Clues to Acting Shakespeare [Paperback]

Wesley Van Tassel (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1581150539 | ISBN-13: 978-1581150537 | Publication Date: April 15, 2000

An actor-friendly explanation of the skills necessary to act Shakespeare's texts with precision, sensitivity and power. It is written by director and acting teacher, Wesley Van Tassel, and is designed for professional actors in stage and film, theatre students, and anyone who enjoys acting, directing or reading Shakespeare. It seeks to create a bridge from realism to heightened text, enabling actors to conquer the challenges of Shakespeare through mastery of the language. Extensive exercises move beyond traditional "voice work" to teach the specific skills vital to effective delivery. Detailed explanations and easy-to-follow exercises cover the intricacies of breathing, scansion, phrasing, rhythm, antithesis, imagery, text analysis, acting objectives and more. There is a one-day brush-up section providing solutions for working actors' immediate concerns, and expanded skill practice sections for long-term learning.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

If Brine and York's book, with its elegant pedigree, is a race horse, Van Tassel's beautifully conceived and executed text is a Clydesdale, a workhorse of a workbook that is purposefully divided to reach manifold audiences: college students and independent workshops, high school students and teachers, and professional actors and coaches, with a final resource section from which everyone can benefit. Through both the instructional narrative and his bountiful exercises, Van Tassel, a director and acting teacher, explicates the basic Shakespearean tenets of scansion, caesura, phrasing, breathing, textual analysis, imagery, structure and rhythm, and antithesis, and he does it gracefully and appropriately for the diverse readers he intends to reach. This is the kind of helpful instructional aid, both detailed and clear, for which both students and teachers constantly clamor. Both works should be acquired for performing arts collections, but Clues to Acting Shakespeare is a no-brainer purchase for acting collections in all libraries.ABarry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Wesley Van Tassel, a university professor of Shakespeare and theater artistic director, coaches and gives acting workshops from his home base near Seattle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press (April 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581150539
• ISBN-13: 978-1581150537
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,322,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Library Journal" review posted here, August 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Clues to Acting Shakespeare (Paperback)

Here is the "Library Journal" September 1, 2000 review of "Clues to Acting Shakespeare" by Wesley Van Tassel and "A Shakespearean Actor Prepares" by Adrian Brine and Michael York. For centuries, actors have known what the American hoi polloi, through the efforts of Kenneth Branagh, films like "Shakespeare in Love," and eminent critic Harold Bloom's "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human," is now acknowledging: Shakespeare is cool. The venerable dramatic publisher Smith & Kraus, of course, has known this for years and contributes to their fine stable of theatrical thoroughbreds with a fine work from esteemed actor York and European actor, director, and teacher Brine. Geared to actors studying and performing Shakespeare, the instructional and conversational text is also appropriate for nonactor Shakespearean fans. Both Brine and York smoothly blend together their considerable experience and expertise through practical commentaries on language, verse, and soliloquies and an intriguing chapter on Stanislavsky, from whose seminal acting text, "An Actor Prepares," the title is taken. Appendixes include a brief "Who's Who" and a Shakespearean biography, chronology of plays, and reading list. If Brine and York's book, with its elegant pedigree, is a race horse, Van Tassel's beautifully conceived and executed text is a Clydesdale, a workhorse of a workbook that is purposefully divided to reach manifold audiences: College students and independent workshops, high school students and teachers, and professional actors and coaches, with a final resourse section from which everyone can benefit. Through both the instructional narrative and his bountiful exercises, Van Tassel, a director and acting teacher, explicates the basic Shakespearean tenets of scansion, caesura, phrasing, breathing, textual analysis, imagery, structure and rhythm, and antithesis, and he does it gracefully and appropriately for the diverse readers he intends to reach. This is the kind of helpful instructional aid, both detailed and clear, for which both students and teachers constantly clamor. Both works should be acquired for performing arts collections, by "Clues to Acting Shakespeare" is a no-brainer purchase for acting collections in all libraries.-- Barry X. Miller: Austin P.L., Texas

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See Library Journal review., August 27, 2000

By 

Dude Hatten (Gig Harbor, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clues to Acting Shakespeare (Paperback)

The author has placed the September 1 review from Library Journal on the site for all to read. It also includes their review of the Brine/York book on Shakespeare which was published at the same time.

Every English and drama teacher should own this book, plus, of course, any actor interested in Shakespeare.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching Shakespeare in Sec. Schools, October 3, 2000

By 

Beth Madsen (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clues to Acting Shakespeare (Paperback)

This is a wonderful, clear, simple, step by step guide to teach shakespeare in a secondary classroom. The excercises are clear and easy to implement and the students can see growth right away! Great resource for teachers!!!