Transformative acting remains the aspiration of many an emerging actor, and constitutes the achievement of some of the most acclaimed performances of our age: Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, Meryl Streep as Mrs Thatcher, Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter - the list is extensive, and we all have our favourites. But what are the physical and psychological processes which enable actors to create characters so different from themselves? To understand this unique phenomenon, Vladimir Mirodan provides both a historical overview of the evolution of notions of 'character' in Western theatre and a stunning contemporary analysis of the theoretical implications of transformative acting. The Actor and the Character: Surveys the main debates surrounding the concept of dramatic character and - contrary to recent trends - explains why transformative actors conceive their characters as 'independent' of their own personalities. Describes some important techniques used by actors to construct their characters by physical means: work on objects, neutral and character masks, Laban movement analysis, Viewpoints, etc. Examines the psychology behind transformative acting from the perspectives of both psychoanalysis and scientific psychology and, based on recent developments in psychology, asks whether transformation is not just acting folklore but may actually entail temporary changes to the brain structures of the actors. The Actor and the Character speaks not only to academics and students studying actor training and acting theory, but contributes to current lively academic debates around character. This is a compelling and original exploration of the limits of acting theory and practice, psychology, and creative work, in which Mirodan boldly re-examines some of the fundamental assumptions of actor training and some basic tenets of theatre practice to ask: What happens when one of us 'becomes somebody else'?

The Michael Chekhov Handbook is a practical guide to Chekhov's supportive techniques for actors, fully updated with new exercises that examine the relationship between the sensations of the physical body and the imagination. Lenard Petit draws on 25 years of teaching experience to unlock and illuminate Michael Chekhov's philosophy, and offers guiding principles and effective tools that actors can apply in rehearsal and performance. The second edition focuses on the building blocks of drama and an exploration of the five senses as an expressive springboard, with a new section on the function of the Archetype in the Chekhov method. Theory and practice are treated here with clarity and simplicity. Dedicated to students and teachers of acting, The Michael Chekhov Handbook provides readers with the essential tools they need to put the rewarding principles of this technique into use.

This collection of Applied Improvisation stories and strategies draws back the curtain on an exciting, innovative, growing field of practice and research that is changing the way people lead, create, and collaborate. Applied Improvisation is the umbrella term widely used to denote the application of improvised theatre's theories, tenets, games, techniques, and exercises beyond conventional theatre spaces, to foster the growth and/or development of flexible structures, new mindsets, and a range of inter and intra-personal skills required in today's volatile and uncertain world. This edited collection offers one of the first surveys of the range of practice, featuring 12 in-depth case studies by leading Applied Improvisation practitioners and a foreword by Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson. The contributors in this anthology are professional Applied Improvisation facilitators working in sectors as diverse as business, social science, theatre, education, law, and government. All have experienced the power of improvisation, have a driving need to share those experiences, and are united in the belief that improvisation can positively transform just about all human activity. Each contributor describes their practice, integrates feedback from clients, and includes a workbook component outlining some of the exercises used in their case study to give facilitators and students a model for their own application. This book will serve as a valuable resource for both experienced and new Applied Improvisation facilitators seeking to develop leaders and to build resilient communities, innovative teams, and vibrant organizations. For theatre practitioners, educators, and students, it opens up a new realm of practice and work.

The Elements of Theatrical Expression puts forward 14 essential elements that make up the basic building blocks of theatre. Is theatre a language? Does it have its own unique grammar? And if so, just what would the elements of such a grammar be? Brian Kulick asks readers to think of these elements as the rungs of a ladder, scaling one after the other to arrive at an aerial view of the theatrical landscape. From such a vantage point, one can begin to discern a line of development from the ancient Greeks, through Shakespeare and Chekhov, to a host of our own contemporary authors. He demonstrates how these elements may be transhistorical but are far from static, marking out a rich and dynamic theatrical language for a new generation of theatre makers to draw upon. Suitable for directors, actors, writers, dramaturges, and all audiences who yearn for a deeper understanding of theatre, The Elements of Theatrical Expression equips its readers with the knowledge that they need to see and hear theatre in new and more daring ways.

Anyone who is really serious about being an actor or teaching true acting techniques needs this book. Leading professionals believe it will be one of the best acting texts ever published. The author has performed on stage, film and TV opposite many of theatre's leading actors and actresses. In a step-by-step process, Carlton Colyer leads the actor in building a technique and then fully explains how to put that technique to work from basic exercises to multidimensional performances. More than fundamentals, this book covers the complete actor-training process from amateur to professional level. Two sections: PART 1: BUILDING A TECHNIQUE--Exercises, Creative Imagination, Personalization, Physicalization, Improvisation, Releasing Emotion and more. PART 2: PUTTING TECHNIQUE TO USE--Scene Classes, Building Roles in Different Dramatic Forms, Styles of Acting, Developing Characters, Getting a Part and much more.

The Physical Actor is a comprehensive book of exercises for actors. It is carefully designed for the development of a strong and flexible physical body able to move with ease through space and interact instinctively on-stage. Annie Loui draws on her training with Etienne Decroux, Carolyn Carlson, and Jerzy Grotowski to bring Contact Improvisation into the theatrical sphere. She explains how it can be used to develop alert and embodied listening skills in the actor, and how to apply it to working with texts on stage. This book will guide the reader through a full course of movement skills, including: Partnering skills Spatial awareness for groups and individuals Fine motor control through mime Heightened co-ordination and sustained motion New for this edition are additional partnering exercises, in-depth applications of contact improvisation to monologues and scenes, and a chapter on devising physical theatre performances.

This analysis of Shakespeare's sonnets in relation to his plays asserts that the language of the sonnets is primarily performative rather than descriptive. It discusses the 1609 quarto of sonnets and the Petrarchan discourses in a selection of plays. David Schalkwyk addresses embodiment and silencing, interiority and theatricality, inequalities of power, status, gender and desire in the published poems, on the stage and in the context of the early modern period.

West End Producer is the anonymous Twitter sensation whose hilarious and unfailingly accurate barbs satirising and celebrating the theatre industry have won him a devoted following. His identity is the subject of feverish speculation in the media, fuelled by his regular appearances at West End opening nights in costume, wig and latex mask. He has become a genuine theatre impresario, launching talent competitions Search for a Twitter Star and its successor, Search for a Twitter Composer. And now West End Producer is ready to share all he's learnt about how to get ahead in showbusiness, in the form of a handy paperback book. Full of the wit and mischievous indiscretion that has gained him such a cult following, packed with gossip and insider knowledge of the theatre business, and containing enough savvy advice on acting to kickstart a career, West End Producer's book offers tips (both practical and deliciously impractical) on: Getting into drama school (learning how to sit in a circle) Auditioning (perfecting the 'staring vacantly out front' pose) Rehearsals techniques (including how to act in a serious play) The different kinds of actor (from sex pest to company idiot) Combating boredom (and avoiding backstage naughtiness) How to behave at first-night parties (obeying the traffic-light colour code) And, most importantly, the correct way to bow at the curtain call Also included in the book are many of West End Producer's most memorable tweets, miniature comic salvos despatched with all the shrewdness of a man who truly knows his Barrowmans from his Balls. 'Prepare to be shocked, rocked and mocked in this genuinely laugh-out-loud-funny, lovingly crafted, meticulously researched, spookily insightful and accurately spelled guide to all things thespian.' Michael Ball 'Don't even consider putting your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington, until you've first consulted this wonderful book.' Paul O'Grady

Advanced Consciousness Training for Actors: Meditation Techniques for the Performing Artist explores theories and techniques for deepening the individual actor's capacity to concentrate and focus attention. Going well beyond the common exercises found in actor training programs, these practices utilize consciousness expanding "technologies" derived from both Eastern and Western traditions of meditation and mindfulness training as well as more recent discoveries from the fields of psychology and neuroscience. This book reviews the scientific literature of consciousness studies and mindfulness research to discover techniques for focusing attention, expanding self-awareness, and increasing levels of mental concentration; all foundational skills of the performing artist in any medium.

When Harry Carey, Sr., died in 1947, director John Ford cast Carey's twenty-six-year-old son, Harry, Jr., in the role of The Abilene Kid in 3 Godfathers. Ford and the elder Carey had filmed an earlier version of the story, and Ford dedicated the Technicolor remake to his memory. Company of Heroes is the story of the making of that film, as well as the eight subsequent Ford classics. In it, Harry Carey, Jr., casts a remarkably observant eye on the process of filming Westerns by one of the true masters of the form. From She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Wagonmaster to The Searchers and Cheyenne Autumn, he shows the care, tedium, challenge, and exhilaration of movie-making at its highest level. Carey's portrayal of John Ford at work is the most intimate ever written. He also gives us insightful and original portraits of the men and women who were part of Ford's vision of America: John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Maureen O'Hara, Ward Bond, Victor McLaglen, and Ben Johnson. Funny, insightful, and brutally honest, Company of Heroes is a rip-roaring good read that presents the remarkable life story of Harry Carey, Jr., and his many fine performances.

Why does Shakespeare write in the way he does? And how can actors and directors get the most out of his incomparable plays?
In "Speaking the Speech," Giles Block - 'Master of the Words' at Shakespeare's Globe - sets out to answer these two simple questions. The result is the most authoritative, most comprehensive book yet written on speaking Shakespeare's words.
Throughout the book, the author subjects Shakespeare's language to rigorous examination, illuminating his extraordinary ability to bring his characters to life by a simple turn of phrase, a breath or even a pause. Block shows how we can only fully understand these characters, and the meaning of the plays, by speaking the words out loud.
Drawing on characters from across all of Shakespeare's plays - and looking in detail at "Macbeth," "The Winter's Tale," "Hamlet," "The Merchant of Venice" and "Much Ado About Nothing" - Block covers everything the actor needs to know, including: the essential distinctions between prose, rhymed verse and unrhymed verse, and the different strategies to be used when speaking them; the difference between 'you' and 'thou'; Shakespeare's use of silence; and the vital importance of paying attention to Shakespeare's 'original' punctuation.
"Speaking the Speech" is a book for actors and directors who want to improve their understanding of Shakespeare's language in order to speak it better. It is also a fascinating read for anyone who wants to deepen their appreciation of Shakespeare's language and the way it comes to life when spoken aloud.

Shortlisted for The Society for Theatre's Research's 2013 Theatre Book Prize. Winner to be announced May 9, 2014.
"We call Giles our 'Text Guru' at the Globe, partly in jest, and partly out of respect for the depth of his knowledge, the gentleness of his teaching, and the sudden illuminations he can throw across a play. If this book can afford even a small part of the pleasure and insight Giles can provide in person, then it will be a great asset." Dominic Dromgoole, Artistic Director, Shakespeare's Globe
"Giles deepened my love for Shakespeare and for the way we all speak. I trust you will have a similar experience reading his book." Mark Rylance, from his Foreword

A practical investigation into story-theatre and the art of telling stories through theatre, by the renowned director who founded Shared Experience Theatre Company. In Then What Happens?, Mike Alfreds makes the case for putting story and storytelling back at the heart of theatre. He explores the whole process of adapting for the stage, and investigates the particular techniques - many of them highly sophisticated - that actors require when performing 'story-theatre'. The book includes over two hundred exercises, improvisations and workshops dealing with the practical aspects of story-theatre, such as building an ensemble, creating a physical vocabulary, and transforming written narrative into drama. It draws on examples ranging from traditional legends and folklore, through the works of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Evelyn Waugh, to contemporary fiction. Alfreds shows how each story demands its own particular set of dramatic choices, opening up endless possibilities for performance. Then What Happens? - like the author's tremendously successful first book, Different Every Night - will be invaluable to directors and actors, to dramatists working in the field of adaptation, to those devising and working from improvisation, and to any theatregoer who has been moved by the power of an unfolding story to ask: 'Then what happens?' 'All theatre directors know that good narrative is the secret of good theatre, but few have as distinctive, rigorous and exceptional a method of exploring that secret as does Mike Alfreds. His system of working, and his thoughts on the making of theatre in our time, are as crucial and illuminating as those of Stanislavsky and Peter Brook have been to generations of theatre enthusiasts and practitioners.' Michael Coveney

The Routledge Comedy Studies Reader is a selection of the most outstanding critical analysis featured in the journal Comedy Studies in the decade since its inception in 2010. The Reader illustrates the multiple perspectives that are available when analysing comedy. Wilkie's selections present an array of critical approaches from interdisciplinary scholars, all of whom evaluate comedy from different angles and adopt a range of writing styles to explore the phenomenon. Divided into eight unique parts, the Reader offers both breadth and depth with its wide range of interdisciplinary articles and international perspectives. Of interest to students, scholars, and lovers of comedy alike, The Routledge Comedy Studies Reader offers a contemporary sample of general analyses of comedy as a mode, form, and genre.

In (toward) a phenomenology of acting, Phillip Zarrilli considers acting as a 'question' to be explored in the studio and then reflected upon. This book is a vital response to Jerzy Grotowski's essential question: "How does the actor 'touch that which is untouchable?'" Phenomenology invites us to listen to "the things themselves", to be attentive to how we sensorially, kinesthetically, and affectively engage with acting as a phenomenon and process. Using detailed first-person accounts of acting across a variety of dramaturgies and performances from Beckett to newly co-created performances to realism, it provides an account of how we 'do' or practice phenomenology when training, performing, directing, or teaching. Zarrilli brings a wealth of international and intercultural experience as a director, performer, and teacher to this major new contribution both to the practices of acting and to how we can reflect in depth on those practices. An advanced study for actors, directors, and teachers of acting that is ideal for both the training/rehearsal studio and research, (toward) a phenomenology of acting is an exciting move forward in the philosophical understanding of acting as an embodied practice.

An essential companion for actors in rehearsal - a thesaurus of action words to revitalize performance.

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!"

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. Shakespeare Monologues for Young Women contains forty monologues drawn from across the whole of Shakespeare's canon. Each speech comes with a neat summary of the vital information (the who, where and when of the speech), plus descriptions of what is happening, what to think about when preparing it, and a glossary. There is also a user-friendly introduction to selecting your speech, tackling Shakespeare's language and approaching the audition itself. 'Sound practical advice for anyone attending an audition' Teaching Drama Magazine on The Good Audition Guides

'Masks are empowering... They enable you to take risks. They provoke you into working with the reckless logic of a six-year-old or the enigmatic stillness of someone wiser than you'll ever be. But above all, masks let you be you without your habitual limitations.' In Playing the Mask, award-winning theatre-maker and teacher John Wright explores and demystifies mask-work: what masks do, how they do it, and, above all, what they can teach us about acting. This book is a wonderfully accessible introduction to a fresh and innovative acting technique for actors, theatre-makers and teachers to use in training and rehearsal. A mask releases the actor to be playful, and playfulness generates ideas, finds meaning, develops characterisation - and is infinitely more fun than traditional training. Rather than a dry guide to making masked theatre, it is about, for instance, playing Lady Macbeth in Red Nose, or Hamlet in the mask of The Victim, The Ogre or The Fool, or even Romeo and Juliet in grotesque half-masks... All in the name of liberating your creativity and, ultimately, improving your performance. Extensively illustrated with a rich variety of masks, this inventive and pragmatic book is full of invaluable games and exercises drawn from the author's own workshops, his experience as co-founder of both Trestle and Told by an Idiot, and his pioneering mask and clown work in many professional productions. 'Brilliant, entertaining and accessible' Paul Hunter, from his Foreword

The essential, one-stop handbook for actors, with everything you need to survive and thrive, from the team behind the internationally successful Surviving Actors conventions. Being an actor is a vocation, but it's also a real-life job. Talent, determination and passion are vital, but will only get you so far. In addition to developing the craft of acting, actors have to remember that it is a career, and so the business side needs to be taken just as seriously. This manual covers the day-to-day essentials you need to succeed in the industry, with sections that cover: Establishing your personal brand and business plan Getting great headshots, showreels, voicereels and a website Dealing with agents, casting directors and auditions Developing your networking skills And managing your money Honest, straightforward, but also empowering, it will help you unlock your potential and focus on being the best, most employable - and, hopefully, successful - actor you can be. Compiled by the team at Surviving Actors, and drawing on a wide range of other experienced professionals, the Surviving Actors Manual is designed to help you develop and sustain your career and to create your own new opportunities. Felicity Jackson and Lianne Robertson both trained as actors. Together they run Surviving Actors, founded in 2009 to help and encourage other actors in all areas of their professional lives.

'Robert Cohen's book, Acting Power, follows the tradition of his other book, Acting One, and has been the veritable bible for acting teachers for the last quarter century.' - David Krasner, Emerson College 'This book, above all else, is an attempt to explore the qualities of acting power.... to suggest to you, the actor, an approach toward not merely good acting but powerful acting. Great actors display the power to frighten - and the power to seduce - and can shift between the one and the other like a violinist can her notes.' - From the Preface The first edition of Acting Power was a groundbreaking work of acting theory which applied sociological and psychological principles to actor training. The book went on to influence a generation of theatre and performance studies students and academics, and was translated into five languages. This carefully revised 21st Century Edition (re)considers, in the context of today's field: questions such as 'should actors act from the inside or the outside?' and 'should the actor live the role or present the role?'; contemporary research into communication theory, cybernetics, and cognitive science; brilliantly illuminating and witty exercises for solo study and classroom use, and a through-line of useful references to classic plays; penetrating observations about the actor's art by more than 75 distinguished professional actors and directors. Cohen's elegant and rigorous updates emphasise the continuing relevance of his uniquely integrated and life-affirming approach to this field. The new edition draws on his extraordinarily rich career as teacher, scholar, director, translator and dramaturg. It is a recipe for thrilling theatre in any genre.

The art of armed and unarmed stage combat thrills actors and audiences alike the world over. This book details many of the foundational techniques used by actors studying stage combat and actor-movement disciplines. A variety of specific training exercises are described that connect the actor's imagination to a cohesive and meaningful actor-training curriculum - integrating stage combat with the actor's process of developing a fully embodied awareness of the physical life of the character. Developing physical awareness and dexterity is an essential component of an actor's training and rehearsal processes. Engagement, connection, the ability to listen and respond with authenticity, clarity, flexibility, intentionality, tactical response, variety are all helpful aspects for the actor studying combat movement. With practical exercises and expert advice, Stage Combat Arts allows the actor to further hone their emotional connection and extension, breath and voice, intention and focus, movement and freedom, and their ability to connect physically to imagery and text - disciplines that are at the foundation of actor-training - all through the art of combat movement.

Have you ever prepared a speech until you knew it by heart and then found out that, when the moment arrives, the surprise and uniqueness of hic et nunc are inevitable? No matter how much you prepare a text, it will need improvisation to be used on a stage or in the street. But, what is the limit between improvisation and technique, experience and training? Can we scientifically measure the improvisation of a text? This work aims to investigate in which dimension art meets science and how it happens. Artists need to discover new conceptual instruments that contribute to the probing of the laws of matter, social existence, and the human mind. The rigorous and fascinating trip that Anna Grazia Cafaro proposes to capture the sense, function, and nature of the actor's improvisation is a splendid and a unique example of a "new alliance" between art and science, predicted forty years ago by the scientist Ilya Prigogine and the philosopher Isabelle Stengers. Thanks to the application of Chaos Theory to the theatrical processes, attempted here for the first time, the actor and the performance are analyzed as "complex dynamic systems" like a cell, in which, paradoxically, chaos and order coexist and maintain the system in balance; the continuous passages from chaos to order, create the necessary tension and energy that allows the spectator to build his own meaning. Despite the complex theoretical concepts this book is written in an accessible language and includes clear examples that make it comprehensible to a wide audience. It is perfect for students of theater, practitioners, scholars, and anyone who is curious about communicative mechanisms. It can be used in theater, science, comparative literature, and philosophy departments.

This book is the first critical analysis of the key principles and practices informing the movement training of actors in the modern era. Focusing on the cultural history of modern movement training for actors, Evans traces the development of the 'neutral' body as a significant area of practice within drama school training and the relationship between movement pedagogy and the operation of discipline and power in shaping the professional identity of the actor. The volume looks in detail at the influence of the leading figures in movement training - Laban, Alexander, Copeau and Lecoq - on twentieth century professional actor training, and is informed by interviews with students and staff at leading English drama schools. Mark Evans re-evaluates the significance of movement training in the professional drama school, offering a new understanding of the body as a site for performative resistance to industrialization. Despite the publication of a number of 'how to' books on movement training for the professional acting student, this is the first text to look behind the curtain and write the unseen biography of the actor's body.

Based on interviews with over forty award-winning artists, How to Rehearse a Play offers multiple solutions to the challenges that directors face from first rehearsal to opening night. The book provides a wealth of information on how to run a rehearsal room, suggesting different paths and encouraging directors to shape their own process. It is divided into four sections: lessons from the past: a brief survey of influential directors, including Stanislavski's acting methods and Anne Bogart's theories on movement; a survey of current practices: practical advice on launching a process, analyzing scripts, crafting staging, detailing scene work, collaborating in technical rehearsals and previews, and opening the play to the public; rehearsing without a script: suggestions, advice, and exercises for devising plays through collaborative company creation; rehearsal workbook: prompts and exercises to help directors discover their own process. How to Rehearse a Play is the perfect guide for any artist leading their first rehearsal, heading to graduate school for intense study, or just looking for ways to refresh and reinvigorate their artistry.