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Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Theatre, drama > Acting techniques
Play and Performance offers hope to those lamenting the loss of play in the twenty-first century and aims to broaden the understanding of what play is. This volume showcases the work of programs from early childhood through adulthood, in a variety of educational and therapeutic settings, and from a range of theoretical and practical perspectives. The chapters cover an array of practices that can be seen across the play to performance continuum. Taken together, the myriad ways that play is performance and performance is play become clear, sometimes blurring the need for distinction. The volume provides play advocates, researchers and practitioners a wealth of practical and theoretical ideas for expanding the use of performance as a tool for creating playful environments where children and adults can create and develop.
First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
The aim of this publication is to deepen awareness of the body and the self through meditative movement and dance, rekindle the imagination by developing greater self-awareness, and to provide starting points to create expressive movement. The book suggests a wealth of exercises which stem from the natural movement of the body.
In the second volume of his "Mask: A Release of Acting Resources" David Griffiths provides a detailed and sensitive view of the Japanese Noh theatre: historically, philosophically (with an evaluation of Zeami's treatises) and in respect of the rigorous practicalities of Noh training. The latter is given particular authority and insight because of the access Griffiths had to Noh actors in training and performance. Greatly enhanced by the author's illustrations, this volume gives one of the most accessible introductions to Noh that is available in English. Appended to the descriptive and analytic material is a short play, "The Dove," written by Griffiths (and subsequently professionally performed) described as 'unashamedly' acknowledging its Noh influence. This one woman piece is a sensitive and evocative drama with subtle references to its cultural source. Its potential as an exercise in mask work is excellent.
The aim of this publication is to deepen awareness of the body and the self through meditative movement and dance, rekindle the imagination by developing greater self-awareness, and to provide starting points to create expressive movement. The book suggests a wealth of exercises which stem from the natural movement of the body.
This issue of "Contemporary Theatre Review" focuses on the "pre-expressive" and a range of related concepts: "score", "underscore", or "subscore", text and performance-text, the body and mind of the performer, cultural and linguistic embedding, and "presence" or the "pre-performative". Authors include performers, directors and actor-trainers, a physicist, a theatre semiotician, and "bio-aesthetician", academics, and drama and dance teachers.
For nearly 25 years, expertise has been considered an important
testing ground for theories of cognition. Cognitive scientists have
examined experts as diverse as chess masters, waiters, field-hockey
players, and computer programmers. Recently, increased attention
has been given to the arts, including dance, music appreciation and
performance, and literary analysis. It is therefore somewhat
surprising that--except for the authors' program of research dating
from the late 1980s--virtually no studies on the cognitive
processes of professional actors can be found in the literature.
These experts not only routinely memorize hours of verbal material
in a very short time, but they retrieve it verbatim along with the
accompanying gestures, movements, thoughts, and emotions of the
characters. The mental processes involved in this task constitute
the subject of this recent research and are described in detail in
this book.
For nearly 25 years, expertise has been considered an important
testing ground for theories of cognition. Cognitive scientists have
examined experts as diverse as chess masters, waiters, field-hockey
players, and computer programmers. Recently, increased attention
has been given to the arts, including dance, music appreciation and
performance, and literary analysis. It is therefore somewhat
surprising that--except for the authors' program of research dating
from the late 1980s--virtually no studies on the cognitive
processes of professional actors can be found in the literature.
These experts not only routinely memorize hours of verbal material
in a very short time, but they retrieve it verbatim along with the
accompanying gestures, movements, thoughts, and emotions of the
characters. The mental processes involved in this task constitute
the subject of this recent research and are described in detail in
this book.
This book examines the ritualistic and mythological features derived from various religious traditions depicted in ten Ibsen plays. The worshipping of the Great Mother, the Mysteries of Eleusis, the Hebrew Passover Meal and Yom Kippur, alongside with the most sacred feasts of Christianity, are identified in Ibsen's texts in a way not discovered before. The outcome is a fascinating voyage through a landscape of ritualistic visions. Throughout the book the author illustrates how the plays contribute to the revival of the sacred in modernist theatre. Each chapter of the book contains a synopsis of the play interpreted, followed by a detailed analysis, which focuses on religious concepts and mythological elements incorporated in Ibsen's texts. The following plays are interpreted: Emperor and Galilean, Brand, Peer Gynt, A Doll's House, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, The Lady from the Sea, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder, When We Dead Awaken.
"From Acting to Performance" collects for the first time major
essays by performance theorist and critic Philip Auslander.
Much work has been done in recent years on Quinault's librettos, but no major study of his spoken plays has appeared since the monumental thesis by Etienne Gros, published in 1926. Moreover, he has never been the subject of a monograph in English. There is a need to re-assess the influence of his life on his plays, and to re-evaluate Gros's findings in the light of eighty years' research into seventeenth-century French theatre in general. This book rejects the deterministic approach that sees his plays as apprentice pieces for the greater achievement that is his corpus of librettos, as well as the implicit comparative approach that pigeon-holes his work, in passing, by borrowing from the pithy judgements of Boileau. To what extent does Quinault's steady move away from comedy and light tragi-comedy to tragedies that combine love and menace go hand in hand with his search for greater integrity, better characterisation, and ever more credible plotting? How did he come to create and retain a tremendously faithful audience that even the withering mockery of Boileau failed to discourage? And is there any purpose in retaining the time-worn comparison between the author of Andromaque and the author of Astrate?
Women in Russian Theatre is a fascinating feminist counterpoint to
the established area of Russian theatre populated by male artists
such as Stanislavsky, Chekov and Meyerhold. With unprecedented
access to newly-opened files in Russia, Catherine Schuler brings to
light the actresses who had an impact upon Russian modernist
theatre.
Master director, teacher, and theorist, Jerzy Grotowski's work extended well beyond the conventional limits of performance. Now revised and reissued, this book combines: an overview of Grotowski's life and the distinct phases of his work an analysis of his key ideas a consideration of his role as director of the renowned Polish Laboratory Theatre a series of practical exercises offering an introduction to the principles underlying Grotowski's working methods. As a first step towards critical understanding, and an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners offer unbeatable value for today's student.
This is a unique anthology of monologues specifically suited to the competitive situation of auditioning for plays and contests. Includes an introduction to the actor with helpful suggestions for selection of monologues as well as audition tips and a resource appendix.
First published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor and Francis, an informa company.
This book provides a historical overview and then-and-now comparison of performing for British television drama. By examining changing acting styles from distinct eras of television production - studio realism and location realism - it makes a unique contribution to both television and performance studies, unpacking the various determinants that have combined to influence how performers work in the medium. The book compares the original versions of The Quatermass Experiment (BBC, 1953), Doctor Who (BBC, 1963-89) and Survivors (BBC, 1975-77) with their respective modern-day re-makes, unpacking the effects of the shift from multi-camera studio to single-camera location production. Textual analysis is combined with extensive archival research into production process and reception, alongside interviews with numerous actors and production personnel from more than sixty years of television production. -- .
The first collection of its kind to bring together scholarly and practitioner perspectives, this book analyses the experiences, skills and techniques of actors when working on television. Featuring eleven chapters by internationally distinguished researchers and actor trainers, this collection examines the acting processes and resulting performances of some of the most acclaimed television actors. Topics include: studio and location realism; actor training for television; actor well-being in the television industry; performance in reality television and British and Irish actors in contemporary US television and film. The book also contains case studies examining the work of Emmy-award-winning actor Viola Davis and the iconic character of Gene Hunt in Life on Mars (BBC, 2006-2007).
First Published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
The Science and Art of Acting for the Camera provides a precise yet practical approach to help unlock the mysteries of acting for film and television. Written by veteran actor, producer, and director John Howard Swain, the book offers a clear-cut, no-nonsense technique that equips aspiring or working actors with the necessary skills to succeed on camera. The technique teaches you how to build multi-dimensional characters; construct truthful and exciting relationships; ignite stimulating emotions; craft a series of discoveries guaranteed to energize your work; and much, much more. The book also provides instruction for actors working in commercials-from slating, to the dreaded "tell us about yourself" interview, to nailing "the tag" and embracing the cliche-and supplies sample commercial copy for students to practice.
Acting Exercises for Non-Traditional Staging: Michael Chekhov Reimagined offers a new set of exercises for coaching actors when working on productions that are non-traditionally staged in arenas, thrusts, or alleys. All of the exercises are adapted from Michael Chekhov's acting technique, but are reimagined in new and creative ways that offer innovative twists for the practitioner familiar with Chekhov, and easy accessibility for the practitioner new to Chekhov. Exploring the methodology through a modern day lens, these exercises are energizing additions to the classroom and essential tools for more a vibrant rehearsal and performance.
Originally published in 1978. Henry Irving achieved an astounding success in Britain and America as an actor; yet he lacked good looks, had spindly legs, and did not have a good voice. He said so himself. Today Irving is regarded as the archetype of the old-time actor, but in his own time he was regarded as a great theatrical innovator. Even Bernard Shaw, who attacked him pitilessly, even unto death, called him 'modern' when he first saw him act. Irving, the man, with his tenacious, obsessive talent, his human limitations and weaknesses, and his ephemeral glory is brought most sympathetically to life in this biography. It is written from contemporary sources, and from criticisms, lampoons, caricatures and gossip columns. If Irving reflected certain aspects of his age, this book underlines the Victorian ethic to which he appealed and the backcloths against which it was set - the extraordinary lavishness of the Lyceum productions and the incredible extravagance of social entertaining. Not the least absorbing aspect of this biography is the fascinating account of the long partnership between Irving and Ellen Terry, still in many respects an enigmatic one, but here portrayed with lively insight into character combined with understanding and deep knowledge of the social and theatrical context of the Victorian age. |
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