In The Viewpoints Book, first published in the United States, acclaimed theatre directors Anne Bogart and Tina Landau introduce the history, terminology and philosophy of Viewpoints, and offer a step-by-step recipe for using it as both a training tool and a rehearsal technique. Viewpoints is a technique of improvisation that grew out of the post-modern dance world, allowing actors to learn to function spontaneously and intuitively. It was first articulated by choreographer Mary Overlie, whose ideas have been expanded and developed by Anne Bogart and Tina Landau, adapting them for the use of actors. Over the last twenty years, Viewpoints has ignited the imaginations of actors, directors, designers, choreographers, dramaturgs and writers. It is taught all over the world and used by countless theatre-makers in the rehearsal process to develop flexibility, articulation and strength in movement, and to enrich ensemble playing. An invaluable resource for theatre-makers, as well as for anyone with an interest in collaboration and the creative process, whether in art, business or daily life. 'Viewpoints is timeless - a system belonging to the natural principles of movement, time and space. It is a philosophy translated into a technique for training performers, building ensemble, and creating movement for the stage' Anne Bogart and Tina Landau

The Routledge Companion to Studio Performance Practice is a unique, indispensable guide to the training methods of the world's key theatre practitioners. Compiling the practical work outlined in the popular Routledge Performance Practitioners series of guidebooks, each set of exercises has been edited and contextualised by an expert in that particular approach. Each chapter provides a taster of one practitioner's work, answering the same key questions: 'How did this artist work? How can I begin to put my understanding of this to practical use?' Newly written chapter introductions put the exercises in context, explaining how they fit into the wider methods and philosophy of the practitioner in question. All 21 volumes in the original series are represented in this volume.

Using Open Scenes as a "way in" to scripted material, this book establishes a foundational actor training methodology that can be applied to the performance of film or television acting, commercials, and theatrical realism. Unlike other methodologies, this unique approach is devoid of casting considerations or imposed identity, providing actors opportunities that do not rely on nor are restricted by age, gender, race, ethnicity, regional accent, body type, identity, or other defining or delimiting aspects that come into play during the casting process. This allows the actor to focus on personal authenticity as they develop their skills. This book will appeal to undergraduate students, acting teachers, and the contemporary actor seeking a career in film, television, or other electronic media. Visit the companion website www.usingopenscenestoactsuccessful.godaddysites.com for additional Open Scenes and more.

This book includes a critical analysis of pedagogy in performance training environments. Includes descriptions of teaching interventions, research and exploratory practice to support the needs and abilities of the individual with dis/ability or difference. Outlines support for individuals in a variety of areas, such as: dyslexia, dyspraxia, visual or hearing impairment, learning and physical dis/abilities, wheelchair users, aphantasia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autistic spectrum.

An accessible account of the cultural history of Chinese gender relations and sexuality, from the Ming dynasty to the Chinese Communist Party A unique insight of the life experiences of female impersonators in traditional Chinese theatre An engaging analysis of the transformation of Chinese society through the lens of theatre and performing arts An urgent assessment of the ambiguous role of male players of female roles in contemporary China

Routledge Performance Practitioners is a series of introductory guides to the key theatre-makers of the last century. Each volume explains the background to and the work of one of the major influences on twentieth- and twenty-first-century performance. Antonin Artaud was an active theatre-maker and theorist whose ideas reshaped contemporary approaches to performance. This is the first book to combine an overview of Artaud's life with a focus on his work as an actor and director; an analysis of his key theories, including the Theatre of Cruelty and the double; a consideration of his work as a director at the Theatre Alfred Jarry and his production of Strindberg's A Dream Play; and a series of practical exercises to develop an approach to theatre based on Artaud's key ideas. As a first step towards critical understanding and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today's student.

Actors on Guard, Second Edition is the most comprehensive book covering the current practices in learning, rehearsing and performing safe and dynamic swordfights with the single rapier and the rapier and dagger for both stage and screen. Focusing specifically on the Elizabethan rapier and dagger - the most popular weapons used in stage fights - Actors on Guard provides actors, directors, teachers, stage managers and technicians the skills and knowledge essential to presenting safe and effective swordfights. The book takes the reader through the complex process of selecting safe stage weapons, learning the basic handling and management of the rapier and dagger, as well as how to safely move and interact in the potentially dangerous process of learning, rehearsing and performing choreographed swordplay. This new edition has been revised with current industry practices, featuring hundreds of step-by-step practical exercises in the care and handling of prop swords, footwork, guards, parries, cutting and thrusting techniques, blade taking actions, disarms, wounds and kills using the rapier and dagger, with revised diagrams and photographs. An excellent sourcebook for university stage combat classes as well as self-learners, Actors on Guard provides the reader with the historical, theoretical and practical basis for mastering the art of sword fighting for the stage and screen. The book includes access to a wealth of online resources, with additional information that expands upon specific mechanics, techniques and concepts covered in the text as well as some video demonstrations of solo and partnered techniques and exercises.

Actors on Guard, Second Edition is the most comprehensive book covering the current practices in learning, rehearsing and performing safe and dynamic swordfights with the single rapier and the rapier and dagger for both stage and screen. Focusing specifically on the Elizabethan rapier and dagger - the most popular weapons used in stage fights - Actors on Guard provides actors, directors, teachers, stage managers and technicians the skills and knowledge essential to presenting safe and effective swordfights. The book takes the reader through the complex process of selecting safe stage weapons, learning the basic handling and management of the rapier and dagger, as well as how to safely move and interact in the potentially dangerous process of learning, rehearsing and performing choreographed swordplay. This new edition has been revised with current industry practices, featuring hundreds of step-by-step practical exercises in the care and handling of prop swords, footwork, guards, parries, cutting and thrusting techniques, blade taking actions, disarms, wounds and kills using the rapier and dagger, with revised diagrams and photographs. An excellent sourcebook for university stage combat classes as well as self-learners, Actors on Guard provides the reader with the historical, theoretical and practical basis for mastering the art of sword fighting for the stage and screen. The book includes access to a wealth of online resources, with additional information that expands upon specific mechanics, techniques and concepts covered in the text as well as some video demonstrations of solo and partnered techniques and exercises.

In Mythic Imagination and the Actor, Marissa Chibas draws on over three decades of experience as a Latinx actor, writer, filmmaker, and teacher to offer an approach to acting that embraces collective imagination, archetypal work, and the mythic. The book begins with a comparative analysis between method acting and mythic acting, encouraging actors to push past the limits of singular life experience and move to a realm where imagination and metaphor thrive. In the context of mythic acting, the book explores awareness work, solo performance creation, the power of archetypes, character building exercises, creating a body/text connection, and how to be the detective of your own process. Through this inclusive guide for a new age of diverse performers traversing gender, ability, culture, and race, readers are able to move beyond their limits to a deep engagement with the infinite possibilities of rich imagination. The final chapter empowers and motivates artists to live healthfully within the practice and create a personal artistic vision plan. Written for actors and students of acting, American Drama, and film and theatre studies, Mythic Imagination and the Actor provides practical exercises and prompts to unlock and interpret an actor's deepest creative sources.

Creating Improvised Theatre: Tools, Techniques, and Theories for Short Form and Narrative Improvisation is a complete guide to improvised theatre for performers and instructors. This book provides a modern view of improvised theatre based on the rapid evolution of this art form, shedding new light on classic theories as well as developing lesser known and emerging techniques, such as the Trance Mask. Instead of simply referencing classic theories, the book revisits them and places them in the context of contemporary improvisation techniques. Designed as a practical support, this guide contains over 130 exercises that allow its theories to come alive in workshops, rehearsals, and performance. The book is divided into four sections: Nuts and bolts: The fundamental tools of improvisation to explore how to be spontaneously creative, build with your partner, and learn from masks to discover your scene instant by instant. Short form: Techniques for scene work and short form performance, including how to get the most out of a scene, remain connected to the relational stakes, provoke change (physical, status, and emotional), and maintain a playful attitude. Narrative improvisation: Theories to help navigate long form narrative-based shows with "narrative waypoints," generate variety, develop protagonists, work on genres, and manipulate creative transitions. The bits box: Advice for warming-up before a rehearsal or a show with a collection of useful games. Written to inspire creativity and provide the tools to develop innovative improvised shows and experiences, Creating Improvised Theatre is an invaluable source book for anyone interested in the art of improvised theatre, whether a beginning student or experienced performer.

This book includes a critical analysis of pedagogy in performance training environments. Includes descriptions of teaching interventions, research and exploratory practice to support the needs and abilities of the individual with dis/ability or difference. Outlines support for individuals in a variety of areas, such as: dyslexia, dyspraxia, visual or hearing impairment, learning and physical dis/abilities, wheelchair users, aphantasia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autistic spectrum.

In Mythic Imagination and the Actor, Marissa Chibas draws on over three decades of experience as a Latinx actor, writer, filmmaker, and teacher to offer an approach to acting that embraces collective imagination, archetypal work, and the mythic. The book begins with a comparative analysis between method acting and mythic acting, encouraging actors to push past the limits of singular life experience and move to a realm where imagination and metaphor thrive. In the context of mythic acting, the book explores awareness work, solo performance creation, the power of archetypes, character building exercises, creating a body/text connection, and how to be the detective of your own process. Through this inclusive guide for a new age of diverse performers traversing gender, ability, culture, and race, readers are able to move beyond their limits to a deep engagement with the infinite possibilities of rich imagination. The final chapter empowers and motivates artists to live healthfully within the practice and create a personal artistic vision plan. Written for actors and students of acting, American Drama, and film and theatre studies, Mythic Imagination and the Actor provides practical exercises and prompts to unlock and interpret an actor's deepest creative sources.

How did acting begin? What is its history, and what have the great thinkers on acting said about the art and craft of performance? In this single-volume survey of the history of acting, Jean Benedetti traces the evolution of the theories of the actor's craft drawing extensively on extracts from key texts, many of which are unavailable for the student today. Beginning with the classical conceptions of acting as rhetoric and oratory, as exemplified in the writing of Aristotle, Cicero and others, The Art of the Actor progresses to examine ideas of acting in Shakespeare's time right through to the present day. Along the way, Benedetti considers the contribution and theories of key figures such as Diderot, Stanislavski, Meyerhold, Brecht, Artaud and Grotowski, providing a clear and concise explanation of their work illustrated by extracts and summaries of their writings. Some source materials appear in the volume for the first time in English.
The Art of the Actor will be the essential history of acting for all students and actors interested in the great tradition of performance, both as craft and as art.

Dramatism and Musical Theater: Experiments in Rhetorical Performance is an innovative workbook for both students and teachers in advanced communication performance. Meeting at the nexus of English composition, advanced rhetoric, theater, music, and drama, this book utilizes Kenneth Burke's method of dramatism to discover the motives inherent in performance practices, whether they be in the classroom or on the stage. In this book Kimberly Eckel Beasley and James P. Beasley take the five corners of the dramatistic pentad (act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose) and demonstrate their utilization in performance analysis. The authors then correlate those performance practices with the production of five contemporary musicals: Little Women, Aida, Street Scene, Into the Woods, and Children of Eden in order to emphasize the use of the dramatistic pentad in character, scene, and staging direction. By doing so, the book highlights dramatism as a performance practice necessary for effective participation in artistic communities. Dramatism and Musical Theater: Experiments in Rhetorical Performance is also an indispensable guide for teachers and directors to successfully navigate the challenges of collegiate theatrical production.

Dramatism and Musical Theater: Experiments in Rhetorical Performance is an innovative workbook for both students and teachers in advanced communication performance. Meeting at the nexus of English composition, advanced rhetoric, theater, music, and drama, this book utilizes Kenneth Burke's method of dramatism to discover the motives inherent in performance practices, whether they be in the classroom or on the stage. In this book Kimberly Eckel Beasley and James P. Beasley take the five corners of the dramatistic pentad (act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose) and demonstrate their utilization in performance analysis. The authors then correlate those performance practices with the production of five contemporary musicals: Little Women, Aida, Street Scene, Into the Woods, and Children of Eden in order to emphasize the use of the dramatistic pentad in character, scene, and staging direction. By doing so, the book highlights dramatism as a performance practice necessary for effective participation in artistic communities. Dramatism and Musical Theater: Experiments in Rhetorical Performance is also an indispensable guide for teachers and directors to successfully navigate the challenges of collegiate theatrical production.

German Expressionist Theatre: The Actor and the Stage considers the powerfully stylized, anti-realistic styles of acting on the German Expressionist stage from 1916 to 1921. It relates this striking departure from the dominant European acting tradition of realism to the specific cultural crises that enveloped the German nation during the course of its involvement in World War I. This book describes three distinct Expressionist acting styles, all of which in their own ways attempted to show how symbolic stage performance could be a powerful rhetorical resource for a culture struggling to come to terms with the crises of historical change. The examination of Expressionist script and actor memoirs allows for an unprecedented focus on description and analysis of acting itself.

Acting for the Camera: Back to One is a "how to" book with practical steps to achieve a professional performance on camera. The book focuses on four distinct areas: how to prepare the character, how to execute the technical responsibilities that will assist the editor in creating the on-camera performance in post-production, tips from industry professionals, and how to create effective self-tape auditions. Part One: The Character's World is packed with tools to analyze the script and fully prepare the character before arriving on set. Part Two: The Actor's World focuses on developing technical acting skills for the camera that assist the pre- and post-production teams to create a dynamic on-screen performance. In Part Three: The Professional World, industry professionals provide tips from inside the film/TV audition room and how to navigate a career in the acting business. The final section, Part Four: Self-Tape Like a Pro, outlines how to build a self-tape studio in the privacy of your own home and submit high-quality self-tape auditions that will help you stand out from the competition. Written for students enrolled in Acting for the Camera courses, Acting for the Camera: Back to One explores techniques that can be practiced and mastered by actors of all levels, from the moment they audition for the part through to when they hear that director call "cut!"

A Poetics of Third Theatre offers an in-depth, critical analysis of Third Theatre, a transnational community of theatre groups and artists united by a shared set of values and a laboratory attitude. This book takes a genealogical account of Third Theatre as a concept and a practice that draws attention to the historical Third Theatre Encounters that have taken place across Europe and Latin America since the 1970s. The work of renowned Third Theatre groups and organisations, such as LUME (Brazil), Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani (Peru), Triangle Theatre (UK) and Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium - NTL (Denmark), are explored to reveal how a multifarious poetics of Third Theatre is manifest through these artists' approaches to performer training, dramaturgy and cultural action. Three critical pillars - unconditional hospitality, artisanal craft and (re)enchantment - are employed in order to illuminate the shared ethos of the Third Theatre community and its exemplification as a mode of cultural performance. This informative text will be of great use to students and scholars of drama and theatre studies, and its dedicated section on performer training exercises offers the reader pathways into an experiential engagement with Third Theatre craft.

A Poetics of Third Theatre offers an in-depth, critical analysis of Third Theatre, a transnational community of theatre groups and artists united by a shared set of values and a laboratory attitude. This book takes a genealogical account of Third Theatre as a concept and a practice that draws attention to the historical Third Theatre Encounters that have taken place across Europe and Latin America since the 1970s. The work of renowned Third Theatre groups and organisations, such as LUME (Brazil), Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani (Peru), Triangle Theatre (UK) and Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium - NTL (Denmark), are explored to reveal how a multifarious poetics of Third Theatre is manifest through these artists' approaches to performer training, dramaturgy and cultural action. Three critical pillars - unconditional hospitality, artisanal craft and (re)enchantment - are employed in order to illuminate the shared ethos of the Third Theatre community and its exemplification as a mode of cultural performance. This informative text will be of great use to students and scholars of drama and theatre studies, and its dedicated section on performer training exercises offers the reader pathways into an experiential engagement with Third Theatre craft.

Applied Meisner for the 21st-Century Actor develops Meisner's core principles for the contemporary actor and presents a Meisner-based acting technique that empowers practitioners to take ownership of their own creative process. In this book, the authors present the best, most applicable foundational components of Meisner's technique in a clear, pragmatic, and ethical manner, and advance Meisner's core principles with their own innovations. Drawing on the best practices of consent-based work, they outline a specific approach to creating clear boundaries for the actor and establishing an ethical acting studio. Filled with practical exercises, useful definitions and explanations of foundational principles, and helpful advice on how to recognize and overcome common acting traps and pitfalls, this book provides a replicable and flexible technique that puts the actor at the center of their training. Applied Meisner for the 21st-Century Actor offers actors and students of acting courses a workable technique that will foster growth and discovery throughout their career. The text also includes links to the companion website www.21CActor.com, where readers can engage with the material covered in the book and with Otos' and Shively's most up-to-date research, supplemental materials, and training opportunities.

The Motional Improvisation of Al Wunder takes readers on a journey through the life history, creative genealogies and unique working processes of one of the master teachers of Euro-American postmodern movement-based improvisational performance who has, until now, received scant critical attention. The book offers a long overdue examination of the significant impact made by an important figure on grassroots movement-based improvisational performance in 1960s/1970s America and in Australia from the 1980s onwards. It revisits the work of groundbreaking New York choreographer Alwin Nikolais, with whom Wunder trained and for whom he later taught in the 1960s; covers collaborations with founders of 'Action Theater' Ruth Zaporah and 'Motivity Aerial Dance' Terry Sendgraff as part of the explosion of improvisation in San Francisco in the 1970s and tracks the consolidation of a unique pedagogy that would see hundreds of students learn how to map their performative creativity in Melbourne from the 1980s onwards. It conducts a fascinating investigation into the wellsprings of Wunder's approach to improvised performance as an end in itself, covering teaching innovations such as his use of the Hum Drum, positive feedback, personal power sources and articulators. It includes valuable contributions from a number of ex-students and established Australian artists in dance, music and visual art who share the profound impact Wunder has made on their creative practices. This book will be a valuable resource to movement/dance improvisation students and teachers at undergraduate and postgraduate level and independent artists drawn to movement improvisation as performance.

Women, Method Acting, and the Hollywood Film is the first study dedicated to understanding the work of female Method actors on film. While Method acting on film has typically been associated with the explosive machismo of actors like Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro, this book explores an alternate tradition within the Method-the work that women from the Actors Studio did in Hollywood. Covering the period from the end of the Second World War until the 1970s, this study shows how the women associated with the Actors Studio increasingly used Method acting in ways that were compatible with their burgeoning feminist political commitments and developed a style of feminist Method acting. The book examines the complex intersection of Method acting, sexuality, and gender by analyzing performances such as Kim Hunter's in A Streetcar Named Desire, Julie Harris's in The Member of the Wedding, Shelley Winters's in The Big Knife, Geraldine Page's in Sweet Bird of Youth, and Jane Fonda's in Coming Home. Challenging the longstanding assumption that Method acting's approaches were harmful to women and incompatible with feminism, this book argues that some of Hollywood's most interesting female actors, and leading feminists, emerged from the Actors Studio in the period between the 1950s and the 1970s. Written for students and scholars of Film Studies, Cultural Studies, Theatre and Performance Studies, and Gender Studies, Women, Method Acting, and the Hollywood Film reshapes the way we think of a central strain in American screen acting, and in doing so, allows women a new stake in that tradition.

Women, Method Acting, and the Hollywood Film is the first study dedicated to understanding the work of female Method actors on film. While Method acting on film has typically been associated with the explosive machismo of actors like Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro, this book explores an alternate tradition within the Method-the work that women from the Actors Studio did in Hollywood. Covering the period from the end of the Second World War until the 1970s, this study shows how the women associated with the Actors Studio increasingly used Method acting in ways that were compatible with their burgeoning feminist political commitments and developed a style of feminist Method acting. The book examines the complex intersection of Method acting, sexuality, and gender by analyzing performances such as Kim Hunter's in A Streetcar Named Desire, Julie Harris's in The Member of the Wedding, Shelley Winters's in The Big Knife, Geraldine Page's in Sweet Bird of Youth, and Jane Fonda's in Coming Home. Challenging the longstanding assumption that Method acting's approaches were harmful to women and incompatible with feminism, this book argues that some of Hollywood's most interesting female actors, and leading feminists, emerged from the Actors Studio in the period between the 1950s and the 1970s. Written for students and scholars of Film Studies, Cultural Studies, Theatre and Performance Studies, and Gender Studies, Women, Method Acting, and the Hollywood Film reshapes the way we think of a central strain in American screen acting, and in doing so, allows women a new stake in that tradition.

Act as a Feminist maps a female genealogy of UK actor training practices from 1970 to 2020 as an alternative to traditional male lineages. It re-orientates thinking about acting through its intersections with feminisms and positions it as a critical pedagogy, fit for purpose in the twenty-first century. The book draws attention to the pioneering contributions women have made to actor training, highlights the importance of recognising the political potential of acting, and problematises the inequities for a female majority inspired to work in an industry where they remain a minority. Part One opens up the epistemic scope, shaping a methodology to evaluate the critical potential of pedagogic practice. It argues that feminist approaches offer an alternative affirmative position for training, a via positiva and a way to re-make mimesis. In Part Two, the methodology is applied to the work of UK women practitioners through analysis of the pedagogic exchange in training grounds. Each chapter focuses on how the broad curriculum of acting intersects with gender as technique to produce a hidden curriculum, with case studies on Jane Boston and Nadine George (voice), Niamh Dowling and Vanessa Ewan (movement), Alison Hodge and Kristine Landon-Smith (acting), and Katie Mitchell and Emma Rice (directing). The book concludes with a feminist manifesto for change in acting. Written for students, actors, directors, teachers of acting, voice, and movement, and anyone with an interest in feminisms and critical pedagogies, Act as a Feminist offers new ways of thinking and approaches to practice.