Shakespearean verse speaking
Subtitle: text and theatre practice
By: Abigail Rokison
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 250
ISBN-13: 9780521764346
Description: "Using evidence from theatrical hand-books, performance practice and drama training, Abigail Rokison provides a new synthesis of academic and theatrical approaches to the Shakespearean text. Her work combines scholarship with practical exploration in the rehearsal room. In looking at theatrical interaction with early printed and modern edited texts, Rokison investigates the potential impact of editorial principles of lineation and punctuation on theatrical delivery. The book alerts editors to ways in which actors may interpret editorial emendations, and theatre practitioners to diverse authorial, editorial and compositional methods. It contains suggestions for a 'theatrical text' which makes clear the metrical structure of a scene whilst also indicating areas of ambiguous lineation. Providing a fresh perspective on Renaissance actors' parts, the book includes detailed analysis of the structural properties of the verse, in particular short lines, shared lines, end-stopping and enjambment in a range of Shakespearean texts"--Provided by publisher.

"This book is concerned with the analysis of contemporary responses to the Shakespearean text, as evidenced in performance practice and drama training. Through examination of published accounts and interview material from leading actors and directors, it explores current approaches to Shakespearean verse speaking in rehearsal rooms, drama schools and university drama departments. By examining assertions made in the theatrical handbooks against the findings of Renaissance scholarship, I contest some of the claims made by leading theatre practitioners and reiterated by actors and students looking for guidance in speaking Shakespearean verse"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Based on the author's thesis (doctoral--Cambridge University).
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Introduction; title: 1. Current theatrical theories and practice regarding Shakespearean verse-speaking; title: 2. Theatrical engagement with the early printed text or modern edited text and modern editorial principles of lineation; title: 3. Historical evidence : documentary, anecdotal and textual; title: 4. Internal evidence : a study of nine Shakespearean plays; title: 5. The rehearsal room text; title: Conclusion; title: Appendix: Acting text of 2.4 Measure for Measure.