Shakespeare and Movement: Q&A with Shakespeare By The Sea’s, Sharon King-Campbell

Sharon King-Campbell is a celebrated theatre artist and the Artistic Director of Shakespeare by the Sea. This season, Sharon spearheaded a partnership with Untellable Movement Theatre through the Incubator program, introducing company-wide movement literacy workshops and supporting the hiring of Assistant Director Jaimie Tait on Love’s Labour’s Lost, directed by Lynn Panting.

Sharon King-Campbell, Artistic Director, Shakespeare by the Sea

In this Q&A, we speak with Sharon about her vision for the company, the role of movement in classical and contemporary performance, and why this kind of development work is so vital to Shakespeare by the Sea.

Q: Tell us about Shakespeare by the Sea and your role with the company.

Shakespeare by the Sea Festival is the longest-running outdoor theatre festival in the region. We have a focus on the works of William Shakespeare, of course, but we also develop and produce new works. We serve a vital role in the theatre ecosystem, in that we team up artists across generations and at all stages of development. Our vision is that everyone - yes, everyone! - have the opportunity to engage with and enjoy the work we do. As Artistic Director, my job is to dream big, come up with a plan for each season, and then work as part of a team to make it all happen.

Q: Why movement? Why now?

Theatre is inherently movement-driven. The primary, least-optional component of theatrical performance is the body/bodies of the performer/s. So some basis in movement, some shared vocabulary in that area, is important to the work that we do. And I think we are still feeling the effects of the pandemic, both artistically and socially, in that we have moved a lot of our time and consciousness into a digital space where we are quite literally disembodied. So prioritizing movement work has never been more important. We have to re-embody our own selves before we can embody our characters.

Q: How does movement intersect with Shakespeare’s text for you?

Historically, Shakespeare's plays were performed in conditions that would be considered extremely hostile today: chattering audiences, sales and trade happening in the same space, loud heckling... all of that would have been normal, and the actors would have had to use every tool in their toolkit to capture and retain whatever attention they could get. Shakespeare's characters, especially in his comedies, were founded on archetypes from Commedia dell'Arte, which is a style of improvised clowning based on commonly-known postures, voices, and costumes, and it's reasonable to think that in many cases, the actors working on the premiere productions would have used that style of movement freely. So there's that connection, and now, in the 21st century, it's hard to imagine performing Shakespeare without substantial movement, even if it isn't drawn from the same sources. The Big, Over The Top characters remain, and they need to move to come to life.

Q: What excites you most about the Movement Theatre Incubator program?

When Lynn and I were dreaming up our partnership for this summer, she used the phrase "movement literacy," and I think that's great. This program spreads and improves movement literacy. The idea of going into a process knowing that there is a shared vocabulary and a shared understanding of the importance of movement - that's very exciting. I love to watch work that begins with movement - that's not my exact bag as an artist, but I always enjoy it as a spectator - and I do know how important movement, or "body-first" work, has been to me as a performer, and how easily it integrates into any theatre-making process. Once you've incorporated that work, it starts to become impossible to imagine doing any theatrical work without a strong movement component.

Q: Why does this kind of development work matter for a company like yours?

Because of our position in this industry as a gateway, we have always prioritized professional development, especially for performers. Movement is a fundamental component of performance, and it seemed like the ideal fit to offer it as PD alongside voice and text work. For me, those are the 3 pillars of theatrical performance.