What should an actor be thinking on stage? This overlooked, important question is the crux of this new book that combines psychological theory, practical exercises, and a wide-reaching examination of inner monologue in various forms including film, musical theatre, and comedy. The inner monologue is that stream of consciousness or inner voice that constantly echoes in your head. This revolutionary new book tames and harnesses that voice to be used as a powerful tool in acting. Written in an accessible tone, the book assists actors, directors and educators in their quest for deeper more thoughtful acting and is a perfect supplement to traditional actor training.

In eighteenth-century England, actresses were frequently dismissed as mere prostitutes trading on their sexual power rather than their talents. Yet they were, Felicity Nussbaum argues, central to the success of a newly commercial theater. Urban, recently moneyed, and thoroughly engaged with their audiences, celebrated actresses were among the first women to achieve social mobility, cultural authority, and financial independence. In fact, Nussbaum contends, the eighteenth century might well be called the "age of the actress" in the British theater, given women's influence on the dramatic repertory and, through it, on the definition of femininity. Treating individual star actresses who helped spark a cult of celebrity-especially Anne Oldfield, Susannah Cibber, Catherine Clive, Margaret Woffington, Frances Abington, and George Anne Bellamy-Rival Queens reveals the way these women animated issues of national identity, property, patronage, and fashion in the context of their dramatic performances. Actresses intentionally heightened their commercial appeal by catapulting the rivalries among themselves to center stage. They also boldly challenged in importance the actor-managers who have long dominated eighteenth-century theater history and criticism. Felicity Nussbaum combines an emphasis on the actresses themselves with close analysis of their diverse roles in works by major playwrights, including George Farquhar, Nicholas Rowe, Colley Cibber, Arthur Murphy, David Garrick, Isaac Bickerstaff, and Richard Sheridan. Hers is a comprehensive and original argument about the importance of actresses as the first modern subjects, actively shaping their public identities to make themselves into celebrated properties.

Do you need to learn a Southern or Boston or New York or Caribbean Islands accent quickly, or do you have plenty of time? Either way, this is for you: an easy-to-use manual full of clear, cogent advice and fascinating information. Contemporary monologues and scenes for two are included, and an enclosed CD contains the extensive practice exercises.

"Acting and Living in Discovery, A Workbook for the Actor" lays out essential fundamentals of the actor's process. Based on the author's experiences at the legendary HB Studio in New York City, "Acting and Living in Discovery" provides practical guidance for developing, honing, or revitalizing the actor's craft for the actor. A teacher can use the workbook to support a studio class, a special workshop, part of a university acting course, or private coaching. The chapters delve into basic facets of the acting process that lead the actor into discovering the corporal world of a script. Exercises at the end of each chapter invite the actor to discover the treasure trove of his unique self, and spell out the work an actor can do to wear the shoes of any character. The actor is at once the instrument and the player. The workbook can be read straight through or used as a reference for addressing a particular problem or topic.

Encountering Ensemble, is a text for students, teachers, researchers and practitioners who wish to develop a deeper understanding of the history, conceptual foundations and practicalities of the world of ensemble theatre. It is the first book to draw together definitions and practitioner examples, making it a cutting edge work on the subject. Encountering Ensemble combines historical and contemporary case studies with a wide range of approaches and perspectives. It is written collaboratively with practitioners and members from the academic community and is divided into three sections: 1. Introduction and an approach to training ensembles 2. Practitioner case studies and analysis of specific practical approaches to training ensembles (or individuals in an ensemble context) 3. Succinct perspectives from practitioners reflecting on a range of questions including: What is an ensemble?; the place of ensemble in the contemporary theatre landscape; and training issues.

Many actors treat their profession as a purely artistic endeavor, rarely conceding that there is more to making a living than simply showing up on stage or in front of a camera. By refusing to seriously acknowledge that self-promotion is vital to their livelihoods, many performers can get quickly discouraged by the vicious circle of audition and rejection. However, with a little foresight and planning, actors can learn how to become their own best advocates for a career in the business of show. In Act Like It's Your Business: Branding and Marketing Strategies for Actors, Jonathan Flom helps actors and others in the arts understand the power of branding. This guide walks the reader through the process of creating a personal brand for a small business and then marketing that brand and broadcasting it through every step of the process-from choosing clothing, arranging headshots, and designing resumes to selecting a repertoire, building a website, obtaining business cards, and networking. Flom also offers advice on such real-world issues as goal-setting, finances, contracts, and day jobs and provides insight and guidance on how to approach agents, auditions, and casting directors. A book of empowerment meant to shift the balance of control to actors themselves, Act Like It's Your Business is aimed at professional performers as well as students who are getting ready to transition from college to career. Structured logically and step by step, this accessible guide will become the standard for nearly anyone hoping to build an enduring career in the performing arts.

In the heat of renaissance Italy two houses are at war. One son and one daughter from the opposing families break this bitter conflict by falling in love. Yet, in this whirlwind of enmity, Romeo and Juliet's passion agitates rather than unites the clashing houses, causing a trail of destruction. Locked in a burning embrace, the two young lovers are tragically doomed to live or die together. For the first time, the world-renowned Arden Shakespeare is producing Performance Editions, aimed specifically for use in the rehearsal room. Published in association with the Shakespeare Institute, the text features easily accessible facing page notes - including short definitions of words, key textual variants, and guidance on metre and pronunciation; a larger font size for easier reading; space for writing notes and reduced punctuation aimed at the actor rather than the reader. With editorial expertise from the worlds of theatre and academia, the series has been developed in association with actors and drama students. The Series Editors are distinguished scholars Professor Michael Dobson and Dr Abigail Rokison-Woodall and leading Shakespearean actor, Simon Russell Beale.

The core goal of Directing Screen Performances is to teach aspiring directors how to prepare and work with actors. Through a practical exploration of the major approaches to contemporary screen acting, you will learn how to formulate your own effective modes of communication to craft compelling performances. Directing performances for the screen starts well before the actor is cast and finishes well after the last slate is shot. In this book you will learn how to analyze a script, brief the casting director, rehearse the actors, decide on the visual treatment that enriches their performances, direct effectively on set and finesse the character in the edit. The director's process is clearly defined and augmented with illustrations, photographs and graphics, and each chapter concludes with practical exercises to consolidate the new knowledge.

Stanislavski was the first to outline a systematic approach for using our experience, imagination and observation to create truthful acting. 150 years after his birth, his approach is more widely embraced and taught throughout the world - but is still often rejected, misunderstood and misapplied.In "Acting Stanislavski," John Gillett offers a clear, accessible and comprehensive account of the Stanislavski approach, from the actor's training to final performance, exploring: - ease and focus- the nature of action, interaction and objectives- the imaginary reality, senses and feeling- active analysis of text - physical and vocal expression of character - the actor in the context of training and the industry.Drawing on Stanislavski's major books, in both English translations, and on records of his directing process and final studio classes, "Acting Stanislavski" demystifies terms and concepts. It is for actors from an actor's point of view, and offers many practical exercises and examples as an integrated part of each subject."Acting Stanislavski "also creates an up-to-date overview of the Stanislavski approach, connecting his legacy with the work of his successors, from Michael Chekhov to Meisner, Adler and Strasberg.A new, extended and fully updated edition of "Acting on Impulse: Reclaiming the Stanislavski Approach" (Methuen Drama, 2007), "Acting Stanislavski" now includes new exercises and biographies, a further chapter on The Character, and an expanded glossary along with many other additions to the previous chapters. It is an essential practical and educational resource for any acting student, professional or teacher.

The Actor's Survival Kit is required reading in Canadian theatre schools and is a constant resource for its many readers across the country. This fifth edition gives actors fresh research from today's experience, new lists of Canada-wide contacts, and input from success stories. It speaks to a new generation of artists, giving them an up-to-date guide to the business of acting. The book addresses a range of new issues: performer websites, video self-production, and sending rmand networking on the Internet. It also takes a fresh look at old ones: agents, self-promotion, and work opportunities for women and minorities. The authors learn by constantly talking to emerging artists about the problems they face in the business in Canada. Often those conversations begin with, "You wrote the book!" The authors are still receiving thanks from grateful artists who have been guided by this irreplaceable book over the years.

Intercultural Acting and Performer Training is the first collection of essays from a diverse, international group of authors and practitioners focusing on intercultural acting and voice practices worldwide. This unique book invites performers and teachers of acting and performance to explore, describe, and interrogate the complexities of intercultural acting and actor/performer training taking place in our twenty-first century, globalized world. As global contexts become multi-, inter- and intra-cultural, assumptions about what acting "is" and what actor/performer training should be continue to be shaped by conventional modes, models, techniques and structures. This book examines how our understanding of interculturalism changes when we shift our focus from the obvious and highly visible aspects of production to the micro-level of training grounds, studios, and rehearsal rooms, where new forms of hybrid performance are emerging. Ideal for students, scholars and practitioners, Intercultural Acting and Performer Training offers a series of accessible and highly readable essays which reflect on acting and training processes through the lens offered by "new" forms of intercultural thought and practice.

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 Women contains 50 monologues drawn from across the Shakespeare canon. Each speech is prefaced with an easy-to-use guide to Who is speaking, Where, When and To Whom, What has just happened in the play and What are the character's objectives. In fact, everything the actor needs to know before embarking on the audition! Shakespeare Monologues for Women is edited by director, teacher and academic Luke Dixon. 'Sound practical advice for anyone attending an audition' Teaching Drama Magazine on the Good Audition Guides

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 Men contains 50 monologues drawn from across the Shakespeare canon. Each speech is prefaced with an easy-to-use guide to Who is speaking, Where, When and To Whom, What has just happened in the play and What are the character's objectives. In fact, everything the actor needs to know before embarking on the audition! Shakespeare Monologues for Men is edited by director, teacher and academic Luke Dixon. 'Sound practical advice for anyone attending an audition' Teaching Drama Magazine on the Good Audition Guides

The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance is based on the celebrated Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance, and covers styles and movements, buildings, organizations, regions and traditions; it has a particularly strong focus on biographies of actors, playwrights, directors, and designers. New entries cover the people and companies who have come into prominence since the publication of the Encyclopedia. The Companion includes all the most popular and accessible information from the Encyclopedia, concentrating primarily on the personalities involved in producing threatre, as well as overviews of the genres within which they work. It has 2,400 entries presented in a far more compact and portable format. The timeline of historical and cultural events in the world of theatre and performance has been significantly updated, along with the extensive bibliography, and an appendix of useful weblinks has been added, which is supported and accessible through a companion website. The Companion provides an informative and accessible package aimed at both the theatre-going public as at specialists and professionals in the field.

Staging Sex lays out a comprehensive, practical solution for staging intimacy, nudity, and sexual violence. This book takes theatre practitioners step-by-step through the best practices, tools, and techniques for crafting effective theatrical intimacy. After an overview of the challenges directors face when staging theatrical intimacy, Staging Sex offers practical solutions and exercises, provides a system for establishing and discussing boundaries, and suggests efficient and effective language for staging intimacy and sexual violence. It also addresses production and classroom specific concerns and provides guidance for creating a culture of consent in any company or department. Written for directors, choreographers, movement coaches, stage managers, production managers, professional actors, and students of acting courses, Staging Sex is an essential tool for theatre practitioners who encounter theatrical intimacy or instructional touch, whether in rehearsal or in the classroom.

Thousands of young people set their sights on becoming professional actors each year, hoping to get a foot in the door with a solid resume built in high school, college, and local theatre company productions. But competition for parts is fierce, and no list of credits is complete without competency in the classical works of Shakespeare. Will Power guides both professional actors and aspirants through a lively 21-day rehearsal process leading up to the day of an actual audition or performance. Actors need never again be confused about where to begin or how to follow through when developing a Shakespearean role. Clear stepping stones have been laid out before them-by Shakespeare himself. Even seasoned actors, familiar with verse, are fascinated when they learn about the acting clues and stage directions embedded in the original First Folio text of Shakespeare's work, in the form of particular punctuation, capitalized letters, and spelling. Putting actors on their feet in dynamic and fun rehearsals, this practical guide helps them develop the 7 Cs of acting: commitment, concentration, conditioning, control, confidence, courage, and clarity while also demystifying how to perform these these magnificently crafted plays.

The Art of Raising an Artist guides parents in helping their children explore the world of acting and ultimately invest in their child's future. Actor and director, Lilia Sixtos has seen thousands of auditions and taught hundreds of artists. By raising her two creative children, she has learned every possible way a creative person's journey can be helped or hindered by their parents. In The Art of Raising an Artist, she shows parents how to: Identify the best training they can provide for their child within their means Develop a safe and loving space for the challenges of their child's journey Create the support team their child needs Find their child's niche Fit the needs of their child's career with the needs of the whole family

The best-selling guide to acting Shakespeare in a new smaller and lighter handbook size. Shakespeare tells the actor when to go fast and when to go slow; when to pause, when to come in on cue and when to accent a word. His text is full of such clues. He tells the actor when but never tells him why or how. That is up to the actor. Much like bringing a musical score to life, Peter Hall guides us to 'speak the speech'. An essential text for classical training at drama school and an invaluable reference book for actors and directors working on Shakespeare productions. Peter Hall makes watching or reading Shakespeare a richer experience, for audiences as well as actors.