Lisa Harrow to host audition workshop for Summer Shakespeare

Media release

Faculty of Arts

The University of Auckland

2 October 2013

Lisa Harrow to host audition workshop for Summer Shakespeare 2014

Acclaimed New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow will return to the University of Auckland next weekend to host a two-day practice workshop on "Auditioning Shakespeare's Language".

The workshop is intended in particular to support actors planning to audition for the 2014 Summer Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, directed by Geoff Allen, to be performed in March next year.

Lisa directed the 2013 Summer Shakespeare on King Lear held last March.

Her love of Shakespeare’s plays dates back to her childhood when she was just 10-years old and reading Tales from Shakespeare, an English children's book that adapts Shakespeare’s plays into tales written by Charles Lamb with his sister Mary Lamb in 1807.

The book made her start reading Shakespeare’s plays.

“I read A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the language just leapt off the page at me.”

“I made up my mind that I was going to go to Stratford-upon-Avon and act in Shakespeare.”

Lisa initially studied Arts for a year at the university and still has fond memories of her time on campus including English lectures by Professor Sydney Musgrove, who created the university’s Summer Shakespeare in 1963.

She left New Zealand and studied at RADA in London before fulfilling her dream to act in Shakespearean plays in Stratford-upon-Avon and going on to become an acclaimed theatre and television actor.

She still enjoys returning to the University and seeing the familiar sights such as the ClockTower while at the same time taking in the changes in campus life.

“The most important thing for me is the racial diversity now; it used to be that most of the students were Pakeha, now there are more people represented and it’s fantastic.”

Lisa is planning to return to Auckland to live after spending some time living in Vermont and Banks Peninsula.

At the theatre workshops Lisa hopes to help actors connect to the words.

“In the theatre – particularly with Shakespeare – the actor is required to relish the language, you can’t mumble Shakespeare.

“Once you’ve learnt to unlock the secrets of the text it makes it so much more rewarding for the actor and the audience.”

Participants may attend one or both workshop days, and should prepare an audition-length Shakespeare monologue to present. Participants should bring a print-out of their monologue for Lisa and fellow hosts to follow during the audition. Places are limited to 30 people by advance registration to t.bishop@auckland.ac.nz

The workshops will take place on Saturday 12 October and Sunday 13 October in the University’s Drama Studio, Level 3, 14A Symonds Street (Building 206) between 10am and 5pm. Auditions for Pericles will be held in early November.

ENDS

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