The Actors

Shakespeare's unique situation, writing solely for and working with the same actors for many years, gave him unrivalled opportunities for stretching both his actors and his writing. But still his innovations drew and depended upon a system common to all playwrights in the community. We are accustomed to thinking of actors as being ‘made’ for parts; in the early modern theatre it was more common for parts to be made for actors. This chapter begins with a discussion of how an early modern playwright, with an attachment to a company, had no choice but to write a play with actors already in mind,...

Shakespeare's unique situation, writing solely for and working with the same actors for many years, gave him unrivalled opportunities for stretching both his actors and his writing. But still his innovations drew and depended upon a system common to all playwrights in the community. We are accustomed to thinking of actors as being ‘made’ for parts; in the early modern theatre it was more common for parts to be made for actors. This chapter begins with a discussion of how an early modern playwright, with an attachment to a company, had no choice but to write a play with actors already in mind, shaping each written part to a specific player, creating lines that explicitly matched an actor's size, vocal range, and mannerisms. It then discusses typecasting, actors ‘becoming’ the part, and doubling and vizards.