Dare to do Shakespeare

Tackling Shakespeare can be a daunting task even for the most experienced of actors. We get so caught up in the text we forget that Shakespeare himself was an actor and wrote for actors, not academics. Shakespeare’s characters are funny, sexy, serious, smart, sassy and above all human. The course will concentrate on the simplicity of Shakespeare. His scripts give the actor ALL the clues needed to create the character and the drama. If you sign up for this mahi, be prepared for lots of games, community spirit, and equal time spent studying text and exploring on stage. Participants will be sent four extracts from which we will use as our inspiration for the week. Familiarity with the plays they come from is encouraged but not required.

TUTOR: jade eriksen

Jade is a performance director, educator, facilitator and mother. She grew up in Manutūkē and Gisborne/Tūranganui-a-Kiwa and is of Greek, Irish, Scottish, English & Danish descent. Jade has a Master of Theatre Arts in Directing and has directed and devised award winning collaborative and solo performances including Yatra, Stamping Grounds, Migrant Nation, arcane, Penumbra, Leon Wadham’s Giddy, Ella Gilbert’s Soft Tissue, Madeline McNamara’s The Attitudes, Jessie Alsop’s The Fish Eat the Softest Parts First and Tom Clarke’s Perry. From 2004-2016 Jade taught at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School and directed within the school’s Go Solo and Site projects. In 2025 she was a Scene Assessor for the SGCNZ Victoria University of Wellington National Shakespeare Festival and went on to direct The Tempest within their National Shakespeare Schools Production in September. She is currently working with Whangārei Arts community at OneOneSix through Laurel Devenie and assesses for various arts institutions including PAYPA and Te Herenga Waka: Victoria University’s Theatre MFA.