MICHAEL KAHN ON ACTING

October 2002
		Michael Kahn, artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. and director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School in New York, responds to your questions on classical training and the art of Shakespearean acting.

Online NewsHour Special Report: The Play's the Thing Online NewsHour Special Report: The Stuff of Life: U.S. Design 1975-2000 June 2002: Online Forum: Michael Graves on design April 26, 2002: Short Century: The art of African independence Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Arts and Entertainment.	Michael Kahn began his career off-off Broadway, moving on to work with Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, where he quickly received the Saturday Review Award for the staging of "Measure for Measure." Kahn has directed twenty productions for the American Shakespeare Theatre, including several that were transferred to Broadway. Several others went on to be performed at the Kennedy Center. Kahn also created The Chautauqua Institute's acting training program, known as The Chautauqua Conservatory. He headed this program for five years, while he was also one of two master acting teachers at New York's Circle in the Square Theatre School. Appointed artistic director of Washington's Shakespeare Theater in 1986, Kahn brought the theater into the national spotlight with productions that garnered him numerous awards, including multiple Helen Hayes awards for outstanding direction. In addition to his posts as the Shakespeare Theatre's artistic director and the Juilliard School's Drama Division director, Kahn has served on the faculties of New York University's Graduate School of the Arts, the Circle in the Square Theatre School and Princeton University. Included among his former students are such actors as William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Harvey Keitel, Kelly McGillis and Robin Williams. In conjunction with the George Washington University, Kahn launched the Shakespeare Theatre's Academy for Classical Acting in 2000. Michael Kahn responds to your questions on Shakespearean acting below.
	Norma A. Cusick of Allentown, PA asks: Hi, enjoyed your comments on PBS. I grew up in New York City and spent my summers watching Shakespeare in the Park. I am now on the Board of the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. We have been in existence for 10 years now and we have been unable to awaken our community to the plays of Shakespeare. What can we do? We hire equity actors, produce a 'green show' before the play begins, and after the show we have the audience meet the actors. I feel discouraged. I want every seat filled in our theatre. I want folks to come and enjoy the plays of William Shakespeare. What are we doing wrong? What aren't we doing? Michael Kahn answers: I am very pleased to hear about the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. I would welcome a longer conversation with you. If you wanted to visit DC or speak with me on the telephone, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would want to know more about your specific situation before I offer any advice. You can contact me at Mkahn@shakespearedc.org or at the Theatre's administrative offices. Keith Anthony of New York, NY asks: Michael, do you feel it is possible for an actor to be a good classical actor, yet not also be a good contemporary one? Is there something unique that is needed for modern contemporary work that isn't always present in a trained classical actor? Is there a stigma associated with classical acting that isn't always looked fondly upon in the contemporary business? Michael Kahn answers: I believe that actors can do both and be successful in both kinds of material. It is the basis for our work at Juilliard and -- while this program is only for Shakespeare -- good trained actors can be quite successful at both. The emotional honesty that one brings to contemporary work is necessary for Shakespeare, and I believe that the ability to make words alive that is part of Shakespearean training is hugely helpful in modern plays. Certainly David Mamet, Sam Shepherd and August Wilson all ask that of their actors. Amy Clarke of Washington, DC asks: Shakespeare Theatre's new Academy for Classical Acting is a relatively new and unique program. What would you define as the major advantages and benefits afforded by a program such as the one-year MFA with ACA which are exclusive to your program? What would be the expected value and end-result be for an actor who completed the program that she or he would not be able to receive elsewhere? Michael Kahn answers: The one-year ACA program is the only one-year program of its kind in the country. Since it is a rigorous and full time program, the immersion in Shakespeare is unique and the expected result is an actor comfortable with verse, alive with text and possessed with a vocal and physical instrument that is expressive and contains an imagination and an emotional reach to inhabit these characters. Carole Leporati of Cushing, Maine asks: Do you find that the cadence of American speech is a good match for Shakespeare's text? What do you do to enable an actor to be comfortable with the delivery? Michael Kahn answers: As you can imagine, I believe it takes considerable training for any actor -- American or British -- to become completely comfortable with Shakespearean texts. It requires a deep knowledge of the rules of poetry, rules of verse and Elizabethan prose, and the vocal and physical technique that is able to express it. The goal is to make all of that seem easy as though one is speaking. This is essentially the reason that the Academy was created. We have seen that it takes the entire year in addition to a significant amount of performance. Claire Waters of Falls Church, VA asks: Hello, I've always been interested in acting and gained a love of Shakespeare in college. As a wife, mother and part-time realtor, could I apply to your one-year intense school in DC or is it truly just for experienced actors? Thanks. Michael Kahn answers: This program is just for experienced actors. If you live anywhere near DC, you could take other classes that we offer during the week and on the weekends as part of our Master Acting Program.