The Stage Directions Guide to Shakespeare: (Stage Directions S.)

This guide offers practical advice on everything a regional, community or acadamic theatre needs to know when taking the plunge into a Shakespearean play, including: sensible advice on reasons to do (or not to do) Shakespeare; assessing your theatre group's abilities; selecting a play; casting; making costume and set decisions; special demands of directing and playing Shakespeare; publicity; and much more. As Peithman and Offen explain, "It really doesn't matter where or when one of the Bard's plays is set. What does matter, above all, is that the production shows us the understanding and intelligence, the wit and perception that have distinguished the works of Shakespeare since they were first put on in London". "The Stage Direction Guide to Shakespeare" provides you with the information and guidance you need to make your Shakespeare production a success.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 The Question is Why: Seven Reasons Not to Attempt the Classics ... and All the Reasons Why We Should, Anyway, Dale Lyles; Committing to the Classics - What To Do If Your Public Isn't Familiar with Works by the Bard, Diane Crews. Part 2 Directing the Shakespearean Play: "Well, At Least It's in English, You Know" - Tips on Producing Shakespeare, Stephen Peithman; Plumbing the Unknown Bottom - a Conversation with Barry Edelstein, Iris Dorbian; On Updating Shakespeare; The Play's the Thing, Ivan W. Fuller; The Offbeat Bard - Six Companies Take Very Different Approaches to Shakespeare, Proving that All's Well That Ends Well; Back to Basics?, Neil Offen; When All Hell Breaks Loose - Advice on How to Stage Melees, Brawls and Other Big Fights, Bruce Lecure; The Bard on a Budget - Shakespeare in the Small, Lindsay Price; Small-Time Shakespeare - Six Rules to Follow When Working on a Budget. Part 3 Acting the Shakespearean Play: Surmounting the Challenge - What Can an Actor Do?, Julian Lopez-Morillas; Move Like an Elizabethan - Sitting, Standing, Gesturing and Bowing As If to the Manner Born, Bruce Lecure; Pulling Punches - an Introduction to the Basics of Safe Stage Combat, Bruce Lecure; Leave Nothing to Chance - Stage Frights Must be Choreographed and Rehearsed to Be Realistic and Safe, Eileen P. Duggan; Learning from the Pros; Pulling Hair - a Violent Action Begins with a Flick of the Wrist, Bruce Lecure; He Who Gets Slapped - the Safe Way to Give Someone the Back of Your Hand, Bruce Lecure. Part 4 Selling Your Shakespeare: Cooperation, Not Competition, Was Their Key to Success. Part 5 When Shakespeare's the Main Course: Summer with the Bard - Ashland's Oregon Shakespeare Festival Sets the Standard, Nancianne Pfister; Training for the "Neo-Shakespearean Age" - at Southern Utah University, Students Focus on the Total Theatre Experience, Nancianne Pfister; Kids Strut Their Hour Upon the Stage. Part 6 Shakespeare, As You Like It: Teaching Shakespeare - a Powerhouse Teacher/Director Fulfills a Dream, Iris Dorbian; Books on Shakespeare Performance - 17 Useful Resources for Actors and Directors, Stephen Peithman.