9/9/13 - 11/11/13 • 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Fall Class The Humanist Approach to Shakespeare
The Humanist Approach to Shakespeare
Michael F. Toomey and Andrew Borthwick Leslie of the Humanist Project offer a new class looking at Shakespeare from a humanist perspective.“Nothing that is Human is alien to me” – TerrenceIncorporating the full Human experience into our Work, Play, Life and Art
Andrew and Michael are back after three successful classes, with two more offerings, the first of which is their class on using Shakespeare’s text.This new class will examine the individual moments of storytelling in the Artist’s work to examine whether Breath, Body, Thought and Impulse are fully present. With prose and verse text from Shakespeare’s plays, this project will explore the questions:- Are all the elements of the Artists’ spirit present in their work and how can they be more fully integrated?- Can the artist maintain that spirit in relationship to the audience and their scene partners? – What affect does living and working in New York City have on the Artists’ mind set? Can the Artist maintain the size and scope of Shakespearean language without being limited by the City and yet including the City into an experience of expanded language, image and being.- What new customs can we create to help us become a more integrated Artist in our play, movement and text?- What would it mean to apply the Artist’s mindset to Life in all its aspects?Don’t Miss Out on this exciting opportunity!September 9th – November 11th
3 hours a night 7-10Every Monday For 10 weeksLocation TBD
Space is limited so reserve your place today. Please send you request toThehumanistproject@gmail.comCost
$400A non-refundable payment is due on the first day of class. For those with limited resources it may be possible to set up payment plans. Contact Rose Emma at Thehumanistproject@gmail.com for more information.
(We turned people away last fall and spring, and this class may fill quickly. In order to assure a complete experience for the artists, we want to have a group that is balanced in demographics, so it may not be ‘first come first serve’. We will however, give preference to early responders.)Artist Bios:Andrew Borthwick-Leslie is a member of Shakespeare &Co. in Lenox, MA where he has taught, directed and acted for twenty years. He has taught acting and voice at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Emerson College, DeSales University and the University of Maryland among others. Andrew has run workshops for the Center for Renaissance Studies, the American Bar Association, the New England Homeless Veterans shelter and many more. He has directed, devised, or assisted on over fifty productions -from Cymbeline to Perestroika. Most recently he directed Love’s Labour’s Lost for the Shakespeare Forum at the Gym at Judson in Washington Square. He lives happily Brooklyn. Michael F. Toomey has been a member of the nationally acclaimed Shakespeare& Company in Lenox, MA since 1998, where he is an actor, director, and faculty member. He is a founding member and trustee of Split Knuckle Theatre, which devises new works of theatre and is currently touring throughout the world with recent performances in Bangkok, Athens and Paris. For the last three years Michael has been a Visiting Assistant Professor at Binghamton University teaching Clown, Shakespeare and Fight. Michael teaches workshops for professional actors in Fight, Clown and Shakespeare around the country and abroad. He has directed, devised or choreographed numerous shows including Julius Caesar and Alice In Wonderland and has performed throughout the East coast and internationally including roles such as Macbeth, Scapin, and Polonius. He is a graduate from LISPA (London International School of Performing Arts) and holds an MFA in Lecoq-based actor created theatre from Naropa University. This fall Michael will continue to tour performing his original work Endurance while working on a new piece called The Curious Case of Phineas Gage.