Rodrigo Beilfuss, actor and artistic director

The Performers Podcast

Rodrigo Beilfuss is a Brazilian-born Canadian actor-director with a German last name, who trained in England and now calls Winnipeg, Manitoba his home. He is the artistic director of Shakespeare in the Ruins.

Growing up in Brazil, Beilfuss envisioned a career as a diplomat. He was well on his way after being accepted to law school, but he faced a fork in the road when he was also accepted to a cultural exchange program in Winnipeg. He chose Winnipeg thinking he'd return to Brazil, and a career in the foreign service after the cultural exchange was completed.

As part of his cultural exchange program, Beilfuss was introduced to the works of Shakespeare; he fell in love with the Bard's words and soon traded his pursuit of a diplomatic career for a one in theatre.

Beilfuss admits that when he was first introduced to Shakespeare, he didn't understand much of the language. However, his realization that he was not alone in his struggle to comprehend Shakespeare's work ultimately gave him the confidence to work through it. "Ironically, Shakespeare gave me a sense of belonging - everyone was confused; everyone was terrified," says Beilfuss.

From Winnipeg Beilfuss traveled to Stratford, Ontario and England where he studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His master's thesis research at LAMDA examined the process, and cultural impact, of performing Shakespeare in different languages - a natural topic for Beilfuss, whose first language was not English.

SHOW NOTES:

Website: http://www.rodrigobeilfuss.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RBeilfuss

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rbeilfuss/?hl=en

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