Acting Apprenticeships

The Shakespeare Company will offer a paid internship including high level training in Shakespeare Performance to 4 emerging artists of diverse backgrounds and then provide them with real world experience by casting them in a full production of Macbeth. The training will take place over 6 weeks with The Shakespeare Company’s Artistic Director and the rehearsal/performance in the play will take place over another 6-week period. These 4 emerging artists will come out of the process with the skills needed to perform in a professional production alongside some of the best actors in the world. They will also have a professional credit to add to their resumes – a highly coveted asset in the theatre world! The inclusion of these artists in the workshop will elevate the work of other participants (anticipated to be about 15 actors) by challenging the assumptions of the senior actors – something emerging artists always seem to do. Their presence in the show will make the material all the more accessible to student audiences, who we anticipate to number in the hundreds. Watching their peers onstage alongside working professionals will inspire a whole new generation of would-be Shakespeareans! We will pay each intern $500/week for the duration of the show contract and cover the $125 workshop fee (reduced from $150) for each.

I'll be honest. The first people to benefit from this will be The Shakespeare Company. These internships will help us to grow our connections with the communities we serve. They will also help to develop the necessary skills in a group of Shakespeare actors who we will be able to lean on for future productions for years to come. Having a well-trained talent pool is invaluable for the work that we do. We have a long history of providing significant opportunities for emerging artists and it continues to be at the heart of what we do. The next obvious beneficiaries of this will be the 4 artists who will get serious training of a nature that is getting more and more difficult to find in Canada. They will get an opportunity to perform in one of the greatest plays ever written, and they will do it alongside the best of the best in Calgary's professional theatre community. It will be an unforgettable experience for them. With hundreds of actors auditioning for a few roles in these plays, the opportunities they will get will truly be rare and meaningful. When it's done, they'll have that coveted line on their resumes, too. It can really open doors for a lifelong career. The next group to benefit from this will be all of the students who come to the show and see their peers performing onstage along with seasoned pros. They will be able to see aspects of themselves represented onstage in ways that can truly inspire and create a feeling of belonging. Who knows how many other lives will be touched by this.