The Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions

Wednesday

Breaking Down the Bard - Lady Capulet

One of the things I love about Shakespeare is that he gave us such unique and individual characters in his plays. Some of them are so fleshed out that they seem to be real people; with histories, favorite things, enemies, habits, and speech patterns that make them who they are. Shakespeare doesn't always spell everything out for us, the way we might see in a modern play's character list. Instead, we have to mine the text for clues as to who these characters really are, so that when we present them onstage, we are showing them as multi-faceted, relatable, human beings. Today, I want to take a look at a character that I feel is performed a lot (although not yet by me), that many people don't give a lot of attention to, but who I still find wildly fascinating: Lady Capulet from Romeo & Juliet.




I feel like Lady C is overlooked, and I want to shine a little light on her, because this chick is so interesting! First of all, she's in ten scenes in the play (a few she just kind of makes an appearance and isn't the focus), but only speaks 114 lines of verse, which is not a lot. The Nurse speaks about twice as much, and even Benvolio and Mercutio each speak more than Lady Capulet - and Mercutio dies halfway through the play! She's a major presence, but we don't hear all that much from her, so we need to follow the clues to understand her as much as we can as a character, then use our own imaginations as actors to fill in the blanks. Shakespeare gave us more info than you might expect, though, so let's play text detectives and see what we can learn about this Real Housewife of Verona!

Lady Capulet is YOUNG. I would say she's probably about 26
How did I come up with that number? We hear from the Nurse in Act I, scene 3 that Juliet is 13, about two weeks away from turning 14. Then Lady Capulet chimes in:

I was your mother much upon these years
That you are now a maid.

Time for some basic math, right? If Juliet is 13, and Lady Capulet was around that same age when Juliet was born, that would make her right around 26. Her husband is significantly older, although we can't be sure of his age. In Act I, scene 1, when he wants to grab a sword and start fighting, Lady Capulet says:

A crutch! A crutch! Why call you for a sword?

And when Lord Capulet and his cousin, Old Capulet, are enjoying the party in Act I, scene 5, they're bickering over whether it was 25 or 30 years since they were in the "dancing days" of their youth. Bringing up Capulet's age so closely to when we discover Lady Capulet's age only highlights how young she is, and the age gap between them. 


Lady Capulet might be barren because she had Juliet when she was so young. This exchange in Act I, scene 2 makes me wonder if Capulet is speaking of his wife's experience:

Paris
Younger than she are happy mothers made.

Capulet
And too soon marr'd are those so early made.
The earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she...

Whoa whoa whoa... Hold the phone! This looks like a MAJOR piece of information! It seems like Capulet doesn't want Juliet to suffer the same fate as her mom, which we can pretty clearly interpret here as having a baby very young, and not being able to have any more healthy kids. "The earth hath swallowed all my hopes" might be a metaphor, but he might be talking about miscarriages or children that died in infancy. That's absolutely tragic for the Capulets. Lord Capulet makes it extra clear that Juliet is their only child later, in Act III, scene 5, in a heated moment:

Wife, we scarce thought us blest
That God had lent us but this only child...

So Lord and Lady Capulet wanted more kids, but couldn't have any. Maybe that's why Lady Capulet really loved Tybalt (or she's putting on a big show for some reason). Lady Capulet is outspoken about her affection for her nephew, Tybalt. She immediately seeks revenge after his death in Act III, scene 1:

I beg for justice, which thou, Prince, must give:
Romeo slew Tybalt, Romeo must not live.

It's unclear if Tybalt was the son of Lord Capulet's brother or Lady Capulet's brother, as they both separately call him "my brother's son" after his passing (Lady Capulet in Act III, scene 1 and Lord Capulet in Act III, scene 5). It's common for Shakespeare's characters to leave out any "in law" clarification, so it's unlikely that Lord and Lady Capulet are brother and sister as well as husband and wife - but if someone stages that production, I want a ticket.

And in Act III, scene 2, the Nurse tells Juliet her parents are "Weeping and wailing over Tybalt's corse."

However, only hours later, in the early morning of the next day in Act III, scene 5, Lady Capulet tells Juliet not to cry for Tybalt any more:

Evermore weeping for your cousin's death?
What, wilt thou wash him from his grave with tears?
And if thou couldst, thou couldst not make him live;
Therefore have done. Some grief shows much of love,
But much of grief shows still some want of wit.

Well, she got over that quickly! Maybe she's putting on a brave face, knowing she's about to break the news of Juliet's arranged marriage to Paris, or maybe her wailing over Tybalt was an act, or perhaps she is just out of tears to cry. 

Lady Capulet may seem passive in some scenes, letting her husband lead the charge when Juliet objects to marrying Paris in Act III, scene 5:

Here comes your father, tell him so yourself;
And see how he will take it at your hands.

But she seems to at least think of herself as a woman of action, devising a plan to poison Romeo in Mantua, where he is banished, earlier in the same scene. How serious she is about that is entirely dependent upon the production and the actor cast as Lady Capulet, but maybe she has ties to dangerous people in Mantua... Or maybe she's all talk.

When Lord Capulet starts hurling insults at Juliet and things are getting heated in Act III, scene 5, she tries to diffuse the situation:

Fie, fie, what, are you mad?

But ultimately sides with her husband on the matter in that scene, and shuts Juliet down like this:

Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word.
Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.

So, my big question here is whose side is she on? Does she really think Juliet is being unreasonable, or that her husband is being abusive, or is it something more nuanced? Does she want to be the peacemaker, or does she just want to go back to crying over Tybalt's death?

When Juliet asks for forgiveness, Lady Capulet doesn't say anything, and lets her husband do the talking. Instead, her next five lines (over three scenes) are entirely about wedding planning. Granted, this already rushed event got moved up a few days, so Lady Capulet has a lot to do, but it makes me wonder if she was ever really angry at Juliet, or if she forgives quickly, or is covering up her feelings by keeping busy.

And then, in Act IV, scene 5, when Juliet's sleeping potion has convinced everyone that she is dead, Lady Capulet grieves in the way you might expect from a woman who has lost her only child:

But one, poor one, one poor and loving child,
But one thing to rejoice and solace in,
And cruel Death hath catch'd it from my sight!

You may have noticed that most of what I've dissected hasn't shown a "right" or "wrong" way to play Lady Capulet - I've just uncovered some of the options that are available when tackling such a rich and interesting character! Shakespeare gives us so much juicy material to work with, and it's our job as actors to find what works for our interpretation in each individual production to really bring these characters to life!


Wanna step up your Shakespeare game?
Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first session,
and become the Shakespearean actor you've always wanted to be!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!

Monday

New Year's Resolutions

I'm not the kind of person that gets obsessed with New Year's Eve. Of course, I love a chance to put on my heels and party with my -- wait -- no, actually, I just want to sit on my couch and eat chips in my Batman footie pajamas. The one thing that I really like about New Year's is that it's a time when we, as a society, are encouraged to think about how we can improve ourselves or our lives in some way, and that we make plans to take active steps to achieve the goals we set. I'm all about that!



Whether you decide to go after your goals/resolutions on January 1st or August 14th, it doesn't matter. I'm a firm believer that every minute of every day can be your chance to start becoming the person you want to be. I recently looked back at all the new skills I have acquired over the last year, and I was floored by how much knowledge I've gained and how much I've grown! I've been training in stage combat, worked to correct a speech impediment, taught myself several computer software programs, and kept up with this blog - along with dozens of other accomplishments I'm crazy proud of. When I succeed at a goal, it makes me want to push myself even harder to learn and grow and do whatever I set my mind to!

I want to make 2016 my best year yet, so I've made some BIG goals for myself, along with a plan for how I'm going to achieve them. The most important thing for me is that I TELL SOMEONE what I want to accomplish: once I've said the words out loud, it's as if I've breathed life into my dream and it magically transforms into a goal. Then it's real, and there's someone who's waiting to see whether or not I follow through and do it, which makes accomplishing the task more possible.

There was a moment a few months ago when I was talking to a friend of a friend at a party, and I was introduced as "the Shakespeare coach". The lady I had just met said, "Wow. Shakespeare's so hard. I could never do that." I said, "Why not? It's a learnable skill." And that's true about so many things. Yo-Yo Ma didn't wake up one day knowing how to play the cello, and Misty Copeland wasn't born wearing pointe shoes! If you want to learn a new skill, make 2016 your year - especially if you're a performer! Turn your dream into a goal by making a plan for how to accomplish it within a reasonable time frame, then tell a friend (or an enemy, or everyone on Twitter) and put in the work. When your hard work pays off, you'll truly have a Happy New Year!

Wanna step up your Shakespeare game in 2016?
Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first session!
Audition season starts next week, so #getyourSHAKEStogether now!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!

Wednesday

This Is A Song I Wrote For You

I'm taking a break from Breaking Down the Bard to wish you all a Merry Christmas!
My Wednesday posts full of tips and tricks for understanding and performing Shakespeare will resume next week!

This Shakespeare quote is from Henry IV Part 2!
Four years ago, I wanted to make something special for my family for the holidays. I live in New York City, and most of my family is in Seattle, so we don't get to see each other as much as we would like. I had a little tune stuck in my head, so I got to work right after Thanksgiving and created this song to share with my loved ones. That's the wonderful thing about creating art for yourself and others: I got to put my creative energies to work, be a little silly, and work outside of my comfort zone by filming myself singing and playing the only three chords I know on the ukulele; but my family got to have something that was made especially for them, that they could watch as many times as they wanted. Bonus: it cost me nothing to make, and it's still something my loved ones enjoy!

I may have written this song for my family, but I'd like to extend this to my readers as well. Have a Merry Christmas, everyone, and do something with your talents that lets people in your life know that they're special and loved by you!


This Song's All About Christmas
Written and Performed by Emily Philio

 We celebrate each year on December 25th
By gathering up our loved ones and exchanging some gifts
So I'm sending my love from Atlantic to Pacif'
With this song I wrote for you

This is a song I wrote for you (3x)
And this song's all about Christmas
I hope that you like Christmas

It's all about the birth of a special kid
Who changed the world with the things that he did
He fought evil when others would've run and hid
I'm not talking about Harry Potter
(Harry Potter was born in July)

A fat man in red commits some B & E
There'll be coal for you and presents for me
It's the special time of year we get to murder a tree
In the name of holiday cheer

A word of caution for you all, my dears,
The fruitcake's been re-gifted for the last six years
Dancing under mistletoe won't make you Britney Spears
You probably just had too much eggnog
(Kids, eggnog gets better when you're older)

This time of year, the world is filled with joy
As we wish for peace for future girls and boys
It's not figgy pudding, tinsel, or new toys
It's about the gift of love

Have a Merry Christmas!

 Wanna step up your Shakespeare game in time for Audition Season? 
Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first lesson!
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Monday

Shakespeare Quotes

If you've been on Instagram, Pinterest, or the Internet in general, you've probably seen those lovely images with a quote on them being shared for inspiration or for laughs. I see these all the time (heck, I MAKE at least one every day), and I am FLOORED by how frequently people will share a quote attributed to Shakespeare that is, in fact, not his work at all! The following three examples are some of the top offenders that I see on Instagram on a daily basis.

Example #1

This is one that I almost can't believe people could mistake for Shakespeare. The list of "advice" doesn't have a logical progression, and if any character in Shakespeare's plays would have said something like this, it would probably be for comic effect. It's something that sounds like solid advice on the surface, but is cliche and/or nonsensical when you start to consider the meaning. If you truly didn't expect anything from anyone, you wouldn't expect to get paid by your boss, or for your waiter to bring you the item you ordered. It's nonsense, and Shakespeare didn't write it! He DID, however, write a speech of only-marginally-helpful advice in Hamlet, when Polonius is talking to Laertes:

This speech is also quoted often, but Shakespeare actually wrote it! The language is so much richer than the "You know why?" that we see in the imposter. And we can imagine how a young man like Laertes might be rolling his eyes while his father drones on and on about not taking out loans, wearing the right clothes, not starting fights but finishing them, and nurturing true friendships. SO much better than "before you hurt, feel"!

Example #2

While it seems fairly obvious that umbrellas have been around for thousands of years (and well before Shakespeare's time), the word "umbrella" doesn't appear in any of his writing. The phrase "you find a shadow spot" seems odd to me; why not a "shady spot" or even a "shadowed spot"? The phrase is awkward. Instead, how about quoting Sonnet 93?



This sonnet captures the idea that this person will always look sweet and loving, but it's impossible to tell whether their love is true or not! Their appearance doesn't show what they're thinking or feeling, and it worries the writer that they won't ever be entirely sure what's going on. It would suck to be in love with someone who leads you on all the time, and Shakespeare nails it in Sonnet 93.

Example #3


I'll admit that this is a sweet sentiment. I'm a sucker for "love at first sight" stories, too. But Shakespeare simply did not write this. He did, however, write this:



Rosalind says that in As You Like It. There's also this:




Ferdinand says that in The Tempest. Why bother making up fake Shakespeare quotes (or sharing them) when there are so many fantastic real Shakespeare quotes to choose from? I post a Shakespeare quote image every day on my Facebook page - follow me to be sure to start your day with the best of the Bard!

Bonus:




Did you think that was Shakespeare? It is, and it isn't. Marlowe wrote this line in Hero and Leander, and Shakespeare was actually quoting Marlowe when Phebe says the line in As You Like It! Hero and Leander came out a year before As You Like It.
 
Wanna step up your Shakespeare game?
Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first lesson!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions! 




Wednesday

Breaking Down the Bard - WTF is a Soliloquy?

The soliloquy. It's a crazy word that theatre peeps (and others not in the biz) throw around, knowing full well that it's going to go over the heads of some people, and then they, the person saying "soliloquy", will hopefully sound really, really smart for using this high-earning Scrabble word. I'm going to demystify this term, by letting you know what it means and some ways you can do it effectively onstage!


A soliloquy (pronounced suh-LIL-uh-kwee), is the sibling of the monologue. A monologue, in theatre, is generally defined as a prolonged speech by one character to another in a scene. A soliloquy is when one character is speaking while or as if they are alone. Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" speech is a monologue, because he is speaking to Seyton. However, Viola's "I left no ring with her. What means this lady?" in Twelfth Night is a soliloquy because Malvolio has made his exit and Viola is left onstage to discover that Olivia is mistakenly in love with her. In a soliloquy, the character might reveal more private thoughts than they would in the presence of others; I would argue that characters in Shakespeare do not lie to the audience, though they may lie to each other. If a character is alone onstage, they are speaking truthfully.

Shakespeare gives many of his characters these private moments to discuss their thoughts, and there are generally two different methods of attack when deciding how to stage these tricky speeches:

1. The actor is talking to him/herself, and is unaware of the audience.

The "fourth wall" is a concept that most theatregoers are familiar with, whether they know it or not. The actors on the stage are in their own little world of make-believe, and we watch them. They talk to the other actors onstage, but pretend we, the audience, don't exist - even when we laugh at their jokes or a cell phones rings from the 7th row during a climactic moment. That being said, this first performance option has gained popularity in the last 100 years or so, as audiences grow to expect the action onstage to be removed from the reality that there is, in fact, an audience in the same room as the actors. If the actor is talking to him or herself, they are usually trying to sort out a plan, or what to do next, which can be effective for certain speeches (Hamlet's "To be or not to be" is an obvious example).

2. The actor is speaking directly to one or more members of the audience.

In this scenario, which is considered to be more appropriate to the environment of Shakespeare's plays when they were written and originally performed, the actor delivering the soliloquy speaks to the audience. The audience is acknowledged as being "in on" the action of the play; they see everything, and therefore are often privy to insider info. When Richard III shares his plan to undo his brother, George, and to marry the newly-widowed Anne at the end of Act I, Scene 1, and then gloats to us in another soliloquy at the end of the next scene ("Was ever woman in this humor woo'd? Was ever woman in this humor won? I'll have her, but I will not keep her long."), we are made co-conspirators to his wicked plans - and it's a lot of fun to root for the bad guy! And when Prince Hal tells us of his plan to redeem himself from his wild ways at the end of Act I, Scene 2 in Henry IV Part 1, we are given an intimate view of the prodigal prince that he doesn't show to Falstaff or his father, the king!

There are other ways to tackle the soliloquy that can be surprising:

In 1988, Sir Derek Jacobi directed a production of Hamlet and had Kenneth Branagh deliver "To be or not to be" directly to Sophie Thompson, who played Ophelia, bringing her onstage before her traditional entrance at the end of the speech. Turning the soliloquy into a scene between Hamlet and Ophelia was an inventive way to stage this insanely famous speech.

Turning a soliloquy into a voice-over can also be an effective storytelling tool, particularly in film. We can get the idea that we are inside the character's mind while they continue about their business onstage (or onscreen) and their voice relays their inmost thoughts.

So, how do you know the best way to handle your soliloquy? My best advice is to try it out in rehearsal every way you can think of!

Benedick's "This can be no trick" in Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, Scene 3 could be to himself, or to the audience, who has just witnessed the ridiculous plot laid by his friends to convince Benedick of his love for Beatrice. If the show is being played as a particularly broad comedy, it might be better to involve the audience in this conversation - but it depends entirely on the production!

On the other hand, when the novice nun Isabella weighs her choices about how to proceed when she is propositioned by Angelo to save her condemned brother's life in Act II, Scene 4 of Measure for Measure, it might not serve her so well to ask the audience "Did I tell this, who would believe me?" because we would believe her - we were there! Again, this is something to test in rehearsal to see what works best for that individual production, taking into account the pros and cons of talking to oneself or to the audience!

Wanna step up your Shakespeare game?

Monday

The 10 Most Gruesome Deaths in Shakespeare

Stabbed. Poisoned. Drowned. Hanged. Beheaded.

There are some gory ways to die in Shakespeare's plays. Even George R. R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones and the rest of the A Song of Ice and Fire series admits that Shakespeare's kill-count exceeds the bloody world of Westeros, and I would have to agree with him! Here are some of the Bard's most cringe-worthy deaths:



10 - George, Duke of Clarence (Richard III)
Drowned in Wine

"You shall have wine enough, my lord, anon."
- 2nd Murderer

George seemed like an obstacle to his brother Richard in his plans for becoming the King of England. After convincing their elder brother, King Edward IV, that George was a threat, Richard had two murderers visit George's cell in the Tower of London. The murderers stab George and finish the job by drowning him in the "malmsey-butt" (approximately 252 gallons of wine) in the next room.

9 - Joan la Pucelle (Henry VI Part 1)
Burned at the Stake

"Break thou in pieces and consume to ashes,
Thou foul accursed minister of hell!"
- York

Shakespeare's Joan of Arc was hardly a saint. She is a skilled but cocky warrior who claims to be aided by the Virgin Mary but is actually assisted by demons. She insists she was nobly born, calling her Shepherd father a liar to his face. When she is sentenced to burn, she tries to save herself by switching her story: the virgin is now pregnant, and the question of who the father is turns into a scene to rival an episode of Maury Povich. 

8 - Arcite (The Two Noble Kinsmen)
Crushed by his Horse

"Backward the jade comes o'er, and his full poise
Becomes the rider's load."
- Pirithous

Arcite and his cousin Palamon both love the noble Emilia (who can't choose between them), and since they are both technically prisoners of war, an agreement is made that they will have a fight. The winner lives and weds Emilia, and the loser will die. Arcite's victory over Palamon is short-lived, as his horse crushes him during his celebratory parade. Palamon is allowed to live and wed Emilia, since this seems to be the Gods' will.

7 - Desdemona (Othello)
Smothered 

"Kill me tomorrow, let me live tonight!"
- Desdemona

Othello mistakenly believes that his lovely and loyal wife, Desdemona has been cheating on him with his subordinate, Michael Cassio. Iago, the criminal mastermind, works Othello up to a murderous rage using nothing but a handkerchief and manipulation. The jealousy that consumes Othello leads him to smother Desdemona in their bed (though the text never mentions a pillow). With her dying words, she claims Othello was blameless in her murder. When Othello realizes he's been tricked, he stabs himself and dies.

6 - Julius Caesar and Coriolanus, respectively
Stabbed by Conspirators

"Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods..."
- Brutus


"Cut me to pieces, Volsces, men and lads,
Stain all your edges on me."
- Coriolanus


Since their deaths are remarkably similar, I've decided that this one's a tie!

In Julius Caesar, despite warnings from a soothsayer and his wife, Calpurnia, Caesar goes to the Capitol and is stabbed repeatedly by Brutus, Cassius, Casca, and the other conspirators who fear he has grown too powerful.

A decorated war hero and elected official, Coriolanus loses favor in Rome due to his arrogance, hot temper, and inability to flatter. Upon being banished, Coriolanus joins with his former enemy, Aufidius and the Volsces, seeking revenge on Rome and its people. Coriolanus decides to spare Rome instead of sacking it when he has the chance, and the envious Aufidius labels him a traitor and convinces the Volsces to join him in stabbing Coriolanus to death.

5 - Portia (Julius Caesar)
Swallowed Fire

"With this she fell distract,
And (her attendants absent) swallow'd fire."
- Brutus

Portia is probably at least a little unstable to begin with. In Act II, Scene 1, she shows her husband, Brutus, that she has voluntarily given herself a wound on her thigh to show how tough she is so that he'll share his secrets with her. After killing Julius Caesar and inciting a civil war, Brutus hasn't been home in a long time, and his absence, coupled with the news of the strength of his allies, pushes Portia over the edge.

4 - Cloten (Cymbeline)
Beheaded

"With his own sword,
Which he did wave against my throat, I have ta'en
His head from him."
- Guiderius

The term "asshat" was invented for people like Cloten (though not by Shakespeare). This stupid, stinky, spoiled brat can't understand why his stepsister Imogen, who is already married, wouldn't want to marry him. He threatens to kill Imogen's husband and rape her... the dude has it coming. When he picks a fight with Guiderius, his head is separated from his body pretty quickly. He certainly isn't the only Shakespearean character to be beheaded - far from it - but it's a memorable exit for such a loathsome character.

3 - Aaron the Moor (Titus Andronicus)
Buried Alive 

"Set him breast-deep in the earth and famish him,
There let him stand and rave and cry for food.
If any one relieves or pities him,
For the offense he dies."
- Lucius

Aaron the Moor is a wholly unrepentant criminal mastermind. He works with his lover, Tamora, to pick off members of Titus Andronicus' family one by one. This play is Shakespeare's most bloody, with murders, rape, mutilation, and people being baked into pies and fed to their mother at a dinner party. While most of the characters die by a blade, Aaron's anticipated slow death is unique.

2 - Antigonus (The Winter's Tale)
Eaten by a Bear

"I'll go see if the bear be gone from the gentleman and how much he hath eaten."
- Clown 

Antigonus got the unenviable job of taking the king's infant daughter to a deserted place and abandoning her to the elements. Of course, he doesn't want to leave a baby alone to die in a storm, but the other option was throwing her in the fire. He lays down the baby, and then is chased offstage with Shakespeare's most famous stage direction: Exit, pursued by a bear. In case we weren't sure of poor Antigonus' fate, the clown sees the bear enjoying his dinner, and comes in to tell his father (who found the baby) all about it.

1 - Cinna the Poet (Julius Caesar)
Torn Apart by an Angry Mob

"Tear him to pieces, he's a conspirator."
- 1st Plebeian 

Unfortunately, there were two men named Cinna in Rome. Cinna the Poet is questioned by a group of Roman citizens, and when they find out his name is Cinna, they tear him limb from limb. The misguided Plebeians think he is the same Cinna that helped to murder Julius Caesar, and the innocent poet meets a grisly end.

Did any of these deaths surprise you?
Who do you think should have made the list?
Let me know in the comments! 

Wanna step up your Shakespeare game?
Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule a private coaching session!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!


Wednesday

Breaking Down the Bard - Trochees

Now that you know what verse is, and what perfect iambic pentameter is (and if you don't, feel free to read my previous Breaking Down the Bard posts to catch up), we've been tackling what happens when the verse has variations that break the pattern of perfect iambic pentameter.

Say this line of verse, and try to make it perfectly iambic:

Beauty is bought with judgement of the eye
beau-TY is BOUGHT with JUDGE-meant OF the EYE

Sounds flippin' weird, right? It sounds strange because nobody says "beauty" like "beau-TY"... and if they did, you would probably laugh at them. 

The word "beauty" is spoken with the emphasis on the first syllable: "BEAU-ty". It breaks the mould of the style of verse that is prevalent in this play (Love's Labour's Lost), and grabs our attention; which is great for the actor playing the Princess, because she is sort of schooling Boyet with this line. It sounds better when it's spoken like this:

BEAU-ty is BOUGHT with JUDGE-ment OF the EYE

Wow. Like a normal human is talking.

As you probably guessed from the title of this post, this type of metric foot is called a trochee. A trochee is the opposite of an iamb; a trochee is a stressed syllable, followed by an unstressed syllable, and an iamb is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. 

Side note: it's pronounced "TROH-key". And yes, the word trochee IS A TROCHEE. Boom. But when you say "iamb", that's a trochee, too, so don't get too excited... you didn't just crack the verse code.

Just like iambs, trochees can be a word all on their own, or they can overlap two words, or be part of a larger word with more syllables. Some words that are trochaic all by themselves are: rainbow, bowling, baseball, country, delta, never, and zero.

Often, trochees will appear at the beginning of a line of Shakespeare's verse, where there has been primarily iambic pentameter. It gets the listener's attention:
Cousin, thou wast not wont to be so dull.
Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead,
And I would have it suddenly perform'd.
COU-sin, thou WAST not WONT to BE so DULL.
shall I be PLAIN? i WISH the BAS-tards DEAD,
and I would HAVE it SUD-den-LY per-FORM'D.

There might be a trochee on a line with a feminine ending, and/or at the beginning of a line after a feminine ending:
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres till they return. 

TWO of the FAIR-est STARS in ALL the HEAV-en*
HAV-ing some BUS-'ness, DO en-TREAT her EYES
to TWIN-kle IN their SPHERES till THEY re-TURN

*As per usual, I will remind you that there are many ways to scan a line of verse. For this particular example, I have chosen to trochee the first foot, and pronounce "heaven" with two syllables to demonstrate the feminine ending. You certainly could keep the line in perfect iambic pentameter (by eliding "heaven" to "heav'n"), or any number of other options!

It doesn't have to be at the beginning of a line of verse:
O, what authority and show of truth
Can cunning sin cover itself withal!
o, WHAT au-THOR-i-TY and SHOW of TRUTH
can CUN-ning SIN COV-er it-SELF with-AL!

And when something magical is happening, Shakespeare might decide to use a trochaic style of verse INSTEAD OF iambic pentameter:
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

DOU-ble, DOU-ble, TOIL and TROU-ble;
FI-re BURN and CAUL-dron BUB-ble.

Or

Shall we their fond pageant see?
Lord, what fools these mortals be!

SHALL we THEIR fond PAG-eant SEE?
LORD, what FOOLS these MOR-tals BE!

Trochees are awesome, because they shake things up and keep the audience listening! It sends a new energy and says, "listen up!" at just the right moment, so be on the lookout for this exciting kind of verse!

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Monday

My First Broadway Audition

I was 19, and auditioning all the time. This is back when I was attempting to get my "big break" (whatever that is) in the musical theatre scene. I had arrived ridiculously early at the Actors Equity building, and had been waiting all morning with hopes that whatever I was auditioning for would have time to see me. After a few hours on the wooden benches, the monitor came to us to let us know that there would not be time for us to be seen, BUT, the audition for the upcoming Broadway production of Wonderful Town was wide open.

The audition for Wonderful Town was being held at Chelsea Studios, which is 20 blocks (about a mile) from Equity. It was a beautiful day, and I figured I could walk over, which would be faster than the train due to construction. I wanted to be quick, in case word got out that the audition was empty and every actor in New York decided to head that way, too. I didn't even change my shoes, in order to save time.

I walk/jogged to Chelsea, signed in, and was seen right away. As I walked to the piano, the Casting Director was staring at my shoes, which were these tan platform things that were new, clunky, and didn't really match my dress. As I sang, the Casting Director kept looking at my feet, and I was beating myself up about wearing the "wrong" shoes. I don't remember how well I sang or acted or anything... Both the CD and I were clearly thinking about my unfashionable footwear.
Puzzled, I gathered my stuff and got as far as the bathroom when I saw it: thick, crimson, blood was all over the side of my tan wedge shoe, and still continuing to pour out of my left foot, right where the strap and buckle were digging into my flesh. I hope I wasn't making puddles on the floor of the studio as I auditioned. In my excitement to audition for Broadway, the adrenaline pumping through my body, and my knowledge that sometimes shoes need to be broken in, I didn't even feel the tear in my skin that was upstaging me during my audition! I was horrified, but I shrugged it off as a memorable first audition for Broadway; comforted by the thought that my future auditions for the "Great White Way" would probably be less gory.

Do YOU have a crazy/memorable/embarrassing/hilarious audition story?

Wednesday

Breaking Down the Bard - "-ed" Endings

Have you ever wondered how classical actors know when to say "bless'd" or "bless-ed", "murder'd" or "murder-ed", "remember'd" or "remember-ed"? The truth is, a lot of them don't if it isn't already marked in their script for them, which it often isn't. Not to worry, though, I'm going to take the guesswork out of the "-ed ending" for you!



First things first: you need to know whether you're speaking in verse or prose. (Not sure? Here's how to tell the difference.)

If you're speaking in prose, you will usually pronounce the word however it's most commonly pronounced, most likely without the extra accented syllable. The main reason you might decide to emphasize the -ed would be for the sake of comedy; if a character is mocking another character, or attempting to sound more educated than they are, or is seeking to impress someone in vain, this might be a particularly fun character choice! I love hearing Benedick say "marri-ed" (as though it's a difficult word for him to say, or a foreign concept), or Bottom say "Pyramus is not kill-ed indeed" (because he is imagining speaking to the Duke at a very formal affair, and attempting to convince the other mechanicals to write a prologue for the play).

When speaking in verse, there are two things you need to consider:
1. How does this syllable change the rhythm of the line?
2. Is this word part of a rhyme?

Lord Capulet is a prime example:
Dead art thou! Alack, my child is dead,
And with my child, my joys are buried.

That second line can be perfect iambic pentameter, which I prefer here. It will scan like this:
and WITH my CHILD, my JOYS are BU-ri-ED.

See that? We need to stress the -ed in "buried", making it three syllables in order to fit the structure of iambic pentameter... otherwise, it's a syllable short. Also, when we make "buried" three syllables, it suddenly rhymes with the line before it, giving it additional weight and finality.

By contrast, Antipholus of Syracuse has this to say:
Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?
Sleeping or waking, mad or well-advised?
Known unto these, and to myself disguised?

One could choose to say "WELL-ad-VIS-ed" and "my-SELF dis-GUIS-ed", therefore keeping the rhyme scheme and choosing a feminine ending for each line, but by keeping the lines perfect iambic pentameter, with "WELL-ad-VISED" and "my-SELF dis-GUISED", we still keep the rhyme, and keep the meter flowing.

KEEP IN MIND: Some editors will write "well-advis'd" and "myself disguis'd". While this can certainly be useful, it may just be one person's opinion, and it may not necessarily be the option that is best for the production you are doing. Compare different editions of the script, and see what works best for you!

Now, let's look at Bolingbroke in Richard II:
You have misled a prince, a royal king,
A happy gentleman in blood and lineaments,
By you unhappied and disfigured clean;

This part of the speech can easily be entirely in perfect iambic pentameter. Check it out:
you HAVE mis-LED a PRINCE, a ROY-al KING,
a HAP-py GEN-tle-MAN in BLOOD and LIN-ea-MENTS*,
by YOU un-HAP-pied AND dis-FIG-ured CLEAN;

*lineaments here might be pronounced "lin-ya-ments" or "lin-a-ments", depending on preference, in order to keep the meter. 

Notice how in the third line here, "unhappied" and "disfigured" are each three syllables in order to maintain the verse structure. It rolls off the tongue quite easily and keeps the pace clipping along.

One more example, from Julius Caesar:
That I was constant Cimber should be banished,
And constant do remain to keep him so.

We have two clear options, but neither of them are perfect iambic pentameter:
that I was CON-stant CIM-ber SHOULD be BAN-ished
and CON-stant DO re-MAIN to KEEP him SO.

or

that I was CON-stant CIM-ber SHOULD be BAN-ish-ED
and CON-stant DO re-MAIN to KEEP him SO.

The first option features a feminine ending by making "banished" two syllables, while the second, with a three-syllable "banished" becomes a six-foot line, or iambic hexameter. Both of these choices are 100% acceptable, depending on what is preferred in the production.

Pretty simple, right? With a little practice, you'll be sure to impress the next time you step onstage or into the audition room!


Wanna step up your Shakespeare game?
Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule a private lesson!
Click here to get my FREE cheat sheet on the Top 5 Mistakes Actors Make in Shakespeare Auditions!