Clues to Acting Shakespeare (Third Edition)

“A workhorse of a book! Beautifully conceived and executed. Clues to Acting Shakespeare is a no-brainer purchase for acting collections in all libraries.” —Library Journal

Clues to Acting Shakespeare has become a popular guide for actors, directors, teachers and Shakespeare enthusiasts, selling over 15,000 copies of previous editions. This third edition retains the second edition’s unique solutions to challenges that face directors and actors at advanced levels and is expanded to include an entirely new section for amateur and community theatre groups. In this new edition, readers will be delighted to find:

• New section to aid community theatres to perform Shakespeare’s plays, including five recorded workshops of community theatre actors coached and trained by the author
• Updates to the successful sections on training student actors (MFA and BFA programs), and professional actors (including audition tips)—highlighted by twenty author-coached workshops with professional and advanced student actors
• Improved section for teachers of high school and child actors with worksheets and sample lesson plans
• New exercises and resources for all levels of acting and production

To aid professionals, Clues to Acting Shakespeare offers a one-day brush-up for auditions and preparation to play Shakespeare immediately. Text analysis, character studies, and both classical British training and American methods are explored. The exercises and recorded workshops provide inspiring advice to all actors and demonstrate concepts discussed throughout the book. The critical skills required for acting Shakespeare, including scansion, phrasing, caesura, breathing, speech structure, antithesis, and more are covered in detail. The comprehensive exercises using the Bard’s plays and sonnets teach actors to break down the verse, support the words, understand the imagery, and use the text to create vibrant performances.

Wesley Van Tassel is an acclaimed director, with more than 100 productions staged, and a skilled acting teacher, having trained more than 300 professional and student actors in Shakespeare. He is now professor emeritus but teaches occasional Shakespeare acting workshops. He has served as Artistic Director of three professional theatres and four college/university theatre programs. He has published peer-reviewed articles in World Theatre and The Educational Theatre Journal and received high praise for his book, Clues to Acting Shakespeare which helped him to earn the prestigious Scholar of the Year Award at Central Washington University. Earlier, he was awarded the Teacher of the Year Award at Tarkio College. Wesley Van Tassel and his wife, actress Dude Hatten, live near their two grandchildren in Casper, Wyoming.

“A workhorse of a book! Beautifully conceived and executed. Clues to Acting Shakespeare is a no-brainer purchase for acting collections in all libraries.” —Library Journal

“The accessibility of Van Tassel’s text is testimony to the absolute clarity of the book’s structure and language, and the fact that he spent many years doing Shakespeare before writing about it.” —Tacoma, Washington, The News Tribune

“Van Tassel lists and examines ten basic skills required for playing Shakespeare, and clearly defines terms for the actor.” —American Theatre

“When concerned with performing Shakespeare for the 21st Century stage, see Wesley Van Tassel’s superbly professional Clues to Acting Shakespeare.” —The Baltimore Sun

“The scope and quality of this book boggle the mind! It will be an excellent addition to the field.” —Sandy Robbins, Head Professional Theatre Training Program, University of Delaware

“Clues to Acting Shakespeare, published by Allworth Press, is outstanding. It will provide you with all the answers and examples you’ll need in a training program for some time to come.” —Bruce Miller, Head, Actor Training Program, University of Miami

“Van Tassel pinpoints the difficulties actors and directors have with Shakespeare and is clear and precise in specifying how these difficulties may be overcome. This is a splendid and enlightening book.” —Tim Harris, Drama Faculty of International Studies, Ueno Gakuen University, Japan

“Shakespeare has to be fun and accessible in order for kids to engage in the text, and Clues to Acting Shakespeare has exercises for breathing, scansion, and phrasing that are indispensable in making this happen.” —Laurie Kash, Secondary English and Drama, Oregon

“Clues to Acting Shakespeare will be an invaluable tool for my advanced drama classes.” —Clint Pozzi, Secondary English and Drama, Seattle

“A workhorse of a book! Beautifully conceived and executed. Clues to Acting Shakespeare is a no-brainer purchase for acting collections in all libraries.” —Library Journal
“The accessibility of Van Tassel’s text is testimony to the absolute clarity of the book’s structure and language, and the fact that he spent many years doing Shakespeare before writing about it.” —Tacoma, Washington, The News Tribune
“Van Tassel lists and examines ten basic skills required for playing Shakespeare, and clearly defines terms for the actor.” —American Theatre
“When concerned with performing Shakespeare for the 21st Century stage, see Wesley Van Tassel’s superbly professional Clues to Acting Shakespeare.” —The Baltimore Sun
“The scope and quality of this book boggle the mind! It will be an excellent addition to the field.” —Sandy Robbins, Head Professional Theatre Training Program, University of Delaware
“Clues to Acting Shakespeare, published by Allworth Press, is outstanding. It will provide you with all the answers and examples you’ll need in a training program for some time to come.” —Bruce Miller, Head, Actor Training Program, University of Miami
“Van Tassel pinpoints the difficulties actors and directors have with Shakespeare and is clear and precise in specifying how these difficulties may be overcome. This is a splendid and enlightening book.” —Tim Harris, Drama Faculty of International Studies, Ueno Gakuen University, Japan
“Shakespeare has to be fun and accessible in order for kids to engage in the text, and Clues to Acting Shakespeare has exercises for breathing, scansion, and phrasing that are indispensable in making this happen.” —Laurie Kash, Secondary English and Drama, Oregon
“Clues to Acting Shakespeare will be an invaluable tool for my advanced drama classes.” —Clint Pozzi, Secondary English and Drama, Seattle