These three volumes represent the best Shakespeare criticism of the last fifty years. 140 articles have been included, with introductions by Stanley Wells, Terence Hawkes and Peter Holland under three main headings. The first volume covers Shakespeare's life and times, the texts of his plays and their staging in the period; the second consists of literary criticism applied to Shakespeare since World War II and the third includes performance-centered articles on staging and acting. The essays are reprinted from the Shakespeare Survey yearbook, selected and ordered by Catherine Alexander.

"The best theatre book I read this year. The remarkable thing is its lack of bunk. Actors and watchers of actors will find it a book to mark up and read again."--Dan Sullivan, "Los Angeles Times"

In his beloved classic, "Acting: The First Six Lessons, " master acting teacher Richard Boleslavsky presents his acting theory and technique in a lively and accessible narrative form. Widely considered a must-have for beginning as well as established actors, Boleslavsky's work has long helped actors better understand the craft of acting and what it takes to grow as an artist. This enhanced edition includes additional exercises from Samuel Seldon's "First Steps in Acting, " which provide further opportunity to practice the techniques discussed in "Acting: The First Six Lessons."

Richard Boleslavsky's knowledge of the theater was based on an impressive depth and breadth of experience. A member of the Moscow Art Theater and director of its First Studio, he worked in Russia, Germany, and America as an actor, director and teacher. He was a leading Hollywood director in addition to producing plays and musical comedies on Broadway.

Harold Guskin is an Acting Doctor whose clients include David Suchet, Glenn Close, James Gandolfini, Bridget Fonda and dozens more. In HOW TO STOP ACTING he reveals the insights and techniques that have worked wonders for beginners as well as stars. Instead of yet another 'method', Guskin offers a strategy based on a radically simple and refreshing idea: that the actor's work is not to 'create a character' but rather to be continually, personally responsive to the text, wherever his impulse takes him, from the first read-through to the final performance. From this credo derives an entirely new perspective on auditioning and the challenge of developing a role and keeping it fresh, even over hundreds of performances. Drawing on examples from his clients' work and his own, Guskin presents acting as a constantly evolving exploration rather than as a progression toward a fixed goal. He also offers sound and original advice on adapting to the particular demands of television and film, playing difficult emotional scenes, tackling Shakespearean and other great roles." The Great Guskin" - John Lahr, The New Yorker "Reading Harold Guskin's book HOW TO STOP ACTING was like someone slowly removing handcuffs that have been on for a very long time. A method of working was given to me at drama school and with a few variations, here and there, has served me well for thirty-five years. More recently, however, I wanted to be free of 'a way' of working and Harold's approach to acting was the much-needed key to the freedom that I wanted. I was influenced by Stanislavsky and Method acting, often feeeling guilty if I failed to use them in the studying of my script and in the development of a character! Applying Harold's HOW TO STOP ACTING has allowed me to work much more freely and instinctively and therefore more truthfully and being truthful has always been, for me, the ultimate goal. Thank you Harold!" David Suchet

How can teachers incorporate drama into the curriculum?
What drama activities are especially successful?
How do teachers know when students are learning in, through and about drama?
Teachers who are new to drama, or those wishing to refresh their knowledge and ideas, should find practical answers and guidance in this text. The book introduces the work of Cecily O'Neill to demonstrate the entry points to drama lessons, the pre-texts, and how educators need to introduce lessons with challenging material. He then uses the work of David Booth to highlight one aspect of drama - storydrama - and how it can be used as an effective learning medium across the curriculum.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203209176

This guide for actors and directors develops a valid method for training performers to act from their core--whether they are cold reading, auditioning, or performing for film or television. This book teaches actors how to achieve and respond to believable and honest emotions before the camera, and it maintains that the key to a successful performance lies in how the actors relate to one another and to the circumstances. Exercises, including script examples, throughout the book give readers an easy resource for practicing the principles outlined.
The Art of Film Acting applies a classic stage acting method (Stanislavsky) to the more intimate medium of performing before a camera, teaching readers to experience an emotion rather than to indicate it.
*Applies a proven method to screen acting
*Includes exercises and practice material
*Helps actors train themselves to relate and respond

Gail Marshall looks at actresses on the English stage of the later nineteenth century, and argues that much of their work was determined by the popularity at the time of images of Classical sculpture. They were often encouraged to look as much as possible like statues, and thus to appear to their audiences as sexually desirable objects rather than creative artists. The book draws for its evidence on theatrical fictions, visual representations, and popular culture's assimilation of the sculptural image, as well as on theatrical productions.

Everyone has heard of Method acting . . . but what about Modern acting? This book makes the simple but radical proposal that we acknowledge the Modern acting principles that continue to guide actors' work in the twenty-first century. Developments in modern drama and new stagecraft led Modern acting strategies to coalesce by the 1930s - and Hollywood's new role as America's primary performing arts provider ensured these techniques circulated widely as the migration of Broadway talent and the demands of sound cinema created a rich exchange of ideas among actors. Decades after Strasberg's death in 1982, he and his Method are still famous, while accounts of American acting tend to overlook the contributions of Modern acting teachers such as Josephine Dillon, Charles Jehlinger, and Sophie Rosenstein. Baron's examination of acting manuals, workshop notes, and oral histories illustrates the shared vision of Modern acting that connects these little-known teachers to the landmark work of Stanislavsky. It reveals that Stella Adler, long associated with the Method, is best understood as a Modern acting teacher and that Modern acting, not Method, might be seen as central to American performing arts if the Actors' Lab in Hollywood (1941-1950) had survived the Cold War.

How do you actually set up a theatre game? And how do you actually play it? There are many books on the subject that describe theatre games, some even show illustrations. But the only way to really understand how a theatre game works is to see it in action. In a workshop setting, Adrea Gibbs directs students of all ages in a series of creative games for learning acting skills. Skills include: Imagination, Observation, Emotional Expressiveness, Listening, Teamwork, Trust, Improvisation, Scene Structure and Development, Focus, Confidence, and more. Over fifteen games and variations are demonstrated including: Name Game, Animal Farm, A Simple Piece of Fabric, Emotion Tag, Mime Alley, Improv Starters, The Bench, Concentration, The Orchestra, This Is A ...and more. This is an excellent resource for learning basic acting skills.

A step by step guide for anyone wanting to become a working actor.

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.

No other book for actors focuses so succinctly on the business of self-management. Whether an actor has an agent or manager or is building toward assembling that team, "Self-Management for Actors" will provide a roadmap for surviving--and thriving--in the entertainment industry. There is nothing magic or even a little mystical about the business side of the business. There is, however, a cloak of protection around some industry information. The good news is, "the edge" that actors are seeking is in your hands already Knowing your type, researching the target buyers of that primary type, staying on the radar in organic and meaningful ways, producing your own content to showcase what you do effortlessly, and learning how to network like a ninja is all within your control Sure, there's work involved, but once you come at it from a place of owning your "bullseye," it doesn't feel like work. It feels like living your dreams These self-management principles are simple, accessible, and do-able No silly "actor busy work" here; SMFA is about balancing your creative fire with the organizational skills that will allow you to navigate this business without "leading from need," as so many actors tend to do. Peppered with real-world examples from working actors and behind-the-desk advice from industry pros, "Self-Management for Actors" has quickly become the most well-worn book on every actor's bookshelf. Author Bonnie Gillespie has taught the SMFA principles all over the world, helping actors navigate tier-jumps from the very beginnings of their creative careers on up through crafting that first acceptance speech With a pocket companion guide and interactive support, this book is an actor's best friend. It's Hollywood grad school... in book form

This work has inspired the work of countless actors, directors, and writers in theatre, television and film. Spolin's improvisational techniques have changed the very nature and practice of modern theatre. This third edition updates the more than 200 now-classic exercises and adds 30 new ones. It adds 30 traditional theatre games that are frequently used as warm-ups. It includes Spolin's explanations of key concepts crucial to her programme, and collects "The Sayings of Viola Spolin" and adds a glossary of phrases for teachers and directors, with Spolin's definitions of their meaning and value. Most significantly, though, this edition makes available "The Lone Actor". In this section, Spolin offers games for individuals to play when they are alone. It is an important piece that should expand Spolin's teachings and influence to an entirely new audience.

Analyzing the relationship between dramatic action and the controversial art of acting, William Worthen demonstrates that what it means to act, to be an actor, and to communicate through acting embodies both an ethics of acting and a poetics of drama. Originally published in 1984. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

In 1984 Antony Sher, hailed as "the most exciting actor of his generation" by the Observer, made his debut - on homemade crutches - as the infamous Richard III in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of the play. He would go on to win the Laurence Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for best actor. In his own words and sketches, he chronicles his personal and professional journey to this award-winning performance, from the moment he was offered the role to opening night, in the critically acclaimed book Year of the King, now available in this special 20th anniversary edition. From his brainstorm to use crutches to bring the king's deformity to life, to his research for the role, which included watching interviews with psychopaths, reading about mass murderers, and speaking with doctors and physically challenged individuals, to his visit to his homeland of South Africa, to his experiences in working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the reader is given a front-row seat to Sher's physical and mental preparation - or rather transformation - for his landmark performance as "the bottled spider."

Stanislavsky in Focus brilliantly examines the history and actual premises of Stanislavsky’s 'System', separating myth from fact with forensic skill.

The first edition of this now classic study showed conclusively how the 'System' was gradually transformed into the Method, popularised in the 1950s by Lee Strasberg and the Actor’s Studio. It looked at the gap between the original Russian texts and what most English-speaking practitioners still imagine to be Stanislavsky’s ideas.

This thoroughly revised new edition also delves even deeper into:

the mythical depiction of Stanislavsky as a tyrannical director and teacher

yoga, the mind-body-spirit continuum and its role in the ‘System’

how Stanislavsky used subtexts to hide many of his ideas from Soviet censors.

The text has been updated to address all of the relevant scholarship, particularly in Russia, since the first edition was published. It also features an expanded glossary on the System's terminology and its historical exercises, as well as more on the political context of Stanislavsky's work, its links with cognitive science, and the System's relation to contemporary developments in actor-training. It will be a vital part of every practitioner's and historian's library.

Table of Contents



Preface: Stanislavsky Enters the Twenty-First Century Part 1: Transmission From Moscow to New York. New York Adopts Stanislavsky. Part 2: Translation The Classroom Circuit. The Publication Maze. Part 3: Transformation Stanislavsky’s Lost Term. Emotion and the Human Spirit of the Role. Action and the Human Body in the Role. Conclusion: A Legacy for the Future. Appendix I : Reading Between the Lines. Appendix II: Stanislavsky and Modern Dance. The System’s Terminology: A Selected Glossary

Stanislavski and the Actor offers a clear, modern presentation of Konstantin Stanislavski's methods of actor training and rehearsal. It is based on the course Stanislavski designed and taught with a team of hand-picked assistants in the last three years of his life (1935-38) at the Opera-Dramatic Studio in Moscow. Jean Benedetti now reconstructs that course. Stanislavski and the Actor is the manual which Stanislavski never had time to write. Using notes made by Stanislavski's assistants, exercises and improvisations used in class, transcripts of Stanislavski's own master classes (translated into English for the first time) and his knowledge of Stanislavski's earlier writings, Benedetti builds up a comprehensive description of the 'system' in contemporary language that is easy to understand by today's actors and teachers. He also shows that Stanislavski's revolutionary teachings about acting still have a wide application now.

Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice is the first book that compiles practical approaches of the best practices from a range of practitioners on the subject of working with Stanislavski's "objectives," "obstacles," and "tactics." The book offers instructors and directors a variety of tools from leading acting teachers, who bring their own individual perspectives to the challenge of working with Stanislavski's principles for today's actors, in one volume. Each essay addresses its own theoretical and practical approach and offers concrete instructions for implementing new explorations both in the classroom and in the rehearsal studio. An excellent resource for acting and directing instructors at the university level, directing and theatre pedagogy students, high school/secondary theatre teachers, and community theatre leaders, Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice serves as a resource for lesson planning and exploration, and provides an encyclopedia of the best practices in the field today.

Starting with Mr. Morris' contention that "ninety-five percent of our talent comes from the unconscious, " this book addresses that hidden reservoir of feelings and experiences. Through a study of the unconscious, the actor is led toward "the state at which the actor crosses the line between consciousness and the unconscious to reach and feed from this bottomless well of creativity."

THE GOOD AUDITION GUIDES: Helping you select and perform the audition piece that is best suited to your performing skills In this volume of the Good Audition Guides, you'll find fifty fantastic speeches for women, all written since the year 2000, by some of our most exciting dramatic voices. Playwrights featured in Contemporary Monologues for Women include Mike Bartlett, Alexi Kaye Campbell, Caryl Churchill, Helen Edmundson, debbie tucker green, Ella Hickson, Lucy Kirkwood, Rona Munro, Joanna Murray-Smith and Enda Walsh, and the plays themselves were premiered at the very best theatres across the UK including the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Bush, Soho and Hampstead Theatres, Manchester Royal Exchange, the Traverse in Edinburgh, the Abbey in Dublin, and many on the stages of the Royal Court. Drawing on her experience as an actor, director and teacher at several leading drama schools, Trilby James prefaces each speech with a thorough introduction including the vital information you need to place the piece in context (the who, what, when, where and why) and suggestions about how to perform the scene to its maximum effect (including the character's objectives and keywords). Contemporary Monologues for Women also features an introduction on the whole process of selecting and preparing your speech, and approaching the audition itself. The result is the most comprehensive and useful contemporary monologue book now available. 'Sound practical advice for anyone attending an audition... a source of inspiration for teachers and students alike' Teaching Drama Magazine on The Good Audition Guides

A tight throat; held breath; stiff muscles; stage fright: impediments to performance come in many guises, but they all spring from the same source-tension. In Physical Expression on Stage and Screen Bill Connington, a renowned teacher of the Alexander Technique, shows you how to recognize and release the tension that keeps you from performing at your best. If you're ever not certain of what to do with your hands or how to make a meaningful gesture, or if your movement feels fine in daily life but then you suddenly become self-conscious when onstage or in front of a camera, this book is here to help. More than one hundred clear, accessible exercises-including many filmed tutorials available online-will enable you to * Move more naturally and easily * Breathe more freely * Speak more clearly * Free your creative impulses * Play a character with an unfamiliar physicality

Stanislavski's 'system' has dominated actor-training in the West since his writings were first translated into English in the 1920s and 30s. His systematic attempt to outline a psycho-physical technique for acting single-handedly revolutionized standards of acting in the theatre. Until now, readers and students have had to contend with inaccurate, misleading and difficult-to-read English-language versions. Some of the mistranslations have resulted in profound distortions in the way his system has been interpreted and taught. At last, Jean Benedetti has succeeded in translating Stanislavski's huge manual into a lively, fascinating and accurate text in English. He has remained faithful to the author's original intentions, putting the two books previously known as An Actor Prepares and Building A Character back together into one volume, and in a colloquial and readable style for today's actors. The result is a major contribution to the theatre, and a service to one of the great innovators of the twentieth century.

A rare insider's account of the true story behind the development of the famous Stanislavski method.

Vasili Toporkov was one of the rare outsiders ever to be invited to join the Moscow Art Theatre. Although already an experienced and accomplished artist, he was forced to retrain as an actor under Stanislavski's rigorous guidance." Stanislavski in Rehearsal" is Toporkov's vivid account of this learning process, offering an eloquent and jargon-free insight into Stanislavski's legendary 'system' and his method of rehearsal that became known as the Method of Physical Action. Spanning ten years - from 1928 to 1938 - Toporkov charts the last crucial years of Stanislavski's work as a director and offers the only reliable biographical sketch that we have.

Through Toporkov's account, Stanislavski is revealed as a multi-faceted personality - funny, furious, kind, ruthless, encouraging, exacting - waging a war against cliches and quick answers, inspiring his actors and driving them to despair in his pursuit of artistic perfection.

For over 20 years, Moni Yakim has taught his unique blend of physical training and emotional exploration to a generation of American actors that include Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, and Kevin Kline. Now, for the first time, his acting process is available to every actor and theater professional.