Description
Book SynopsisWorking with Actors provides the key to unlocking the honest, dynamic performance every actor has within them. It offers a well-articulated formulation of the Meisner Technique easy for directors and actors to use within a working context.Through setting out an accessible training programme for practitioners working across stage and screen, this book establishes a clear-cut route to building a three-dimensional character in an organic, non-intellectual fashion, based squarely on the character's objectives.Few books in this field venture out of the training studio, while in this book - alongside offering an intense and concentrated Meisner training programme - the focus is more on the pay-off': the collaborative act of developing the role and how that plays out in rehearsal and performance. Beyond that, the books uniquely offers:> a new modality for script reading, analysis and rehearsal through which the character is born in relation to other characters;> a prioritisation of th
Trade ReviewThis an exciting read, especially for actors like me who have not previously had the good fortune to discover the Meisner Technique of rehearsing a script. Stephen Bayly gently, authoritatively leads us through the method, mapping unknown territory until the way is clear. If you don’t know of the Meisner Technique, this book explains it all, clearly and without fuss. Directors and actors, professional and amateur, now have a bible to believe in. * Sir Ian McKellen *
An incredibly useful guide for directors and actors to using Meisner’s principles in theatre, film, or TV projects, even those who are new to the technique. Eminently useable, it leads the reader through the ‘nitty-gritty’ of applying the Meisner Technique to real projects while providing a useful context and background to its principles. * James McLaughlin, Lecturer in Drama at the University of Greenwich, UK *
Table of ContentsCONTENTS PART ONE: TECHNIQUE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. SIMPLE TECHNIQUE PERFECTLY 3. FEAR 4. WORKING ‘WITH’ 5. ACTING IS DOING 6. LISTENING 7. BEYOND LANGUAGE 8. THE PINCH AND THE OUCH 9. IMAGINARY CIRCUMSTANCES 10.WHO’S THAT KNOCKING? 11.MAD SAD GLAD 12.NO SUCH THING AS A MONOLOGUE 13.TAKING IT PERSONALLY 14.IT’S JUST AN ILLUSION 15.IN SEARCH OF THE CHARACTER 16.A DIRECTOR PREPARES 17.MAPPING OUT REHEARSALS 18.TAKING SIDES 19.LAUNCHING THE CANOE 20.THE NITTY-GRITTY 21.APPLYING THE ‘AS-IF’ 22.DIGGING DEEPER 23.STRIVING FOR THE SUMMIT 24.THE REAL WORLD PART TWO: PERSPECTIVES 25.WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? 26.PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS 27.BITS NOT BEATS 28.INDICATING 29.LIQUIFIED TROUBLE 30.CAST THE ACTOR NOT THE CHARACTER 31.UNBLOCKING THE WRITER 32.EVERYONE CAN ACT 33.FAKING IT 34.THE CASE AGAINST ACTIONING 35.SUBTEXT 36.SILENCE IS GOLDEN 37.CLIPS 38.MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE 39.THE CASE FOR REALISM GLOSSARY INDEX
