Acting techniques Books
Nick Hern Books Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Acting
Book SynopsisWest 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’GradyTrade Review'One of the most deliciously enjoyable, hugely entertaining and frequently hilarious books of the year' * Michael Quinn, The Stage's Books of the Year 2013 *'Hilarious... This wonderful book is funny, helpful and a must-have' * Actor Hub *'The funniest book I have read this year... nuggets of fine observation and wisdom' * The Stage *'Funny, irreverent and insightful... guaranteed to have tears of laughter streaming down your cheeks' * The Public Reviews *
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Drama Games for Actors: Exploring Self, Character
Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling Drama Games series, this dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book offers dozens of games to serve as a rich source of ideas and inspiration for all actors – and those teaching or directing them. This must-have companion is divided into three sections, each focusing on a different aspect of the actor’s process: Self provides methods to deepen relaxation, sharpen focus, boost energy, expand imagination and enable a company of actors to work collaboratively Character suggests strategies to aid the process of transformation, encouraging actors to explore characteristics that are distinct from their own And Text offers exercises to unlock the words, allowing free and imaginative work within the structure of a script, without losing specificity The games range from solo explorations which can be performed alone, to ideas for pairs and group work – making them suitable for a wide variety of scenarios and requirements. Overall, the book will serve as an essential foundation for every actor’s creativity, helping improve preparation, rehearsal and performance. ‘A mass of invaluable ideas for all ages and all types of actors, amateur or professional. It’s hard to imagine anyone involved in theatre who wouldn’t find it useful.’ Richard Eyre, from his ForewordTrade Review'A great addition to the series... a useful resource that can be adapted according to group size and ability' * Teaching Drama *'Invaluable… a very helpful resource book that will challenge both the facilitator and the actor and I am sure will result in some excellent and imaginative performances' * Word Matters - Journal of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama *
£11.69
Nick Hern Books Contemporary Duologues: One Man & One Woman
Book SynopsisTHE GOOD AUDITION GUIDES: Helping you select and perform the audition piece that is best suited to your performing skills As an actor at any level – whether you are doing theatre studies at school, taking part in youth theatre, preparing for drama-school showcases, or attending professional acting workshops – you will often be required to prepare a duologue with a fellow performer. Your success is often based on locating and selecting a fresh, dynamic scene suited to your specific performing skills, as well as your interplay as a duo. Which is where this book comes in. This collection features twenty-five fantastic duologues for one man and one woman, all written since the year 2000 by some of our most exciting dramatic voices, offering a wide variety of character types and styles of writing. Playwrights featured include Howard Brenton, Jez Butterworth, Caryl Churchill, Sam Holcroft, Anna Jordan, Lucy Kirkwood, Rona Munro, Evan Placey, Jessica Swale and Jack Thorne, and the plays themselves were premiered at the very best theatres across the UK including the National Theatre, Manchester Royal Exchange, the Traverse in Edinburgh, Shakespeare's Globe, and the Almeida, Bush, Hampstead and Royal Court Theatres. Drawing on her experience as an actor, director and teacher at several leading drama schools, Trilby James equips each duologue 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 characters' objectives). The collection also features an introduction on the whole process of selecting and preparing a duologue, and how to present it to the greatest effect. The result is the most comprehensive and useful contemporary duologue book of its kind now available. 'Sound practical advice... a source of inspiration for teachers and students alike' Teaching Drama Magazine on The Good Audition Guides
£11.69
Nick Hern Books Audition Songs for Women
Book SynopsisTHE 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 soprano, mezzosoprano and alto 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 In the Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown, as well as Next to Normal, Miss Saigon, The Color Purple, Sister Act and Ragtime – alongside much-loved classics like The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, Anything Goes, and five 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 SongTrade Review'Excellent... a wonderful addition for the up-and-coming musical artist. Auditions can be scary things, but after reading this book it may just allay your fears enough to see you through the process with a level head' * Musical Theatre Review *
£11.69
Nick Hern Books Contemporary Duologues: Two Women
Book SynopsisTHE GOOD AUDITION GUIDES: Helping you select and perform the audition piece that is best suited to your performing skills As an actor at any level – whether you are doing theatre studies at school, taking part in youth theatre, preparing for drama-school showcases, or attending professional acting workshops – you will often be required to prepare a duologue with a fellow performer. Your success is often based on locating and selecting a fresh, dynamic scene suited to your specific performing skills, as well as your interplay as a duo. Which is where this book comes in. This collection features twenty-five fantastic duologues for two women, almost all written since the year 2000 by some of our most exciting dramatic voices, offering a wide variety of character types and styles of writing. Playwrights featured include Alexi Kaye Campbell, Helen Edmundson, Vivienne Franzmann, Sam Holcroft, Anna Jordan, Chloë Moss, Rona Munro, Lynn Nottage, Evan Placey and Jessica Swale, and the plays themselves were premiered at the very best theatres across the UK including the National Theatre, Manchester Royal Exchange, Shakespeare's Globe, and the Almeida, Bush, Soho, Royal Court and Tricycle Theatres. Drawing on her experience as an actor, director and teacher at several leading drama schools, Trilby James equips each duologue 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 characters' objectives). The collection also features an introduction on the whole process of selecting and preparing a duologue, and how to present it to the greatest effect. The result is the most comprehensive and useful contemporary duologue book of its kind now available. 'Sound practical advice... a source of inspiration for teachers and students alike' Teaching Drama Magazine on The Good Audition Guides
£13.49
Nick Hern Books The Dyslexic Actors Toolkit
Book SynopsisAn empowering and accessible guide offering dyslexic actors a range of techniques to tackle common challenges, improve your creative practice, and fulfil your ambitions.
£13.49
Nick Hern Books Alexander Technique for Actors: A Practical
Book SynopsisThe Alexander Technique has revolutionised the physicality, presence and professional lives of generations of actors. By first asking you to identify your own acquired habits, the technique enables you to find new and beneficial ways of moving, thinking, breathing and performing, freely and without unnecessary tension. Written by an experienced teacher of the Alexander Technique, this clear, supportive and highly practical book takes you step by step through a series of eleven guided lessons. Each explores different elements and principles of the technique, including: Training yourself to stay present, and mindful of your environment Thinking (but not overthinking!) in new ways Observing and developing your natural poise Sitting, standing and walking easily and effortlessly Breathing and speaking with release and power Applying all of this work to characterisation and performance With dozens of exercises and assignments to help you immediately put what you've learned into practice, and featuring illustrations throughout, this is the ideal introduction to everything the Alexander Technique has to offer – and its potential to benefit not just your work and career, but your entire life. 'Penny O'Connor's approach to the Alexander Technique is mindful and meaningful. She brings great skill, experience, wit and humanity to her work. I have learnt a great deal from her.' Jeannette Nelson, Head of Voice, National Theatre 'This comprehensive and absorbing book is essential reading for actors – and all other performers too. It moves seamlessly between explanation and experiential learning, and takes the reader on a cumulative and developmental journey of self-awareness and change, whether working alone or in a group. A joy to experience!' Niamh Dowling, Head of School of Performance, Rose Bruford CollegeTrade Review'This engaging, charming and creative guide [is] a fantastic resource… it's easy to read, the ideas, exercises and experiments are laid out clearly and thoroughly, and it's comprehensive... I strongly recommend this book' * Statnews (Journal of the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique) *'Very useful… a thorough introduction to the Alexander Technique... covering posture, breathing and voice, all geared towards what an actor needs to be able to do to create a performance on stage... could have a significant effect on an actor's performance and provide more tools in their skillset' * British Theatre Guide *'Wonderfully rich in content... inviting, friendly, clear, humorous, and always encouraging and supportive of her students' learning... Penny's innovative teaching as well as her thought-provoking and beneficial experiments and activities create an enjoyable and informative learning experience throughout... I enthusiastically recommend her book to everyone interested in Alexander Technique' * ExChange, Journal of Alexander Technique International *
£13.49
Nick Hern Books More Golden Rules of Acting: that nobody ever
Book SynopsisAndy Nyman's first book, The Golden Rules of Acting, has become a bestseller in the acting world. Now he returns to bring you more priceless nuggets gleaned from more than thirty years in the acting business. This book will help you to... Learn to love auditions and self-tapes (yes, really!) Look after your mental health Deal with success and failure Burst a few bubbles that need bursting Written with the same candid wit as his first book, this is every actor's new best friend – in handy paperback form. 'With great humour, wisdom and panache, Andy Nyman presents tasty advice for any actor. He knows that the more rules and craft under your belt, the more daring and original you will be as an artist' Glenn Close 'As with the first volume, this book gets to the heart of what being a working actor is about. No faff, no mystery, just practicalities that are always worth being reminded of' Martin Freeman 'One man shouldn't be so wise and entertaining, but Andy Nyman somehow is. His latest Golden Rules are exactly that — and wild fun, to boot. I recommend this book not just to actors, but to anyone who has ever seen an actor act. Nyman's insights apply to us all' J.J. AbramsTrade Review'Morsels of indisputable wisdom, which should provide much solace for any aspiring actor... practical and sensible suggestions, almost certain to bolster the confidence of anyone seeking to make their way in the business' * British Theatre Guide *'A fantastic tool… an extremely humorous read [which] imparts pearls of wisdom... Nyman's personality lifts off the page, which is a phenomenal attribute to have instilled in his book' * Broadway World *'This book is such a good read… some bits are laugh-out-loud… it applies to all walks of life' -- Jo Good * BBC Radio London *
£7.59
Nick Hern Books Keeping It Active: A Practical Guide to Rhetoric
Book SynopsisEvery time you open your mouth on stage you are trying to persuade somebody of something. Sometimes referred to as 'the art of persuasion', rhetoric means using language to communicate your ideas and intentions to other people – and to make sure you are heard, understood and believed. This clear and concise guide explains how it works in plays, and how actors can use it to bring their performances to life on stage. Drawing on her decades of experience working with actors on major productions, including as Head of Voice at the National Theatre, Jeannette Nelson introduces all the major rhetorical techniques and devices that playwrights use. She offers fascinating breakdowns of dialogue and speeches from across the theatrical canon – from Shakespeare and Ibsen, to Tennessee Williams, Lorraine Hansberry and Arthur Miller, right up to contemporary playwrights such as Helen Edmundson and Tanika Gupta. Each chapter also includes a series of practical exercises which combine spoken word with physical action to help you explore and understand these techniques, and harness their power in performance. Whether you're an actor, a director or a drama teacher, Keeping It Active will empower you with a greater understanding of the ways that language underpins all dramatic works, and will give you the tools you need to unlock the text, understand characters, connect with the audience, and perform with greater confidence, focus and authenticity. 'As this excellent book outlines, rhetoric is everywhere. It's not simply in the parliament, the press conference and the court; it's in the workplace, the home and the family. There's no argument, classical or modern, in a play that isn't informed and helped by Jeannette's work' Josie Rourke, from her Foreword 'A great resource for actors and directors' Ralph Fiennes 'Jeannette Nelson's revelatory relationship to language is, quite simply, life-changing' Simon Godwin 'Jeannette taught me so much... I felt like I could persuade anybody to do anything' Sophie Okonedo
£13.49
Nick Hern Books Learning Your Lines: The Compact Guide
Book SynopsisThis accessible, systematic guide will teach you how to memorise your lines quickly and effectively, and let go of the fear of forgetting them – helping you build confidence and focus, and reducing anxiety and stress around auditions, rehearsal and performance. Inside, you’ll find dozens of tips, tricks and techniques such as Memory Palaces, Mental Maps, Creative Memorisation, Visual Cues and many more, along with exercises and examples to illustrate how they work in practice. Discover how to harness these tools to strengthen your memory, and develop a personalised line-learning strategy that works for you and your acting process – one that is easier, faster and more enjoyable. The Compact Guides are pocket-sized introductions for actors and theatremakers, each tackling a key topic in a clear and comprehensive way. Written by industry professionals with extensive hands-on experience of their subject, they provide you with maximum information in minimum time.Trade Review'Very handy and easy-to-read… I highly recommend trying these creative ideas' * Drama Resource *'There is plenty in this small and reasonably priced book for any actor to try out if they want to improve their speed of and confidence in learning lines for rehearsal, the film set or a last-minute audition or self-tape' * British Theatre Guide *
£8.54
Nick Hern Books Contemporary Monologues for Men: Volume 2
Book SynopsisWhether you’re applying for drama school, taking an exam, or auditioning for a professional role, it’s likely you’ll be required to perform one or more monologues, including a piece from a contemporary play. It’s vital to come up with something fresh that’s suited both to you – in order to allow you to express who you are as a performer – and to the specific purposes of the audition. In this book, you’ll find forty fantastic speeches featuring male roles, all written and premiered since the year 2014, by some of today’s most exciting dramatic voices from the UK and USA. Playwrights include Annie Baker, Andrew Bovell, Jez Butterworth, Caryl Churchill, Mark Gatiss, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Anna Jordan, Arinzé Kene, Rona Munro and Evan Placey. The plays featured were premiered at leading venues including the National, the Royal Court, the Bush and Hampstead in London, prestigious theatres in Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester, and by renowned companies including Frantic Assembly and Paines Plough. Drawing on her experience as an actor, director and teacher at several leading drama schools, Trilby James introduces each speech with a user-friendly, bullet-point list of essential things you need to know about the character, and then five inspiring ideas to help you perform the monologue. This book also features a step-by-step guide to the process of selecting and preparing your speech, and approaching the audition itself. ‘Easy-to-use… The guidance is perhaps the most thorough I have seen in a monologue book’ Teaching Drama on Trilby James’s first volume of Contemporary Monologues Please note that some of the speeches in this volume contain strong language and themes which some readers may find inappropriate.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Mastering an American Accent: The Compact Guide
Book SynopsisThis step-by-step guide to learning and practising an American accent is for anyone who wants to use a General American accent with confidence in auditions and performance. Inside, you'll find an easy-to-follow breakdown of the fundamentals required for the accent – including the shape and position of the mouth; vowels and consonants; rhythm; stressing; pitch; pace and more – as well as structured drills and exercises to build on and consolidate what you've learned, using extracts from contemporary American plays. The book is supplemented by dozens of online audio clips of General American voices, recorded by native speakers, so you can listen to the target sounds and repeat for practice. Also included are tips on fully integrating the accent into your performance, as well as a series of vocal warm-ups. Rebecca Gausnell is a voice and dialect coach, who has worked internationally in theatre, film and television. Born and raised in the United States, she studied acting in Chicago, before completing an MFA in Voice Studies in London. The Compact Guides are pocket-sized introductions for actors and theatremakers, each tackling a key topic in a clear and comprehensive way. Written by industry professionals with extensive hands-on experience of their subject, they provide you with maximum information in minimum time.Trade Review'Detailed and specific... the exercises are clearly described and valuable, and the voice recordings that accompany the book are very useful for illustrating what is being described in words... a worthwhile investment for someone seeking to expand their voice and accent skills or about to go into rehearsal' * British Theatre Guide *'A useful reference book… students and teachers will find the passages from a range of plays, many of them contemporary, very helpful… the dimension that really makes this book work is the voice files that accompany each of the sections, allowing the actor to practise in real time and making for a much more interactive experience' * Drama & Theatre magazine *
£999.99
Nick Hern Books 300 Thoughts for Theatremakers: A Manifesto for
Book Synopsis'The future of theatre will belong to the maverick minds who possess the skills to mix things up and who have enough tools in their box to trick the game.' This is a practical, grassroots, self-empowerment book for theatremakers. It's for anybody who wants to make live theatre, whether you're an actor, a director, a producer, a designer or a writer. Whether you're all of these, or none of them. Categories don't matter. What matters is making your show, and putting it in front of an audience. This book is not a method, nor a practice. It's an accessible toolbox of reflections and provocations designed to help you – an independent-minded, career-driven, professional theatremaker – along the path towards achieving your dreams. Inside, Russell Lucas shares his decades of experience in independent theatremaking, covering aspects including: Generating and developing ideas Working with other creatives Promoting your show and selling tickets Understanding the power of the audience Making ends meet and sustaining your career He tackles abstract problems, dissects the practical ones, and debunks plenty of myths along the way. Inspiring and unconventional, but always grounded in sound, real-world sense, 300 Thoughts for Theatremakers is a book for anyone who's passionate about a life in theatre, and wants to make that a reality. 'Thank God for this book. It will surely be a comfort and support to all those who follow in Russell Lucas's independent and determined footsteps' Alan Lane, Artistic Director of Slung Low, from his ForewordTrade Review'Refreshing, empowering, and practical… bestows its reader with empowerment in spades, with equal measures of vital organisation and creative fluidity in its thinking… will long stick in my mind as a much-needed, healthy approach to the wild reality of being a theatre practitioner' * Broadway World *'Truly inspirational... there is plenty in here to advise, reassure or inspire... [it is] down-to-earth and practical... rooted in years of experience... There are anecdotes and plenty of humour as [Lucas] discusses the process of creation and rehearsal—even a detailed plan for a rehearsal day with timings—of things to contend with when negotiating with or touring to venues, collaborating with others, publicity, social media, reviews and much more' * British Theatre Guide *'Stimulating, practical and authoritative... Each "thought" is delivered clearly and concisely, and is shared with energy and determination... Russell Lucas's deep belief in the value and power of theatre is inspiring... an easy book to dip into and find something that might help you' * Word Matters (Journal of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama) *
£13.49
Nick Hern Books Other People's Shoes: Thoughts on Acting
Book SynopsisHarriet Walter's wonderfully practical - and personal - introduction to acting. 'Acting is what I do with who I am', writes Harriet Walter. And in this book she takes us step by step through the processes involved in performance. Each step of the way is illuminated with brilliantly precise examples from her own career. So we are introduced to the Workshop, the Rehearsal, and the Roots and Pathways into a role. Then follows the main meat of the book: six Keys to the Development and Exploration of character. The closing section deals with Performance on stage and screen. Every insight, every suggestion is firmly rooted in the author's own experience. Harriet Walter's book is full of unparalleled insights into the everyday working life of an actor, and into quite how much hard work is needed before they can convincingly put themselves in other people's shoes. 'My advice to a young actor: read this book' Richard EyreTrade Review'Buy it, and be delightfully and unhectoringly informed about exactly what it is that actors get up to and why... Harriet Walter is sharp, clear, elegant, sturdily sensitive' * Observer *'A fascinating insight into the working life of an actor... very enjoyable' * The Times *
£13.49
Nick Hern Books Year of the King
Book SynopsisOther early 'stand-out' roles came in the premieres of Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine (1979) and Mike Leigh's Goose Pimples (1981). He was Malcolm Bradbury's History Man on TV (1981) before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982, where he has played a huge variety of leading role in modern plays such as David Edgar's Maydays (1983) and Peter Flannery's Singer (1989) but chiefly in Shakespeare. He was the Fool to Michael Gambon's Lear, a famous Richard III, Shylock, Malvolio, Leontes, Macbeth with Harriet Walter, and, currently, Iago. For the RSC he was also Cyrano and Tamburlaine and the Malcontent. Interspersed with these were appearances at the National Theatre - as Astrov to Ian McKellen's Uncle Vanya, as Stanley Spencer in Pam Gems's play and as Titus Andronicus, which he originated at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg. In October 2004 he will appear at the National again in his own play based on Primo Levi's This was a Man. Following his debut as a writer with Year of the King, he has written four novels - Middlepost, Indoor Boy, Cheap Lives and The Feast - as well as an autobiography, Beside Myself (2001), and a play, I.D. (premiered at the Almeida, 2003).Trade Review"'One of the finest books I have ever read on the process of acting' Time Out; 'This is a most wonderfully authentic account of the experience of creating a performance' Sunday Times; 'A brilliant compulsive account' Michael Billington, Guardian; 'It is very funny... The drawings are miraculous too. Is there no end to the man's talent, damn him?' Evening Standard"
£13.49
Nick Hern Books Acting and Reacting: Tools for the Modern Actor
Book SynopsisAn inspiring new approach to acting from a respected drama teacher - concise, succinct and full of practical exercises. Nick Moseley's Acting and Reacting: Tools for the Modern Actor establishes a new, intensely practical actor-training system incorporating the best of Stanislavsky, David Mamet and Sanford Meisner. Starting with the technique of Transactional Improvisation, it covers topics such as: The World of the Play Inhabiting the Space Learning to Trust Your Body Approaches to Text The result is a punchy and empowering book intended to shake up ideas about acting. Each theory is tested and reinforced with games and exercises that stretch and challenge the student actor at each stage. Acting and Reacting is a must for drama teachers and drama students alike.Trade Review'An inspirational approach to acting – a combination of ideological discourse, shrewd analysis and practical exercises' * Times Higher Education Supplement *
£12.34
Nick Hern Books Classical Monologues for Men
Book SynopsisTHE 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. Classical Monologues for Men contains 50 monologues drawn from classical plays throughout the ages and ranging across all of Western Theatre: * Classical Greek and Roman * Elizabethan and Jacobean * French and Spanish Golden Age * Restoration and Eighteenth Century * Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Also available: Classical Monologues for WomenTrade Review'sound practical advice for anyone attending an audition... so many of these extracts simply cry out to be performed... a source of inspiration for teachers and students alike... these two volumes are a must' * Teaching Drama Magazine *
£11.69
Nick Hern Books Classical Monologues for Women
Book SynopsisTHE 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. Classical Monologues for Women contains 50 monologues drawn from classical plays throughout the ages and ranging across all of Western Theatre: * Classical Greek and Roman * Elizabethan and Jacobean * French and Spanish Golden Age * Restoration and Eighteenth Century * Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Also available: Classical Monologues for MenTrade Review'Sound practical advice for anyone attending an audition... so many of these extracts simply cry out to be performed... a source of inspiration for teachers and students alike... these two volumes are a must' * Teaching Drama Magazine *Table of ContentsIntroduction Ancient Greece and Rome (Sophocles, Euripides, Plautus etc) Elizabethan and Jacobean (Shakespeare, Jonson, Marlowe, Webster etc) French and Spanish Golden Age (Moliere, Racine, Lope de Vega etc) Restoration and 18th Century (Aphra Behn, Sheridan, Farquhar etc) 19th and early 20th-centuries (Ibsen, Chekhov, Wilde, Shaw etc)
£11.69
Nick Hern Books Commedia Plays: Scenarios, Scripts, Lazzi
Book SynopsisA unique collection of performance pieces and improvisation exercises in the Commedia style, a companion volume to the author's best-selling Playing Commedia. Commedia Plays offers eight original short plays from across the different periods and styles of Commedia dell'Arte - suitable for performance on stage as well as classroom and workshop study. Also included is a collection of Lazzi, the pieces of 'business' that form the basis of Commedia's comic action, ranging from the 'Double Takes' to 'The Unwanted Proposal'. These can be inserted into the written text or explored and improvised in the drama studio.Trade Review'Exceptionally funny... a useful working manual for the practitioner or teacher, and great fun for the more general reader' * British Theatre Guide *'A good solid addition to the commedia canon... particularly useful for initiating teenagers into the essence of commedia play. In an era in which political theatre and satire are re-emerging, the commedia templates offer a unique opportunity for the exploration of current events in the social and political landscapes' * Total Theatre Magazine *
£16.99
Temple Lodge Publishing Between Earth and Heaven: The Actor of the
Book SynopsisIn this third volume in The Actor of the Future series, Dawn Langman continues to explore the integration of Steiner's research into speech, drama and eurythmy with Michael Chekhov's acting methodology. Her advanced applications of all the basic processes allow the art of the actor and speaker to evolve beyond the 'soul and body' paradigm - still broadly accepted in contemporary culture - to include dimensions of the spirit. The book contains a seminal analysis of comedy and tragedy, showing how an understanding of their esoteric roots - sprung from the Eleusis mysteries of ancient Greece - deepen our appreciation and our ability to implement the practical suggestions made by Steiner and Chekhov to differentiate the fundamental styles. A comprehensive exploration of the vowels in relation to planetary beings lays the foundation for many layers of artistic deepening and application.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements - Introduction - Chapter 1 Advanced layering of Steiner/Chekhov processes - Chapter 2 Advanced applications of the three centres and their speech placements - Chapter 3 Style and genre - Chapter 4 Other states of being - Chapter 5 The planetary spheres: Dante's Paradiso-Our High Work - Chapter 6 The stages of life - Chapter 7 Archetypes of the artistic process-the creative tension between opposites - Chapter 8 New planets, new sensibilities and the actor of the future - Appendices A. A phenomenological approach. - B. Table of Phonetic Symbols - C. Extra texts for chapter 6 - D. Additional volumes in this series - E. DVD series-A Dramatic Journey through the Evolution of Human Consciousness - F. Website details and information about courses and trainings - Bibliography - List of Illustrations - Notes
£22.50
For Beginners Stanislavski for Beginners
Book Synopsis
£12.34
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) The Alexander Technique
Book SynopsisPeter Ribeaux has been an Alexander Technique teacher for over 45 years. He has given workshops in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Israel, Switzerland and the USA, and has taught the Alexander Technique in a number of different settings, ranging from the performance arts to the aerospace industry. Formerly a university lecturer in organisational psychology at Middlesex University, UK, he has also been a council member of STAT (the Society of Teacher of the Alexander Technique, UK) and is currently a member of the Moderators' Panel and the Training Course Committee at STAT.
£20.89
Nick Hern Books Improv Beyond Rules: A Practical Guide to
Book SynopsisAn 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
£13.49
Nick Hern Books Why Is That So Funny?: A Practical Exploration of
Book SynopsisA practical investigation of how comedy works, by a well-respected practitioner and teacher. With a Foreword by Toby Jones. Comedy is recognised as one of the most problematic areas of performances. For that reason, it is rarely written about in any systematic way. John Wright, founder of Trestle Theatre and Told by an Idiot, brings a wide range of experience of physical comedy to this unique exploration of comedy and comedic techniques. The book opens with an analysis of the different kinds of laughter that can be provoked by performance. This is followed by the main part of the book: games and exercises devised to demonstrate and investigate the whole range of comic possibilities open to a performer. Why Is That So Funny? is an invaluable book for teachers and performers, and a fascinating read for anyone interested in how comedy works.Trade Review'A welcome relief from the flood of performance studies theory, being firmly based in a lifetime of practice ... a must for any budding physical comedy performers - and an inspiration for everyone who treads the boards, whether they think of themselves as 'comedic' or not' * Total Theatre Magazine *'John Wright's magnum opus... a real labour of love and it is hard to believe that there is any aspect of the subject that he does not explore and explain... essential' * British Theatre Guide *Table of ContentsAbout Laughter The Gentle Art of Playfulness (Play; Complicity; Theatre as Game) Messing About with Meaning (States of Tension; Rhythm; Timing; Making Choices and Shaping Action) The Gentle Art of Idiocy (Simple Clown; Pathetic Clown; Tragic Clown) The Gentle Art of Ridicule (Parody; Pastiche; Caricature; Burlesque; Buffoon)
£13.49
Nick Hern Books The Improviser's Way: A Longform Workbook
Book SynopsisAn inspiring and interactive workbook to help you develop skills for longform improvisation, by one of the UK’s top improv performers and teachers. Structured as a twelve-week course, this book provides techniques, advice and exercises that can be done on your own or in groups – with activities to complete as you go – for learning faster and becoming (more) amazing at improvisation. It draws on the author’s own experience of performing and teaching improv around the world, with added gems of wisdom from key experts. Starting with the basics of improvisation, it moves on to explore areas of the craft such as rehearsals, character, editing, form and style; plus career advice including how to cope with bad gigs, jealousy, fear of missing out and your Inner Critic. The Improviser’s Way is ideal for improvisers at any level – from those new to improv entirely, through those familiar with shortform who are looking to extend their reach, to experienced longform performers and teachers looking to refresh their approach and embrace new ideas. It is also invaluable to anyone looking to discover more about this popular, thrillingly creative and empowering form of performance. By the end, you won’t just be a better improviser – you’ll be a better person!Trade Review'Concise and easy to follow… highly recommended for both budding artists and old-hats alike, as it really does have something for everyone' * Drama Magazine *'An interactive tool that will challenge the reader's perceptions... witty and concise' * Drama & Theatre magazine *
£14.24
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Directing Screen Performances
Book SynopsisRobert Klenner has been an actor, director, producer, university lecturer, and directing consultant based in Australia. He was born and raised in Poland, where he studied film performance under Krzysztof Kieslowski. His career spans over two decades and three continents. He's directed over one hundred hours of screen drama and has taught directing in the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Ethiopia. Klenner is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Directors Guild of Australia.Trade ReviewRobert Klenner is an internationally celebrated screen director with a wonderful reputation as a teacher. This intelligent and inspiring book will help any director to overcome the fear of working with actors. Each chapter contains a list of practical strategies designed to help the director embrace and enjoy the collaborative process of creating great performances for the screen. * Paul Thompson, Head of Acting and Directing, Undergrad Film and Television, New York University, USA *Klenner’s book is a goldmine of savvy advice; for the actor it represents an opportunity to truly understand what the collaborative relationship with the director could be. It is full of great tips and exercises to help unlock the potential of any scene and thereby create richly detailed and nuanced performances. * John Bashford, Director Acting, National Institute of Dramatic Art, Australia *Table of Contents1. The Director The Concept of Genius Director as Storyteller Director as Facilitator & Collaborator Director as Communicator 2. The Actor Being in the Moment Acting Defined Acting for the Camera versus Acting on Stage Stanislavsky Eintopf 3. Pre-Production Script Analysis Pre-visualization Casting Rehearsal 4. Production Director’s Role Shooting Procedure Wild Lines Visual Style Working with Children and Non-Actors 5. Post-Production Shoot for the Edit Sculpting in Time Montage Character’s Journey in a Scene Emotional Engagement ADR Sound and Music Glossary Bibliography Index
£27.54
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Shakespeare and Stanislavsky
Book SynopsisThis book provides actors, directors, teachers and students with a clear, practical guide to applying the work of influential theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavsky to Shakespeare.Shakespeare and Stanislavsky provides a guide for actors, acting students, directors and teachers who want to apply the work of influential theatre practitioner, Stanislavsky, to the process of rehearsing and workshopping Shakespeare's play texts. Acting tutor and director, Annie Tyson, makes applying Stanislavsky's methods to Shakespeare simple and accessible. She rejects and dispels the myth held by some that Stanislavsky and Shakespeare are incompatible, showing instead how the Shakespearean text offers clues to specific acting choices that are intricately connected to action and character. Drawing on years of acting, directing and teaching experience at the Drama Centre London and RADA, Tyson's guide is full of practical tips and humour. This guide also includes a series of inte
£14.24
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Shakespeares Advice to the Players
Book SynopsisThe 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.Trade ReviewActing students and young professionals will flock to learn from him - passionate, entertaining - Indisputably wise and true - Wonderfully illuminating * Telegraph *As fascinating to readers as it is to actors * Independent *This is the most fabulously hybrid book - part actor's handbook, part memoir - what is most inspiring is Hall's conviction that form can be as exciting as feeling. Acting in this way is more than just listening to Shakespeare - it is responding to Shakespeare's linear needs * Observer *
£15.99
Focus Publishing/R Pullins & Co Acting and Living in Discovery: A Workbook for
Book Synopsis
£23.39
Temple Lodge Publishing The Art of Speech: Body - Soul - Spirit - Word, a
Book SynopsisThe Art of Speech presents a dynamic path of practice leading to an experience of the Word as a living, healing and creative power. Helping to deliver Western intellectual speech from what Artaud described as 'shrivelled throats' and 'monstrous talking abstractions', Langman brings to life the spiritual realities out of which a true Art of Speech arises. Inspired by Rudolf Steiner and pioneered initially in the German language by Marie Steiner, this artform is illuminated here through the genius of the English language. Langman builds a bridge between mainstream research into the intrinsic nature of Speech, and the levels of spiritual cognition that led to Rudolf Steiner's insights. Speech and language can no longer be reduced to an arbitrary collection of abstract symbols, she asserts. This book will inspire those working with these disciplines as practitioners (both artistic and therapeutic) as well as those who wish to understand their significance in human evolution, both past and future. Following her first book The Art of Acting, this volume completes a foundation of understanding for an exploration - in the conclusion of Langman's trilogy - of an integrated art of speech and acting. Grounded in the spiritual reality of the human being, Langman presents a systematic methodology with which to explore Rudolf Steiner's Speech and Drama Course.Trade Review'The Art of Speech offers to the English language a systematic, in-depth and thoroughly readable exploration of Rudolf Steiner's original exercises. Langman's contribution, developed over decades of research, performance and teaching, is filled with relevance for today's speech artists. The powerful spiritual inspirations that stand behind the spoken word are infused throughout, giving this book its wings.' - Dr Diane Caracciolo, Associate Professor of Educational Theatre, Adelphi University 'Langman's seminal work leads the artist through a portal to an experience of the heart and the genius of speech as "the activity of divine creative beings".' - Dr Jane Gilmer, Assistant Professor of Drama, VPA, National Institute of Education, Singapore 'A prodigious work, intriguing, enlightening and passionate - and the co-ordination with Chekhov invaluable - Those fortunate enough to see Dawn's solo performances of King Lear and Kaspar Hauser know that this book is the fruit of living and loving experience.' - Sophia Walsh, pioneer teacher and artist of Speech Formation in the English language, Dornach, Switzerland
£22.50
Nick Hern Books The Articulate Body: The Physical Training of the
Book SynopsisThe highly regarded actor training manual by top movement teacher Anne Dennis. This inspirational and instructive book shows how actors can use their body to be as expressive and 'articulate' as they are with words. It attempts to rethink and analyse the actor's physical needs, offering a graded series of exercises aimed at realising those needs and making the body fully articulate as a medium of expression. The book will also be of use to teachers, directors, movement directors and choreographers.
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Clowning Workbook
Book SynopsisUsing the techniques and insights of clowning, this book draws on original workshops and research to provide practical clowning exercises to develop wider acting practice in innovative ways. The book offers guidance and explanation to key concepts in clowning, including the dynamics of the clown-audience relationship; the relationship between script, text and improvisation; and movement and voice, offering fresh and inspiring angles from which to view actor training. The Clowning Workbook for Actors and Performers is part of the acclaimed Theatre Arts Workbooks series and features its characteristic blend of student-focused exercises with pedagogical tips for teachers.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Part One: ‘That Was Funny’ 1: Introductions and warm-ups 2: Name tag 3: Ball play 4: Doing things when it’s funny 5: On/Off 6: Step-Laugh 7: That was/n’t funny 8: Make others into clowns 9 Laughter as a pardon 10 Conclusions to Part One: Right and Wrong Thinking Part Two: ‘I Feel Funny’ 11: I (don’t) feel funny 12: Self-laughter 13: Reading others’ feelings 14: Guess the show 15: Feeling shit 16: Personal clown skills Part Three: ‘That Was Supposed to Be Funny’ 17: Funny Plans 18: Intruders 19: Clowns in plays Bibliography of works cited Index
£23.74
The University of Chicago Press Shakespeare the Actor and the Purposes of Playing
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£28.50
Yale University Press Playing to the Camera
Book SynopsisAn anthology of film actors' views of the art and technique of playing to the camera. Its chronological and topical structure allows one actor to talk or argue with another as they offer astute - and often contradictory - opinions on a broad range of theoretical concerns.
£31.37
Taylor & Francis Ltd (Sales) Frantic Assembly Routledge Performance
Book SynopsisFrantic Assembly have had a powerful and continuing influence on the popularisation of devising practices in contemporary theatre-making. Their work blends brave and bold physical theatre with exciting new writing, and they have collaborated with some of the leading theatre-makers in the UK. The companyâs impact reaches throughout the world, particularly through their extensive workshop and education programmes, as well as their individual and collective impact as movement directors on landmark, internationally successful productions such as Black Watch and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This volume reveals the background to, and work of, a major influence on twentieth and twenty-first century performance. Frantic Assembly is the first book to combine: an overview of the history of the company since its foundation in 1994 an analysis of the key ideas underpinning the companyâs work a critical commentary on two key productions â Hymns by Chris OâConnell (1999) and Stockholm by Bryony Lavery (2007) a detailed description of a Frantic Assembly workshop, offering an introduction to how the company works. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners offer unbeatable value for todayâs student.Table of Contents1. Biographical and Artistic Content: A ‘Frantic Method’?; 2. Key Writings, Principles, and Ideas: ‘Always Forward, Never Back'; 3. Ideas in Production: Hymns and Stockholm; 4. Practical Work: A Frantic Assembly Workshop; Conclusion
£999.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd (Sales) Owning Our Voices
Book SynopsisOwning Our Voices offers a unique, first-hand account of working within the Wolfsohn-Hart tradition of extended voice work by Margaret Pikes, an acclaimed voice teacher and founder member of the Roy Hart Theatre.This dynamic publication fuses Pikes' personal account of her own vocal journey as a woman within this, at times, male-dominated tradition, alongside an overview of her particular pedagogical approach to voice work, and is accompanied by digital footage of Pikes at work in the studio with artist-collaborators and written descriptions of scenarios for teaching. For the first time, Margaret Pikes' uniquely holistic approach to developing the expressive voice through sounding, speech, song and movement has been documented in text and on film, offering readers an introduction to both the philosophy and the practice of Wolfsohn-Hart voice work. Owning Our Voices is a vital book for scholars and students of voice studiesTrade Review"An original member of the Roy Hart Theatre Company, Margaret Pikes’s autobiographical experience as a woman emerging from this historical, cultural and artistic context exposes the development of Wolfsohn’s seminal praxis through her work. Her reflective writing opens up and questions the dominant ideologies that she suggests ‘pervaded and steered the philosophy underpinning the Roy Hart Theatre’s approach to voice training. [...] A cultural craft, Owning Our Voices: Vocal Discovery in the Wolfsohn-Hart Tradition (2021) from Pikes and Campbell opens important questions about western approaches to contemporary voice and speech training. [...] Pikes’s methodology and approach to voice training and performance furthers the possibility of not only discovering the practice of ‘freeing the voice’ but rather, a way of training that perhaps allows the individual to discover and ‘own’ their individual voice and give it expression." — Amy Rome, Journal of Interdisciplinary Voice StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part 1: Why ‘Owning Our Voices?’; Feminist Approaches to Autobiography – A Preface to Part 1; Chapter 1: Early Life; Chapter 2: A Conscious Family: Voice Work at The Studio and Abraxas Club with Roy Hart; Chapter 3: The Private Becomes Public; Chapter 4: Life after Death: Malérargues; Chapter 5: Leaving Malérargues and Growing Independence; Chapter 6: Some Reflections; Part 2: Methodology; Preface to Methodology; The Pre-Verbal Voice – A Preface; Chapter 7: The Pre-Verbal Voice; Freeing the Voice – A Preface; Chapter 8: Freeing the Voice; The Role of the Teacher – A Preface; Chapter 9: The Role of the Teacher; Connecting Head to Body – A Preface; Chapter 10: Connecting Head to Body – the Importance of Movement; Group Work – A Preface; Chapter 11: Group Work; Working with Song – A Preface; Chapter 12: Working with Song; Conclusion: Owning Our Voices – A Pluriphony
£999.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd (Sales) The Michael Chekhov Handbook
Book SynopsisThe 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.Table of Contents1. The Aims of the Chekhov Technique 2. The Five Guiding Principles 3. The Dynamic Principles 4. The Tools 5. Application 6. Mastery of the Chekhov Technique
£34.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd Games for Actors and NonActors
Book SynopsisGames for Actors and Non-Actors is the classic and bestselling book by the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal. It sets out the principles and practice of Boal's revolutionary method, showing how theatre can be used to transform and liberate everyone actors and non-actors alike! This new third English edition includes recently uncovered interviews and essays from the 1970s, some of which featured in the earliest Portuguese edition of this book, and a new essay by the theatre director Sergio de Carvalho, which looks at Boal's work in the context of Brazilian theatre and politics over the past fifty years.This is a vital handbook for theatre makers and activists of all kinds who want to deepen their understanding of the theory and practice of Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed. It is also an excellent introduction for those new to the system.Trade Review'This is an inspiring and powerful book, a lucid account that will be of substantial use to people already using Theatre of the Oppressed. It should also act as an excellent introduction for those new to the system.' —Artscene'This is a useful handbook for those who want to explore Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed and, as such, is greatly to be welcomed. Boal's work deserves and demands emulation.' —Theatre Research International'You have achieved what Brecht only dreamt of and wrote about: making a useful theatre that is entertaining, fun and instructive. It is a different kind of theatre – a kind of social therapy. It focuses the mind, relaxes the spirit and gives people a new handle on their situations.' —Richard SchechnerTable of Contents1 Theatre of the Oppressed in Europe 2 The Structure of the Actor’s Work 3 The Arsenal of Theatre of the Oppressed 4 The Early Forms of Forum Theatre 5 Forum Theatre: Doubts and Certainties: Incoprporating a New Method of Rehearsing and Devising a Forum Theatre Model 6 First Experiences with Invisible Theatre 7 Artistic Creation and Divine Madness: A Meditation on Art and the Miraculous 8 Interview for the Portuguese Edition (1977) 9 To the People, the means of Theatrical Production: Interview with Émile Copferman 10 Specialisation and Profession, Vocation and Language
£121.50
Taylor & Francis Games for Actors and NonActors
Book SynopsisGames for Actors and Non-Actors is the classic and bestselling book by the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal. It sets out the principles and practice of Boal's revolutionary method, showing how theatre can be used to transform and liberate everyone actors and non-actors alike! This new third English edition includes recently uncovered interviews and essays from the 1970s, some of which featured in the earliest Portuguese edition of this book, and a new essay by the theatre director Sergio de Carvalho, which looks at Boal's work in the context of Brazilian theatre and politics over the past fifty years.This is a vital handbook for theatre makers and activists of all kinds who want to deepen their understanding of the theory and practice of Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed. It is also an excellent introduction for those new to the system.Trade Review'This is an inspiring and powerful book, a lucid account that will be of substantial use to people already using Theatre of the Oppressed. It should also act as an excellent introduction for those new to the system.' —Artscene'This is a useful handbook for those who want to explore Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed and, as such, is greatly to be welcomed. Boal's work deserves and demands emulation.' —Theatre Research International'You have achieved what Brecht only dreamt of and wrote about: making a useful theatre that is entertaining, fun and instructive. It is a different kind of theatre – a kind of social therapy. It focuses the mind, relaxes the spirit and gives people a new handle on their situations.' —Richard SchechnerTable of Contents1 Theatre of the Oppressed in Europe 2 The Structure of the Actor’s Work 3 The Arsenal of Theatre of the Oppressed 4 The Early Forms of Forum Theatre 5 Forum Theatre: Doubts and Certainties: Incoprporating a New Method of Rehearsing and Devising a Forum Theatre Model 6 First Experiences with Invisible Theatre 7 Artistic Creation and Divine Madness: A Meditation on Art and the Miraculous 8 Interview for the Portuguese Edition (1977) 9 To the People, the means of Theatrical Production: Interview with Émile Copferman 10 Specialisation and Profession, Vocation and Language
£35.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd (Sales) A World Elsewhere
Book SynopsisA World Elsewhere is Steven Berkoffâs bold attempt to describe his multifarious theatrical works.Berkoff outlines the methods that he uses, first of all as an actor, secondly as a playwright and thirdly as theatre director, as well as those subtle connections in between, when one discipline melds effortlessly into another. He examines the early impulses that generated his works and what drove him to give them form, as well as the challenges he faced when adapting the work of other authors. Berkoff discusses some of his most difficult, successful and unique creations, journeying through his long and varied career to examine how they were shaped by him, and how he was shaped by them. The sheer scale of this book offers a rare experience of an accomplished artist, combined with the honesty and insight of an autobiography, making this text a singular tool for teaching, inspiration and personal exploration.Suitable for anyone with an interest in Steven Berkoff and his illustrious career, A World Elsewhere is the part analysis and part confession of an artist whose work has been performed all over the world. Table of ContentsBiography Preface 1. In the Penal Colony - The Arts Lab, Drury Lane 1967 2. Metamorphosis - The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm 1969 3. Macbeth - The Place Theatre 1970 4. Miss Julie Versus Expressionism – National Tour and The ICA 1971 5. Agamemnon - National Tour - The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm 1973 6. The Trial, by Franz Kafka - The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm 1973 7. The Fall of The House of Usher - Hampstead Theatre Club 1974 8. Random thought: the dressing room 9. East - Kings Head Theatre, Islington - 1975 Regent Street Poly - Cottesloe Theatre 1977 10. Hamlet, Shakespeare - The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm 1980 11. Decadence - Arts Theatre 1981 12. Random thought: Vsevolod Meyerhold 13. West - Donmar Warehouse 1983 14. Harry’s Xmas - Donmar Warehouse 1985 15. Acapulco - The King’s Head Theatre, Islington 1986 16. Coriolanus - Public Theatre, New York 1988 17. Random thought – directors and indendants 18. Greek - Wyndham’s Theatre 1988 19. Salome - National Theatre 1989 20. One Man - The Garrick Theatre 1991 21. Kvetch - The Garrick Theatre 1991 22. Random thought: a lunch in Brooklyn with the Salome cast 23. Brighton Beach Scumbags - The Riverside Theatre, Hammersmith 1995 24. Random thought - mechanicals 25. Massage - Odyssey Theatre, Edinburgh Festival 1997 26. Decadence - Wyndhams Theatre 1997 27. Shakespeare’s Villains - Theatre Royal, Haymarket 1998 28. Random thought: one-man show 29. The Secret Love Life of Ophelia - The King’s Head Theatre 2001 30. Messiah - Edinburgh Festival 2002 - Old Vic 2003 31. Sit and Shiver - Hackney Empire 2007 32. Random thought: Salome at The Gate Theatre, Dublin 33. On The Waterfront - Theatre Royal, Haymarket 2010 34. Oedipus - Edinburgh Festival 2013 35. The Hairy Ape -The Odyssey Theatre, Los Angeles 2015 36. Actors I have admired, loved and even cried over 37. Final chapter Index
£999.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd Dramaturgy of Sex on Stage in Contemporary
Book SynopsisDramaturgy of Sex on Stage in Contemporary Theatre explores the dramaturgy of sex in contemporary works for the stage in the social, cultural and historical context of the time and place during which they were written and performed.Comprising chapters by writers from across North America and Europe, the book covers an expansive range of plays, musicals and dance performances, from Broadway to the Fringe, from post-AIDS epidemic to post-COVID-19 pandemic. Analysing these intimate momentsboth textually and as stagedthrough an intersectional and critical lens illuminates the way power structures are maintained and codified, and how they can be queered and dismantled onstage and off. This examination of depictions of sex on stage attempts to understand from a dramaturgical and sociological perspective how these depictions have developed over time, and how the rise of intimacy directors has responded to the changes within the contemporary theatrical landscape and in the worTable of ContentsIntroductionKate MulleyPart I: Depicting Sexual Discovery and Identity1. (Still) Shopping and (Still) Fucking: The Stylistics of Queer Desire on StageGeorge Sampatakakis2. Respectable Queer Sex: Criteria for Permissible Representations in Contemporary Mainstream TheatreJoey Baseil Massa3. Depicting Queer Sexual Discovery in Contemporary British Fringe TheatreAlexander Millington4. All Tomorrow’s Parties: Structures of Feeling in Verbatim TheatreShane KinghornPart II: Depicting Stylized Sex5. Disability and Desire: Multimodal Exploration in Deaf West’s Spring AwakeningLindsey R. Barr6. Dancing on a Knife’s Edge: Performing Violent Co-Dependency in Bryony Lavery and Frantic Assembly’s StockholmKaren Morash7. A Dramaturgy of Precariousness: The Real, Realness, and Spectatorship of Sex in Dead Centre’s Good SexHuayu Yang8. Mette Ingvartsen’s “The Red Pieces” Series: Sex, Dance, Erasing Power Structures and Ungendered BodiesAnne LempickiPart III: Depicting Transactional Sex9. Commodification of Women’s Bodies: Staging the ConsequencesSophie Bastien10. Masculinity and Commercial Sex from the Perspective of Giuliana Musso’s SexmachineStefania Lodi RizziniPart IV: Depicting Female Desire11. Context, Cliche, and Other Considerations for Staging Female DesireCristina (Cha) Ramos and Claire Warden12. Monstrous Desires: Writings of Sexuality in Contemporary Feminist Dramatic Writings in FranceLeïla CassarPart V: Depicting Sexual Violence13. Patriarchy Structures and Depictions of Patriarchal Sex in Contemporary TheatreKate Mulley14. Interrogating Racialized Sexual Violence in Slave PlayJessica Ellison15. Sexual Assault and the Criminal Justice System: The Naked Female Body in Breach Theatre’s It’s True, It’s True, It’s TrueHannah Simpson16. Sex Between Macabre Lust and Clinical Dissection in Dea Loher’s DramaturgyYoun Le Guern-Herry17. Applications of Dramaturgy in the Physical Creation of Sexual Violence on StageMeron Langsner and Cristina (Cha) Ramos
£63.04
Taylor & Francis Ltd At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions
Book Synopsis`I consider this book a precious report that permits one to assimilate some of those simple and basic principles which the self-taught at times come to know, yet only after years of groping and errors. The book furnishes information regarding discoveries which the actor can understand in practice, without having to start each time from zero. Thomas Richards has worked with me systematically since 1985. Today he is my essential collaborator in the research dedicated to Art as Vehicle.'' - from the Preface by Jerzy GrotowskiTrade Review'This book is extremely concise and makes the work of Grotowski something students understand.' - Jane Hanna, Roehampton Institute, UK'An essential text for anyone interested in the work of Polish theatre-maker and teacher Jerzy Grotowski.' - Total TheatreTable of ContentsAt Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions by Thomas Richards, Stanislavski And Grotowski: The Connection, Ryszard Cieslak At Yale, The Workshop At The Objective Drama Program, In New York, Grotowski Speaks At Hunter College, The Work At Botinaccio: An Attack On Dilettantism, One Year With Grotowski In Objective Drama, At The Workcenter Of Jerzy Grotowski, Beginning Stages, Grotowski Vs. Stanislavski: The Impulses, "Realistic" Actions In Everyday Life, Conclusion On "Realistic" Actions, Quoted texts From the Theatre Company to Art as Vehicle
£36.99
Taylor & Francis To the Actor On the Technique of Acting
Book SynopsisHow does an actor learn to: * Call up emotion? * Develop a character? * Strengthen awareness? These are essential techniques for every actor, and Michael Chekhov's classic work To the Actor explains, clearly and concisely, how to develop them. Chekhov's simple and practical method - successfully used by professional actors all over the world - trains the actor's imagination and body to fulfil its potential. This handbook for actors (and directors) has been revised and expanded by Mala Powers. It includes: a previously unpublished chapter on 'Psychological Gesture', translated into English by the celebrated director Andrei Malaev - Babel; a new biographical overview by Mala Powers; and a foreword by Simon Callow.Trade Review'Its greatest virtue is not so much that you can't put it down but that you have to put it down - in order to try it out.' - Research in Drama Education'To the Actor is by far the best book that I have read on the subject of acting. Actors, directors, writers and critics will be grateful for it.' - Gregory Peck'This new publication of To the Actor should be welcomed by all of us with one of the most universal of Psychological Gestures - open arms.' - James Lipton, Producer and host of 'Inside the Actor's Studio'. Seen on the Bravo network.'Just practicing, even superficially, the first nine exercises in To the Actor, you can find a satisfaction - a living beauty in you ... Chekhov reminds us what a great feast life can be.' - Anthony Quinn'You have to teach yourself to act but Michael Chekhov will give you the necessary tools - and for me, Psychological Gesture and Centers are extremely valuable They work like a charm. I've used them all along and still do.' - Clint Eastwood'While my mother and sister were hiding in the dark and kind of watching me, ya know, hoping I was going to be in the movie business, I turned around and imagined I saw my director making fun of my newly acquired Psychological Gesture from Michael Chekhov.' - Jack Nicholson at the 1998 Golden Globe awards (speaking about his first job)'There's this need to continue growth; to expand. For me, Chekhov's system is the most complete.' - Robert Davi, interviewed on the set of his TV series, 'The Profiler''With Michael Chekhov acting became more than a profession to me. It became a sort of religion.' - Marilyn Monroe, from her book, My Story.'Its greatest virtue is not so much that you can't put it down but that you have to put it down - in order to try it out.' - Research in Drama Education'To the Actor is by far the best book that I have read on the subject of acting. Actors, directors, writers and critics will be grateful for it.' - Gregory Peck'There's this need to continue growth; to expand. For me, Chekhov's system is the most complete.' - Robert Davi, interviewed on the set of his TV series, 'The Profiler'Table of ContentsChapter 1 The Actor's Body and Psychology; Chapter 2 Imagination and Incorporation of Images; Chapter 3 Improvisation and Ensemble; Chapter 4 The Atmosphere and Individual Feelings; Chapter 5 The Psychological Gesture; Chapter 6 Character and Characterization; Chapter 7 Creative Individuality; Chapter 8 Composition of the Performance; Chapter 9 Different Types Of Performances; Chapter 10 How to Approach the Part; Chapter 11 Concluding Notes; Chapter 12 Examples for Improvisation;
£35.99
Taylor & Francis Actor Training
Book SynopsisActor 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; MonikTrade Review'This wide-ranging collection of essays, by British and American academics, compares the methods of more than 20 Western practitioners, chapter by chapter, from Stella Adler to Lee Strasberg. This edition has eight more practioners than the first version, published as Twentieth Century Actor Training a decade ago.' - Whatsonstage.com Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1 Stanislavsky’s System: pathways for the actor SHARON MARIE CARNICKE 2 Meyerhold and Biomechanics ROBERT LEACH 3 Jacques Copeau: the quest for sincerity JOHN RUDLIN 4 Michael Chekhov on the technique of acting: ‘was Don Quixote true to life?’ FRANC CHAMBERLAIN 5 Michel Saint-Denis: Training the Complete Actor JANE BALDWIN 6 The Knebel Technique: Active Analysis in Practice SHARON MARIE CARNICKE 7 Brecht and actor training: on whose behalf do we act? PETER THOMSON 8 Joan Littlewood CLIVE BARKER 9 Strasberg, Adler and Meisner: Method acting DAVID KRASNER 10 Joseph Chaikin and aspects of actor training: possibilities rendered present DORINDA HULTON 11 Peter Brook: transparency and the invisible network LORNA MARSHALL AND DAVID WILLIAMS 12 Grotowski’s vision of the actor: the search for contact LISA WOLFORD 13 Training for play, lightness and disobedience in the pedagogies of Jacques Lecoq, Monika Pagneux and Philippe Gaulier SIMON MURRAY 14 Training with Eugenio Barba: acting principles, the pre-expressive and ‘personal temperature’ IAN WATSON 15 Ariane Mnouchkine and the Theatre du Soleil : Theatricalising history; the theatre as metaphor; the actor as signifier. HELEN E. RICHARDSON 16 Wlodzimierz Staniewski. Gardzienice: the naturalised actor ALISON HODGE 17 Creating the Moment: Anne Bogart, SITI Company and Actor training ROYD CLIMENHAGA 18 Augusto Boal and the Theatre of the Oppressed FRANCES BABBAGE
£999.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd Active Analysis
Book SynopsisActive Analysis combines two of Maria Knebel's most important books, On Active Analysis of the Play and the Role and The Word in the Actor's Creative Work, in a single edition conceived and edited by one of Knebel''s most famous students, the renowned theatre and film director, Anatoli Vassiliev. This is the first English translation of an important and authoritative fragment of the great Stanislavski jigsaw. A landmark publication.This book is an indispensable resource for professional directors, student directors, actors and researchers interested in Stanislavski, directing, rehearsal methods and theatre studies more generally.Trade Review"Maria Knebel's contribution to contemporary actor training is invaluable and to date, somewhat under-estimated. This much anticipated book – thoughtfully edited by Vassiliev and sensitively translated by Irina Brown – brings crystal-clear understanding of Stanislavsky's innovative 'active analysis' into sharp focus and easy implementation." Bella Merlin, actor and professor at the University of California, Riverside, USATable of ContentsTRANSLATOR’S NOTE by Irina Brown; BEGINNINGS by Anatoli Vassiliev; ABOUT MARIA KNEBEL by Adolf Shapiro; Part I BOOK ONE: ACTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY AND THE ROLE; Part II BOOK TWO: THE WORD IN THE ACTOR’S CREATIVE WORK; Part III I AM MICHAEL CHEKHOV’S STUDENT Chapter Two from My Whole Life by Maria Knebel; Part IV APPENDICES; Index
£29.99
Hamilton Books Serious Fun
Book SynopsisThe importance of play and fun to people's lives cannot be stressed enough in today's cultural climate of high stress, high stakes, and competition. One activity that gains recognition and credibility as both fun and transformative is theatrical improvisation or improv. In this book, Ruth Yamamoto reviews her research on the influences of improvisation on community college students. Educators, theatre artists, improvisers, or anyone interested building community, developing self-awareness, and affecting positive social change will want to read this book. Dr. Yamamoto examines the principles of improvisation and the concepts of play and flow to add credibility to a craft and practice that is often viewed a frivolous and silly. Ruth Yamamoto extends her research through interviews with applied improvisation professionals, examples and suggestions of games and exercises, and provides solid evidence of the serious, positive benefits of improvisation.Table of ContentsContents List of Tables Preface Acknowledgements Part I The Origins 1 Introduction: Why Have Fun? 2 What Is Improv? 3 Play and Why It Matters 4 What Is Flow? 5 The Paradox of Fun Part II The Study: The Shared Experiences of College Improvisers 6 Literature Review of Related Qualitative Studies 7 Examining the Shared Improv Experiences 8 The Themes Part III How Improv Can Change the World 9 Everything I Needed to Learn in Life I Learned Through Improv 10 Finding Improv in Everyday 11 Applied Improvisation 12 Improv Games and Exercises 13 Serious Fun for Life Appendices Appendix A: Interview and Focus Group Protocols Appendix B: Theatre Games and Exercises Appendix C: Substantive Quotes Resources References
£999.99
Taylor & Francis Ltd Nine questions every actor of color should
Book SynopsisThis book confronts and analyzes the systemic racism that confronts actors of color in the USA through interviews with leading performers in the nation's theatrical epicentre of Chicago.Each chapter deals with a different central question, from how these actors approach roles and the obstacles that they face, to the ways in which the industry can change to better enable actors of color. By bringing together these actors and sharing the ways in which they have functioned within the white theatre world, we can appreciate how theatre needs to embrace their identities so that all voices are heard, understood, and valued. The stories of these actors will reflect the systemic racism of the past and present with the hope of remaking the future.This is an important book for students, teachers, and professionals who engage in theatre work, helping them to understand the lived experiences of actors of color through those actors' own words.
£43.41
Taylor & Francis Ltd Innovation Digital Theatremaking
Book SynopsisInnovation & Digital Theatremaking introduces a blueprint for how to think differently about Theatre, how to respond creatively in uncertainty, and how to wield whatever resources are available to create new work in new ways.In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a colossal impact on theatre across the world. At a time when even the wealthiest and best-supported theatre companies in the world ceased all operations and shuttered their stages, the theatre company The Show Must Go Online (TSMGO) forged its way into a new frontier: the highly accessible digital landscape of online performance. In this book, TSMGO creator Robert Myles and Valerie Clayman Pye explore the success of TSMGO from a practical standpoint, offering insights and strategies that can help theatremakers at every level respond proactively to the future of Theatre in the digital era. Each chapter addresses a different aspect of the creative process and concludes with take-homes so readers can learn hoTrade Review"This is an essential book for anyone trying to create theatre in the current environment. It’s a book that opened my eyes not just to the unprecedented challenges faced by young theatre artists but to ways of addressing those challenges that aim not just to meet them but to turn them into provocations to make a new kind of theatre. New generations of theatre professionals will find it a sympathetic guide and a mine of invaluable advice."Sir Nicholas Hytner, former Artistic Director of the National Theatre and Artistic Director of the Bridge Theatre, UKTable of Contents1. Innovation and Theatremaking 2. Why Shakespeare? 3. Creating A Community 4. Producing Rapidly, Producing Regularly 5. Directing for Digital 6. The Future
£35.99
