The MFA

I forced Paul to write out a little about his experience thus far. We're 5 weeks into the term, and he's worked with some INCREDIBLE people. I love hearing about it!

"I absolutely love Simon Ratcliffe. I know I’ve said it before, but he is by far my most influential tutor here. His knowledge of speech and verse, Shakespeare and Shaw is completely unmatched. I’ve been working with him on how to be a better auditioner and how to approach monologues. He’s done wonders with me, but it really comes down to knowing my text so well there’s no thought what the next line is. So as we’ve had a few weeks together and we’ve been working on Hamlet (I’m playing the evil king) I’m getting more excited to speak the words they way they’re supposed to be said according to me. He works directly with Kristin Linklater, and it boggles my mind how closely I get to work with the great British and world coaches of our day.

This past week we had an opportunity some actors would possibly never get in their lifetime, much less an American student. We spent Monday with Cicely Berry. Ciss is often regarded as the leading scholar and forefront thinker of Shakespeare and his text and voice. She’s world renowned for her work and she did a workshop with us all day Monday. Working with Cicely Berry was an amazing opportunity on its own, but the next day we got Allison Bomber to work with us. Allison was the voice coach for the RSC for many years until just recently. She just finished doing the voice work for Benedict Cumberbatch and the cast of Hamlet at the Barbican. Her CV (resume) is endless and she’s one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever met. Her enthusiasm and joy of the language is contagious and we had the most amazing time with her. We really broke down the body and the voice as one inseparable entity. People often say they need to speak with their body or their voice, but it’s all one in purpose and objective.

Having been on such a high from working with two of the biggest names in voice work and Shakespeare, along comes Barbara Houseman. Barbara studied under Cicely and has emerged as one of the most influential Shakespeare coaches and voice instructors of our day. Her clients include, but are not limited to: Jude Law, Daniel Radcliffe, Ken Branaugh and Dame Judy Dench and the cast of Winter’s Tale. She took time to work with our cohort, and, in some cases, just with me on my scenes. Shakespeare truly has never been easier for me to understand, or more exciting to speak, and this was all given to our little cohort by special request of Alex Taylor. I don’t believe there is another MFA Acting program in America, the U.K. or even the world that offers what I have received just this month! I’ve been at the school for over a year and every opportunity to grow and expand has been with some of the world’s best, and I can never repay that."

-Paul