Shakespeare References in How To Be A Working Actor

How To Be A Working Actor: The Insider’s Guide To Finding Jobs In Theater, Film, And Television contains several Shakespeare references, which isn’t all that surprising. The first reference is to Hamlet. Regarding public transportation in Los Angeles, the authors, Mari Lyn Henry and Lynne Rogers, write, “You could memorize one or two of Hamlet’s soliloquies while waiting for the right bus to come along” (p. 29). The authors next mention Twelfth Night, and that comes on a page containing an example of an actor’s resume in New York. Under Stock, this actor lists Twelfth Night among the plays, her role being Olivia (p. 53). Then in the sample resume for Los Angeles, West Side Story is listed under theatre credits (p. 54). Hamlet is mentioned again on the next page, when quoting Gene Blythe, head of casting for MTM Enterprises: “If they carried a spear at Long Wharf, it means more to me than if they played Hamlet at Orange County, because I know the process to get to Long Wharf” (p. 55). Shakespeare is mentioned in the chapter on young actors: “Classes have been taught by Nicholas Pennell of the Stratford Ontario Shakespeare Festival” (p. 209). And then, about Nancy Niles Sexton, the authors write: “She has lectured and conducted workshops for the Stratford Ontario Shakespearean Festival Foundation, the Arts Councils of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as resident theater training projects at Boston University School of the Theatre and the California Institute of the Arts. She produced the first Shakespeare festival by and for young people in the state of Kentucky and directed the AFTRA award-winning production of The Taming of the Shrew” (p. 209). In that same chapter, regarding Robert MacNaughton, they write, “He had performed in numerous stage productions including The Diviners at the Circle Repertory Theatre in New York and in Henry V with Kevin Kline for the New York Shakespeare Festival” (p. 213). And regarding Charles Sexton, they write, “He has recently received a degree in theater from Southern Methodist University, performed at the Dallas Shakespeare Festival, and served as a summer intern/teacher” (p. 218). There is also a reference to Romeo And Juliet: “At this point the actor must make another transition in mood to a relaxed, smiling, smooth-talking Romeo as he says, ‘And you never shall. Because you’re mine’” (p. 241). The book includes addresses of theaters and festivals, including Alabama Shakespeare Festival (p. 274), Berkeley Shakespeare Festival (p. 274), American Shakespeare Theatre (p. 276), Shakespeare and Company (p. 277), New Jersey Shakespeare Festival (p. 278), New York Shakespeare Festival (p. 279), and North Carolina Shakespeare Festival (p. 280). At the end of the book, there is a list of recommended books, including three whose titles are references to Hamlet: Advice to the Players, Method Or Madness, and Slings and Arrows, all three by Robert Lewis.

How To Be A Working Actor: The Insider’s Guide To Finding Jobs In Theater, Film, And Television was published in 1986.