— ABOUT THE PROJECT

Shakespeare for the New Found Actor is a 2 day intensive in where I will give aspiring and mid career actors the tools to have strong Shakespeare audition pieces for the upcoming school and professional season. Using the learning and teaching experiences I gained with my time at NTS/ The Stratford Birmingham Conservatory/ many years professional experiences I aim to inspire my love of Shakespeare and making it ones own to those who are seeking to make the leap to professional theatre acting. At the end of the workshop participants will have the opportunity to perform their pieces and get feedback from local casting directors and directors.


We will start with physical and vocal warm ups to make the actors aware of the muscularity and dexterity the work needs. We will dive into resources to help with understanding the text, and making it understood to an audience, with folio and lexicon work. We will then start to work with monologues that I and the actor have selected beforehand. We will walk the thought to get the words in the body, have breakdowns of punctuation meaning in the text, discuss metaphor, cesura and iambic pentameter and their use as a tool within Shakespeare. There will be group games and discussions of what resonates to show that it truly is a collaborative medium. I will work them on imaging exercises to personalize the material to the actor. After a veritable Shakespearian bootcamp they will have the opportunity to present their work and be redirected by other local respected artists.

— BIOGRAPHY

Evan Mercer (He/Him) is a Newfoundland born and raised actor/writer/musician/comedian. He had worked professionally on stage and screen (ACTRA) for well over a decade before attending the National Theatre School of Canada to expand his knowledge and experience in the Canadian theatre scene.


On stage he has worked with many of Newfoundland’s top theatre companies for many years. In 2018, he had the privilege of playing Truffaldino in Servant of Two Masters directed by Perry Schneiderman at Perchance Theatre and has worked many Shakespearean roles with the same company under the direction of Danielle Irvine. He has taken original comic material to both the New York and Toronto Sketch Festivals and has also toured his home province with the annual Revue sketch comedy show multiple times.


In 2017 Evan was fortunate enough to be nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for the best actor in a supporting role for his work in 2016’s Riverhead, a film that explored a Newfoundland blood feud. He has also had recurring roles in CBC’s Little Dog and Discovery/Netflix’s Frontier. Recently he appeared on CBC’s Son of a Critch.
He is a musician as well and has been playing bass for over 20 years while also over the span learning guitar, drums, mandolin, among other instruments.


Since coming to NTS, Evan has expanded his toolkit in dance, movement, voice, fight choreography, improv, and many other valuable techniques. He has had the pleasure of working with many great artists and trainers including Quincy Armorer, Alisa Palmer, Graeme Somerville, Eda Holmes, Diana Donnelly, Anita Nittoly, Jackie Maxwell, Tim Welham, Mike Payette, and many more.


Each day he endeavours to bring his strong work ethic and good humour to each process he engages in. He has always had a strong interest in a wide array of storytelling methods and is adept at a wide range of characters. Dramatic and comedic, contemporary, and classical, Evan has experience all over the board.


He has an interest in growing both his already established theatre and film career, while looking to expand into voiceover work for both animation and videogames. Primarily, he finds excitement in creating new original work to share with the Canadian artistic landscape.