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Dateline: 30th November, 2008
Who's Afraid of the Big Space and the Classic Text? On Friday afternoon in the Olivier Theatre, I watched twenty (mainly) young actors turn from underpowered performers, hesitant in approaching verse and intimidated by a large theatre, discover energy, articulancy and confidence in commanding the space. This was the 2008 'Poel Event,' run by the Society for Theatre Research in association with the National Theatre. After starting the day looking at the directions to physical performance embodied in Shakespeare's text with actor Ben Crystal (author of Shakespeare on Toast, which spells them out), they had spent a rigorous hour and a half working on speaking the verse with the inspirational Cicely Berry before being faced with challenges of the Olivier stage. There, performing individual short speeches, house voice expert Jeanette Nelson skilfully diagnosed their weaknesses and set about correcting them as they learned the demands of a theatre much larger than they had previously experienced. Finally, Clare Higgins conducted a masterclass using passages from Oedipus, guiding them not only in interpretation but on responding to the form of the theatre. It was fascinating to watch individuals gaining comprehension and getting the message. Had this been an audition there was hardly anyone I heard in the morning who would even have got a call-back, but by the end of the day the difference was amazing. Why wasn't that ability there to start with? I find it difficult to believe claims that these things weren't taught at drama school. Surely that can't be true: perhaps they weren't then ready to absorb them? What is clear is that this was an unrivalled opportunity. Most participants had worked almost entirely in small theatres and for the camera, with no experience of larger spaces. Old skills, gained unconsciously by osmosis in repertory and touring, like tuning your performance to a particular auditorium, depend on experiences they have never had. It was great to see these performers energised and excited by their experience. That one day can make such a difference is amazing. Its success is clear evidence that the STR was right to change its Poel commemoration from a performance with teams from drama school presenting scenes from the early-modern repertoire to this practical help for working professionals. It is all about passing on skills, discovering how to communicate with an audience, even in the largest space. Long may the 'Poel Event'go on helping actors and by extension every theatregoer. Howard Loxton
Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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