underground performances make-believe understanding

books:

Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television

43 reviews
Judith Weston

Michael Wiese Productions, 1999

Simple techniques that WORK!
Judith Weston has outlined for the director (of any performance, not just film) quick and effective ways to communicate and elicit the performance you want... at the very least, you will get something different. I am an actress who has had the privilege of working with Judith and her directors. I have seen the process in action. I've used it. When someone has truly applied the techniques that ...

An Actor Prepares

26 reviews
Constantin Stanislavski

Theatre Arts Book, 1989

Excellent not only for actors but for any performing artist!
Stanislavski himself says, "My system is for those who have a creative nature. It's for the talented". On stage or on a movie set you have to be believable. All musicians should read this book (or any performing artist in that matter). It would be a priceless benefit for them... For instance, many soloists these days are displaying an unnatural, forced "phrasing". If they were asked to speak the ...

Sanford Meisner on Acting

32 reviews
Sanford Meisner, Dennis Longwell

Vintage, 1987

a masterpiece...
Mr. Meisner's book should be in your collection if you are a serious student..on the Mt Rushmore of acting teachers he would be right up there with Hagen, Adler, Stanislavsky and Strasberg. Meisner goes beyond the 'method' to what are the greatest tools you can bring to any performance...listen and react...listen and react..if you master the first the reaction will come naturally..but the first ...

Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre

32 reviews
Keith Johnstone

Theatre Arts Book, 1987

Impro
As a theater actor, this book has been a very good tool for me. It has made me a better listener which is important on the stage. Just memorizing lines is not enough. In case someone drops a line, you can immediately come to their rescue, without making them look bad, thus maintaining the scene. I highly recommend this to anyone in the theater.

Respect for Acting

23 reviews
Uta Hagen, Haskel Frankel

Wiley, 1973

indispensible, actors bible...
this is the first book I ever read on acting just as I was about to embark on my first acting lesson, oh, so many years ago. any beginner, pro or dabbler would enhance themselves by reading this..Respect For Acting is the title, respect is the key, to respect your art, your discipline, your craft..you won't find everything you need in here, no book can do that for you that comes from experience ...

Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets

69 reviews
Kenneth Anger

Dell, 1981

a very interesting book to page through
Kenneth Anger's hollywood babylon is the kind of book you can pick up and put down at any time.. I find it interesting to page through before or after I watch one of the older movies of hollywood's golden age.. I can't get enough of this sort of look into the dumpster of tinseltown.. the scandals and episodes that have been brushed under the carpet or just are no longer known about.. The list of ...

Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part

48 reviews
Michael Shurtleff

Walker & Company, 2003

Invaluable for Auditions and Beyond
Considering the low price, I can't imagine a more valuable book for the actor. Michael Shurtleff is a luminary of theatre, and this book reads like a private class with him. Remember, this is a guy who basically launched the careers of DeNiro, Streisand, Redford, Vereen, Tomlin, Midler, and Hoffman. His wonderful career included both Broadway and film casting. He knows a lot, and in this ...

The Hidden Curriculum: Practical Solutions for Understanding Unstated Rules in Social Situations

6 reviews
Brenda Smith Myles, Melissa L. Trautman, ...

Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2004

Finally! A simple solution!
One of the missing components to the concept of teaching "social skills" to children and young adults on the autism spectrum, is that instructors focus on textbook manners instead of teaching REAL life practical knowledge. The Hidden Curriculum explains that every society has unstated rules, the things that no one explains to you, but which you are supposed to pick up somehow on your own. ...

On Stage: Theater Games and Activities for Kids

15 reviews
Lisa Bany-Winters

Chicago Review Press, 1997

Great Mix of Activities
I love how all of the different skills are addressed in separate sections of the book. There are many, many games and tasks included in each so the variety never ends. I use this book as a warm up during the first couple of drama sessions and then as a filler when I think that the kids have had enough "serious" rehearsal time and need to let loose. Pair up this book with a play or set of plays ...

The Necessity of Theater: The Art of Watching and Being Watched
Paul Woodruff

Oxford University Press, USA, 2008

What is unique and essential about theater? What separates it from other arts? Do we need "theater" in some fundamental way? The art of theater, as Paul Woodruff says in this elegant and unique book, is as necessary--and as powerful--as language itself. Defining theater broadly, including sporting events and social rituals, he treats traditional theater as only one possibility in an art that--at its most powerful--can change lives and (as some ...

Ballet Shoes

61 reviews
Noel Streatfeild

Random House Books for Young Readers, 1993

A wonderful and charming story!
I loved this book! It is the story of three orphans, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, who are adopted by an older man who is gone during most of the book. After going through most of the money that he has left for their care until his return, the three sisters attend a special school of the arts. There they can learn to act, dance, and sing; then they can get jobs in different performances making ...

Dishing Hollywood: The Real Scoop on Tinseltown's Most Notorious Scandals

10 reviews
Laurie Jacobson

Cumberland House Publishing, 2003

Whatta Dish! A Collection of Hollywood Scandals Du Jour
I fortuitously fell into this little gem the day after xmas.....a belated "BEST" present to myself. While I already own Jacobson's two other books and hold her in high regard, this book proves that she is only getting better as a film historian and writer. She assumes a slick, quasi-cinema noir persona in her narrative and mixes in a Sandra Lee-like easy 'recipe' that takes a not too subtle slam ...

The Joys of Love

4 reviews
Madeleine L'Engle

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2008

...
Somehow and without much fuss a new Madeleine L'Engle novel has been published. I was most ecstatic when I found out about it several days ago and quickly read it. Apparently, according to the preface, it is an older book she wrote but publishers didn't have any interest in. So she gave it to her grandkids to be something for them. Well, a couple of years ago one of them re-discovers the book and ...

Challenge For The Actor

10 reviews
Uta Hagen

Scribner, 1991

A True Challenge!
This is a must-have for any theater afficionado, actor or not. Ms Hagen's engrossing history of the American theater alone is worth the price, and her very personal insights into character development are fascinating. The portion of the book devoted to the development of the acting craft is powerful, with exercises designed to develop a range of physical and emotional actions. With its themes ...

Singing for Dummies

12 reviews
Pamelia S. Phillips

For Dummies, 2003

Good place to start
I sure you've heard it before but don't be fooled by the title.This is a very good place to start if you have never had any training before.One thing I like is the fact that she doesn't play the piano too loudly for the exersizes.The two vocalists sound good too.Allthough the book addresses some pop techniques it seems more geared towards classical.I'm suspicious of methods that try to combine ...

Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy

35 reviews
Franklyn Ajaye

Silman-James Press, 2002

Want to be a comedian?
Excellent looking book. Well organized information on the inside. Franklin Ajaye may not be a household name in stand up, but he's written a book that definitely makes him a household name in my life. I would one day like to make my living as a stand up comedian, and after much searching and perusing, I decided that out of the many books on stand up I would pick this one up first. The big ...

101 Drama Games for Children: Fun and Learning with Acting and Make-Believe (SmartFun Activity Books)

7 reviews
Paul Rooyackers

Hunter House, 1997

Very usable - great resource!
You will use this book over and over. I teach gifted upper elementary and middle school drama students. This book is one of my favorites - it is likely to be one of yours too.

The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters

17 reviews
Peter Block

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003

Top of the stack!
Peter Block is a wizard! A book filled with insights, thoughts and questions that will make you pause and reflect. If you are leader in any capacity- READ this book. Peter uses mind bending questions to provoke deep thought about your individual and organizational purpose. "What are the crossroads that I find myself at?" "What is the 'no' that I have been postponing?" "What is the ...

A Practical Handbook for the Actor

18 reviews
Melissa Bruder, Lee Michael Cohn, ...

Vintage, 1986

Exciting Choices for the Actor
I used this book to teach a beginning acting class at our community college. It is an excellent introduction to the craft. The book gives clear examples of selecting an action that create clear and exciting choices for the actor. Rather than focusing on emotional states such as "you're angry or you're happy," the text shows how to allow emotional truth to come from the moment while focusing on ...

Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation

41 reviews
Charna Halpern, Del Close, ...

Meriwether Publishing, 1994

The definitive book on The Harold
I began taking a long form (The Harold)improv class about a year ago. Halfway through my term, the instructor suggested a few books to read on the subject. After reading through the first few pages of this manual, it became clear to me that this was the class that I had been taking for over a year. Charna Halpern-with a fee quotes and exercises by the late, great Del Close-have put together an ...

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