The Shake Up
Collaborative practice for Actors & Directors working on Shakespeare.
A five-day intensive for professional actors & directors, with a masterclass from special guest, Adrian Lester
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Course overview
The Shake Up is a five-day Shakespeare intensive for professional actors and directors, led by director Lucie Dawkins (Associate at Cheek by Jowl and Krymov Lab London) and actor Grace Andrews (Head of Programmes and Practice at FonACT).
This is a rare opportunity for artists of both disciplines to work together as equal collaborators, away from the pressures of the rehearsal room.
Over the week, Grace and Lucie will equip you with tools, not rules, for unlocking Shakespeare together. Actors and directors will come away with an expanded understanding of each other’s craft, better empowered in future rehearsal rooms to work joyously and on your own terms.
Oliver Award-winning actor and director Adrian Lester will be joining us on Thursday to lead us in a masterclass. On the Friday, the course will culminate with a relaxed sharing of the work you have developed together for your invited guests, supporters, and friends.
![“He wore his breathtaking range so lightly, never telling you 'I am a great actor' – which of course he was and is [...] It was Adrian who made the production iconic.”
– Declan Donnellan](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61c4658a67f961148d303039/19ede8fb-10fe-4162-b970-a54c0737f657/SCRUM+Theatre+-+Adrian+Lester+3.png)
“He wore his breathtaking range so lightly, never telling you 'I am a great actor' – which of course he was and is [...] It was Adrian who made the production iconic.” – Declan Donnellan
“Some of my bravest, most honest, and raw work happened with Grace's guidance” – Faith Alibi, GSMD Alumni
“It’s rare to find someone who can convey an absolute treasure trove of knowledge in such a clear, enthusiastic and above all entertaining way” – Workshop participant on Lucie’s 6-week Shakespeare course
Meet your teachers
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Grace trained as an actor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (BA Acting).
Acting credits include: The Forbidden Zone (Katie Mitchell, Schaubühne), Peer Gynt (London Symphony Orchestra), Tomorrow I Was Always a Lion (Belarus Free Theatre), The Winter’s Tale (Cheek by Jowl), Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet (Actors From The London Stage), Macbeth (Sophie Fiennes/Cheek by Jowl), and Twelfth Night (Kirsty Bushell). She is also an award-winning filmmaker and voiceover artist, voicing video games including Battlefields V, and multiple audiobook titles on Audible.
As an Acting Tutor, Grace holds an MA in Actor Training and Coaching from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (distinction). London credits include projects at Guildhall (multiple departments), Central (BA, MA, Acting Diploma), ArtsEd (BA, MA, Foundation), Mountview (Foundation) and Home Studio London. International credits include: Fontainebleau School of Acting (Paris, Athens), Ensatt L’École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théatre (Lyon), The Danish National School of Performing Arts (Copenhagen), Prima del Teatro (Pisa) and multiple universities and correctional facilities across the USA. She recently directed FONACT London, a 3-Month Acting Intensive, Athens, Serious Play at GSMD and the Acting Diploma at Central.
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Lucie Dawkins is a director and freelance curator, who trained at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.
She is an associate with Cheek by Jowl and the Krymov Lab, and is one of the founding members of SCRUM Theatre.
She produces and hosts the podcast Not True, But Useful... with Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod.
Lucie lectures in theatre at the Barbican and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and facilitates Shakespeare workshops for children both at the Guildhall and through the Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation.
She is a translator of Greek tragedies, most often for Cheek by Jowl.
Beyond the theatre, she produces digital and audio projects for museums, most recently for the Ashmolean, who also published her book, Museum Secrets.
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Adrian Lester is a prolific actor working extensively in theatre, film and television.
He has received an Olivier Award for his performance in Company at the Donmar Warehouse as well as an OBE for his services to Drama. He is a recipient of an Ian Charleson and Time out Award for his performance as Rosalind in Cheek by Jowls’ As You Like it.
He has played the titular roles of Henry V and Othello at the National Theatre, as well as Hamlet at the Donmar.
Other theatre credits include: Sweeney Todd (National), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Novello), Guys and Dolls (Royal Albert Hall), The Lehman Trilogy, (Broadway).
TV credits include: Hustle, The Ghost Squad, Being Human, Bonekickers, Riviera, Merlin and The Sandman.
Film credits include: Primary Colors, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Day After Tomorrow, Spider Man 3, Gray Lady, Euphoria and Mary Queen of Scots.
Schedule
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Learning to exploit the jazz of iambic pentameter together as actor and director
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Structures for bringing solo performances to life
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Developing your soliloquy toolkit for duologues
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Embodied methods for exploring a scene, with a masterclass from Adrian Lester in the afternoon
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Refining final pieces, closing with a relaxed showing for your invited family, friends and supporters
FAQs
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Working professionals in the industry with at least 2 credits
Directors with at least one professional credit or who have assisted on at least two professional productions.
Drama school graduates
Final year student of a professional training programme (e.g. drama school, NYT Rep, Identity School of Acting, etc.).
Places will be offered on a first come first served basis, including for bursaries.
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Advance-level practice means creatives who have a record of professional work in the theatre. That doesn't necessarily have to be in Shakespeare; you could, for example, be an actor who has performed in lots of musicals and now wants to dive into classical texts, or a director with loads of new writing experience who wants to expand their toolkit. This is a course for theatre makers who are some way into their career, and want to develop new skills - or for actors who have recently graduated from drama school or in their final year.
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No! It doesn’t matter if you are hugely experienced with his text or have no experience at all.
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There are places for 18 actors and 9 directors. 6 bursary places are available (4 actors, 2 directors) for artists of colour, artists from lower socio-economic backgrounds and trans and non-binary artists who face financial barriers.
Places will be given on a first come first served basis.
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The workshop is £490 and participants are expected to attend all days. Any profit generated goes directly into funding our open access Pay-What-You-Can workshop seasons.
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Please only fill in the bursary application form, which is the same as the standard application form but with a few extra bursary eligibility questions. You will be taken at your word and do not have to ‘prove’ your right to a bursary place. We just need to know you’re applying for one. When all bursary places are full you can opt in to join the waiting list.
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We’re offering bursary places for artists of colour, artists from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and trans and non-binary artists who face financial barriers. Shakespeare hasn’t always been accessible to these communities - and at SCRUM, we’re committed to changing that.
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Your place on the workshop is not confirmed until SCRUM Theatre has received your payment.
Your payment confirms agreement with these terms and conditions.
We understand that unexpected circumstances happen which can affect attendance but as a small company working to cover costs, unfortunately SCRUM theatre can only offer a refund if we are able to fill your place. If another participant is not able to take your place, we will sadly not be able to offer a refund.
This policy is to protect the viability of our courses, whose costs and numbers of participants need to be confirmed in advance
If you need to speak to SCRUM Theatre about any of the above, contact workshops@scrumtheatre.co.uk
Tickets and T&Cs
Thank you for your interest in this course.
Please review our terms & conditions below before applying for a place on The Shake Up.
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Your place on the workshop is not confirmed until SCRUM Theatre has received your payment.
Your payment confirms agreement with these terms and conditions.
We understand that unexpected circumstances happen which can affect attendance but as a small company working to cover costs, unfortunately SCRUM theatre can only offer a refund if we are able to fill your place. If another participant is not able to take your place, we will sadly not be able to offer a refund.
This policy is to protect the viability of our courses, whose costs and numbers of participants need to be confirmed in advance
If you need to speak to SCRUM Theatre about any of the above, contact workshops@scrumtheatre.co.uk
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