In the month that marks the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth and death, Stiwdio Clwyd is excited to work with Shakespeare Practitioner Clare-Louise Rhys-Jones on a series of Shakespeare Actor’s Gyms.
This series of workshops, led by PhD candidate (Shakespeare Institute) Clare-Louise, will be designed in consultation with the Local Artists Network. Final details will be shared ahead of each workshop.
Are you comfortable with comedies but terrified of tragedy? Want to know your antithesis from your anadiplosis? Do you wish to experiment with monologue or dialogue? Whatever you want to get out of these workshops, please get in touch to find out how you can help shape the workshop content.
Whether you are new to Shakespeare or a seasoned pro, you are very welcome to participate in both the workshops and the wider research project.
These workshops form part of a research project, currently being conducted by Clare-Louise, as part of her M4C-funded placement at Stiwdio Clwyd. She is investigating how regional theatres may best support actors and directors in Shakespearean-based professional development.
Clare-Louise is a theatre practitioner with over twenty years of experience. She graduated from LIPA in 2001, and between 2002 and 2021 she ran her own theatre company in North Wales. Clare-Louise ran multiple youth theatres and delivered workshops across North-East Wales, Shropshire, and the surrounding areas, including as part of the Theatr Clwyd team.
Since 2012 her practice has had a focus on Shakespeare monologue, inspired by the fact that many of her own students were facing drama school auditions which reignited her personal passion for Shakespeare. In 2016 she produced and directed a Shakespeare Festival to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. This drew together multiple youth theatres for a fortnight of Shakespeare-based performances which culminated in an outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the grounds of Chirk Castle. In 2021 she embarked on a full-time MA in Shakespeare and Theatre at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, and has been coaching Shakespearean acting since she graduated. Clare-Louise is now an M4C-funded, full-time, PhD candidate at the Shakespeare Institute, in her third year of investigating Shakespeare’s use of shared rhetoric in dialogue.
Her research placement at Theatr Clwyd marks an exciting return to her roots, exploring in detail how regional theatres can support their local actors and directors to grow their Shakespearean practice.
