Patsy Rodenburg OBE, has been the Director of Voice at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London for 26 years and until recently at the Royal National Theatre. She trained in Voice Studies at the Central School of Speech and Drama and is recognized as one of the world's leading voice teachers and coaches, and also as a renowned authority on Shakespeare. She is also a best-selling author whose notable publications include Speaking Shakespeare, The Right to Speak, The Need For Words, The Actor Speaks, The Second Circle, and Power Presentation.

Patsy has worked regularly with the best-known actors of the British theatre, including Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Daniel Day-Lewis, to name a few, as well as many of the biggest stars of film and television such as Nicole Kidman, Orlando Bloom, Hugh Jackman, and Natalie Portman. She was previously in residence with the Royal Shakespeare Company for 9 years and has worked with The Royal Court Theatre, Donmar and Almeida Theatre in London. She has also worked extensively with many of the great world theaters such as the Moscow Art Theatre and Comédie-Francaise. Patsy's home in America is at the renowned Michael Howard Studios in New York City where she teaches workshops for the professional actor. Under the Michael Howard Studios banner. She travels around the world teaching and speaking, from Los Angeles to Canada to Portugal, from Australia to India.

Entirely updated to reflect developments in the author's practice in the 20 years since the first edition published

Acknowledgements
Preface

Part One: Foundation Craft
Foundation Craft
The Body
The State of Readiness
Breath
Support
Freeing the Voice
Consolidation
Deepening the Work
Range and Resonance
Clear Speech
Listening
Hamlet's Advice

Part Two: Structure
The Givens
The Word
Alliteration, Assonance, Onomatopoeia
Rhythm
Pauses and Irregularities of Rhythm
The Line
The Thought and Structuring of Thoughts
The Structure of Scenes
Antithesis
Rhyme
Prose
Irony
Puns
Language Games
Repetition
The Story
Location
Stage Directions, Props, Entrances and Exits
Soliloquy

Part 3: The Imaginative
The Imaginative Exploration of the Text
Anchoring the Text
Owning the Text from Character's Experience
Focus and Energy
Summary

Part Four: The Speeches
Richard III
Julius Caesar
Measure for Measure
King Lear
As You Like It
Much Ado About Nothing
The Merchant of Venice
Othello
Henry V
The Winter's Tale
Macbeth
Twelfth Night
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
King John

Part Five: Checklists
Preparing the Body, Breath, Voice and Speech
The Givens
The Imaginative