ABSTRACT
This chapter is a direct account from the author, a dyslexic actor, describing their journey and process to explore Shakespeare’s text. The author looks specifically at Cymbeline and the character of Imogen throughout. The chapter explains how the author found a way to understand Shakespeare’s text, but also developed the tools to explore the emotional state of the character. Starting from the use of an appropriate workspace, through to rehearsals and performance, the author shares discoveries that enhanced her work. The author describes how the use of imagery, sound, textures and paint, as well as other techniques, such as free-writing, can connect an actor to language and its meaning, in Shakespeare and modern texts. The author’s methods can be used for performance as well as an exploratory process in the rehearsal room. Having created unusual rehearsal methods to engage and encourage dyslexic actors, the author looks at how these can help the dyslexic in their personal life as a means of communication. Finally, the chapter suggests ways in which this work can be used in future practice and the author’s own teachings, not only with actors, but also with a diverse range of community groups.
