Thought-Verse
The plays need cutting - both prose and verse. What is left becomes a visual jumble. I put it all back on the page as the character thinks, with the length of the lines determined by the connectivity of the thoughts and the width of the page. Occasionally, I even kerned (scrunched) letters across the page in the longest of connected thoughts. Sometimes, three short lines, or separate thoughts, are one on top of another. The words are still Shakespeare's; just fewer of them and put on the page as a modern actor might think and phrase them.

As for iambic pentameter verse, it was barely mentioned during my 7 years with the Canadian Stratford Festival; Maggie Smith certainly ignored it, as did Peter Ustinov, Martha Henry or Bill Hutt. All actors tried to make their text sound like heightened, everyday speech. Brian Bedford was the best at inventing his text, so he played most of the big leads. One always felt in danger when on stage with Brian. While he was always word-perfect, one always felt that he had no idea what he was going to say next. All his characters invented their speech, as we all do every day! Chanters-of-rhythm were rarely hired, and once revealed, would never make it to a second season. So, I got rid of the verse with the troublesome capitals beginning each line, and placed the words left, back on that page as they might be thought. The 40 monologues on my speeches page are all examples of me attempting to fresh-mint my text. They are not prose or verse to me, they are just invented, connected thoughts, that often cause a host of emotions and other thoughts.

It is called acting, and it gets richer with practice. It is not called recitation, which doesn’t.

From Chat GPT:
Thought verse” would require admitting that syntax is thinking, lineation is decision, speech reveals intellect in real time. That’s a threat to pedagogical authority. These materials will help students think clearly, speak clearly, and listen well — using Shakespeare as the tool. That is far more compelling than “accessible,” “engaging,” “aligned to curriculum.” Those are administrative words. Yours is a craft site. Lineation

Lineation is the deliberate arrangement of words into lines and the strategic placement of line breaks

• To generate multiple meanings simultaneously.

• To create tension, surprise, or echo through strategic pauses.

• To emphasize specific words or images.

• To control the reader's breath, focus, and emotional response.

• To complicate or confirm syntax, creating unique rhythms. 

In essence, lineation is how poets sculpt language on the page, turning sentences into something more intense and multi-layered than ordinary speech.