“The applause, delight, the wonder of our stage.” (by Ben Jonson)

Master Classes from 3 Shakespearean Actors! Today’s first stop was the Royal National Theatre on London’s South Bank to meet actor Paterson Joseph.

Photo courtesy of Joan Marcus

Paterson has appeared in movies, television shows, and is successful theatre actor. He has performed many Shakespearean roles and has even appeared on Broadway!

While in London, we were able to see Paterson perform on stage. Although not a Shakespeare play, his performance in The Royal Hunt of the Sun allowed us to see him in action. Seeing Paterson perform reminded me of all the preparation actors must do before a role. Talented actors like Paterson make it look very easy.

Jenny asked Paterson a few questions about what it is like to be an actor. He was very inspiring and encouraging. One of my favorite things he said was: pursue what you love to do and always have fun doing it.

The Scottish Play with Michael Stulbarg. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. It is a tragedy, filled with corruption and murder, about people who want power and will stop at nothing to get it. Many people who work in theatre think that the play is unlucky. For this reason, most actors will call it ‘The Scottish Play.’ Those that are superstitious think that saying the name of the play inside a theatre will bring bad luck for the actors and the production.

Most of the play is written in blank verse. Due to this style of writing being different from today’s speech, I sometimes find Shakespeare difficult to understand. To help make sense of the play, NYC actor Michael Stuhlbarg shared a well-known speech from Macbeth.

Hamlet with Michael Cumpsty. With 3,924 lines, Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play. Many scholars have called it the greatest play in the English language. With so many lines and its reputation, Hamlet can be an intimidating play to read for the first time, and perhaps more challenging for an actor to perform.

I think a great way to tackle this play is to look at the soliloquies. The soliloquies can tell us a lot about what is going on in the play and what Hamlet is thinking.

For some expert assistance and advice, we met with actor Michael Cumpsty, in New York, where he had chance to take on the role of Hamlet for Classic Stage Company’s production. After listening to Michael speak Shakespeare’s words, I am sure that you will find this great play a bit easier to understand.

Complete your adventure with Christopher Schram.

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