“Sally is born to teach and provides a safe, inspiring and creative work place. It was fun, challenging, exciting and inspiring to be a part of such a wonderful class. I highly recommend that everyone does this course. Being an actor Sally understands so much more and her knowledge of Shakespeare is just phenomenal.”

SARAH HALLAM
Actor, Teacher & Industry Professional

Using the techniques developed over two seasons of developing and directing our award-winning series, Shakespeare Republic, and related Shakespeare projects, as well as her years of experience playing Shakespeare on stage in both Australia and the UK, Republic creator/director, Sally McLean also teaches a variety of courses focused on tackling Shakespeare and making his words your own.

In addition, in early 2018, Sally accepted the invitation from renowned Los Angeles acting coach Howard Fine and HFAS Australia Studio Director, Phil Hayden, to join the Howard Fine Acting Studio Australia faculty as the Studio’s resident Shakespeare teacher, working with both the full time and short course students.

CURRENT COURSES SALLY TEACHES:

• Playing the Bard: Shakespeare in Performance (For Actors)
• Playing The Bard: Shakespeare at Play (For High School Students)
• Playing The Bard: Shakespeare Piece By Piece (For Teachers)
• Private Coaching (For Actors)

“Sally is articulate and expressive in her passion for Shakespeare and the practice of her professions as actor and director. The time and effort Sally put into working with each individual performer said everything to me – everyone matters, everyone is important. Nothing was generic – everything was specific, an observation on the work you were doing right there and then. Sally is supportive, and encourages you to push yourself further than you knew you could.”

JAKLENE VUKASINOVIC
Actor, Improvisation Teacher & Industry Professional

PLAYING THE BARD: SHAKESPEARE IN PERFORMANCE (FOR ACTORS)

Using the techniques she employs when working with her award-winning Shakespeare Republic cast, Sally’s teaching in this course will enable actors to delve deep into Shakespeare’s text, create place and embody character, bringing Shakespeare’s words truly to life in a 21st Century context. This six week course culminates in a live presentation of the work for family, friends and invited guests at the final class.

NEXT COURSE:

9 June – 14 July 2020
Tuesday evenings – 6.30pm to 10.30pm
Howard Fine Acting Studio Australia
delivered online via Zoom 
More Information & Booking Details: CLICK HERE

PLAYING THE BARD: SHAKESPEARE AT PLAY (FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS)

Sally created Shakespeare Republic to not only celebrate Shakespeare, but also make his works more accessible to everyone, including school students, who are usually introduced to his plays and sonnets via the high school curriculum. She has devised a range of programs for school students from Year 7 to 12, using activities and acting exercises designed to get students off their chairs and on their feet, playing with Shakespeare’s text as he intended – through performance.

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“Just wanted to send a quick followup to thank you for coming out to speak to the girls. It was a great experience for them, and very much appreciated! I’ll be in touch regarding a repeat booking, if you’re available for next year – it would be awesome to have you back!”

KYLIE NEALON
Head of English, Toorak College

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There are a range of options available – from one day workshops led by Sally (which can also include a select group of hand-picked actors made up of Shakespeare Republic ensemble members and other actors trained personally by Sally in Shakespeare), through to talks and presentations with some interactivity over a single or double period. All school workshops come with handouts for the class and follow up materials for teachers to use with the class to continue the work after the workshop is completed.

If you’re interested in finding out what workshops are available, please reach out to us via our Contact page, or email us direct at interact(at)shakespearerepublic.com with the subject header “Playing The Bard Workshops For Students”.

Sally, and all actors who work with her in the school environment, have current Working With Children checks.

“I think Sally is wonderful. I think this course worked so well because of her passion and ability to share her love of Shakespeare. I also felt that Sally has excellent teaching skills and understanding of people. Sally is very easy to understand and her passion makes it easy for her to keep the attention of the class. Everything she said made sense and I felt like if I ever had any questions I could ask, she would never judge which made it an extremely nourishing learning environment. She also made it lots of fun.”

LAURA SUTTON
Actor

PLAYING THE BARD: SHAKESPEARE PIECE BY PIECE (FOR TEACHERS)

Sally’s philosophy of “learning by doing” is also applied in her work with teachers who are teaching Shakespeare, particularly those who teach his works as part of English and English Literature subjects, who may not come from a performance background. Through a specially devised workshop for those teachers interested in exploring new ways to bring Shakespeare to life for their students in the classroom, Sally takes high school teachers through the same techniques she uses with her acting students to help give teachers extra tools when working with their students, as well as the confidence to perform his works themselves, as necessary, as part of their teaching toolkit.

The next round of teacher workshops will be held during third term in 2019 and details of the course will be made available here when finalised. If you wish to express interest in this workshop, please reach out to us via our Contact page, or email us direct at interact(at)shakespearerepublic.com with the subject header “Playing The Bard Workshop for Teachers”.

“It was so beneficial. So glad I did it. I thank Sally for making me so passionate about Shakespeare and his amazing texts.”

EMILY SVARNIAS
Actor & Musical Theatre Performer

PRIVATE COACHING (FOR ACTORS)

Sally is also available for private coaching in performing Shakespeare. She has privately coached actors for a variety of reasons – from auditions to performance prep. If you are interested in finding out her fees and/or booking a session with Sally, please reach out to us via our Contact page, or email us direct at interact(at)shakespearerepublic.com with the subject header “Private Shakespeare Coaching” and outline what kind of work you are preparing for.

“Sally is a fantastic tutor, and created a safe and nurturing learning environment.”

HANNAH HOLMES
Actor