The Classical Actor’s Toolkit
a workshop series for professional actors
Shakespeare’s language is rich, muscular, and alive – and it demands a lot from the actor.
The Classical Actor’s Toolkit is a professional training series designed to give performers practical, repeatable techniques for approaching Shakespeare and other classical texts with confidence, clarity, and imagination.
Led by Oak Park Festival Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director and Company Members, this hands-on workshop series draws on decades of performance and teaching experience. Each class focuses on a different facet of classical acting, giving actors concrete skills they can immediately apply to rehearsals, auditions, and performances.
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Shakespeare’s Basics
Taught by Peter Andersen and Tony Dobrowolski
This foundational workshop equips actors with the essential tools for performing Shakespeare’s plays, including iambic pentameter, line endings, clarity of thought, and vowel/consonant work. Learn how Shakespeare’s language functions and how to make it vivid, playable, and clear for an audience.
Work with Oak Park Festival Theatre Producing Artistic Director Peter Andersen and Company Member Tony Dobrowolski in a supportive, hands-on environment. Ideal for professional actors new (or looking for a reintroduction) to classical text.
First Folio & Punctuation
Taught by Belinda Bremner and Barbara Zahora
Have you heard of the ‘First Folio’ technique, but are unsure how to use it?
This class introduces actors to the First Folio and its punctuation, revealing how Shakespeare embedded performance clues directly into the text. Learn how to let the punctuation guide breath, thought, and emotional shifts, deepening both clarity and connection.
Taught by longtime Company Members Belinda Bremner and Barbara Zahora, who bring over 40 years of combined teaching experience, this workshop offers practical tools you can immediately apply to your work.
Michael Chekhov & Shakespearean Rhetoric
Taught by Peter Andersen and Lucas Prizant
Bring Chekhov’s ideals of imagination, impulse, and structure together in your Shakespeare work.
Join Producing Artistic Director Peter G. Andersen and Company Member Lucas Prizant for an exploration of the Michael Chekhov technique applied to Shakespeare’s rhetoric.
Using Chekhov’s psychophysical tools, actors will investigate Hermogenes’ seven modes of speech: Clarity, Grandeur, Beauty, Rapidity, Character, Sincerity, and Force, key elements Shakespeare relied on in his soliloquies. Leave with a deeper understanding of rhetorical devices and embodied techniques you can use consistently to energize your classical acting.
Shakespeare and Voice
Taught by Barbara Zahora and Tony Dobrowolski
Discover the music and emotional power of Shakespeare’s language.
Explore how voice unlocks feeling, intention, and connection in Shakespeare’s text. With experienced instructors drawing on decades of experience on the Chicago stage and in the classroom, this workshop focuses on vocal freedom, resonance, and emotional access.
In this workshop, actors will learn how to consistently tap into the rhythm and music of the language, strengthening both performance and presence.
Auditioning for Shakespeare
Taught by Peter Andersen
Prepare, polish, and perform with confidence.
Work one-on-one and in a group setting with Producing Artistic Director Peter Andersen to refine your Shakespeare audition material. Bring 1-2 monologues ready to workshop, with a focus on clarity, connection, and audition-ready choices.
Leave this class with sharper tools, stronger material, and the confidence to walk into your next Shakespeare audition ready to book the job.
