The Craft of Comedy

by Athene Seyler

Described by The Oxford Companion to Theatre as "essential for all aspiring actors," The Craft of Comedy is witty and exceptionally astute. In a series of letters written to a young man eager to learn from her wealth of experience, Seyler draws on her performances in Restoration Comedy, Shakespeare, Wilde, Maugham, Shaw, and Rattigan. The result is a classic work on the art and craft of comedy, as important in its own way as works by Stanislavski, Chekhov, or Gordon Craig.

Genres: Drama, Theatre, Writing, Humor, Comedy

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Bookend McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Lovely, charming, wise, interesting, useful, thought-provoking.
"[T]his business of whether one is to be a great, an utterly self-absorbed actor, or whether one can allow oneself to lead a fairly normal life, with the wider spheres of interest which can develop one's personality beyond mere egoism. Although I desire the wealth and success and the satisfaction of achievement I resent the narrowing down of one's mental development which seems to be the price of these things. As I hate doing things half-heartedly I have often decided to leave the stage and earn my living in some other way rather than endure this perpetual struggle between self-development and self-advertisement. What has prevented me has been the ever-increasing fascination which the art of the theatre exercises over me, and the sheer ambition of achieving perfection in this art - a hopeless ambition since we all know that no true artist ever believes he has achieved perfection. There is also the comradeship of the theatre: it is a unique one and a very precious compensation for the difficulties we encounter."

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic book on the roots of comedy with delightful advice to the actor.