Performing Shakespeare with The Original Parallels Method
Short Courses – 14 Week – Online for Adults
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Overview
This class will be taught online and you can take part from the comfort of your own home.
Performing Shakespeare with The Original Parallels Method is an intensive, fast-paced, practical series of lab sessions exploring Shakespearean text work in performance, from multi-award-winning actor and director Rob Myles.
Shakespeare has become known as one of the world’s greatest writers, and one of the greatest challenges for performers to tackle. Shakespeare’s greatness came not because he was a genius (though it helps), but because he was a craftsman.
Over this series of workshops you will be challenged by a craft and graft approach to the text, which specialises in identifying creative opportunities in the text and interpreting them in action, in ways that are unique to you.
By understanding and applying the same tools and approaches Shakespeare used to sculpt his masterpieces, you can harness the richness of his text quickly, easily and fearlessly.
You will be introduced to the key elements of the Renaissance education and the cultural contexts in which the plays were written and performed, enabling you to better appreciate the purposeful nature of his writing, and its intended effect on the audience.
You will understand the actor’s unique responsibilities when playing Shakespeare in particular – to the text, to the audience and to each other.
Across the course, you will combine exploration and discovery with movement exercises, long form improvisation and more, all to uncover new dimensions in a variety of extracts, soliloquys and scenes.
This workshop will change the way you see Shakespeare on the page, to make your performances more accessible, rewarding, and powerful on the stage.
The workshop will also introduce The Shakespeare Deck:
The Shakespeare Deck is a powerful, portable toolkit for actors seeking to wield the full power of Shakespeare’s words, enabling you to get more from your text work, for auditions, rehearsals and performances. The deck enables you to discover creative opportunities embedded in the text and make original creative choices on stage, in sympathy with the meaning and significance of what’s on the page. Shakespeare and his actors had a shared knowledge-base that the Deck helps you to simulate.
The Shakespeare Deck is deliberately concise, and eminently flexible. It can be used as you see fit, to suit your needs in the particular moment. Unlike a book, which requires a weighty and spacious volume to be carried around for something that may be on a single page, the deck is lightweight, durable, and remixable – take out the card(s) you need now, and return it once you’re finished. The Deck is an invaluable pocket-sized companion for anyone studying or performing classical and early modern texts, including Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
The fee includes a copy of the deck posted to your home.
Courses you may be interested in
We run a variety of different courses throughout the year, and update our programme regularly – you can find all courses by clicking here.
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Contact us
If you have any questions about this course before you book it, please get in touch with us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk.
The important details
Age:
18+
Cost:
£385
Date:
30 October 2025 - 5 March 2026
Time:
Thursdays, 6:30pm - 9pm
Venue:
Online
Course Information
- Entry Requirements
- Course Preparation
- Who is this course for?
- Teaching Staff
- Term Dates and Tuition Fees
The course is demanding, and requires students to be dedicated in their application of the work introduced in the room to the soliloquys and scenes of their choice. It has been designed so that self-motivated students will benefit most from the training. Students are expected to undertake a certain amount of self-directed study and preparation out with class times, including pre-work.
Students should be open, honest, generous, respectful, hard-working and willing to work in partnership with others as a collaborator. The course will expect you to share your own insights, opinions and experiences of the material, and to perform for one another as works in progress.
You will need access to a device such as a desktop computer, laptop or tablet which allows you to access the internet with a screen large enough to see the group members during online sessions. You will need internet connection which is fast enough to take part in video sessions on MS Teams and to watch film footage.
You may also want to consider whether you have a space you can use where you can work without interruption. Please keep in mind that the other students taking part in the course will be able to see what’s behind you when you are online.
- Plan and prepare to attend all classes – catch up videos will be made available for the duration of the course, but taken down thereafter.
- Communicate any access needs well in advance so we can best support you
- Commit lines to memory outside of session time
- Engage with the supporting materials sent out ahead and throughout the course
- Dress comfortably in clothes which are suitable for the activity you are taking part in
- Have a notepad and pen/pencil to make notes
- Bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated during your class and snacks to keep energy high
- Set up your laptop so you are able to stand/move for the duration of the session (access needs permitting)
- Where possible find a quiet space or inform housemates you will be speaking with intention, emotion and energy suitable for performance
This course is suitable for students aged 18+, with some actor training experience. Students should be keen to learn and plan to attend all classes.
Dr. Rob Myles is a multi-award-winning director, actor and teaching artist; Creator of Original Parallels, The Shakespeare Deck, Illuminated Text, The Show Must Go Online, and the Owning Shakespeare Podcast. In 2020, he directed all 36 First Folio plays of Shakespeare, winning a OneOff Award, and nominated for The Stage Digital Project of The Year. Rob has since won the British Shakespeare Association Innovation Award and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Interactive Production, with The Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada. Previously, Rob has played over 30 Shakespearean roles in off-west-end and regional touring productions. His book, Innovation & Digital Theatremaking (Routledge), explores how his work in business innovation provides novel problem solving for theatremakers of the future.
This course will run online on Tuesday evenings for 14-weeks.
Block 1
Thursday 30 October – 11 December 2025
Block 2
Thursdays 22 January – 5 March 2026
The course fee is £385, and can be paid in full or in instalments before the course end date.
Further Information
We want to ensure as many children, young people and adult learners as possible can access the performing and production arts education that is offered through Short Courses at RCS. Financial support options available for Short Courses include:
Agnes Allan Bursary
Agnes Allan was a teacher, passionate about inclusion, and this bursary scheme exists to offer support to students to participate in the performing or production arts.
The Agnes Allan Bursary provides some support to students who may require financial assistance to take part in a short course in dance, drama, music, production or screen.
Anyone who wishes to take part in our Short Courses and faces a financial barrier can apply for bursary support to help meet the cost of tuition fees.
James McAvoy Drama Scholarships
BAFTA-winning and Golden Globe nominated actor James McAvoy is committed to nurturing the creative potential of young Scots who experience barriers to access and participate in drama at RCS Short Courses.
James is a graduate of the BA Acting programme at RCS and Patron of the Junior Conservatoire of Drama. The Glasgow-born actor has funded the new James McAvoy Drama Scholarships to enable young people to experience the world-class drama training at RCS as he did.
The scholarship aims to support applicants who would otherwise find meeting the cost of tuition fees at RCS a barrier to accessing pre-Higher Education drama training at the Royal Conservatoire.
You can find more information about these funds on our Financial Support page.
We run various promotional offers for our Short Courses and Summer Schools. You can view our current offers on our Promotional Offers page.
You should contact us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk to request your discount code before booking a course.
Please note, only one promotional offer can be applied per course and should be used at the time of booking as we are unable to apply a discounts retrospectively.
Please see our Short Course FAQs for more information about all aspects of choosing, booking and attending your course.
Please see our Short Courses – Terms and Conditions for more information about your contract with Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Cancellation and Refund policies.
Sign up to our mailing list to receive the latest updates of courses, offers and news from Short Courses. You can do this by completing this short online form found here.
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