Biggest mistakes beginner actors make with IAMBIC PENTAMETER | Acting Shakespeare

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

Hey actor! If you’re still hunting for the perfect fit monologue, I’ve put together a collection of my favourite Shakespeare monologues sorted by casting type and general vibe. Makes it easy to pick one you love and another one to contrast. You can find it here: shakespearewithsarah.com/shakespeare-collection/

[@Nancenotes]

So many great things about your channel, Sarah. I love how you acknowledge the incredibly basic needs of confused young actors and then raise the bar to detailed and nuanced linguistic technique. Thanks as always!

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

Thank you Tim, you are so kind. To me it seems like the problem that most early career actors have with Shakespeare is that they are overwhelmed. There's so much information out there but it gets very technical and many actors don't know where to begin. My goal is to try to take it back to those simple concepts and work from there.

[@sabrinarongstaddebravo3469]

Thank you that was wonderful ! I like that you said to do something different or powerful at the ending or last word.

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

Yep, this is such a great rule to go by, and it will really help with verse speaking generally.

[@ocdtdc]

Very helpful, thank you! I am trying to learn how to write in iambic pentameter and this was really useful for me.

[@zachhiggins1668]

Yeah i was trying to decipher how strict I need to be with my reading (I'm not an actor, I'm just choosing to read aloud and attempting it in meter) and this answers a lot of that. I play some music and there is definitely a place for going against the beat and all that, so this already makes some sense to me. I would really like to find some shakespeare read in *as accurate as possible* iambic pentameter. Thanks for the great videos!

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

In terms of finding accurate iambic pentameter, it's a little tricky because it's subjective. Different actors, directors and scholars will argue different things about the rhythms, so there's no such thing as 'accurate' really. But generally I recommend listening to actors like Judi Dench, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart because they've been doing Shakespeare most of their lives, and the rhythm is ingrained.

[@darrelloliver5919]

Real poetry

[@UserNameAlreadyTaken7]

I'm a beginning actor and my acting teacher said we should deliver Shakespeare lines without emphasizing the rhyme. Speak as if we speaking our regular, normal speech. Can you direct me to any videos on how to speak lines that rhyme without making them rhyme? I thought that was the purpose of lines that rhyme. So, I'm stuck. Thank you.

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

Hey! That's a tricky situation. Usually I would say lean into the rhyme, because there's always a reason it's there. But ultimately you always need to go with what the director asks for, because they'll always have a reason too! If your director wants you to go for a natural style then you gotta find a way to make it work. Usually what they're trying to do is avoid it sounding like a nursery rhyme, so often what will solve the problem is making sure you're varying your pitch and pace throughout each line - make sure each line sounds different, essentially. I'll make you a video with some demos. 😊

[@xionace]

That Bensound. #beenthere

[@ShakespearewithSarah]

hahaha you and everyone on KZbin. I have no shame 😂