - Dawn Didawick
• MASTER PAGE (wealthy gentleman) - Tony Amendola
• MISTRESS PAGE (Page's wife) - Anne Gee Byrd
• DR. CAIUS (French physician) / NYM (Falstaff's follower) - Geoffrey Wade
• MISTRESS QUICKLY (Dr. Caius' housekeeper) - Amelia White
• SIR HUGH EVANS (Welsh parson and schoolmaster) - Marcelo Tubert
• FENTON (a young gentleman) - Ross Hellwig
• HOST OF THE GARTER INN (Innkeeper) - Robert Pine
• ROBERT SHALLOW (Justice of the Peace) - Alan Mandell
• ABRAHAM SLENDER (Shallow's rich nephew) / WILLIAM (Page's son) - Rob Crisell
• PISTOL (Falstaff's follower) - Aubrey Saverino
• SIMPLE (Slender's servant) / ROBIN (Falstaff's servant) - Susan Benninghoff
• BARDOLPH (Falstaff's follower) / RUGBY (Caius' servant) /1ST SERVANT (Ford's) / SWING - Kevin Manley
• ANNE (Page's daughter) /2ND SERVANT (Ford's) /SWING - Ashley Engelman

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Things went very well with our first reading, so welcome to the "Much Ado About Something" series, as we all do our part to fight this pandemic and stay entertained at the same time.

Next up is our online reading of William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor with an all-star cast of past guests from this podcast. This is a wonderfully underrated comedy, with lots of great characters!

The broadcast will be May 14th at 3 pm Pacific / 6 pm Eastern, and yes, you can WATCH all of this too.

Head over here to get all the details and to set a reminder for when we go live!

Now once again, we have an incredible cast, all with very deep theatre backgrounds, including 3x Tony Nominee and 3x Ovation winner Harry Groener as Master Ford, Dawn Didawick (Harry's real-life wife) as Mistress Ford, Peter Van Norden as Sir John Falstaff, Tony Amendola as Master Page, and Anne Gee Byrd as Mistress Page, with Geoffrey Wade, Alan Mandell, and Robert Pine returning, and we have new additions to the show with Amelia White and Marcelo Tubert, plus a number of other great actors!

More info: https://workingactorsjourney.com/merrywives/

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Today you'll hear some excerpted scenes from our recent LIVESTREAM reading of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (more info and watch the show here).

It's an all-star cast of past guests from the podcast, including Dakin Matthews, Robert Pine, Geoffrey Wade, Anne Gee Byrd, Alan Mandell and many more!

And if you enjoy this, we're doing another LIVE reading you can WATCH on May 14th at 3 pm PT - our next show is Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor with past guests Harry Groener, Dawn Didawick, Peter Van Norden and lots more!

More info on the upcoming "Merry Wives" show: https://workingactorsjourney.com/merrywives

• LEONATO (governor of Messina): Dakin Matthews
• ANTONIO (Leonato's brother): Alan Mandell
• BEATRICE (Leonato's orphaned niece): Gigi Bermingham
• HERO (Leonato's daughter)/SEXTON (town clerk): Aubrey Saverino
• DON PEDRO (Prince of Aragon): Peter Van Norden
• BENEDICK (a soldier): Geoffrey Wade
• CLAUDIO (a young Count): Ross Hellwig
• DON JOHN (illegitimate brother of Don Pedro): Tony Amendola
• BORACHIO (Don John's follower): Ray Porter
• FRIAR FRANCIS/BALTHASAR (attendant of Don Pedro): Armin Shimerman
• MARGARET (Hero's waiting woman)/CONRADE (Don John's follower): Jeanne Sakata
• DOGBERRY (the Constable): Robert Pine
• URSULA (Hero's waiting woman)/VERGES (Dogberry's partner): Anne Gee Byrd
• MESSENGER/1ST WATCH/SWING - Rob Crisell
• 2ND WATCH/SWING - Susan Benninghoff

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In these times of much ado about SOMETHING, you're invited to an online Shakespeare reading of Much Ado About Nothing with an all-star cast of past podcast guests!

The broadcast will be April 2nd at 3 pm Pacific / 6 pm Eastern, and yes, you can WATCH all of this too.

Head over here to get all the details and to set a reminder for when we go live!

We have an incredible cast, all with very deep theatre backgrounds and many of whom have spent their lives working on Shakespeare—including our past guests Dakin Matthews, Armin Shimerman, Ray Porter, Peter Van Norden, Robert Pine, Alan Mandell, Anne Gee Byrd, Gigi Bermingham, Geoffrey Wade, Tony Amendola, and Jeanne Sakata!

More info: https://workingactorsjourney.com/muchado/

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You'll hear Randall and Annie discuss:

• Some of the most important advice that actors can take from Hamlet's words
• How an actor can use and develop his or her own "discretion"
• How to look at Shakespeare's First Folio, and how to play with it to find all the clues

Plus we chat about why "updated" productions of Shakespeare can make the audience feel distant, and instead, how to make it exciting!

This is such a great session and it was so fun to hear them share how the texts are really like musical scores for actors—showing you how to make sense of these works and perform them! These two are amazing teachers and have so much to share!

Click here for full show notes and links.

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Speake the Speech I pray you, as I pronounc'd it to you trippingly on the Tongue: But if you mouth it, as many of your Players do, I had as liue the Town-Cryer had spoke my Lines: Nor do not saw the Ayre too much your hand thus, but vse all gently; for in the verie Tor- rent, Tempest, and (as I may say) the Whirle-winde of Passion, you must acquire and beget a Temperance that may giue it Smoothnesse. O it offends mee to the Soule, to see a robustious Pery-wig-pated Fellow, teare a Passi- on to tatters, to verie ragges, to split the eares of the Groundlings: who (for the most part) are capeable of nothing, but inexplicable dumbe shewes, & noise: I could haue such a Fellow whipt for o're-doing Termagant: it out- Herod's Herod. Pray you auoid it. Be not too tame neyther: but let your owne Discretion be your Tutor. Sute the Action to the Word, the Word to the Action, with this speciall obseruance: That you ore-stop not the modestie of Nature; for any thing so ouer-done, is frõ the purpose of Playing, whose end both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twer the Mirrour vp to Nature; to shew Vertue her owne Feature, Scorne her owne Image, and the verie Age and Bodie of the Time, his forme and pressure. Now, this ouer-done, or come tardie off, though it make the vnskil- full laugh, cannot but make the Iudicious greeue; The censure of the which One, must in your allowance o're- way a whole Theater of Others. Oh, there bee Players that I haue seene Play, and heard others praise, and that highly (not to speake it prophanely) that neyther hauing the accent of Christians, nor the gate of Christian, Pagan, or Norman, haue so strutted and bellowed, that I haue thought some of Natures Iouerney-men had made men, and not made them well, they imitated Humanity so ab- hominably.