The Actor Uncovered

by Michael Howard

The Actor Uncovered is certainly not a set of rigid rules advocating one "method" or one singular "truth." Departing from the common guidebook format, Michael Howard uses a unique approach to teaching acting, reflecting on his own history and sharing his own experiences as an actor, director, and teacher. How he writes about the process and craft of acting is at once intensely personal and relatable by others.

Readers are invited to participate as though present in this master teacher's classes. Each human being, and thus each actor, is unique. Howard encourages actors to uncover their own ways of working, using their particular abilities and personality traits. Going beyond the craft and into human psychology and the importance of acting as a life force, readers will see new and deeper ways to study and practice, to be introspective, and to arrive at places of revelation about their craft.The Actor Uncovered will have much to say to beginners, to those who are advanced, and to professional and working actors. Howard discusses such topics as:
 
Techniques, styles, and methods in a changing society
Relaxation, concentration, and the breath
The relationships among actor, director, and writer
Memory
On camera versus on stage
Obstacles

After more than seventy years as a professional actor, director, and teacher, Howard shows how living creatively and invoking one's own personality can lead to a successful career as an actor.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theatre

240 pages, Paperback

Published March 6, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Michael Howard has been a major force in American theater for more than seven decades. After studying with Sanford Meisner in the 1940s and Lee Strasberg in his private classes and in the Actors Studio in the 1950s, Howard enjoyed an acting career that led him to work with such American luminaries as Clifford Odets and Uta Hagen before moving on to direct and teach. He served as the first artistic director of Atlanta's Alliance Theater and later on the faculties of Julliard and Yale University. A teacher for more than fifty years in the studio he founded, Michael Howard Studios, he has been and continues to be a trainer of actors who have achieved international recognition.

Reviews

[Jerrika · Rating 2 out of 5]

A look into acting that I hadn't considered before, but did allow me to see the craft in a different light. Not necessarily sure yet if this is these are the techniques for me or the craft for me, but this could be an interesting insight into acting at times. I think at times, the book was a bit heavy on references that potentially a non actor may not be familiar with so that bogged certain elements down for me, but I think if I do decide to join the theater world again I would be willing to give this another read through.

[Madison A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm biased because I study at his studio, but michael Howard's book is wonderful. It's not a how- to book or a book that teaches you the tricks of acting. Rather it's Michael Howard's account of how to approach the craft as an art. I found myself underlining and highlighting and taking notes in the margins, and after many years of being in the theatre, I found that much of what he said rang true for me.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Goodreads win review. I have never read a book about the art of acting before. The author of this book has been an actor, a director and a teacher of acting. It talks about every aspect of acting; techniques, styles, methods, concentration, memory, etc. It is a very interesting book.

[Elise Persephone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was instrumental in my gathering the courage to begin. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I WANT THIS SO BAD!!!!