Thinking Shakespeare by Barry Edelstein
A working guide for actors, directors, students…and anyone else interested in the Bard
Thinking Shakespeare
A working guide for actors, directors, students…and anyone else interested in the Bard
– by Barry Edelstein
Thinking Shakespeare gives theater artists practical advice about how to make Shakespeare’s words feel spontaneous, passionate, and real.
Based on Barry Edelstein’s thirty-year career directing Shakespeare’s plays, this book provides the tools that artists need to fully understand and express the power of Shakespeare’s language. (REVISED EDITION)
Buy the Book on AmazonPraise for the book
Barry Edelstein directed me as Othello at The Old Globe a few years ago, and it was an amazing experience: quite frankly, the highlight of my career. To take on one of Shakespeare’s greatest roles was daunting and overwhelming, to say the least. Barry understands how Shakespeare’s words work, and how his characters think. He makes Shakespeare accessible to the actors who embody the characters and to an audience. He explains things in terms that actors like, concrete terms that an actor can really use. This book captures his voice and his knowledge, and, like him, it’s clear and fun. I recommend it for any actor, or anyone who wants to know more about Shakespeare.
Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor
Barry Edelstein is a marvel, someone who combines a scholar’s precision with a showman’s sense of delight. This book is simply essential reading for those who are passionate, or even curious, about Shakespeare. Barry is one of America’s most distinguished Shakespeareans, an artist and a scholar, and a beautiful guide to the mystery and power of the greatest writer in the history of the globe. His book is accessible, detailed, loving, learned, and delightful.
Artistic Director, The Public Theater
About the Author
Barry Edelstein
Barry Edelstein is a stage director, producer, author, and educator noted for his work on the plays of William Shakespeare. Some of the actors he has directed include Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman, John Turturro, Jeffrey Wright, Kevin Kline, Blair Underwood, Richard Thomas, and Julianna Margulies. He has taught Shakespearean acting at the Juilliard School, NYU, USC, and The Public Theater. He serves as Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director of The Old Globe in San Diego.
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“Barry Edelstein really knows his Shakespeare. When he directed me in As You Like It, the depth of his knowledge about the text unlocked the character of Rosalind. His knowledge really served to deepen my work. His book Thinking Shakespeare puts this knowledge in a fun, accessible form. I highly recommend it.”
~ Gwyneth Paltrow
“Mr. Edelstein’s book is the next best thing to being in one of his eye- and ear-opening classes on Shakespeare. Read it aloud, and, as with Shakespeare, you will be appreciably wiser.”
~ Kevin Kline