Washington DC first weekend in March :: check back soon for final details

Chicago TBA :: check back for final details

WORKSHOPS AVAILABLE TO COME TO YOUR CITY

CREATING A COMPLEX CHARACTER :: 
Molly Lyons – Studio Director & International Theatre Director.
This weekend workshop is an advanced intensive which focuses on using and understanding the text to explore and develop a complex character, revealing the depth of human behavior.  If you ever feel overwhelmed by where to start, if you question your ability to contribute to rehearsals on your own steam, need a jump start on creating fascinating characters, then this workshop is for you.  Using the tools of such text & character experts as Robert Benedetti (The Actor At Work), Uta Hagen (A Challenge For The Actor) and exercises of the instructor, you will come away with techniques that will enable you to create a compelling character every time.  Mine the depths of the playwright's work so you can dig out the real gold of the character in your own work.  You will build and cultivate strong rehearsal techniques in this intense class. 
  
Bring prepared material—monologue or scene work.

For further information or registration, visit our Registration Page

DON'T BE AFRAID - IT'S ONLY SHAKESPEARE! ::
Molly Lyons' unique workshop of approaching classical characters in a lively way! In one weekend, you will be able to banter with the Bard; it's exciting work via the body & the book of William Shakespeare.

The canon of William Shakespeare was written, not to grow dusty on the shelves of a stuffy library, but to be performed by a company of vital actors for a lively audience. The reason his works have become classics, is that Shakespeare wrote of the human condition, which hasn't changed much in over 400 years. He wrote not of historical characters but of the motivation of strong passions: jealousy, conquest, love, ambition, deceit, love, sacrifice, righteousness, love, worthiness, rejection. oh - and love! He's often called the first "psychological" playwright, because he details the characters' motivations. Since the art of psychology didn't exist in Elizabethan England, what if we say, he was a studier & teller of human nature?

Based on workshops from some of the world's premiere Shakespeare companies, this is a lively workout of Shakespeare's repertoire in a fun, no pressure playground; with a great variety of exercises. In a supportive, no-pressure, playtime atmosphere you can get a workout with the Bard. The thrust of the workshop is twofold: Molly will take us through the paces of the text (rhythm, scansion, language, etc.), followed by focusing on how to make those "rules" come to life in the breath and the body.

Intense, exciting, invigorating -- if you want to explore the master of creating a character, breathe life into your classical work, blow the dust off of your audition pieces, this workshop is for you. If you want to understand the classic approach to language and the inherent music that exists in any form of the written word, this workshop is for you. If you want to find out how Shakespeare is our contemporary, this workshop is for you. Actors who can do the classics, can do any text. Look at the range of the bodies of work of, say: Patrick Stewart (from the Royal Shakespeare Company to the X-Men), Anthony Hopkins (Mark Antony to Hannibal Lecter)-, John Gielgud (a prince of Denmark to Butler of a drunk), Judi Dench (from Elizabeth R to 007's M), Vivian Leigh (from the desert of the Nile to the fields of Georgia), Adrian Lester (from Hamlet to Primary Colors), Colin Firth (Shakespeare's canon to Bridgit Jones' Diary), Alec Guiness(Brutus to Obi Wan), Kevin Spacey (a deceitful criminal in Richard III to the king of deceit in Usual Suspects), Diana Rigg (Queen of the Fairies to the queen of espionage to the queen of the murder mystery). Marlon Brando, Clare Danes, William Hurt, Catherine Baranski, Raoul Julia, Meryl Streep, Helen Hunt, Michele Pfeiffer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Emma Thompson, Kenneth Brannagh, Robin Williams, Denzel Washington, Billy Crystal, Micheal Keaton, Leonardo de Caprio, James Earl Jones, even Alicia Silverstone & Keanu Reaves(!), all play in the sandbox that is the Shakespeare canon.

The workout is set-up with physical and vocal warm-ups, a short but lively bit explaining of the "rules" of text, exercises and improvisations, followed by interactive Shakespeare text explorations. At the end of our time together on Sunday, we will perform our pieces for one another.

Wear comfortable clothes and shoes that you can move in. You will need at least one piece - 10-16 lines of verse is good - memorized with which you can work. You are welcome to bring two SHORT contrasting pieces, if you like. If anyone wants to prepare a scene that is two minutes or less, you may do so. If you need suggestions for material, please contact Molly Lyons right away.

This Shakespeare Workshop is an effective tool to arm any actor's confidence and awareness. Exercises come from the instructor, Molly Lyons, The Royal Shakespeare Company of London, Shakespeare & Co. of Massachusetts & the original London Shakespeare Workout. "Why shouldn't one be able to workout on the body of Shakespeare, much as one goes to a gym to workout on one's physical body? Surely, both offer as much succour to the soul!" London Shakespeare Workout Philosophy.

This workshop can be a long weekend or week long, whichever you prefer! 

For further information or registration, visit our Weekend Page,  Registration Page or contact below.
 
A SHAKESPEARE WORKOUT :: The short version of the above
Based on workshops from some of the world's premiere Shakespeare companies, this is a lively workout of Shakespeare's repertoire in a fun, no pressure playground, with a great variety of exercises. In a supportive, playtime atmosphere you can get a revitalizing workout with the Bard.  The workout is set-up with physical and vocal warm-ups, a short but lively bit explaining of the "rules" of text, which become clues for discovering the character, followed by exercises and improvisations, followed by interactive Shakespeare text explorations, including individual monologue/soliloquy work.  Wear comfortable clothes and shoes in which you can move. You will need at least one memorized piece - 10-16 lines of verse is good - with which you can work. If you wish to explore a Sonnet, they are the perfect length and there are over 150 of them.  
This Shakespeare Workout is an effective tool to arm any actor's confidence and awareness.  Exercises come from the instructor, Molly Lyons, The Royal Shakespeare Company of London, Shakespeare & Co. of Massachusetts & the original London Shakespeare Workout.

"Why shouldn't one be able to workout on the body of Shakespeare, much as one goes to a gym to workout on one's physical body? Surely, both offer as much succour to the soul!" London Shakespeare Workout Philosophy

This workout can be 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours or a weekend, whichever you prefer. 

For further information or registration, visit our Registration Page

 

QUOTES ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS ::