OWNING SHAKESPEARE INTENSIVE - Textploration For Professional Actors

Bio

Robert Myles is a multi-award-winning actor, writer, and director. He started his Shakespeare journey over a decade ago, when he attended a workshop led by Sir Ian McKellen. This lit a fire that has burned brightly ever since.

Through working with practitioners, directors and creatives from the RSC, Shakespeare's Globe, LAMDA and more, and by delving into books on the subject of Shakespare in Performance to unlock their secrets, Robert began to experiment with a huge range of techniques, devices and exercises. He soon began to adapt and innovate these for his own use.

At the same time, Robert's career as a writer saw him working as an agency content producer and creative director for global brands like Unilever, Diageo and Johnson & Johnson, while as a creative writer he published a novel, scripted short films, and presented documentaries. He frequently looked to Shakespeare for inspiration, identifying and using the same devices the Bard used to make his plays so effective. In doing so, he understood these insights would be invaluable to performers - and that this same knowledge would have been shared by the Elizabethan actors in his troupe.

Robert spent four years performing almost exclusively Shakespeare, and touring the country playing leading roles in his most celebrated plays, always experimenting with different techniques and approaches. Finally, Robert began to codify his approach to Shakespeare, and the results of a decade of exploration became a workshop and a product.

Cracking The Shakespeare Code is a workshop that aims to help actors of any level of experience to decode Shakespeare's hidden structures and use them to full effect, so performers can apply the full force of their imagination in harmony with Shakespeare's intentions as a dramatist.

The Shakespeare Deck is a powerful, portable toolkit for actors, enabling them to quickly and easily anchor themselves with any piece of text, and explore it further to uncover new depths and possibilities.

Teaching

Throughout his career, Robert has frequently been called upon as a teacher. He first taught English for a year in Japan as a graduate, and has since directed Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and Macbeth for schools in the UK, and has also taught stage combat to theatre students. He has been described as "not a teacher, but a coach" thanks to his emphasis on helping people excel through experimentation, rather than through orthodoxy.

Directing

Through The Show Must Go Online, Robert has directed all 36 of the First Folio plays in chronological order, creating one of the first freely available performed versions of the Complete Plays since the BBC in the 1980s, and one of the first directors to direct the whole canon since Trevor Nunn. The rapid turnaround of these shows inspired a concise, clear and creative approach to mounting shows efficiently, while driving innovation in every area of the medium.

Robert's latest directing credit was as an associate director on MSND at Alexandra Palace. “sexually charged, poignant and hilarious” A Younger Theatre

Robert frequently offers one-on-one coaching for actors in person, and via Skype to actors around the globe.  

Reviews for Robert Myles' Performances In Shakespeare:

"An unforgettable performance as Malvolio" Mind The Blog"Brings wisdom and vivacity to Friar Laurence" Pocket Size “Fantastic strength of character... he commanded the stage” North West End"A wonder to behold" Edinburgh Guide"Particularly captivating" Alice Frances"Shamelessly brilliant... buckets of charm" Theatre Full Stop"A Tour De Force" Desperately Seeking Cymbeline"Steals the show" Remote Goat"Steals the show" The Reviews Hub "A force to be reckoned with... lifted the entire performance" Shakespeare Standard 

Testimonials for Cracking The Shakespeare Code:

"This was one of the best workshops I have ever attended! Robert is a huge mine of Shakespeare knowledge, and he teaches it in the most approachable and fun way. I feel I could go to this workshop at least 5 more times and still come out learning new things! Robert is such a fantastic teacher!!" Alice

"I learned so much! Rob is an excellent teacher and was eager to share with us everything he knew and had learned from study and experience. The workshop was divided in clear sections and we were able to warm up, study, play and perform in one day! There was a real ensemble feeling at the end of the day and I was left with a lot of information to take home with me and experiment with in the future. Highly recommend!" Tessa

"Robert's understanding and knowledge on Shakespeare is most inspiring. His workshop will let you tackle Shakespeare in a challenging but playful way which will leave you hungry for more!" Jes

"Left the class with a refreshed confidence in bringing the Bard's words into life. Rob's workshop empowers you make bold choices and explore Shakespeare to find your own path through and if you get lost along the way the cards help keep you on track. After just one workshop, techniques, old and new, became instinctual and a large part of that is down to Rob's ability as a teacher." Jamie

"I had a brilliant time at Cracking The Shakespeare Code. Rob's clear, practical techniques have been invaluable for auditions and rehearsals." Patrick

"Very fun and informative, gone are the days of sweating over Shakespeare, now I’m sweating for Shakespeare! 'Once more unto the breach'!" Disa