Shakespeare in the spotlight at English Theatre Leipzig
ETL’s Deconstructing Shakespeare workshop took place on Sunday 29th September, led by Josiane Segar and Sam Kioni Roberts. As part of our 2024 workshop series, the aim of the day was to de-mystify an example Shakespeare text and allow participants to experiment with using the text in performance, with elements like plot, characters, rhythm, meaning and staging being discussed and creatively explored throughout. The ideas and methods worked on in the workshop could then be taken and used by the participants in the future whenever they were confronted with a Shakespeare play.
Sam and Josiane were joined by an enthusiastic group of international participants who were eager to engage with the material. There was a range of different levels of Shakespeare knowledge in the room, and when it was revealed that the play in question would be As You Like It, only a couple of people raised their hands to say that they had heard of the play before. This was actually what Josiane and Sam wanted, as allowing people to explore the play without any prior knowledge would make the material extra exciting and allow for more out-of-the-box reactions to the text.
The day started with some fun warm-up exercises based on typical Shakespearean phrases and concepts, and were designed to introduce basic ideas of comedy without necessarily using words. After that, the text was revealed and, using simple actions and sounds, the complicated plot of As You Like It was made easier to understand. The participants even split off into smaller groups to have a go at designing some appropriate staging for the play using random bits of set and props donated for the purpose by the wonderful folks at Neues Schauspiel Leipzig!
Once the plot of the play was beginning to make more sense, it was time to move on to the text itself, and by using example lines including some famous insults (e.g. I do desire that we may be better strangers), well-known duologues (e.g. I was seeking for a fool when I found you), and Jacques’ hugely influential speech (All the world’s a stage…), the participants explored what Shakespeare’s language really means, came up with versions of the text in their own words, learned about iambic pentameter and rhythm, and practised ways of playing off one another when performing.
After lunch, the participants were asked to look more at character, being given speeches they would be using as their main focus for the rest of the day. Sam and Josiane began by asking the participants to read the text and react creatively by drawing and thinking about colour. After this, they moved on to movement and physicality, and then voice and performance.
The final part of the workshop involved Josiane and Sam overseeing the participants staging their own versions of the extracts they had chosen, either in the original Shakespearean language or in their own words. If they wanted to, the participants could also perform both versions. These short performances used the staging and props which had been involved in the earlier part of the day, and there were some truly brilliant short performances on show, illustrating how quickly those who attended got to grips with the material.
Some feedback we received from attendees:
“I had great fun during the Shakespeare workshop and I loved finding out more about the rhythm of the Shakespearean verse.”
“It was a truly professionally-run session with a focus on different elements pertaining to staging Shakespeare, such as stage design, physicality, language work, and improvisation. The last two elements were really well highlighted with exercises which focused on interpreting the written lines in the participants’ own words and also gave the chance to share those individual versions of the script. Furthermore, Sam and Josie created a really cosy, welcoming and friendly atmosphere to work in; they quickly created a rapport with every individual participant and facilitated successful group work which contributed to the overall positive and enriching experience of meeting like-minded people from the international Leipzig community.”
“I wanted to say that I really enjoyed myself last week, so thank you!”
Sam and Josiane were delighted to lead this workshop, and it was very rewarding and exciting to see how enthusiastic the participants were about the new knowledge and skills they were gaining, and about the experience of the day as a whole. ETL is very excited to develop this workshop further, and deliver it again sometime soon!
This workshop was kindly supported by Leipzig Stiftung.
