An Actor's Handbook: An Alphabetical Arrangement of Concise Statements on Aspects of Acting

by Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood (editor)

Body training, stage setting, and artistic truth are among the topics considered in this compilation of Stanislavski's techniques and theories of creative acting, first published on the 100th Anniversary of his birth, January 17th, 1963, by Theatre Arts Books.

Genres: Theatre, Film

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 1963

About the author

Translator; 1894-1974

Reviews

[Katie Rodemich · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're in theatre you need this book especially actors and directors. It basically highlights from his trilogy.

[Gabriela Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I put down this long-sought-for book, all I could think was... WOW. For so thin a volume, it packs a whole lot of golden truths! Not just for acting, but true also for Life in general.

I also thought of how lucky I was in my teachers... they taught me Stanislavski without me ever knowing it WAS Stanislavski!

The less said about this book, the better. Theatre people will know that there are truths meant to be lived and experienced, that no amount of lecturing and quoting is going to be a good enough substitute for DOING. And for non-theatre people... go ahead and read it! But for it to make sense, you need to apply it. Join a workshop. Audition for a show. The world would be a better place if everyone experienced being part of an artistic team at least once in their lives: a school play, a student orchestra, a community choir.

Excited to share this with my students!

[Yisrael Dubov · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very sporadic.

While the ideas in this book are quite sound (of course they are, they were all written by Stanislavsky), the almost haphazard-like manner they are displayed in this book is quite jarring and at times unintelligible. Many of them need context. As I was reading through them, I would remember reading some of the full statements in their original forms - in context - and they were so much more coherent.

I honestly don't see any value in this book the way it's formatted. I'd recommend you go read Stanislavsky's full works instead.

[Sofia Martins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prepare your character like a painter washes his brushes to start painting. Gave me another point of view of good and bad acting.

I haven't read this because I pursue this way of life, but only to satisfy my curiosity.

[Anna Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously it’s full of great content, but I don’t think this method of organizing Stanislavsky’s work is the most effective for teaching it to the reader. It’s a nice refresher for people who already have a grasp of his method, though!

[Story · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library and although it was somewhat interesting, it's written sort of like a dictionary, and for that reason I think this may be a better book to own vs read cover to cover.

[Jude Morse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stanislavskis name means a lot in acting. His wisdom is some of the best you’ll get but it doesn’t mean follow it to the T. You can only become a great actor by figuring out a lot of this stuff yourself. Use it but don’t let his method become you.

[Lee Broda · Rating 5 out of 5]

As superb as reputed. The Bible for an actor.

[Michael Powell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow! This book reads like entries from an encyclopedia. I had hoped the concise statements would be applicable to a director to pass on to high school actors. They are not. If you are looking to be impressed by a great theatrical Russian mind, this book's for you. If you are looking to find something to apply into today's theater scene, don't bother.

[Sarah Kleist · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. After a while it seemed to be pretty hoaky and a lot of the ideas seemed more philosophical than practical, but for what it was, I liked it. :)