Meet your coach
Hey actor! I’m Sarah Guillot.
I’m guessing you’re here because you’re considering joining my membership, Shakespeare Mastery Academy, or maybe even working with me 1:1.
So I thought you might like to know a little bit about me.
I started performing in productions of Shakespeare at around 19. (Don’t let my cherubic face fool you – that was nearly twenty years ago! 🤓) I was lucky enough to work with some incredible directors who introduced me to powerful verse-speaking techniques.
A few years later, I was accepted to drama school… to study contemporary theatre! And this wasn’t your regular 20th century classics. When they said contemporary, they meant contemporary!
I was busy learning Meyerholdt’s Biomechanics, Suzuki, neutral mask, and studying the devising techniques of theatre companies like Frantic Assembly and Forced Entertainment, and writing essays on performance artists like Laurie Anderson and Marina Abramović.
But I never stopped being fascinated with Shakespeare. I was sure it had a place in this world of contemporary theatre. When I had the opportunity to write a solo show, I made it about Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, using lines from Shakespeare’s plays. After university, I even started an indie theatre company that produced Shakespeare using minimal casts, puppetry and animation!
In the years that followed, I became a mum and got my teaching degree. When I started coaching, I wanted to share everything I’d learned from my university training and amazing directors I’d worked with, so everyone could enjoy Shakespeare the way I did.
When actors first started working with me, they were often scared to try Shakespeare. They say, “I just don’t want to get it wrong”, “I don’t know where to begin” and even, “Shakespeare makes me feel dumb”. 😖
My mission is to make actors feel like they can do Shakespeare – because they can! I believe Shakespeare is for everyone. It can be a joyful experience to perform Shakespeare, and you deserve to have that experience too.