Mastering the Shakespeare Audition: It’s an Actor’s Godsend! New Book Helps Performers Prepare for Shakespeare Audition in Just 35 Hours
Written by renowned casting director, Donna Soto-Morettini, ‘Mastering the Shakespeare Audition’ is the only book of its kind on the market – fusing time-tested techniques with contemporary technology to help any actor ace what is widely considered to be the most daunting monologue of all. Now, in just thirty-five concentrated hours, any actor can learn how to select the right material, follow a detailed practice plan, and perform it with confidence — all timed down to the last second.
Website: www.donnasoto-m.co.uk
United Kingdom – For those looking to “make it” in the world of performing arts, one audition trumps them all when it comes to sweating palms and butterflies in the stomach – the dreaded Shakespeare speech. Casting Director Donna Soto-Morettini remembers her first Shakespeare monologue…because who could forget it?
In her game-changing new book, the only one of its kind on the market, Soto-Morettini provides a definitive guide that actors of any level can use to face auditions with confidence in the quest to get the role of their dreams.
The aptly-titled ‘Mastering the Shakespeare Audition’ does exactly what it says on the cover!
Synopsis:
Mastering the Shakespeare Audition is a handbook for actors of all ages and experience, whether auditioning for a professional role or a place in drama school. Many actors have no idea where to start in preparing a Shakespeare audition speech. Yet many auditions professional or drama school require a well-delivered classical monologue. Mastering the Shakespeare Audition shows performers how to focus rehearsal time and spend it well. Starting with how to choose a piece that plays to each actor’s particular strength, casting director Donna Soto-Morettini provides a series of timed exercises and rehearsal techniques that will allow any actor to feel confident and truly prepared for performance in sessions totalling just 35 hours. Offering progressive and clearly marked exercises detailing the time necessary both to read and complete the work, Mastering the Shakespeare Audition also features extended exercises for those with more time to spare, allowing a deeper understanding of the ideas and skills involved.
“There’s no other book out there that focuses specifically on the Shakespeare audition,” explains the author, a professional singer and actress who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic. “It uses the latest contemporary research and modern technologies to help any actor perform under pressure; discovering the clues Shakespeare created in both structure and rhythm and then using these clues to create an active, imaginative world in which to perform. Preparing Shakespeare’s texts can be a bit like a literary puzzle, but when you have the right tools, you can create truly compelling stuff.”
Continuing, “You only need 35 concentrated hours for the first speech you prepare with this method – after that (because you’ve already acquired the fundamental skills) you only need 22 hours, making the book an extremely laser-focused resource you can call on even at short notice. It’s perfect for all skill levels, from those looking to land a place in drama school all the way to those auditioning for professional repertory companies.”
‘Mastering the Shakespeare Audition’, from Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, is available now: http://amzn.to/2aa6SFU.
About the Author:
Donna Soto-Morettini has worked as a professional singer and actress in Southern California and throughout the western United States. She holds a PhD from Oxford University and has been training professional singers and actors for 25 years. She has served as Director of Drama for the Royal Scottish Conservatoire, Head of Acting and Dance for Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, and Head of Acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Since 2006 she has worked as a Casting Director and Performance Coach for many television shows, including all of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s shows on the BBC and ITV. She is currently working for ITV’s The Voice. She has been auditioning performers for over two decades and has written other best-selling books for performers, including Mastering the Audition, and Popular Singing and Style for Bloomsbury Methuen Drama and The Philosophical Actor for Intellect Books.
