Directing the Action: Acting and Directing in the Contemporary Theatre (Applause Acting Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm reading this book now for the second time. Charles Marowitz has an interesting style of writing, the kind that you have to stop and think about it for a little while every other page or so. I often go back and re-read some sentences just to make sure I fully understood the whole meaning and the context. It's a very professional view on theatre in all it's aspects. It's not usual to find an author that does not mind sharing his point of view and breaking taboos (I like the way he disagrees with Method acting in some aspects ). This book has helped me in my work as an actor and director.

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Every actor and director who enters the orbit of Marowitz's major work will find himself challenged to a deeper understanding of his art and propelled into further realms of exploration on his/her own. Marowitz meditates on all the sacred precepts of theatre practice including auditions, casting, design, rehearsal, actor psychology, dramaturgy, and the text.

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The Art of Acting Review

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(More customer reviews)This great book has a quick and enthusiastic Introduction by former student Marlon Brando, and then consists solely oftranscripts ofcogent and thought-provoking lectures ofthe legendary and revered acting teacher Stella Adler (1901-1992).Howard Kissel has compiled, or possibly combined, tapes in order to come up with these "classes," or chapters.
Adler was an eloquent and reverentialphilosopher of acting, a teacher and acting coach extraordinaire of Brando, de Niro, Warren Beatty, Harvey Keitel, Candice Bergen, and many more. As a young, serious actress she had traveled to Paris, in order to study with Konstantin Stanislavsky, founder of "Method" acting. She was his only American student. She brought his philosophy back to the US, but added her own considerable beliefs to it.She cautions students: "Don't read his book, because it makes absolutely no sense. He came from a culture entirely alien to yours, and you won't understand it."
The twenty-two classes are seemingly presented verbatim. Each 'class' forms a chapter, and has a named subject as its organizing principle.("Acting is Doing," "Developing the Imagination," Building a Vocabulary of Actions," "Understanding the Text," Dressing the Part," "Instant and Inner Justifications," etc.) Each class is clear, thoughtful and thought-provoking, and wonderfully stimulating. Adler focuses on meaning and the soul of the thing - at all times. In addition, she is delightfully concrete, so you are never lost in well-meaning platitudes.
Right off the bat, you are educated as to why acting is not a cousin to, for example,fashion modeling. Adler is blunt, and supports her assertions. Acting has nothing to do with being "discovered," it is not about fame or celebrity.She bemoans the loss of the theater companies of mid-century, and the opportunities they provided to actors, who are now left to 'go it alone.'
To Adler acting is a labor of intelligence and will and love, a "profession that is over 2000 years old"and one that requires boundless energy and a sort of selfish (but not narcissistic) ambition first, and then "critical seeing, self-awareness, discipline, and self-control" - for starters. She talks about the importance to an actor of the use of one's imagination, the disciplined willingness to actually do the research -in order to care deeply and conscientiously about the play. She asserts, "A great disservice was done to American actors when they were persuaded that they had to experience *themselves* on the stage instead of experiencing the play. Your experience is not the same as Hamlet's - unless you too are a royal prince of Denmark. The truth of the character isn't found in you but in the circumstances of the royal position... [to play the role] your past indecision on who to take to the prom won't suffice."
This book is stimulating, uplifting, thought-provoking, and deep. You do not have to be interested in 'doing' acting in order to enjoy her wisdom. Worth reading, and rereading.

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Michael Caine - Acting in Film: An Actor's Take on Movie Making (The Applause Acting Series) Revised Expanded Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)If you like movies, this book is a great read. If you're interested inacting in movies, it's an essential read. If you're interested inmoviemaking (behind the camera), it's still an essential read: buy extracopies to pass around on the set, especially if you're a strugglingfilmmaker and you have a cast of friends who've never acted before.
As ateacher, Caine is as straightforward as he is as an actor. You watch hisperformances and you're seeing an actor who understands that less is more.You read this book and you're listening to an instructor who understandsthe same thing. Every anecdote he tells about films he's been in and starshe's worked with is not just namedropping, it's ALWAYS relevant to whateverhelpful point he's making about the craft of film acting. And to him it isvery much a craft, not an art. The art takes care of itself; it happensmysteriously, but it can only happen if you nail the craft first. Noarty-flighty book about acting theory or the Method, this is aworking-class, meat-and-potatoes manual that anyone can relate to, muchlike its author.

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A master actor who's appeared in an enormous number of films, starring with everyone from Nicholson to Kermit the Frog, Michael Caine is uniquely qualified to provide his view of making movies. This new revised and expanded edition features great photos throughout, with chapters on: Preparation, In Front of the Camera - Before You Shoot, The Take, Characters, Directors, On Being a Star, and much more."Remarkable material ... A treasure ... I'm not going to be looking at performances quite the same way ... FASCINATING!"- Gene Siskel

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The 16-Bar Theatre Audition: 100 Songs Excerpted for Succesful Auditions (Vocal Collection-Baritone/Bass) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great audition resource, as it not only has the songs already broken down into audition-ready length, but it also includes a wide variety. There are pieces from shows old and contemporary. And although some of the music goes a bit over 16 bars, this is generally nto a big deal. It's maybe two-four bars over. Directors are typically more concerned with your voice than PRECISE bar count. These selections keep it close, though.

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Most large audition calls for musical theatre, both professionally and in larger school situations, specify that those auditioning bring in a "16 bar" excerpt. The professionals in musical theatre often complain that singers don't know how to construct an appropriate 16 bar audition, either in choosing a song or in editing an excerpt. With this new series, that problem is solved forever! Editor Michael Dansicker, a composer/producer/music director, is a seasoned musical theatre veteran, with 100 Broadway credits. He brings his expertise and broad knowledge of the literature to this series. Each excerpt has been given a thoughtful, graceful and effective form. No more illegible scribblings for the poor audition accompanist! An enormous variety of literature is represented, from old standards to movie songs to the latest Broadway and Off-Broadway material. With 100 songs per volume, any singing actor, whatever his or her talents and strong suits, will have many choices. In the preface, the editor gives valuable pointers on the nature of a good audition and some factors in choosing songs.

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One on One: The Best Womens Monologues for the 21st Century (The Applause Acting Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a director of a professional theater, I can tell you that the right monologue is vital for a great audition.Finding the perfect monologue is a hard task for any actor and it's even harder for female actors.This wonderful resource provides a wealth of women's monologues for both the professional and educational theater.After providing solid advice for choosing the right monologue, Henry, Jaroff, and Shuman offer a robust choice of monologues from a wide range of playwrights and styles.Thoughtful, complex, and beautifully theatrical, these monologues provide plenty of choices for the perfect monologue.A must have for any actor's library!

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Three editors, each associated with theatre, collaborated on this book of monologues for actresses. What they discovered, besides bravura pieces for auditions, acting classes, and study, was the pulse of the millennial theatrical scene. A follow-up to the popular previous edition from the 1990s, One on One: The Best Women's Monologues for the 21st Century includes the work of over 70 playwrights, spotlighting the best of Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and experimental writings since 2000. A special introduction also explains how to choose, practice, and perform a speech for auditions. Comic or serious - or both - the monologues are written for young, old, and multicultural players by famous names and up-and-coming talent. Anna Deavere Smith records abuse in "real" relationships (House Arrest); August Wilson relates trials of those who survived coming to America - and those who did not (Gem of the Ocean); and William Gibson recreates the dark, fledgling days of Israel (Golda's Balcony). Additional works include Are You Ready? by David Auburn, Bad Dates by Theresa Rebeck, The Committee by Brian Dykstra, and many others.

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Accents: A Manual for Actors- Revised and Expanded Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)The range and usefulness of this book is quite astonishing. Not only doesthe text provide important sounds, stress and pitch and mouth/tonguepositions for more than 80 accents of English as spoken all over the globe,but the author illustrates them with great versatility on the accompanyingCD. I learned the difference between several Irish accents, heard a CockneyYiddish and the same phrase spoken in several regions of the AmericanSouth. It is an invaluable book for the actor or anyone who finds accentsintriguing. A vibrant plus is the erudite and highly readable introductoryessays to each language group which give a history of the country and itslanguage, and include many examples of recordings and films in which youcan hear fine examples of English spoken with that accent. I now understandwhy my Swedish daughter-in-law and Southern husband speak as they do,and amlooking forward to perfecting my Dublin accent.A gift for anyone intheater or film, or anyone who is fascinated by the many ways our languagecan be spoken.

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This practical reference manual, with its precise, authentic instructions on how to speak in more than 100 dialects, has established itself as the most useful and comprehensive guide to accents available, now increased by a third in this revised printing. As before, the accents range from regional U.S. and British dialects to European accents that include, among others, the Germanic, Slavic and Romance Languages. Completing his around-the-world journey, the author then covers the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

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One on One: The Best Men's Monologues for the 21st Century (Applause Books) Review

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(More customer reviews)I borrowed this from the library for my boyfriend, who was beginning an acting workshop.He found so many useful monologues in this book that we ended up buying it.The pieces span a wide range of ages, ethnicities, types, and topics, and it is an indispensible as a source for fresh and exciting audition pieces that haven't been done to death by a million other aspiring actors.Highly recommended for all male actors.

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Covering the best of Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and experimental theatre since 2000, One on One challenges actors to explore the inner self, develop skill and artistry for auditions, and deliver a knockout onstage performance. These monologues - sometimes comic, sometimes serious, and often both - tackle issues ranging from race, class, gender, relationships and romance to coming of age, mortality, 9/11, and the Iraq war.

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Voice Actor's Guide to Recording at Home and On the Road (Book) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was looking for a book to explain how to record one's voice on a home computer.This very practical, easy-to-understand guide to voice-over recording comes through loud and clear, with excellent signal-to-noise ratio.Best of all, these guys "get" direct-to-computer USB recording, mixing software, the Internet, and other modern technologies, integrating them with timeless recording advice gathered in real careers.

Hogan and Fisher tell you what works, and why what you think might work, won't.Rather than showing off their geek-speak chops, they use regular English and even poke fun at the technical lingo in the process of demystifying it.Other home recording books lavish excessive technical verbiage on how to pad your walls.These guys offer practical solutions (including "move") and even show how to make a portable acoustic foam-lined mic box.You will discover exactly what you need to buy -- although theUSB-audio-interfaces section is surprisingly short -- and how to use it.They won't tell you exactly what mic to buy, though, and it's for your own good.

Warning: the jokes are abundant, mostly terrible and distracting, especially the comments from "Prunella," whose parenthetic remarks, although they mercifully trail off, are the editorial equivalent of lip smacks. (The full harshness of this comment will be appreciated upon reading the otherwise excellent text.)Failed humor notwithstanding, the tone ends up being warmly self effacing and encouragingly user-oriented.These guys take seriously the job of helping you, including a strong index and glossary, and plenty of URLs.

Chapter 12, Advanced Production Techniques, is alone worth the price of the book.Embedded in an economically worded step-by-step script for editing recordings are the exact frequencies to manipulate to address problems such as thin sound, dull recording, and sibilance.You end up feeling as though you have two buddies in the recording business; telling you every tip they know, and hammering on mistakes that could ruin your project.Don't let the light tone fool you: this is a seriously great book!

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For many years, recording voiceovers was the exclusive domain of commercial studios. Even a simple voice audition meant a trip to a studio, an ad agency, or an agent's office. Today voiceover actors are increasingly producing voice tracks for corporate narration, radio spots, animation, games, and other dialogue projects from their own home studios. Many have learned that to survive in this highly competitive field, they need to learn and master basic home recording production techniques. "The Voice Actor's Guide to Recording at Home and On the Road, Second Edition" shows both aspiring and established voiceover actors how to set up and effectively use their own inexpensive -- but professional-sounding -- personal recording studio to make professional-quality home recordings quickly and easily. Everything is covered to help you get auditions and jobs, from setting up your studio with the right hardware and software, recording at home, and production basics, to promotion, podcasting, and advanced production. This new edition of this bestselling bible for voiceover home recording has been completely updated to cover all the exciting new technology and delivery options currently available.

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Duo!: The Best Scenes for Two for the 21st Century (Applause Books) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a terrific collection of scenes because it does not include the same, old "Laura and the Gentleman Caller" or "Juliet on the balcony with Romeo" dialogues that you get elsewhere. Here are over a hundred fresh, hip, contemporary scenes written by an equal number of today's brightest playwrights from the turn of the 21st century on. Plus, there are scenes for a man and a woman, two women, or two men. Whether you're an acting teacher, a student, or just a theatre buff, here is a well-organized, blockbuster compendium that has been cunningly assembled by the book's three collaborators with a keen eye for works that address the spot-on issues of our age - from race and gender to class and politics to love and sex. You would do well to consider your acquisition of this book not as a purchase, but an investment.

Jonathan Kestly
Stage Director

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Culled from the work of over 100 playwrights and encompassing the seminal issues of our time, this follow-up compendium is by turns comic and serious but always intensely human. Pieces include scenes from August: Osage County, George and Martha, Intimate Apparel, Take Me Out, and Water Music.

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Using the Stanislavsky System: A Practical Guide to Character Creation and Period Styles (Limelight) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a young acting student years ago, I read and reread the work of Stanislavsky and found it truly relevatory: I used my feelings to bring the actor's words and actions to life. Now that I have gone from actor to historical novelist, I understand one must know the period well in which the play is set....but that is a daunting task for actors who are not historians. Where do you begin?

"Using the Stanislavsky System" is an amazingly rich overview of historic periods from the ancient Greek through the 20th century and the cultural, intellectual, moral, spiritual, sociological and economic realities of daily life. How would you carry yourself if you were a young girl in 1300 whose virginity was her most precious possession? How would the complexity of your hair arrangement and your clothing affect your walk? What songs or prayers ran through your head? How did what you ate affect your body? What was your relationship with God? Reading a relevant section of this book will give you a very good idea, but even more, the author suggests hundreds of movies, period diaries, period literature, novels, and history books to help you understand the feelings and actions of an Elizabethan actor, an 18th century English parson, a Victorian upper middle class woman.

This is the book to own to begin period character creation and the author's further directions for enriching that character are so thorough that you may walk out on stage as truly another person who lived centuries before and make his life and world come intensely to life before your audience.

I am also recommending this book to writers of historical fiction.

Stephanie Cowell, author of MARRYING MOZART and THE PLAYERS: A NOVEL OF THE YOUNG SHAKESPEARE

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This book is a must for all professional and student actors, and for acting teachers as well. A concise, clear explanation of exactly how to create a character in plays of any period, using the Stanislavsky system. Known for his detailed approach to the art of acting and for the authenticity of his historical productions, Stanislavsky believed that actors should immerse themselves completely in the era in which a play or film is set. The chapters provide inspiring cultural, social, and historical introductions to the periods from ancient Greece through the end of World War Two. Each chapter covers the way men and women moved, stood, and sat in the clothing they wore; the use of accessories such as fans, swords, snuffboxes, gloves, and hats; greetings, bows, and curtsies; table manners; and the etiquette, civility, and automatic habits of thinking and of social intercourse depending on social class. All these things that people took for granted as the background of their lives, as part of their conscious and unconscious mental world, are the essential components of building a character with real, organic behavior associated with a specific era. Literature, music, painting, and other graphic arts are all discussed as well, and the sections on films and television programs, as well as bibliographies of books and recordings, will guide your further research.

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Acting in the Million Dollar Minute: The Art and Business of Performing in TV Commercials - Expanded Edition (Limelight) Review

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(More customer reviews)As an acting coach, I found this book to be informative,down to earth and a wonderful resource to enhance my classes.I bought about a dozen books as required reading for my students.

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While television commercials often elicit groans from the viewer, they mean work for actors and can be the bread-and-butter backbone of an actor's career, providing a safety net of income while he or she climbs the ladder to greater success. And for those actors who achieve face-to-product recognition, commercial work can provide handsome residuals for years to come. While many books on the market include some information on commercial work, Acting in the Million Dollar Minute deals exclusively with the art and business of acting in commercials. Here the "art" is narrow: script terminology and procedure, commercial dialogue, camera staging, working the product, sample commercial scripts, and detailed analysis of how a commercial is actually shot; while the "business" side, reflecting the general industry, broadens to include training, photos, the resume, unions, actor-agency contracts, the interview, the screen test, callbacks, pay and working conditions, and a complete list of SAG and AFTRA offices. In this revised and updated edition, this book provides direction on how to: Decipher the meaning behind the commercial script; Begin and end every commercial performance; Get the auditioners' attention immediately when the camera begins rolling; Compel the auditioners, with the sheer force of your performance, to actually watch your playback tape; Take the camera from another actor (i.e. upstaging); Give the director a performance that makes his or her job easier in the editing room.

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Creating a Character: A Physical Approach to Acting (Applause Books) Review

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(More customer reviews)Once the voice has done its job, how does the body go on from there?How can we make our characters as real as we can?Every actor asks these questions of themself, but there's one question that Yakim asks about every character--Who are they?Boiled down?In two words, even?This book defines the different types of characters as basic archetypes, or "selves":The Vulnerable Self, The Trusting Self, The Instinctive Self.It then goes on to list ways of developing these Selves from a purely physical standpoint.
I have only used parts of this book in developing some of my characters, and already, I feel more confident about my presence on stage.I believe myself now, and that's the hardest audience to convince.

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For over 20 years, Moni Yakim has taught his unique blend of physical training and emotional exploration to a generation of American actors that include Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, and Kevin Kline. Now, for the first time, his acting process is available to every actor and theater professional.

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How to Act and Eat at the Same Time: The Sequel: The Do's and Don'ts of Landing a Professional Acting Job (Limelight) Review

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(More customer reviews)Mr Logan's book is the most succinct and thorough guide for beginning actors that I've come across.The recommendations and advice given in the book is based on 30 years experience as a WORKING director in Hollywood.Unlike most acting coaches who are has-beens or never-will-bes and who give outdated or inacurate instruction, Mr Logan gives current and reliable advice collected methodically and tested over decades.
Mr Logan's writing style makes the book a quick and enjoyable read.I highly recommend this book to any beginning actor or anyone who is unhappy with their career development.And if you're lucky enough to have Mr Logan give a workshop in your town, don't miss it!

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Everything an aspiring actor needs to know about the business of finding employment.

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A Performer Prepares: A Guide to Song Preparation for Actors, Singers and Dancers (Applause Acting Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you have anxiety about performing, David Craig will give you so much else to think about, that problem is solved.

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A Performer Prepares is a 13-part master class on how to perform on any stage from bleak rehearsal room to the Palace Theatre. The class covers the basic Broadway song numbers, from show ballad to showstopper. With precise, logical steps and dynamic and entertaining dialogues between himself and his students, David Craig takes anyone with the desire to shine from an audition to final curtain call. These lessons on the pages recreate as closely as possible the unique interpersonal dyamic of Craig's legendary coaching encounters in New York, Los Angeles and across the country.

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On Singing Onstage (Applause Acting Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)David Craig breaks down the sometimes overwhelming task/joy of performing songs into manageable chunks.His analysis of songs at the beginning of the book is priceless.After determining the Who-what why-when-where-how facts, the singer is guided through creating a subtext that personalizes and animates the performance, making it truly something worth watching/hearing.Highly recommended to singers of all genres, although Mr. Craig's focus is on musical theater.Answers the eternal question, "is this song (trip) necessary?" with a resounding "YES!"

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A terrific take on theatre singing by a master teacher. "David Craig knows more about singing in the musical theatre than anyone in this country - which probably means the world. Time and time again his advice and training have resulted in actors moving from non-musical theatre into musicals with ease and expertise. SHORT OF TAKING CLASSES, THIS BOOK IS A MUST." - Harold Prince

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One on One: The Best Men's Monologues for the Nineties (Applause Acting Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)One of my favorite monologue books for quick pieces. great for any scene study class!

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86 monologues for men from the contemporary stage, written by these and other major dramatists: David Mamet * Paul Rudnick * Brian Friel * Steve Tesich * Harold Pinter * David Lodge * Alan Ayckbourn * Timberlake Wertenbaker * Neil Simon * John Patrick Shanley * Herb Gardner * Ariel Dorfman * Craig Lucas.

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