Rob Pensalfini

r.pensalfini@uq.edu.au

Brisbane, Australia

0433 648 101 (from within Australia – from the US dial 011 61 433 638 101,
or 011 61 7 3892 3850)

Rob offers private coaching in voice and acting, especially using Shakespeare and classical text.  Through the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble he offers training in voice, movement and acting, including courses on speaking classical verse, analysing and embodying text, using verse structure and the First Folio.  As a voice teacher Rob has an open and generous approach, and is a stickler for the specific language and imagery of Kristin’s work.  Rob tailors his approach to the needs of each student and teaches veteran actors as well as those with no experience.  For more information about Rob, the Ensemble and the Linklater training programs offered, please visit the QSE website: www.qldshakespeare.org

Rob’s passion for language and expression extends to a number of interests: he is an actor, director and musician and a teacher of voice, acting, and linguistics.  He received a PhD in theoretical linguistics from MIT in 1997, and has taught and published in the field of linguistics through the Universities of Chicago and Queensland.  Rob is currently:

     Artistic Director of the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble (Australia)
      a lecturer in linguistics and drama at the University of Queensland and
      a junior text teacher at Shakespeare and Company (Massachusetts).

One of the founders of QSE, Rob directed the company’s first full production, As You Like It.  In 2003 he played the title character in Coriolanus and in 2005, directed The Comedy of Errors to critical acclaim.  Other Shakespeare roles include Prospero in The Tempest, Hubert in King John, Feste in Twelfth Night and Launce in Two Gentlemen of Verona.  Rob has worked with Pilgrim Theatre and performed and trained extensively with Shakespeare & Company (both in Massachusetts, USA).  Rob has lived in Brisbane since 1999 but travels regularly to the United States to teach at Shakespeare & Company in their month-long actor-training workshop.  In Brisbane Rob has performed and taught with both Zen Zen Zo and Power of Will as well as QSE.