![KING LEAR Week 2: “Unpacking Shakespeare’s Punctuation” – Shakespeare – Act 2, Scene 4 – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions]](https://workingactorsjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/cropped-WAJfavicon-2-32x32.png "KING LEAR Week 2: “Unpacking Shakespeare’s Punctuation” – Shakespeare – Act 2, Scene 4 – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions]")
KING LEAR Week 2: “Unpacking Shakespeare’s Punctuation” – Shakespeare – Act 2, Scene 4 – The Rehearsal Room [Video, Audio, and Transcript versions]
Description
</figure>Welcome to our second session this month in The Rehearsal Room with Shakespeare’s King Lear!
In this week’s session, we focus on the unique role that punctuation plays in the Folio. We begin with an examination of how punctuation can influence the delivery of lines and the overall performance. Annie and Randy highlight the importance of spontaneity in acting, which can often be lost in overly polished presentations of Shakespeare’s works.
We discuss the character dynamics in King Lear, particularly the complex relationships between Lear and his daughters. The hosts explore how these dynamics can be enhanced through a deeper understanding of the text and its punctuation. They emphasize that every line in the play is a living moment, with actors needing to connect with each other and the audience in real time.
Listeners are encouraged to appreciate the nuances of Shakespeare’s language and the power of punctuation as a tool for actors!
What happened in the Week 2 Session?
🏁 In this session, highlights include:
- Exploring the emotional relationship of Lear and his daughters
- How punctuation in Shakespeare’s text informs performance
- Discussing the importance of spontaneity in portraying characters
Watch the Week 2 Session!
Full transcript included at the bottom of this post.
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</figure>And there’s the audio version too – you still get everything from listening!
Total Running Time: 2:07:05
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as/save link as”.
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Short on time?
Check out this 60-second clip from this session with Jeanne sharing how the family dynamic really hit her!
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And a great quote from this week’s session…
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</figure>References mentioned in the Week 2 Session:
- Morris Carnovsky
- The Actor’s Eye by Morris Carnovsky
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</figure>Support The Rehearsal Room on Patreon – get early access to sessions (before they go public on YouTube and the podcast), priority with asking questions, and more!
Thank you to our current patrons at the Co-Star level or higher: Ivar, Joan, Michele, Jim, Magdalen, Claudia, Clif and Jeff!
THE SCENE
Our group will be working on the following scene:
- Act 2, Scene 4 – Lear quarrels bitterly with her and with Regan
Follow along with the play here.
King Lear Team – with artists in NJ, NY and CA!
- DIRECTOR: Annie Occhiogrosso (listen to our podcast conversation with Annie and Randall)
- LEAR: Randall Duk Kim
- GONERIL: Jeanne Sakata (podcast episode)
- REGAN: Lizzie King-Hall
- CORNWALL: Thomas Farber
Read more about the artists here.
And there’s more!
Catch up on our other workshops featuring lots of Shakespeare scenes, from Hamlet, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida, Midsummer, As You Like It, and our Twelfth Night repertory extravaganza – all on the podcast and YouTube. If you’ve missed any presentations thus far, click here to find them all.
KING LEAR Week 2: “Unpacking Shakespeare’s Punctuation” – The Rehearsal Room
Annie Occhiogrosso: I want to hear if anybody had any thoughts about anything during the week before we jump in.
Jeanne Sakata: Oh, well, I. I read your. The sheets that you sent us, Annie, and. Wow, that. That really gave me a lot of new ideas about that first meet, because there’s so many commas with God speeches. And then I love what you said about how Reagan, she comes in, and there’s hardly any commas.
Annie Occhiogrosso: Yes.
Jeanne Sakata: You know that she’s had time to sort of watch your sister. Oh, okay. I’m gonna say this.
Jeanne Sakata: Oh, I just gives you these delicious little moments that really bring the spontaneity of it alive.
Annie Occhiogrosso: Yes.
Jeanne Sakata: Because every time I’ve seen Ghana give this speech, it’s always been very polished, as she had planned it out beforehand. And I said, oh, that makes it so much more fun to play. Like, damn, I should have said this. It’s too late.
Annie Occhiogrosso: I said that. They’re all sitting on their feet in order to get it done. Yeah, yeah, right.
Nathan Agin: And as an observer, that’s. That’s such an enjoyable moment where you see a character, like, actively making up something in the moment on the spot. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jeanne Sakata: So I’ve never seen it done that way, and I just thought, oh, that’s so great.
Randall: It’s. I mean, most of the time, y
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