About Shakespeare Pronunciation AppMeet the Authors
Shane Ann Younts
Shane Ann Younts is the co-creator of the Audio Shakespeare Pronunciation App.
The App is designed for actors, directors, students, professors, theater arts classes and anyone who studies or performs the plays of Shakespeare to learn more about Shakespeare Pronunciation.
Shane Ann is an Associate Arts Professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She teaches voice, text and Shakespeare classes in the Graduate Acting Program.
Also she teaches a complete voice and speech program in New York City. In addition to the voice, speech and text work, the advanced level includes applying these tools to the texts of Shakespeare.
Professional Work
Shane Ann has coached productions of Shakespeare for The New York Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park:
- All’s Well That Ends Well
- Measure for Measure
- Macbeth
- Hamlet
- and the Public’s off-Broadway production of Timon of Athens.
Other Shakespeare productions include:
- the Guthrie Theater’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Twelfth Night
- Antony and Cleopatra
- Romeo and Juliet for Westport Country Playhouse.
Broadway
She has served as Voice Consultant/Dialect Coach for:
- Clybourne Park
- Newsies
- Bonnie & Clyde
- Mary Poppins
- The Lion King
- Mamma Mia!
- Spamalot
- and Tarzan
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway productions include:
- A Young Man from Atlanta
- Between the Lines
- Storefront Church
- The Duchess of Malfi
- Edward II
- Stunning
- Luck of the Irish
- Platanos and Collard Greens
- The Good Thief
- Danny and the Deep Blue Sea
- and others.
Regional
Regional productions include:
- Cyrano (The Shakespeare Theater)
- The Elephant Man (Williamstown)
- The Matchmaker (Ford’s Theatre)
- The Miracle Worker (Ford’s Theatre)
- Steel Magnolias (Paper Mill Playhouse)
- A Christmas Carol (Paper Mill Playhouse)
- and 1776 (Paper Mill Playhouse).
Education
Her voice, speech and Shakespeare training started with Robert Neff Williams. Additional voice and Shakespeare training with Cicely Berry and Richard Armstrong. She is included in Marquis Who’s Who in America.
Louis Scheeder
Louis Scheeder co-created the Shakespeare Pronunciation App with Shane Ann. Louis was an Arts Professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
He was the founder and Director of The Classical Studio, an advanced training program in the Department of Drama. He was also Associate Dean of Faculty for Tisch.
Louis specialized in using classical texts, primarily Shakespeare, for actor training. He believed that the command of language one gains translates into all other acting work, be it primarily physical, emotional, or verbal.
Professional Work
He served as the Producer of Washington’s Folger Theatre Group, was associated with the Manitoba Theatre Centre, and has worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Also Louis directed on, off, and off-off Broadway and at regional theaters in the U.S. and Canada.
Produced three off-Broadway shows, most notably Amlin Gray’s Obie-winner How I Got That Story.
Additionally Louis contributed to two chapters of Training of the American Actor.
Outside of New York he conducted acting workshops in:
- Los Angeles
- London
- Havana
- Johannesburg
- Cape Town
- Singapore
- Shanghai
He was a member of London’s The Factory UK.
Alumni
Some of his alumni include: Jesse L. Martin, Rachel Botchan, Michael Laurence, Danielle Ferland, Andy Paris, Mia Baron, Arnell Powell III, Rachel Chavkin, Nick Walker, Jimmy Smagula, John Farmanesh-Bocca, Brandon Uranowitz, and John Lavelle.
In addition to working actors, his students have gone on to populate a wide variety of performative professions including law, teaching, and the clergy.
Education
He received his Ph.D. in Performance Studies from NYU and was awarded the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2014.
Louis passed away in 2021.
About The Dictionary
All English words in this dictionary, including words absorbed into English from other languages, are listed alphabetically. Latin words and phrases are... Learn More
Scanning the Verse
Many of the suggested pronunciations in this dictionary are influenced by Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter. This was the staple of English poetry from the time of... Learn More
Accents & Dialects
In some plays, accents are required of characters whose native language is not English. This occurs in both The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V. In the former, Dr... Learn more
Includes Latin Words
In an attempt at consistency, the pronunciations in the Shakespeare audio dictionary app are rendered into what is commonly referred to as “restored” or... Learn More
About Our Vision
The VideoUnlike anything you've ever seen or heard.
All the Words on Stage
The Audio Shakespeare Pronunciation App is based on our book, "All the Words on Stage, A Complete Pronunciation Dictionary for the plays of William Shakespeare". And although it is explicitly a Shakespeare pronunciation app, there is another agenda behind the ostensibly prescriptive notion of the correct pronunciation of the Shakespearean vocabulary.
Firstly in presenting our work, we hope that it will stir a greater interest on the part of actors and directors, as well as teachers and students, in Shakespeare’s handling of language.
More importantly we believe that a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s verse, specifically the rhythm and variants of the iambic pentameter line, can aid actors in their physical and psychological portrayals of his characters.
Therefore the suggested pronunciations in the app reflect the interweaving of word and rhythm produced by blank verse in its numerous variants.
In recent years, popular interest in Shakespeare has grown enormously however there still exists a major barrier to the plays for many students and actors. That barrier is language. At times, Shakespeare’s language fosters intimidation and instills fear.
Using the App to Learn More about Shakespeare Pronunciation
Firstly the intent behind this app is to to help people learn more about Shakespeare Pronunciation and to assist in the dismantling of the barrier of language.
The app allows students, actors, and the general audience access not only to an articulation of individual words, but also to the world of these plays, which, after all, exists in and through words.
Additionally we hope to guide the listener not only through the basic pronunciation of individual words, some of which are no longer in current use, but also through the complexities of how the words work in relation to each other.
Finally our research has revealed that editions of Shakespeare seem to have been created for the reader rather than the actor. However, some editions, like the Pelican, have included markings for stressed “ed” endings in the texts, and others have noted the syllabic divisions of a word in order to respect the rhythm of the verse.
The third edition of the Arden series emphasizes the performance aspects of the plays in its introductory essays.
Individual editors also suggest pronunciations by including instances of words that elongate (by the addition of a vowel) or shorten (by the deletion of a vowel).
"A Must for Any Director"
A must for any director or actor approaching Shakespeare. As we've been told, there is a method to Shakespeare's genius and a prescribed musicality to his words. The Audio Shakespeare Pronunciation App helps us master those sounds and get at the heart of the work itself. No director or actor worth his or her weight in salt should attempt to tackle the complexity and wonder of the Bard without growing familiar with this app, as it lays forth the foundation for hearing and grasping the true meaning of the text. Andrew Bell - Writer/Director See More
"I Cannot Imagine Rehearsing Without It."
I’ve used the Audio Shakespeare Pronunciation app for the past two years on different productions and now I cannot imagine rehearsing without it. I highly recommend this app to any theatre artist who is working on a production of one of Shakespeare’s plays. Besides giving you the clear and easy to understand pronunciations, it will deepen your appreciation for his artistry. John Zdrojeski - Actor See More