This book is designed for all members of stage crew who are responsible for maintaining a respectful, inclusive work and artistic environment, and documenting administrative and artistic matters throughout the entire production process. The professional theatre industry desires to understand the process involved in utilizing Intimacy Directors or consultants: industry professionals want to know when Intimacy Directors or intimate staging are required and how to build a more supportive and consensual working environment in these scenarios. Empowers theatre artists with tools and techniques to assist in the creation of a supportive and consensual working environment, and recommended practices and protocols for maintaining intimate staging during the run of a production.

How can the practice of improvisation become the lens through which we view the world? The Applied Improvisation Mindset takes readers deep into the maturing field of Applied Improvisation (AI), with stories of 18 practitioners from five countries who embrace an improvisation mindset to create a more collaborative, equitable, sustainable, and joyous world. Myriad organizations have discovered how the mindset and skills applied by great improvisers onstage can reveal emergent, generative ways of interacting with others offstage. With case studies on developing presentation skills, reducing anxiety in teens, or preparing climate risk managers across the globe for the challenges ahead, this second volume serves as a valuable resource for both experienced and new AI facilitators. It is a primer for higher education and K-12 faculty combatting traditional teaching limitations and a practical "how to" for theatre practitioners, artists, educators, or anyone seeking to transform their organizations and communities.

Archaeologies of Presence is a brilliant exploration of how the performance of presence can be understood through the relationships between performance theory and archaeological thinking. Drawing together carefully commissioned contributions by leading international scholars and artists, this radical new work poses a number of essential questions: What are the principle signifiers of theatrical presence? How is presence achieved through theatrical performance? What makes a memory come alive and live again? How is presence connected with identity? Is presence synonymous with 'being in the moment'? What is the nature of the 'co-presence' of audience and performer? Where does performance practice end and its documentation begin? Co-edited by performance specialists Gabriella Giannachi and Nick Kaye, and archaeologist Michael Shanks, Archaeologies of Presence represents an innovative and rewarding feat of interdisciplinary scholarship.

This book elucidates how learning from actors enables an intense education of attention for anthropologists. Actors perform the perception of sunshine, the sensation of pain, affects such as shock and emotions such as happiness; they act quarrels, erotic attraction, leadership and submission on stage. In order to achieve that, they undergo an education of attention, allowing them to develop skills that are also useful for anthropologists, particularly when doing research on phenomena that often elude academic procedures. Drawing on her own acting experiences and ongoing research with actors from Africa and Europe, Cassis Kilian takes up Tim Ingold's manifold proposals to reconfigure anthropological research. She introduces approaches actors use to explore the complexity of human life and its bodily, sensual and emotional dimensions, which can be difficult for academics to grasp when examining topics such as everyday practices, traumatic experiences and power relations. Though the book discerns pitfalls in anthropological research and suggests artistic approaches to overcome them, it values anthropology as a discipline whose radical self-reflexive approach allows for such experiments. Including exercises and practical approaches, this is valuable reading for scholars interested in anthropological methods, sensory anthropology, perception and materiality, and theatre anthropology.

The Routledge Companion to Performance Practitioners collects the outstanding biographical and production overviews of key theatre practitioners first featured in the popular Routledge Performance Practitioners series of guidebooks. Each of the chapters is written by an expert on a particular figure, from Stanislavsky and Brecht to Laban and Decroux, and places their work in its social and historical context. Summaries and analyses of their key productions indicate how each practitioner's theoretical approaches to performance and the performer were manifested in practice. All 22 practitioners from the original series are represented, with this volume covering those born before the end of the First World War. This is the definitive first step for students, scholars and practitioners hoping to acquaint themselves with the leading names in performance, or deepen their knowledge of these seminal figures.

This book provides a fascinating and concise history of devised theatre practice. As both a founding member of Philadelphia's Pig Iron Theater Company and a Professor, Telory Arendell begins this journey with a brief history of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop and Living Newspapers through Brecht's Berliner Ensemble and Joe Chaikin's Open Theatre to the racially inflected commentary of Luis Valdez's Teatro Campesino and Ariane Mnouchkine's collaboration with Theatre de Soleil. This book explores the impact of devised theatre on social practice and analyzes Goat Island's use of Pina Bausch's gestural movement, Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed in Giving Voice, Anna Deavere Smith's devised envelope for Verbatim Theatre, The Tectonic Theatre Project's moment work, Teya Sepinuck's Theatre of Witness, Pig Iron's use of Lecoq mime to build complex physical theatre scripts, and The Riot Group's musical arrangement of collaborative devised text. Included are a foreword by Allen J. Kuharski and three devised plays by Theatre of Witness, Pig Iron, and The Riot Group. Replete with interviews from the initial Pig Iron collaborators on subjects of writing, directing, choreographing, teaching, and developing a pedagogical platform that supports devised theatre.

Stella Adler (1901-92) trained many well-known American actors yet throughout much of her career, her influence was overshadowed by Lee Strasberg, director of the Actors Studio. In Beyond Method: Stella Adler and the Male Actor, Scott Balcerzak focuses on Adler's teachings and how she challenged Strasberg's psychological focus on the actor's ""self"" by promoting an empathetic and socially engaged approach to performance. Employing archived studio transcripts and recordings, Balcerzak examines Adler's lessons in technique, characterization, and script analysis as they reflect the background of the teacher-illustrating her time studying with Constantin Stanislavski, her Yiddish Theatre upbringing, and her encyclopedic knowledge of drama. Through this lens, Beyond Method resituates the performances of some of her famous male students through an expansive understanding of the discourses of acting. The book begins by providing an overview of the gender and racial classifications associated with the male ""Method"" actor and discussing white maleness in the mid-twentieth century. The first chapter explores the popular press's promotion of ""Method"" stars during the 1950s as an extension of Strasberg's rise in celebrity. At the same time, Adler's methodology was defining actor performance as a form of social engagement-rather than just personal expression-welcoming an analysis of onscreen masculinity as culturally-fluid. The chapters that follow serve as case studies of some of Adler's most famous students in notable roles-Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and The Missouri Breaks (1976), Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver (1976), Henry Winkler in Happy Days (1974-84), and Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Balcerzak concludes that the presence of Adler altered the trajectory of onscreen maleness through a promotion of a relatively complex view of gender identity not found in other classrooms. Beyond Method considers Stella Adler as not only an effective teacher of acting but also an engaging and original thinker, providing us a new way to consider performances of maleness on the screen. Film and theater scholars, as well as those interested in gender studies, are sure to benefit from this thorough study.

Introduces and explores the concept of embodied truthfulness, a powerful approach that expands on the Meisner technique using meditation and mindfulness. Addresses the challenges unique to actors post-coronavirus and working in the now accelerated numbers of digital auditions, rehearsals, performances, and projects. Emphasizes practical exercises in each chapter, deepening the unique power of the Meisner technique by bringing in complimentary mindfulness meditation techniques, something considered by many Meisner experts to be an impossible union.

Introduces and explores the concept of embodied truthfulness, a powerful approach that expands on the Meisner technique using meditation and mindfulness. Addresses the challenges unique to actors post-coronavirus and working in the now accelerated numbers of digital auditions, rehearsals, performances, and projects. Emphasizes practical exercises in each chapter, deepening the unique power of the Meisner technique by bringing in complimentary mindfulness meditation techniques, something considered by many Meisner experts to be an impossible union.

In this candid and empowering A to Z of being an actor, Julie Hesmondhalgh draws on her decades of experience on stage and screen - including in massively popular television shows such as Broadchurch, Happy Valley and Coronation Street - to lift the lid on the realities of life in today's industry, and show you how to navigate it. She shares practical advice on preparing for roles (don't be afraid of looking like a dick), managing the ups and downs of your career (and how to be out of work without losing your mind), dealing with failure (and success), not constantly comparing yourself to others (bloody hard, but try), looking after your mental health, and the power of knowing when to say 'no'. Passionate about the arts, she makes a compelling case for their importance to society, but also calls out the industry on where it continues to fall short - including a clear-eyed assessment of what needs to change to make it safer and healthier, more accessible and inclusive. Written with refreshing honesty and self-deprecating humour, An Actor's Alphabet is a book for anyone who dreams of becoming an actor, wants to be a better one, or just wants to learn what being one is really like. 'Endearingly honest, funny and eye-opening. I loved it!' Francesca Martinez 'Like its author, this book is brimming with wisdom, intelligence, empathy and humanity... An absolute must!' Maxine Peake 'This is the best book on acting and being an actor I've read... Julie Hesmondhalgh is the mentor/best friend/guide we all need in these troubled times' Paul Chahidi 'Wonderful... not just a book about acting, but also about life. Us. The world. Humanity. Battling through this shit and finding time for a hug. I adore it.' Russell T Davies 'A must-read, whether you've been on the artist's journey for years or are just starting out' Shobna Gulati 'This book is bold, brash, sincere and angry. It regrets nothing and questions everything... Treasure it like we should treasure Julie' Jack Thorne 'A generous gift to actors, full of honesty, hope and wit. There is loads of tangible advice, not just for acting but for life' Anna Jordan 'Julie's book is honest, challenging and helpful. A great read' Andy Nyman

Partners of the Imagination is the first in-depth study of the work of John Arden and Margaretta D'Arcy, partners in writing and cultural and political campaigns. Beginning in the 1950s, Arden and D'Arcy created a series of hugely admired plays performed at Britain's major theatres. Political activists, they worked tirelessly in the peace movement and the Northern Ireland 'Troubles', during which D'Arcy was gaoled. She is also a veteran of the Greenham Common Women's Peace camp. Their later work included Booker-listed novels, prize-winning stories, essays and radio plays, and D'Arcy founded and ran a Woman's Pirate Radio station. Raymond Williams described Arden as 'the most genuinely innovative' of the playwrights of his generation, and Chambers and Prior claimed that 'The Non-Stop Connolly Show', D'Arcy and Arden's six-play epic, 'has fair claim to being one of the finest pieces of post-war drama in the English language'. This study explores the connections between art and life, and between the responsibilities of the writer and the citizen. Importantly, it also evaluates the range of literary works (plays, poetry, novels, essays, polemics) created by these writers, both as literature and drama, and as controversialist activity in its own right. This work is a landmark examination of two hugely respected radical writers.

The monologs in this new text are highly original works not found in other published versions. All are from very recently produced plays from both established and emerging new writers. The fifty selections are specifically suited to auditioning. The monologs in this collection are for actors 15 to 30 years of age, suitable for competitive auditioning, class or studio work, or general reading. About two-thirds of the selections are for women, and about one-third are specifically for minority actors. These monologs address the major trends and conflicts of today, through revealing glimpses of society as we know it. Includes the work of forty-seven contemporary American playwrights. A must for any auditioning actor or theatre student. Featuring monologs from: Retro and Sea of Forms by Megan Terry, Voice of the Prairie by John Olive, Night Luster by Laura Harrington, Stuck by Adele Edling Shank, Punk Girls by Elizabeth Wong, Sunday Sermon by David Henry Hwang, Abingdon Square by Maria Irene Formes, Les Trois Dumas by Charles Smith, Prodigal Kiss by Caridad Svich, Rough Stock by Ric Averill and many more.

Unparalleled insights from some of the world's foremost practitioners of clowning. The Origins/Influences/Technique/Philosophy structure allows direct comparisons between varied figures. An opening history of clowning puts the interviews and their findings into context.

The Routledge Companion to Performance Practitioners collects the outstanding biographical and production overviews of key theatre practitioners first featured in the popular Routledge Performance Practitioners series of guidebooks. Each of the chapters is written by an expert on a particular figure, from Stanislavsky and Brecht to Laban and Decroux, and places their work in its social and historical context. Summaries and analyses of their key productions indicate how each practitioner's theoretical approaches to performance and the performer were manifested in practice. All 22 practitioners from the original series are represented, with this volume covering those born after 1915. This is the definitive first step for students, scholars and practitioners hoping to acquaint themselves with the leading names in performance, or deepen their knowledge of these seminal figures.

Improvisation is a tool for many things: performance training, rehearsal practice, playwriting, therapeutic interaction and somatic discovery. This book opens up the significance of improvisation across cultures, histories and ways of performing our life, offering key insights into the what, the how and the why of performance. It traces the origins of improvisation and its influences, both as a social and political phenomenon and its position in performance training. Including history, theory and practice, this new edition encompasses Theatre and performance studies as well as drama, acknowledging the rapid reconfiguration of these fields in recent years. Its coverage also now extends to improvisation in the USA, cinema, LARPing, street events and the improvising audience, while also looking at improv's relationship to stand-up comedy, jazz, poetry and free movement practices. With an index of exercises and an extensive bibliography, this book is indispensable to students of improvisation.

In one handy volume, a concise course on all phases of acting and stage movement. Speech control, interpretation of a character style--all the essentials of good acting are fully reviewed. Every phase of acting and motion is included: sitting, walking, standing, hand and arm coordination and opposition, the eyes, the head, body movement, exits and entrances, mechanics of emotional range and relaxation and tension. A fully illustrated book. Sample chapters include: The Actor's Dilemma: Need for Technique; "Speak the Speech, I Pray You"; Sult the Action to the Work; Interpretation of Character; The Play's the Thing; Style; Feet When Sitting, Standing and Walking; Hands When Sitting, Standing and Walking; The Mechanics of Relaxation and Tension; The Mechanics of Pause; The Emotional Range--Mental and Vocal; Coordination of Speech with Movement.

What is good acting? How does one create believable characters? How can an actor understand a character if they do not understand themselves?

In The Science of Acting, Sam Kogan uses his theories on the relationship between neuroscience, psychology and acting to answer these questions. Practical exercises provide a step-by-step guide to developing an actor's ability, culminating in Ten Steps to Creating a Character.

He presents the reader with a groundbreaking understanding of the subconscious and how it can be applied to their acting. The author s highly original perspective on Stanislavski's teaching gives readers a unique insight into their character s minds.

Sam Kogan studied at the Moscow Institute of Theatre Arts (now the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts) under the tutelage of Professor Maria Knebel. He established The Science of Acting, a complete stand-alone technique.

Helen Kogan is the chair and former principal of The Academy of Science of Acting and Directing, has helped to shape her father's words and work for the publication of this book.

* This book expands on content, history and perspectives of the Stanislavski actor lineage. * This book analyzes history, lineage and contemporary experiential aspects of performance, focusing on its peculiar research that deals with truth, trance and attention. * This book fill existing gaps in contemporary studies, particularly in English, related to the theory, practice, history and aims of a conscient use of altered states of consciousness as a work on the self in acting and performance.

* This book expands on content, history and perspectives of the Stanislavski actor lineage. * This book analyzes history, lineage and contemporary experiential aspects of performance, focusing on its peculiar research that deals with truth, trance and attention. * This book fill existing gaps in contemporary studies, particularly in English, related to the theory, practice, history and aims of a conscient use of altered states of consciousness as a work on the self in acting and performance.

1. The last specialised study of Deburau (the most famous and influential mime actor of all time) in French or English was the biography by Tristan Remy in 1954, Jean-Gaspard Deburau. 2. This book is very wide-ranging: starting with Deburau's Pierrot figure, it discusses nineteenth-century theatre, novels, poetry, society, and twentieth-century echoes in cinema and modern mime. 3. Readers who think they know who and what 'Pierrot' is (and was) will be surprised by what they find in this book; for example, his relation to colonialism and race. 4. There are 26 figures in the book, all of them discussed in depth. 5. Deburau is well-known among scholars, and the wider public know his image even if they can't necessarily put a name to it, but he has never been studied through such a wide range of manuscript as well as published sources, many of them identified for the first time.

Outlines key physical and mental preparation tips and skills for students training to become performers. This book is meant to serve as a companion to live instruction in acting, musical theatre, theatre movement, physical theatre, and dance classes, encouraging a deeper analysis of studio work to ignite thoughtful in-class discussions, innovative research, and creativity in performance. Focuses on the development of the actor-dancer, instead of prioritizing one over the other.

A treasure trove of advice, support and encouragement that no performer should be without. Honest, witty and direct, The Golden Rules of Acting is every actor's best friend - in handy paperback form. 'When auditioning, rehearsing or in a performance, take a risk - the worst that can happen is that you get embarrassed. You won't die.' Easy to dip into, fully illustrated throughout, and designed to be both instructive and empowering, The Golden Rules of Acting won't tell you how to act - but it will tell you how to be an actor. 'Always remember, the people auditioning you want you to be brilliant. They want you to solve their casting problem.' If you're a working actor, drama-school student, someone who wants to become an actor, or simply someone who has a dream and wants to make it a reality, this book is for you. 'NEVER harmonise when singing 'Happy Birthday' - this has nothing to do with work, it's just all actors do it & it's bloody annoying.' Andy Nyman learnt the golden rules of acting the hard way, through twenty-five years of working in theatre, film and television. On stage, he co-wrote, co-directed and starred in the West End hit Ghost Stories, and won an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment for co-writing and directing Something Wicked This Way Comes with his regular collaborator Derren Brown. His many film appearances include Severance and Frank Oz's Death at a Funeral. 'I absolutely devoured this book. Yes, it's witty but it's also sincere, informative, practical and humble in its truths' Toni Collette 'This little book is a must-read for every aspiring actor and actress, including all established performers - and I have recommended it to many since reading it. It confirms and reaffirms why we are in this profession. Not only does it impart hard-earned knowledge, it does so with a sense of fun, a little mischief, and always with dignity, which (let's face it) can take a daily beating. It's probably the most important book on acting and actors I've ever read; period! Keep it by your bedside at all times!' Liam Neeson OBE 'Christians have the Bible, now actors have this book. At last, everyone is happy' Simon Pegg 'Andy's distilled guidebook is smart, hilarious, and just might get you work!' Neil Patrick Harris 'Like having a friend in your pocket! Supremely practical, wise, reassuring, inspiring and funny - chockful of good humour and good sense' Keeley Hawes 'Honest, uplifting, expert advice from a genius of the craft' Riz Ahmed 'Like its author, this little book is packed full of wit, wisdom and good things' Matthew Macfadyen 'When I was starting out, wanting to read about how to unlock the mysteries of working in the theatre, I could only turn to Stanislavski. But now, you lucky young people (and indeed people of all ages), there is Nyman. One-tenth the length, a hundred times funnier and crammed with practical wisdom... read it and in every sense, you'll have a head start' Trevor Nunn 'A wonderful insight into the secrets of success that will help anyone achieve their dreams' Richard Wiseman (author, 59 Seconds: Think a little, change a lot)

Performing in Contemporary Musicals brings into sharp focus the skills performers must possess when tackling shows that are newly written, in development, or somewhere in between. The authors bust myths about contemporary musical theatre and analyze the development timelines of musicals from around the world. They also explore how performers can become invaluable to a creative team by developing the skills needed to move a new musical forward including: contemporary acting and singing techniques, dramaturgy, quickly picking up new material, and collaboration. Each chapter features insightful industry interviews, recommended activities, an extensive reading list, and an online companion for further study. This textbook is the only comprehensive resource that provides an overview of the development process of a new musical while guiding musical theatre performers to be fruitful collaborators in a new works scenario.

Performing in Contemporary Musicals brings into sharp focus the skills performers must possess when tackling shows that are newly written, in development, or somewhere in between. The authors bust myths about contemporary musical theatre and analyze the development timelines of musicals from around the world. They also explore how performers can become invaluable to a creative team by developing the skills needed to move a new musical forward including: contemporary acting and singing techniques, dramaturgy, quickly picking up new material, and collaboration. Each chapter features insightful industry interviews, recommended activities, an extensive reading list, and an online companion for further study. This textbook is the only comprehensive resource that provides an overview of the development process of a new musical while guiding musical theatre performers to be fruitful collaborators in a new works scenario.

This book highlights the contributions and careers of Native Americans who have carved impressive careers in Hollywood, from the silent film era of the early 1900s to the present, becoming advocates for their heritage. This book explores how the heritage and behind-the-scenes activities of Native American actors and filmmakers helped shape their own movie images. Native artists have impacted movies for more than a century, but until recently their presence had passed largely unrecognized. From the silent era to contemporary movies, this book features leading Native American actors whose voices have reached a broad audience and are part of the larger conversation about the exploitation of underrepresented people in Hollywood. Each chapter highlights Native actors in lead or supporting roles as well as filmmakers whose movies were financed and distributed by Hollywood studios. The text further explores how a "pan-Indian heritage" that applies to all tribes in terms of spirituality, historical trauma, and a version of ceremony and storytelling have shaped these performers' movie identities. It will appeal to a wide range of readers, including fans of Westerns, history buffs of American popular cinema, and students and scholars of Native American studies. Interviews with today's Native American actors and filmmakers Rare photos of Native artists in film and behind the scenes Foreword by noted film historian and archivist Jan-Christopher Horak Stories of the emergence of Native women in Hollywood Contributions of Native American "consultants" in the movie industry Script revisions of early films highlighting the heritage of Native actors