Shakespeare is alive and well in Point Loma.

Tom Haine, co-founder of The San Diego Shakespeare Society, is teaching a six-week Shakespeare performance workshop titled “Shakespeare Unfolded” through Point Loma Playhouse’s ActLiveNow program.

ActLiveNow involves world-class directors, performers, and industry professionals with decades of collective experience taking pupils’ creative skills to the next level. The pros help give them the edge they need to reach their artistic goals via live and online training.

Explaining Shakespeare’s timeless and enduring appeal, Haine noted: “He explores all the basic themes in life – love, hate, family, unity, dysfunction. All of those beliefs, feelings, and experiences are in every one of his plays. That’s why he’s so universally accepted.”
Much uncertainty remains as to many of the details of the Bard’s life and work, due to the lack of written records at that time. But that in no way diminishes or tarnishes the totality of the playwright’s accomplishments. Said Haine, “Genius is genius: That’s what he was.”

He added, “For a person who never traveled outside of England, to know Italy and other places where his plays took place, transcends the normal assumptions we make about what a person can – and cannot – do.”
Haine’s six-week Shakespeare performance workshops are not biographies or histories, but rather are acting workshops focusing on learning to speak and master the English language of that historical period. “There are rules, guideposts, you can use to get an understanding of his poetry,” Haine said. “If people don’t understand that they struggle, disconnect. The problem is, that he’s written plays that are composed with poetic design. That makes it difficult for people to grasp.”
Haine pointed out Shakespeare was both an actor and writer who wrote his plays in such a way that he wanted to give “tools” for the actors to understand what he intended to convey to the audience. “There are rules that you can use to properly read and listen to his plays to understand them,” Haine said.

In his Shakespeare instruction, Haine aims to “give people the tools to understand and appreciate Shakespeare’s works, to get meaning from his speech when they read it, using rules and guideposts to help them appreciate him. That’s what the course is all about.”

Shakespeare performance workshop classes are held periodically in small groups of no more than 10 people. Haine’s present workshop culminates Saturday, Dec. 7 with a live performance on stage from 8-10 p.m. at Point Loma Playhouse at 3035 Talbot St.

For more information, visit eventbrite.com/e/shakespeare-unfolded-performance-workshop-with-tom-haine-registration-1037291275127.

SHAKESPEARE’S LEGACY

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. According to most scholarly consensus, Shakespeare wrote around 39 plays and 154 sonnets. He is often called England’s national poet or simply “the Bard.” His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and re-interpreted.

Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them “Hamlet,” “Othello,” “King Lear,” and “Macbeth,” all considered to be among the finest works in English. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, such as “The Winter’s Tale” and “The Tempest,” and collaborated with other playwrights.

The San Diego Shakespeare Society – William Shakespeare’s contribution to the arts, his profound understanding of the full range of human nature, and his lasting impact are internationally recognized. The Society aims to demonstrate the relevance, immediacy, and accessibility of his works to the general public. The mission of the Society, a nonprofit, is to inspire individuals in San Diego County through Shakespeare’s works, empowering them to reflect on the human condition via educational offerings, performances, and other community activities. That is accomplished by fostering learning and comprehension of Shakespeare’s works; involving the audience as active participants; promoting inclusivity and diversity throughout all programming; and serving as an online gateway and curator for the greater San Diego Shakespeare community by advocating area productions, educational events, and other relevant activities. For more information, visit sandiegoshakespearesociety.org.