Cordelia - Episode 9

For a character that doesn’t appear onstage for much of the play, there is a lot to unpack with Cordelia, and she has a major impact on the journey of her father, the title character of “King Lear.” In this episode, UCSB professor Jim Kearney returns to the podcast, and Erika Soto shares her experience playing Cordelia earlier this year at A Noise Within in Pasadena, California. Discussed here are the changes Shakespeare made to his source material for “King Lear,” how an actress can bide her time while staying in the zone through Cordelia’s long stretch backstage waiting for her return in Act 4, and why it’s essential to remember that Cordelia leads an army into battle.