Theatre Books

I learned alot from reding this book! It was an excellent information soure. I give the encouragement to buy this book today!

This book provides the reader/actor with a combination that unlocks the Bard's English. It focuses on how the Elizabethan schoolboy was trained in the subject of "loudspeaking," and thus, how theatrical speech was understood in Renaissance England. By revealing the underlying rhetorical structure to Shakespeare's schoolboy training, it leads the actor down the corridors of figures of speech, the powers of persuasion, and the passion and rhythm inherant in the language. It draws clear connections between Shakepeare's lines and rhetoric primers of the 1560's. ACTING SHAKEPEARE provides chapters on specific forms of figures of speech, tropes and figures of sentence, speaking the "score" of the poetry, and bringing it into the body. The book is a clever tool to help the American actor pass from the unknown to the familiar simply, easily and logically. It is not the only such tool, but it is perhaps one of the very best. I have found it especially useful for actors just beginning their work on verse plays. Because it teaches skills learned by Elizabethan primary-school-aged youth, I have felt comfortable using it for actors as young as 7th grade, and no less effectively with experienced adult actors. The process has been remarkably rewarding and successful.

At first, you could be not attracted by this book to give you an explanation of Stella Adler's Techniques of Acting. Because Joanna Rotte "seems" to be an external person from Adler's Techniques. You would be wrong. It' s not the case. Joanna Rotte has been in touch with Stella Adler for 3 years as a student, then as an actress. Therefore, she has a great understanding of Adler's Techniques. But, the most important, she has been able to organize this knowledge in a book which is CLEAR, complete, precise. If you' re interested by Adler' s Techniques of Acting, get it.

Many people approach "style" in theatre as a play where wigs and tights are necessary. Harrop & Epstein do not attempt to disprove this notion, but rather detail the approach to acting in all dramatic genres i.e. greek, comedy, farce, tragedy, Shakespeare, etc. They also identify the necessity to understand the "style" of the piece being produced from an all areas and suggest exercises to unlock the meaning of the piece. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is afraid of a stylized play and is a necessary read for both actors and directors (especially those directors who have had little or no performance training).

Edited by Robert Emmet Long, Acting: Working In The Theatre is a compilation of the insights of more than one hundred create theatre performers, from Ian McKellen and Tony Randall to John Lithgow, Elizabeth Franz, Lynn Redgrave and many more. The paragraph-long tips, insights, and observations are grouped according to subject matter - from auditioning to working in an ensemble to theatre and cinema vs. television - and cross-referenced by means of an index. A superb source of inspiration for anyone pursuing amateur or professional theatre. A sample quote from noted theatrical performer and Star Trek star Patrick Stewart: "Someone once defined to me craft - or technique as I've always thought of it - as being what you use when you don't feel it anymore."

I find this book incredibly practical and useful for my work as a performer. It gives me a clear way of working to get to the heart of a character, from the fabulous autodrama exercise, to use of language, to objective then subjective reading of the text. It's also funny.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. As an amateur actor, filmmaker, and huge fan of Chekhov's short stories, I was blown away. This book is hip, and a real page-turner. I was excited and inspired by it. This is the real deal, it's what creative stuff is all about.

Written by 2 entertainment industry experts, this tape is a great resource for actors who are looking to advance their careers, especially in the field of commercials. It is chock full of invaluable tips and advice!

this collection of ideas and thoughts by Constantin Stanislavski should sit in every actor's bag..an incredible, inspiring 'dictionary' of acting terms..it sits on my desk at work..and I've referenced thousands of times over the years..it's like a burst of inspiration!

This admirable summary of Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood is a very treasured effort for the previous actual and future generations of actor 's aspirants and even for those who love this craft.

The method of Constantin Stanislawski is the sum of a supported and dedicated labor through years and years, are an authentic proof about the passion of a man who consecrated his time to art acting and the human representation. He eviscerates all the emotion 's mysteries and the tense link between the actor and his audience as the theater is.

Definitions, categorical statements and smart annotations that constitute not only a treasure contribution to the actor ion progress but it constitutes a remarkable guide to all of us, because along the life with its peaks and lows, we have to exert this role in determined situations.