About
In Shakespeare’s day, troupes of professional actors roamed the countryside staging plays wherever they landed. In 2013, Bell Shakespeare has its own ensemble of travelling actors, The Players.
They’ll perform Actors At Work shows and conduct regional and remote residencies. They’ll be fonts of Shakespeare knowledge, and they can’t wait to meet you and your students.
They may have swapped Elizabethan travelling methods for Taragos, but they promise to keep Shakespeare’s words alive as they travel across the country.
Hey!
Just like to say a big THANKYOU! To Felix, Ed, Suzie and Theresa.
Your’e performance of macbeth yesterday was beautiful.
I hope you guys had a lot of fun
<3
Hi,
I really love what you’re doing!
I’m a student at Brigham Young University, and I’m writing a research paper about disguises in the bard’s plays. I’m interested to know how you would stage and costume for scenes in which a character is eavesdropping, spying, or disguising themselves. Like for Hamlet, how would you cue to the audience that Polonius is behind the tapestry? Or in King Henry V, does he hide his face from his troops with a cloak or something, or do they simply not recognize him? Any input would be super helpful, thanks!
Hi Taylor,
Great question you bring up about costume and representation. In theatre everything a director chooses to put on stage helps tell the story, and the way in which characters are clothed or how a moment is staged is all carefully considered to create the desired effect.
The short answer to your question is, it’s the directors choice. Designers and actors will also add into the discussion. But there is never a “right” or “wrong” way to portray a character. The creative choices you make about the decisions are why we can watch 17 different productions of Macbeth and still find something new in all of them.
We actually highlight a similar concept in our show Macbeth: Undone. The scene inwhich Macbeth see’s Banquo’s ghost at the feast can either be done with an actor on stage playing Banquo’s ghost, or the actor playing Macbeth can simply imagine the ghost. Either choice is valid, they just create a different reading of the moment on stage. And our artistry is in that choosing.
So in answer to your Henry V moment, if you were directing, you’d have both options: either he covers his face with a cloak, or they don’t recognise him. Or maybe it’s dusk and they don’t see him properly. These choices should be what is fun about creating YOUR version of Henry V.
Hope that helps! And remember, never be afraid to make bold choices and try something new.
Julia
i really love evan’s acting
xoxoxo
he rules :’)
Hey guys
Today I got to see the players play Macbeth at Prendeville school, and honestly it was just such an amazing show to see. I myself LOVE drama and have since i was about 3 and to see what I can grow up too and be like is quiet amazing. So i just wanted to say thanks to you guys and girls who performed, because now I know where drama can take me and you have helped me realise that drama is what I want to do!!
p.s is there a part time job i can get in acting in perth??
thanks a lot