Posted by John Marwick on March 06, 19101 at 22:47:41:
In Reply to: the shepard in 'the winter's tale' posted by george cook on March 06, 19101 at 12:36:33:
: i am considering reading for the part of the shepard in winter's tale.any suggestions on how to play the part. i am not an experienced actor,so this is somewhat new to me. i am a 52-yr old greying man. should i grow a beard for this..how much humor should i project..etc..it is ok to e-mail me directly, i check my at work mail regularly...thanks for any and all help
Hi - I'd encourage you to go for this part - it's a lovely one and a good size if you haven't done too much.
I don't think you should push the humour - he's actually a very sensible old man - someone I think the audience can warm to. I'd like them to smile along with him rather than laugh at him.
Look at the first speech he makes to Perdita in Act IV Scene 4 - when he talks about his old wife who has died. He gets carried away with fond memories of when she was around. The first speech he makes when he comes in at the end of Act III is also quite revealing - the typical views of an old countryman about youth perhaps.
I wouldn't worry about a beard - that would very much depend upon the style of the production. But if you can manage a country twang that might help - but no ned to overdo it.
You might like to have a look at how we did the part in New Zealand last year on the website below. You'll also find (under characters) my brief comments about it and an audition piece.
There are some photos of the actor who we used there also - he is in his mid-sixties