Feeling the Beat in Our Bones: Embodying Rhythm and Meter in Actor Training

Abstract

ABSTRACT Actors new to speaking the verse in the plays of William Shakespeare are often intimidated by technical terminology and what they perceive to be an abundance of rules that should be followed. This article describes a Practice as Research study conducted over a seven-year period with student actors in drama schools and working professionals in Canada and the UK. The goal of the study was to develop a training methodology that overcomes the initial anxieties actors may experience and facilitate discoveries about how the verse structure can support actors in performance. The second goal of the research was to help actors to a state of deep embodiment of rhythm and meter which, once achieved, can empower actors to play organically and instinctively rather than analyzing intellectually.