“This workshop will give participants an introduction to one of the most effective techniques used to train contemporary actors throughout North America. The Repetition Exercise was developed by Sanford Meisner, one of America’s leading acting teachers of the 20th Century and touches on many of the fundamental elements of good acting. Like a musician practices scales when learning how to play a musical instrument, the Repetition Exercise is used to build awareness of all of the acting basics, including sense of play, listening, working with impulses, reacting, public solitude, rhythm and much more. Participants will be asked to use oneself as the instrument, and to deepen their capacity to use text in any given imaginary circumstance.”
Paul Hopkins has been working in Canadian film, television and theatre for over twenty-five years. He’s gained a broad range of experiences over his career, having performed in theatres across Canada and in numerous roles on the big and small screen, in addition to his 8 years as the Artistic and Executive Director of Montreal’s Shakespeare-in-the-Park company, Repercussion Theatre. Despite his success, Hopkins has never stopped working to deepen his craft as an actor. His curiosity has led him to learn from and work with some of the best.
Hopkins’ specialty is in performing Shakespeare and how one can enhance classical text work using contemporary acting techniques. Currently, he is participating in the 5-year international research project, Early-Modern Conversions: Religions, Cultures and Cognitive Ecologies.
In 2012, Hopkins was honoured to be a finalist for the Christopher Plummer Award for Excellence in Classical Theatre for his work as a producer, director and actor.