Shakespeare References in Acting Professionally

It comes as no surprise that a book on acting would contain several Shakespeare references. Robert Cohen's Acting Professionally contains a reference to Shakespeare in the first paragraph of the first chapter. He writes, "It is odd to think that thousands of aspiring actors graduate each year from drama schools, colleges, and theatrical institutes, well versed in Shakespeare and Stanislavski yet almost totally ignorant of the realities of the acting marketplace" (p. 1). Next comes a reference to The Second Part Of King Henry The Fourth: "A policeman who comes in at the end of a film to arrest somebody, or Morton in Henry IV, Part II, who describes at the beginning of the play everything that has happened since the end of Part I - these are certainly roles that can be played magnificently or badly, but in themselves they do not fully provide an accurate test of future potential" (p. 11). A little later Cohen writes, "Repertory, it is said, encourages actors to alternate between Moliere comedy, Tennessee Williams romanticism, and Shakespearean tragedy - from the youthful Romeo to the aged Northumberland" (p. 17). And then: "While Laurence Olivier may be cast as a Moorish general and Judith Anderson as a Danish prince, these cases stem from the fame of the individuals rather than any policy of fair employment practices" (p. 17). And then: "A typical Shakespearean play, for example, will have 15 to 25 men and 3 to 5 women" (p. 18). There are a few more references in this second chapter. Cohen writes, "While it remains true, in the expression of New York Shakespeare Festival producer Joseph Papp, that 'In New York, a Ph.D. won't get you through the turnstile of the IRT (subway),' a college degree and advanced university training will serve as important entrees to regional theatre stage work" (p. 22). And then: "Nicholas Walker, cast right out of college as a leading performer in the daytime series The Doctors, 'trained' for his role by playing the title roles in college productions of Hamlet, Richard III, Peer Gynt, and The Philanthropist; he had never been on camera until his successful NBC screen test. Powers Booth, the Emmy winning film and television actor, spent his first six or seven years after college (Southwestern Texas State, plus graduate work at Southern Methodist University) playing Shakespeare in Oregon and at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. 'I wouldn't trade that for anything,' observes Booth. 'If you can accomplish all the necessary things in Shakespeare with the language and the poetry - and can make it real - then you must know your craft. This is becoming more and more the rule throughout the acting media. Actors who previously hid their university credentials behind a rock and pretended that Shakespeare was a Houston shortstop now brag about academic andclassical credits" (pages 22-23). And: "You may not think Shakespeare is your metier, but try it anyhow...Your ability to perform in Shakespeare or Moliere will certainly be a strong point in your favor when you compete for an apprenticeship or for a paid position with these companies" (p. 25). And: "'The reason I will use actors from last year's festival is that I know I can work with them,' says California Shakespeare Festival artistic director Mark Lamos" (p. 37).

The third chapter also contains some Shakespeare references. Cohen writes, "Dinner theatres are on the move - not only in the provinces, but in major metropolitan markets - and the 'Ham with Hamlet' operation might well dominate the stage world of future decades" (p. 47). And then: "Outdoor Drama Festivals are a diverse category of theatre production companies that span the range from Equity operations like the New York Shakespeare Festival to the nonpaying and lowpaying enterprises in the South and Southeast" (p. 47). And here is a crazy statement about resumes: "If you have been an extra on a TV pilot, that goes above the Hamlet you did in college" (p. 61). That is advice you should certainly ignore. Hamlet is mentioned again on that same page: "If you understudied Hamlet at Nevada State and ran through it only in the trap room downstairs while the "real" Hamlet was performing on stage, go ahead and list it" (p. 61). And then: "you can end up with AEA-AFTRA-SAG below your name on your resume, which will get you into more professional auditions than playing twenty Hamlets and Lears at a state college" (p. 65). As You Like It is always mentioned: "You might be a lot better in As The World Turns than in As You Like It" (pages 76-77). So is Coriolanus: "Tell them about yourself honestly but positively: 'I want to become a working professional actor...I played Coriolanus in Ashland'" (p. 83). Then Hamlet is mentioned again: "casting directors who may hear dozens of monologues in a three-hour casting session are ordinarily quite grateful for something that is genuinely funny, witty, or charming among all the Medeas and Hamlets" (p. 85). There is also this bit of advice on auditions: "If you are auditioning at Disney, it is silly to do a scene from Othello" (p. 86). There is also a funny bit regarding two opposing views on Two Gentlemen Of Verona. First, from Omar Paxson: "I get tired hearing the same thing over and over...and we spent an entire period finding material...[We found] a couple of minor characters from Shakespeare that no one ever does, like Launce and Crab from Two Gentlemen From Verona. I never hear that" (p. 86). Then, from Eric Christmas: "Well, there is a list...of pieces that don't exactly turn one off, but you hear them so often and you wish they wouldn't do them. Launce and his dog [Crab] turns up all the time" (p. 87).

At the end of the book, there are samples of resumes, and those include Shakespeare productions. The first resume includes Two Noble Kinsmen, The Winter's Tale, Antony & Cleopatra, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth,  and a play titled The Play's The Thing (p. 118). The second includes West Side Story and training with both Royal Shakespeare Company and Stratford Ontario Shakespeare Company (p. 119). The third includes Merry Wives Of Windsor and King Lear, both at Utah Shakespearean Festival, as well as Richard III and Hamlet (p. 120).

Acting Professionally was first published in 1972. The copy I read was the Third Edition, published in 1981.