Telling Stories: The Grand Unifying Theory of Acting Techniques

by Mark Rafael

Everyone who loves theatre and is interested in the craft of acting will be fascinated by Mark Rafael's Telling Stories. This extraordinary book is full of information rarely available to us. By taking us inside the classrooms of some of the most important teachers of our times, he becomes, in effect, a master teacher. - Marian Seldes, Actress

I found Telling Stories to be practical, insightful and I recommend it to be used for student actors and especially invaluable for professors and teachers of acting across a range of levels. - Diane Baker, Actress, Director of ActingSchool of Motion Picture & Television, Academy of Art University

Telling A Grand Unifying Theory of Acting Techniques is an essential resource for professional actors, acting students and teachers, or anyone who wants to better understand the evolution of modern acting theory. This guidebook provides a history of acting theories and training and describes techniques that enable an actor to inhabit a character. In the book are numerous acting exercises that illustrate each method, as well as advice on performing Shakespeare and on developing scripts.

Telling Stories is an important addition to any theatrical library and can serve as the basis for acting and theater courses across a wide range of levels.

MARK RAFAEL, an actor and educator, received his BA from Brown University and holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. He has also studied with teachers from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in London and was awarded a scholarship to the Michael Chekhov Studio in New York. He served as an assistant to Dr. Maria Piscator, widow of Erwin Piscator, and has worked extensively on the development of new scripts in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. As an actor, he has performed in theatres across the country as well as in television and films, including James Cameron's Titanic. He currently lives and works in San Francisco with his wife and three children, where he teaches at the University of San Francisco and the Academy of Art University.

Genres: Theatre

197 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jeffrey D Thomakos · Rating 1 out of 5]

To begin with, I can see how this book might be useful to some young actors looking for a very brief introduction to various acting techniques and theatre styles. However, this book doesn't read like it's for young actors necessarily, but young teachers (particularly young associate professors in colleges and universities) looking for a guide on how to put together a lesson plan. And that's what it mostly is, Mark Rafael's lesson plan.

I picked up this book thinking that a book having the title, The Grand Unifying Theory of Acting Techniques would have within its pages, oh, I don't know, a grand unifying theory of acting techniques. Instead, it's sort of a cliff notes version of the different techniques he draws from, none of which is a particularly accurate representation of the techniques themselves or anything remotely unifying one technique to the other.

It is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies. The approach to improv (yes, Professor, it's called improv not impro. No one calls it impro.) is drawn mainly from Keith Johnstone's two books on the subject. They are brilliant and I highly recommend a young actor or professor read these books. But in this book he states clearly how Johnstone's approach is explicitly not funny per se, but meant to be used to instill honest and natural responses within the actor. Then, when giving an exercise to do, he mentions that they are supposed to be funny. It's confusing and inaccurate when talking specifically about Johnstone's work.

Much of the Stanislavski discussion is drawn from his first book, An Actor Prepares, ignoring the other two books translated in English which are supposed to comprise his entire process and not just the partial process that Americans tend to favor.

Chekhov is discussed fractionally and much of the rest of the book could also be attributed to theories that Chekhov and/or Stanislavski already put forth. Brecht is a theatre style, not so much an acting technique and so is Commedia del Arte and The Living Theatre. Uta Hagen is a Stanislavski teacher and probably wouldn't consider herself as teaching her own individual technique or method. There are numerous other examples that I could mention, but I think the point is made.

It's also riddled with typos which is just aggravating.

I would skip this book. Go to the originals and do the extra work required to get a full and correct view of these various techniques and approaches.

[Rase McCray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book would be most helpful for actors in/interested in an MFA-type experience because the book's strength is definitely in how it gives an overview of many of the most important schools of acting thought. The major players are contextualized with a historical introduction, and then subsequent chapters explore the theoretical contribution of that pedagogue, including exercises.

The author's point, I believe, is to offer a greatest hits of acting craft that can be strung together into a single approach. It's a one-stop shop for acting training. But if that is in intention, if the author's goal is that this book might possibly serve as the only textbook for an acting class, then I think the task is not quite successful.

Namely, the explorations of each school come off as somewhat superficial. Having read full books by many of the individuals deemed here to be important, I was left unsatisfied by how the concept was handled.

That said, the opening historical chapter is magical, and the rest of the book does a great job of overviewing concepts. Overall, I'd recommend it to others, with some reservations.

[Rena Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book with the idea in mind to use some of the ideas and exercises in teaching my reading students some interesting games and approaches to speech contest preparation. It was all I had hoped it would be and more.

It made me want to do theater again, like I did in my late teens!! So many useful ideas, and so much wonderful information in a little book. Rafael has truly jam-packed this book with brief biographies of the seminal schools of acting currently being used and discussed, as well as ideas for approaching Shakespeare, and wonderful warm-up exercises for students to become comfortable with being "on stage", or to lose their self-conciousness when approaching a performance opportunity.

[Tatjana Dzambazova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great companion for young actors.