ACADEMY 2026: Scene Study: Shakespeare's Rhetoric

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Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center

Moderated by Armin Shimerman

Tuesdays, 6:00-9:00pm

$425 for six 3-hour sessions

This Academy class is open to everyone—from theater enthusiasts and newcomers to seasoned actors looking to deepen their understanding of William Shakespeare's rhetoric.

Scene Study: Shakespeare's Rhetoric

Armin Shimerman, the esteemed Shakespearian scholar and teacher, offers a six-week scene-study class at the Antaeus Theatre. It is for people interested in learning more about Elizabethan Rhetoric, which he considers the Rosetta Stone, for not only understanding the playwright’s language but also acquiring techniques for communicating that language to a modern audience. Besides Rhetoric, Armin offers insights into Elizabethan culture, medieval History, Religion, and Theatre. The class is primarily for actors, hoping to improve their textual understanding and classical acting, but he welcomes teachers and directors or anyone who is truly interested. He guarantees that Shakespeare will never seem daunting again.

Students will choose a monologue that they would like to work on and bring to the first class. They do not need to memorize the monologue but will need to bring in a hard copy either written or printed out to class, along with notebook paper for note taking.

November 3rd, November 10th, November 17th, December 1st, December 9th, December 15th
Please note: There will be no class on November 24. The fifth week of class will be on Wednesday, December 9.

*Please note, students under 18 require permission from the moderator to take this academy class. If you’re in this category, please reach out to us at academy@antaeus.org.

About Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman is an esteemed Shakespearian scholar, actor, director, and teacher. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California (USC) where he taught Shakespeare to Theater BFAs. But he has also lectured at UCLA, Pomona College, and the Classic Theater Lab. He has given lectures on Shakespeare to thousands of people as well as having three novels about the early days of William Shakespeare entitled Illyria. He has performed Shakespeare at the Tyrone Guthrie Theater, the San Diego Old Globe Theater, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Vermont Shakespeare Festival, the American Shakespeare Festival, and other venues. His resume includes Quark, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, plus countless Guest Starring roles, including Antaeus the Nox on Stargate, Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Judge Hooper on Boston Legal. His classes make the Bard understandable and enjoyable. He invites you to the sixteenth century.

Other

Armin Shimerman
(Co-Director of Measure for Measure, The Crucible, and Shakespeare teacher at Antaeus). He is a highly regarded actor and is best known to television audiences as Quark, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He portrayed Leo Tolstoy in Discord for both the Noho Arts Theater and the Geffen Theater. Broadway: Threepenny Opera; St. Joan; I Remember Mama, and Broadway.  Selected Regional Theater: King Lear (Fool), Road to Mecca (Marius),The Seafarer (Blind Irishman -San Diego Critics Circle Award for Best Actor: San Diego Repertory); Richard III, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Merry Wives of Windsor (The Old Globe); Henry V (American Shakespeare Festival); Hoagy, Bix, Wolfgang Beethoven Bunkhouse (Indiana Repertory Theatre); Threepenny Opera, Camille, Wild Oats (Guthrie Theatre).  Selected LA Theater – Birthday Party (LA Drama Critics Circle nomination – Lead Performance: The Matrix Theatre); Hamlet, As You Like It (Theatricum Botanicum); Misalliance, Juno and the Paycock (with his wife, Kitty Swink), Standup Shakespeare (Odyssey Theatre); Richard II (Mark Taper Forum).  At ANTAEUS:  The Seagull, Macbeth, and many Classic Fests.  TV: 80 different Guest Star roles, including Antaeus the Nox on Stargate, Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Judge Hooper on Boston Legal, and recently on CSI, Castle, and Franklin and Bash. As a voice-over artist, he was the long running voice of General Skarr on three different animated shows. In the field of video games, he has participated in over two dozen, acclaimed for his voicing of Dr. Nefarious in the Ratchet and Clank franchise as well as Andrew Ryan in the Bioshock series.
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*member, Actor’s Equity Association, the union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the U.S. This production is presented under the auspices of the Actors’ Equity Los Angeles Membership Company Rule
Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center
110 East Broadway
Glendale, California 91205