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The Basics
Acting: The Basics
The Basics 3rd Edition is a dynamic response to recent societal and entertainment industry changes, focusing on inclusion, diversity and equity, and the actor's trajectory from training to rehearsal to performance on stage and screen, with hands-on tools and global perspectives.
The book offers vital ways of building a practical acting toolkit, through breath, body, voice, emotions, imagination and spirit. We begin with a socio-cultural look at actor as magician, storyteller, healer and social changer. Throughout, there are insights from Black, Indigenous, First Nations, South/East Asian, intercultural and feminist practitioners, together with methods focusing on disability and accessibility, intimacy directives, mindfulness and intersectionality. Key 'canonical' figures still feature (e.g., Stanislavsky, Meisner, Brecht and Suzuki) with re-visioned perspective. Scattered throughout are post-COVID insights, plus expanded sections on screen acting (including self-tapes) and Shakespeare.
This book is useful for beginner or expert, as it's always helpful getting back to basics. Because the author is both an actor and an actor trainer, the tools are steeped in user-friendly application. At the same time, transferable skills (e.g., dynamic listening and empathy) are shown as relevant to everyone. With a glossary of terms and useful online suggestions (including blogs, videos and podcasts), this is ideal for anyone learn anew about the practice and history of acting, or to take their acting and teaching into new terrain.
The book offers vital ways of building a practical acting toolkit, through breath, body, voice, emotions, imagination and spirit. We begin with a socio-cultural look at actor as magician, storyteller, healer and social changer. Throughout, there are insights from Black, Indigenous, First Nations, South/East Asian, intercultural and feminist practitioners, together with methods focusing on disability and accessibility, intimacy directives, mindfulness and intersectionality. Key 'canonical' figures still feature (e.g., Stanislavsky, Meisner, Brecht and Suzuki) with re-visioned perspective. Scattered throughout are post-COVID insights, plus expanded sections on screen acting (including self-tapes) and Shakespeare.
This book is useful for beginner or expert, as it's always helpful getting back to basics. Because the author is both an actor and an actor trainer, the tools are steeped in user-friendly application. At the same time, transferable skills (e.g., dynamic listening and empathy) are shown as relevant to everyone. With a glossary of terms and useful online suggestions (including blogs, videos and podcasts), this is ideal for anyone learn anew about the practice and history of acting, or to take their acting and teaching into new terrain.
- GenresTheatre
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 14, 2010
18 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 12, 2023
soooo many useful explanations, insights, additional context and links and books. i bought this as a library book but i think this is definitely a useful book to have in my arsenal so i might find it online so i can re read and highlight parts that mean a lot to me as an actor in training. learnt about so many new practioners and even the ones i already knew about it was all explained in such excellent details i felt like this was the first time i was ACTUALLY learning about them. this book felt a lot like talking with my favourite drama teacher, he explained things clearly and concisely just like bella merlin.
October 6, 2022
INTRO TO ACTING.
Currently reading
April 7, 2012I read a chapter or two of this book, then decided that reading about acting was kinda pointless, and decided to start taking acting classes instead. I'll probably pick it up again at some point now that I know a bit more on the subject.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews