Bill Kincaid’s Book Has Held Amazon’s #1 Spots for Acting and Pending New Releases in Theatre
Bill Kincaid Jr. recalls receiving advice as a high school student from a Wilmington College English professor on essential literature to read in preparation for college. William Shakespeare topped the list.
PICTURED: Zach Meyer is featured acting in one of Bill Kincaid Jr.'s unrehearsed Shakespeare productions.
Decades later, Kincaid, a 1986 WC alumnus with a long list of acting, teaching and other theatre accolades, is an author himself. He’s written a book on Shakespeare titled Performing Shakespeare Unrehearsed: A Practical Guide to Acting and Producing Spontaneous Shakespeare.
Wilmington College is hosting a public reception and book-signing event in honor of the author May 3, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the lobby of Boyd Cultural Arts Center, corner of College and Douglas streets. Kincaid noted that, rather than reading excerpts from the book, as is often custom at such events, he will illustrate elements of the Performing Shakespeare Unrehearsed technique with volunteer actors.
Kincaid, a native of Wilmington, is head of performance and leads the Master of Fine Arts acting program at Western Illinois University, where his numerous accolades include the Outstanding Teacher and Service Awards. Also, he is a three-time winner of the Classical Acting Coach Award from the National Partners of American Theatre.
His many acting and directing credits include Crossroads Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival and the New England Shakespeare Festival. He is the founder of Bard in the Barn, which has produced unrehearsed performances of 17 Shakespeare plays.
Kincaid started teaching workshops on unrehearsed Shakespeare 12 years ago both as part of Bard in the Barn and as a guest director on college campuses.
“At the end of the workshops, they’d often ask, ‘Is there a book I can read about this?’ I’ve known for awhile there probably needs to be one,” he said. A yearlong academic sabbatical from teaching in 2016-17 proved an opportune time to put down on paper the process and intricacies associated with his unique application of Shakespeare.
“I told myself I needed to be disciplined and write for an hour each day,” he said, noting it went more quickly than expected, as he finished the first draft in June and the final draft before Thanksgiving. It was released March 23 and has the distinction of, for a period of time, being Amazon’s #1 theatre book for pending releases and its #1 newly released book on acting.
Kincaid said the book, which is geared primarily toward actors, quickly fell into place based upon his success in conducting the workshops over the years.
“I talk about rules and exceptions — I was able to get really in-depth,” he said, adding that he drills down into such complexities as why Shakespeare used “thee” and “thou” in some places and “you” in others. “It’s about pulling the language apart and identifying everything the playwright wants you to know. And it’s presented in such a way the readers can relate — even if they’re not necessarily into Shakespeare.”
Amazon describes the book as “seeking to prove that Shakespeare’s plays can be performed effectively without rehearsal if the actors understand a set of performance guidelines and put them into practice. Once the guidelines have been established, practical means of production are discussed, providing the reader with sufficient step-by-step instruction.”
Kincaid shared how his formative years provided a life-changing exposure to the works of the Bard of Avon. His father, Dr. William Kincaid, professor of mathematics, recognized his son as a voracious reader and asked his WC faculty colleague, the late English professor, Dr. William “Bill” Guthrie, for a recommendation of challenging literature for his son to read in the years before attending college.
“When I came to Wilmington College, I had a Shakespeare literature class with Bill — that was the first writing I did on Shakespeare,” he recalled. “He was a good mentor for me and, in fact, I talked to Bill about this project.”
There’s more of a WC connection to Kincaid’s appreciation for Shakespeare. Indeed, while in high school, he was cast in Hugh Heiland’s Wilmington College production of Othello in 1979 and, once a student at WC, he was cast in the Steven Haines-directed production of Much Ado about Nothing in 1982.
“My book’s roots go back to Wilmington College,” he added.
