Hello Shakespeare!
The acting company that Shakespeare was associated with was The Lord Chamberlain's Men or, as they would later be called, the Kings Men (Falconer 2013). This company performed Shakespeare's plays with the assistance of boy actors who would play the female roles because during Shakespeare's time females were not allowed to prefom (WikiAnswers 2013).
Richard Burbage was the son of James Burbage, the theatrical entrepreneur who built the Theatre and is considered to be the first great actors of the English theatre (Mabillard 2011). Burbage received success as a performer by the age to 20 (Mabillard 2011). He played many of the major Shakespearean characters, including Othello, Hamlet, Lear, and Richard III (Mabillard 2011). Burbage was a member of the Chamberlain's Men after 1594 and stayed with the group through its evolution into the King's Men in 1603 (Mabillard 2011). Although his last recorded performance was in 1610, he acted with the King's Men until his death in 1619 (Mabillard 2011).
William Kempe was one of the most beloved clowns in the Elizabethan theatre (Mabillard 2011). Kempe joined the Chamberlain's Men in 1594 and acted in many of Shakespeare's plays (Mabillard 2011). He was the original portrayer of Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Peter in Romeo and Juliet, and possibly Falstaff, Lancelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mabillard 2011). However, it appears that Kempe suddenly left the Chamberlain's Men in 1599 (Mabillard 2011). The reason for his departure is not documented, although many believe that he was asked to leave due to his chronic improvising (Mabillard 2011).
Women did not act on the English stage in Shakespeare's day, the parts of women, and sometimes of old men, were acted by child actors--boys whose voices had not yet changed (Child Actors 2011). Several of Shakespeare's plays, particularly the comedies, capitalize on the effect of boys acting women -- who then take on disguise as boys (Child Actors 2011). It is clear that the boys were fine actors, since Shakespeare wrote some major parts for the women in his plays (Child Actors 2011).
English actor who, with Henry Condell, prepared and oversaw the First Folio (1623), a collection of Shakespeare's plays (Encyclopedia Britannica 2013). Heminge was an integral and prosperous member of the theatrical company that eventually became the King's Men in 1603 (Encyclopedia Britannica 2013). Though not an exceptional actor, he appeared in numerous plays, and is thought to have been the first to perform the role of Falstaff (Encyclopedia Britannica 2013). Heminge served as the company's business manager, a position he held for more than 25 years; after 1611 he rarely acted (Encyclopedia Britannica 2013). A respected administrator, he was also one of the original proprietors of the Globe and Blackfriars theatres (Encyclopedia Britannica 2013).
Shakespeare's Acting Company
Shakespeare's Actors
John Heminge
Boy Actors
William Kempe
(Google Images 2013)
Richard Burbage
(Google Images 2013)
Timeline of The Chamberlain's Men
Courtesy of Timetoast 2013
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