THE GOOD AUDITION GUIDES: Helping you select and perform the audition piece that is best suited to your performing skills If you're auditioning for a musical - or needing to choose a song to perform for an exam, showcase or drama-school application - it's vital you find a song that shows off your voice and reveals your full potential as both a singer and an actor. In this invaluable book, you'll find comprehensive introductions to fifty of the best songs from musical theatre, for tenor/high baritone and baritone/bass voices, and in a variety of periods, styles, genres and tempos. Each song comes with detailed textual, vocal and musical analysis, and a practical performance guide to ensure you perform it to maximum effect in your own unique way. Drawing on his experience as a performer, musical director and teacher at several leading drama schools, Paul Harvard gives his top tips for performing each song, note by note, moment by moment. He also recommends soundtrack recordings to inspire you, and tells you where to find the correct sheet music for your chosen song (please note: the book does not contain the sheet music itself). The selection includes songs from acclaimed contemporary musicals such as Children of Eden and Pippin by Stephen Schwartz, Parade and The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown, as well as Martin Guerre, The Wild Party, Taboo and The Lion King - alongside many much-loved classics like Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof, 42nd Street, Kiss Me, Kate, and six of Sondheim's masterpieces. Also included is an extensive introduction to the process of choosing your song, preparing your performance and approaching the audition itself, along with many vocal and acting exercises to improve your technique and boost your confidence. 'For anyone wishing to do justice to a musical-theatre role, and definitely for those wishing to work in this genre, this guide is a must' Teaching Drama Magazine on Paul Harvard's bestselling book Acting Through Song

Actor Training expands on Alison Hodge s highly-acclaimed and best-selling Twentieth Century Actor Training. This exciting second edition radically updates the original book making it even more valuable for any student of the history and practice of actor training. The bibliography is brought right up to date and many chapters are revised. In addition, eight more practitioners are included - and forty more photographs - to create a stunningly comprehensive study.

The practitioners included are:

Stella Adler; Eugenio Barba; Augusto Boal; Anne Bogart; Bertolt Brecht; Peter Brook; Michael Chekhov; Joseph Chaikin; Jacques Copeau; Philippe Gaulier; Jerzy Grotowski; Maria Knebel; Jacques Lecoq; Joan Littlewood; Sanford Meisner; Vsevolod Meyerhold; Ariane Mnouchkine; Monika Pagneux; Michel Saint-Denis; W odzimierz Staniewski; Konstantin Stanislavsky; Lee Strasberg

The historical, cultural and political context of each practitioner s work is clearly set out by leading experts and accompanied by an incisive and enlightening analysis of the main principles of their training, practical exercises and key productions.

This book is an invaluable introduction to the principles and practice of actor training and its role in shaping modern theatre.

A must-have resource for aspiring actors: both monologues to audition with and a step-by-step guide on the best monologue audition preparation! Great Monologues: And How to Give Winning Auditions is primarily for actors looking for excellent acting monologues for their monologue auditions. There are original monologues written specifically for auditions, as well as monologues from award-winning playwright Glenn Alterman's plays. There are comedic, dramatic, and serio-comedic monologues for all audition calls. Great Monologues also offers a step-by-step process to prepare for all monologue auditions. The monologues offered run from one minute to five minutes, thus covering all audition times. There are also a number of in-depth interviews with major casting directors, directors, and theatre company artistic directors. If you are an aspiring actor in need of an audition monologue, or want the best advice on how to properly audition with a monologue, Great Monologues: And How to Give Winning Auditions is a must-have in your collection!

Psychophysical Acting is a direct and vital address to the demands of contemporary theatre on today 's actor. Drawing on over thirty years of intercultural experience, Phillip Zarrilli aims to equip actors with practical and conceptual tools with which to approach their work. Areas of focus include:

• an historical overview of a psychophysical approach to acting from Stanislavski to the present
• acting as an energetics of performance, applied to a wide range of playwrights: Samuel Beckett, Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane, Kaite O Reilly and Ota Shogo
• a system of training though yoga and Asian martial arts that heightens sensory awareness, dynamic energy, and in which body and mind become one
• practical application of training principles to improvisation exercises.

Psychophysical Acting is accompanied by Peter Hulton 's interactive DVD-ROM featuring exercises, production documentation, interviews, and reflection.

Psychophysical Acting is a direct and vital address to the demands of contemporary theatre on today 's actor. Drawing on over thirty years of intercultural experience, Phillip Zarrilli aims to equip actors with practical and conceptual tools with which to approach their work. Areas of focus include:

• an historical overview of a psychophysical approach to acting from Stanislavski to the present
• acting as an energetics of performance, applied to a wide range of playwrights: Samuel Beckett, Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane, Kaite O Reilly and Ota Shogo
• a system of training though yoga and Asian martial arts that heightens sensory awareness, dynamic energy, and in which body and mind become one
• practical application of training principles to improvisation exercises.

Psychophysical Acting is accompanied by Peter Hulton 's interactive DVD-ROM featuring exercises, production documentation, interviews, and reflection.

Art mirrors life; life returns the favor. How could nineteenth and twentieth century technologies foster both the change in the world view generally called «postmodernism and the development of new art forms? Scholar and curator Faye Ran shows how interactions of art and technology led to cultural changes and the evolution of Installation art as a genre unto itself - a fascinating hybrid of expanded sculpture in terms of context, site, and environment, and expanded theatre in terms of performer, performance, and public.

Most historians and literary critics describe Spanish Golden-Age society as anti-Semitic, offering, for example,

An inspiring, hands-on guide to narrative improvisation, by the co-creator and director of the Olivier Award-winning improv show Showstopper! The Improvised Musical. Improvisation is a craft that anyone can learn. When freed from endless rules and rigid approaches and allowed to relax, react instinctively and work seamlessly as a group, improvisers can spontaneously create performances that thrill audiences with their liveness. Drawing on the author's extensive experience teaching and performing around the world, Improv Beyond Rules is a fresh and exciting re-examination of the whole field of improvisation. Starting with the fundamental principles that work for all forms of improvised performance - and the common traps improvisers fall into - it goes on to explore the elements of narrative improvisation, where performers create a story without any predetermined structure: The Moment: How to be authentically 'in the moment' by listening and responding to your fellow performers, accepting their suggestions (not necessarily by always saying 'yes') and committing to whatever happens next. The Scene: How to connect moments together to build a compelling scene and keep it moving forward; why there's no such thing as a mistake; understanding and working with audiences. The Story: How to link scenes to build story and plot; what kids can teach us about storytelling; utilising dramatic structure; developing and playing different types of characters; key principles of staging. Packed with dozens of games and exercises, Improv Beyond Rules will give you the tools to build your confidence, empower your performance, and unlock your creativity. Written for improvisers with any level of experience, this book is also the perfect starting point for directors, teachers, actors or anyone eager to learn how improvisation can benefit both rehearsal and performance. 'Adam transforms the seemingly impossible into something exceptionally practical with his trademark patience, charm and clarity' Mischief Theatre, from their Foreword

Acting in Musical Theatre remains the only complete course in approaching a role in a musical. It covers fundamental skills for novice actors, practical insights for professionals, and even tips to help veteran musical performers refine their craft. Educators will find the clear structure ideal for use with multiple courses and programs. Updates in this expanded and revised third edition include: A comprehensive revision of the book's companion website into a fully online "Resource Guide" that includes abundant teaching materials and syllabi for a range of short- and long-form courses, PowerPoint slide decks and printable handouts for every chapter. Updated examples, illustrations, and exercises from more recent musical styles and productions such as Hamilton, Waitress, and Dear Evan Hansen. Revision of rehearsal and performance guidelines to help students and teachers at all levels thrive. Updated and expanded reading/listening/viewing lists for specific-subject areas, to guide readers through their own studies and enhance the classroom experience. New notes in the "The Profession" chapters to reflect the latest trends in casting, self-promotion, and audition practice. Acting in Musical Theatre's chapters divide into easy-to-reference units, each containing group and solo exercises, making it the definitive textbook for students and practitioners alike.

This book offers a comprehensive study of the role of dance in a wide range of contemporary Irish plays and argues that dance can be perceived as exemplifying the re-embracement of bodily expression by the local culture. The author approaches this issue from a cultural materialist perspective, demonstrating that dance in twentieth-century Ireland was particularly prone to ideological appropriation and that, consequently, its use in contemporary drama often serves to communicate critical and revisionist approaches to the social, economic and political concerns addressed in these plays. The book makes a valuable contribution to current debates about the nature of Irish theatre, investigating recent changes to its traditional, text-based character. These are examined within two important contexts: firstly, transformations in the perception of the human body in Irish culture and, secondly, changes in the attitude of the Irish towards their past and their cultural heritage.

Over the years there has been much controversy and confusion about the true nature of The Actors Studio, a secluded workshop in New York City that for decades has had a marked influence on the stage and screen and yet functions like a secret society behind closed doors. It all began when Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theater brought its brand of ""realism"" to the United States in 1923. The legendary Group Theater of the 1930s followed. Then came the creation of a studio workshop incorporating the provocative acting and directing techniques of Eliza Kazan, and the emergence of Lee Strasberg as Studio head following Kazan's departure. Strasberg's background and the encounters between him and the actors he guided are presented in detail. The lives and careers of early icons like Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean are examined. Also covered are a progressive trans-Atlantic view of the subject, the Studio's short-lived efforts to form a world-class production company in the 1960s, and a later set of transitions leading to an altered image of the Studio and a change of venue for the 21st century. Such luminaries as these (and many more) have been associated with the Actors Studio: Edward Albee, Lauren Bacall, Glenn Close, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Danny Glover, Julie Harris, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Hopper, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Mike Nichols, Al Pacino, Julia Roberts, Eva Marie Saint, Neil Simon, Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, Rod Steiger, Meryl Streep, Eli Wallach, and Tennessee Williams.

Worried about short rehearsal time? Think that fluffing your lines will be the end of your career? Are you afraid you'll be typecast? Is there such a thing as acting too much? How should a stage actor adjust performance for a camera? And how should an actor behave backstage?
"The Actor's Survival Handbook" gives you answers to all these questions and many more. Written with verve and humor, this utterly essential tool speaks to every actor's deepest concerns. Drawing upon their years of experience on stage, backstage, and with the camera, Patrick Tucker and Christine Ozanne offer forthright advice on topics from breathing to props, commitment to learning lines, audience response to simply landing the job in the first place. The book is rich with examples - both technical and inspirational. And because a director and an actor won't always agree, the two writers sometimes even offer alternative responses to a dilemma, giving the reader both an actor's take and a director's take on a particular point.
Like Patrick Tucker's "Secrets of Screen Acting," this new book is written with wit and passion, conveying the authors' powerful conviction that success is within every actor's grasp.

Performance practice is the study of how music was performed over the centuries, both by its originators (the composers and performers who introduced the works) and, later, by revivalists. This first of its kind "Dictionary" offers entries on composers, musicians/performers, technical terms, performance centers, musical instruments, and genres, all aimed at elucidating issues in performance practice. This A-Z guide will help students, scholars, and listeners understand how musical works were originally performed and subsequently changed over the centuries. Compiled by a leading scholar in the field, this work will serve as both a point-of-entry for beginners as well as a roadmap for advanced scholarship in the field.

Building on her fundamental texts The Art of Acting and The Art of Speech, Dawn Langman shows how the great dramas of Western heritage illuminate the evolution of human consciousness - from the past and into the future - thus providing a context in which actors can consciously evolve their art. Having laid her foundation by exploring the Eleusis Mysteries - the seed point of Western drama - she moves to the end of the nineteenth century, when drama and performance practice prepared for its next great evolutionary leap. She explores the connection of this leap to the evolutionary threshold facing human beings at the end of what occult history calls Kali Yuga. Weaving back and forth between future, past and present - guided by the great cyclic themes of human soul and spiritual development - Langman shows how the inspiration of our greatest artists springs from a source of knowing that encompasses the high calling of the human being to mature beyond its biological inheritance, and to become a conscious co-creator with the macrocosmic powers that serve the evolution of the universe. In doing so, she clarifies the specific function drama has in our contemporary development within the spectrum of the arts.

The Intercultural Performance Handbook opens up a new world of technique for performers. The first ever full-length, fully illustrated manual for practitioners, it provides:
*a guide to the physical, vocal and improvisational dynamics drawn from world performance styles
*a new vocabulary with which to interpret plays from around the globe
*games to use for exploring rhythm, movement, balance, tension and gesture, breathwork, stylisation and the use of the voice
*a practical approach to creating vibrant theatrical work.
Studies on intercultural performance are usually written by scholars and reasearchers. John Martin explains the definition and development of intercultural performance studies from the perspective of an experienced practitioner. He provides exercises, practical advice and a clear training process for the inquiring actor or director.
This book is a process of discovery, carefully written so as to develop understanding and move towards empowerment for the adventurous theatre-maker.

In "Come Closer," community activists, scholars, and theatre artists describe their Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) work and how they are transforming TO for new purposes, new audiences, and new settings. Each chapter features a first-person narrative on how the authors' work both honors and transforms the vision of Augusto Boal, whose imaginative response to human oppression offers the world an aesthetic intervention that has the power to move both the oppressors and the oppressed to the possibility of transformative dialogue. Contributors to this important volume center their ideas and their descriptions of their practice within theoretical frameworks, particularly Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. "Come Closer" will be useful to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as administrators and professors interested in the topic of democratic education.

What's the role played by the invisible in our lives? At what level can it be perceived when explored in theatre-making? Having as its focus the acting processes carried out by Peter Brook and his actors, this book examines many aspects of their practical work - from actor training seen as "poiesis" to the production of the "present moment" - and in doing so, it tries to recognize the nuances and subtle qualities generated by the invisible produced by them. However, the core of this investigation is that of trying to capture the invisible not as a vague sensation but in its dynamic and powerful manifestation.

The Method Acting Exercises Handbook is a concise and practical guide to the acting exercises originally devised by Lee Strasberg, one of the Method's foremost practitioners. The Method trains the imagination, concentration, senses and emotions to 're-create' - not 'imitate' - logical, believable and truthful behavior on stage and in film. Building on nearly 30 years of teaching internationally and at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York and Los Angeles, Lola Cohen details a series of specific exercises in order to provide clear instruction and guidance to this preeminent form of actor training. By integrating Strasberg's voice with her own tried and tested style of teaching, Cohen demonstrates what can be gained from the exercises, how they can inform and inspire your learning, and how they might be applied to your acting and directing practice. As a companion to The Lee Strasberg Notes (Routledge 2010), a transcription of Strasberg's own teaching, The Method Acting Exercises Handbook offers an unparalleled and updated guide to this world renowned technique.

How do you pronounce words like zounds, Milan, housewife and hundreds of other words in Shakespeare's plays? In this ingenious book, Dale Coye provides a guide to each significant word, line-by-line, scene-by-scene, in eighteen of Shakespeare's most popular plays. More than a simple pronouncing dictionary, Pronouncing Shakespeare's Words pays attention to scansion, displays alternative pronunciations in different centuries and geographical areas, and provides a simple pronunciation guide requiring no knowledge of lexicographic symbols.
Now available in an affordable paperback edition, Pronouncing Shakespeare's Words will become a vade mecum^n (pronounced VAH-day MAY-cum) for actors, students, and general readers of Shakespeare.