Fearless Shakespeare: Empowering Your Speaking Voice

Kate Burke, Department of Drama, Past President of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association

Wrestling with Shakespeare's language is one of the most effective ways to improve the speaking voice. Sadly, the complexity of Shakespeare's language and veneration of his writing skill can keep speakers at a distance. This workshop builds-exercise by exercise-familiarity with and ownership of a single Shakespeare passage, a Chorus speech from Henry V.

After a vocal warm-up, simple and light-hearted group text explorations uncover the structure, rhythm and meaning of the speech, while freeing the individual speaking voice. The text is spoken by all voices repeatedly in several ways (single words, verse lines, caesuras, echoing, etc.). Each exploration lifts the text to a new level, and in the end it is reconstructed and spoken with confidence and vigor by the entire group. Don't be surprised if you leave the workshop knowing several lines of Shakespeare by heart! Ability to read words off a large-print sheet required. Ideal for veterans of previous voice workshops and/or anyone who loves language.