Shakespeare Workshop
Shakespeare Workshop 2014
Of Blank Verses and Shakespearean Insults
It is not often opportunity comes knocking, but on Monday 30 June 2014, when members of the KL Shakespearean Players brought Shakespeare’s Plays to life in front of the eyes of Year 10 IGCSE Drama and A-Level English Literature students, they were quick to answer the door.
The interactive workshop, led by veteran actors, Mr Lim Soon Heng and Mr Lim Kien Lee, proved to be as informative as it was entertaining. Using the play Othello as the epicentre of discussion, the students were taught the essentials of delivering rhythmic, emotion-fuelled verses, proper breathing and maintaining body language. The professional actors who recently performed Hamlet at Penang PAC shared invaluable tips regarding stage-acting, emphasising on voice projection as well as expressiveness and had a very receptive ear towards questions posed by curious minds. At one point, students were trained to hurl insults by Shakespeare with them learning how to empower their voices to maximum effect.
To admit that the experience was constructive and eye-opening is not an overstatement, as both students and teachers were provided insights into the technicalities of acting, for example differentiating between a person’s private and public voice and employing varying tones throughout a performance. Such elements were incorporated into the workshop’s activities to make them relevant to the students’studies. Drama students benefitted by learning how to act convincingly while English Literature students employed the use of technics such as “Iambic pentameter”to aid in their analysis of Shakespeare’s text.
By the end of the 7-hour workshop, the students were physically spent, but mentally enriched. Whether they have emerged a better actor or literature student, the students took home with them feelings of accomplishment and a newfound zest for their subjects. It was an experience like no other, and it was no surprise that the workshop ended with the most unsurprising question: “Can we have another session please?”Well, to the members of the KL Shakespearean Players, we hope to see you soon.
By Stephanie Chng Zhi Wei, 12T
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