About Salamander Shakespeare Co.
Salamander Shakespeare Co. (formerly known as Shakespeare Young Company) offers a comprehensive training for actors in classical text work. Our approach is movement based, founded in commedia and the traditions of stage fight. Vocal work includes singing and diction training.
Salamander Theatre founder and artist, Eleanor Crowder directs this cast. Further professional coaching by fight, voice and movement coaches extends each actor’s boundaries beyond the scope usually afforded them this early in their career.
Working from the original folio text brings young actors closer to the original meanings of Shakespeare. Salamander Shakespeare Co.'s trademark lively pacing is close to what Shakespeare’s own troupe would have used. It is ideally suited to both the youth of the actors, and the open air and NAC Fourth Stage venues.
Company members may be emerging artists or in post-secondary training. The rehearsal period runs full-time from mid-May to mid-June, with the show opening during the Ottawa Fringe Festival. The tour runs outdoors throughout July and then at the NAC Fourth Stage for a final week. The training commitment is for three months. Actors find they can hold down a day job during the July tour.
Salamander Shakespeare Co. brings affordable and accessible Shakespeare to Ottawa audiences, often providing a highly pleasurable first exposure to Shakespeare. It also serves as a turning point for many of the performers who credit this experience as a milestone in their development. The opportunity to perform for an extended tour offers each actor a concentrated period of discovery and time to take their skills to new levels.
The ultimate, long-term, aim of Salamander Shakespeare Co. is to create a core of Ottawa artists who return to the city after their professional training, helping to keep our theatre community vibrant.
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