The importance of play and fun to people's lives cannot be stressed enough in today's cultural climate of high stress, high stakes, and competition. One activity that gains recognition and credibility as both fun and transformative is theatrical improvisation or improv. In this book, Ruth Yamamoto reviews her research on the influences of improvisation on community college students. Educators, theatre artists, improvisers, or anyone interested building community, developing self-awareness, and affecting positive social change will want to read this book. Dr. Yamamoto examines the principles of improvisation and the concepts of play and flow to add credibility to a craft and practice that is often viewed a frivolous and silly. Ruth Yamamoto extends her research through interviews with applied improvisation professionals, examples and suggestions of games and exercises, and provides solid evidence of the serious, positive benefits of improvisation.

THE GOOD AUDITION GUIDES: Helping you select and perform the audition piece that is best suited to your performing skills Each Good Audition Guide contains a range of fresh monologues, all prefaced with a summary of the vital information you need to place the piece in context and to perform it to maximum effect in your own unique way. Each volume also carries a user-friendly introduction on the whole process of auditioning. Classical Monologues for Women contains 50 monologues drawn from classical plays throughout the ages and ranging across all of Western Theatre: * Classical Greek and Roman * Elizabethan and Jacobean * French and Spanish Golden Age * Restoration and Eighteenth Century * Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Also available: Classical Monologues for Men

Freshwater Theatre presents Better (or) Worse, an anthology of new short plays that attempts to pin down the moving target of modern marriage, with a bit of historic and comedic perspective. They asked us to define marriage: we're giving it a shot.

Being a Working Actor is written by veteran actor, Geoff Meed. There have been many other books written on the business of acting, but none by an actor as accomplished as he. His credits range from being a "name" in the television guest star world, to having performed in major supporting and starring roles in film. This is not a book on the technique of acting, but a career manual, beginning with tough questions and decisions you must make before you pack your first suitcase for Hollywood. Geoff Meed covers his 23 year career explaining little known facts and secrets on what to do, and what not to do, to provide the best chance of earning a career as a full time professional actor in film and TV. This is not a feel good, anybody can do it book, but an honest, truthful insight into what it takes to chase this elusive career, from beginning to end. What you really need to know, by someone who has actually MADE A LIVING at it. Compare Mr. Meed's credits to the other authors in this genre, and you'll get a pretty good sense that his knowledge borders on that of "expert."

There are hundreds of biographies of filmstars and dozens of scholarly works on acting in general. But what about the ephemeral yet indelible moments when, for a brief scene or even just a single shot, an actor's performance triggers a visceral response in the viewer? Moment of Action delves into the mysteries of screen performance, revealing both the acting techniques and the technical apparatuses that coalesce in an instant of cinematic alchemy to create movie gold. Considering a range of acting styles while examining films as varied as Bringing Up Baby, Psycho, The Red Shoes, Godzilla, and The Bourne Identity, Murray Pomerance traces the common dynamics that work to structure the complex relationship between the act of cinematic performance and its eventual perception. Mining the spaces where subjective and objective analyses merge, Pomerance offers both a deeply personal account of film viewership and a detailed examination of the intuitive gestures, orchestrated movements, and backstage maneuvers that go into creating those phenomenal moments onscreen. Moment of Action takes us on an innovative exploration of the nexus at which the actor's keen skills spark and kindle the audience's receptive energies.

Practiced by such actors of stature as Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Julie Harris, Dustin Hoffman, and Ellen Burstyn (not to mention the late James Dean) the Method offers a practical application of the renowned Stanislavsky technique.

On Method Acting demystifies the & quot; mysteries& quot; of Method acting -- breaking down the various steps into clear and simple terms, including chapters on:

Sense Memory -- the most vital component of Method acting

Improvisation -- without it, the most integral part of the Method is lost

Animal Exercises -- just one way to combat the mental blocks that prevent actors from grasping a character

Creating The Outer Character -- so actors can give the freshness of originality to a role while at the same time living the life of the character

On Method Acting is also an indispensable volume for directors, designers, lighting technicians, and anyone in the dramatic arts interested in creating a believable and realistic effect in their productions.