Running September 21-23
(Lenox, MA) – Shakespeare & Company is currently accepting applications for its upcoming Public Speaking Workshop with Tina Packer and Dave Demke. The workshop will take place at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts from September 21-23.
“Speaking out in public has never been more important,” said Tina Packer, who co-created the workshop in Summer 2017. “We are living in highly political times, so how to speak in public persuasively is essential to our communal health. Whether we are struggling with community issues, housing, poverty or civil engagement, being able to be articulate about what we find important so other people (who may not share out point of view) can be persuaded is essential.”
The Public Speaking Workshop was designed and launched in Summer 2017 at Shakespeare & Company by Tina Packer and Samuel Dinnar. The goal of the workshop is to improve participants’ skills and confidence in connecting to an audience, delivering their message, and moving their listeners. The workshop includes knowledge gained from Shakespeare & Company’s experience of embodying the text of a great speech, and improving the alignment of the speaker’s personal voice to who they are as a person.
“This workshop is one of the best learning experiences I’ve had as an adult. So. . . it’s true and confirmed—I’ve never properly learned public speaking skills,” said Katie Aymes, a past participant of the Public Speaking Workshop. “But now, I think that with preparation, I could speak persuasively on any topic for which I care deeply. This was my first opportunity with Shakespeare & Company, but won’t be my last. The course content is well thought-out with handouts and checklists to reinforce the concepts. The workshop environment felt warm, inclusive, save and fun; the feedback honest yet helpful. I loved the whole experience! I would take this class again in a heartbeat!”
No acting experience or experience with Shakespeare is required to participate in the Public Speaking Workshop. Each participant comes in with a message that is intended to move a certain audience to action. Throughout the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to improve their message using the lessons learned from Shakespeare’s great speeches.
The Public Speaking Workshop will run from September 21-23, 2018 and is open to participants from all walks of life. Classes will take place on Friday from 6pm-10pm, Saturday from 10am-7pm, and Sunday from 10am-2pm. Tuition is $250 USD and the workshop is limited to 12 participants. Scholarships and discounts are available.
About Tina Packer
Tina Packer is the founding artistic director of Shakespeare & Company. She has directed, acted, and taught both Shakespeare and theater performance at Shakespeare & Company as well as at over thirty colleges around the globe including Harvard, MIT, Columbia and NYU. She is a social entrepreneur, actor, playwright, author and a recipient of the state of Massachusetts’s highest honor, the Commonwealth Award.
About Dave Demke
Dave Demke is a Shakespeare & Company Senior Faculty member and a Designated Linklater Voice teacher. He received his BA in Theatre Arts from Minnesota State University, and MFA in Performance from the University of Maryland. He has guest taught at various universities, at the Linklater Center in New York, at the National Theatre of Ghana, and continues to teach Shakespeare & Company workshops in cities around the country.
About the Center For Actor Training
The very heart of Shakespeare & Company is its professional actor training. The aesthetic of the Company was created within the training devised by Tina Packer and the Master Teachers, and it is through these programs that the aesthetic is continually investigated, redefined, and reinvigorated. Actors, directors, writers, and teachers from all over the world come to work with the Company’s faculty to train not only their voices and their bodies with a daily regimen of demanding classes, but also to delve deeply into their own imaginations, intellects, and emotional lives. Shakespeare & Company’s curriculum is internationally recognized as a deeply effective training experience for actors who aspire to bring their talent, intuition, and spirit to a higher level.
About Shakespeare & Company
Located in the beautiful Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, Shakespeare & Company is one of the leading Shakespeare festivals of the world. Founded in 1978, the organization attracts over 40,000 patrons annually. The Company is also home to an internationally renowned Center for Actor Training and award-winning Education Program. More information is available at www.shakespeare.org.
