Acting for Young Actors: The Ultimate Teen Guide

by Mary Lou Belli, Dinah Lenney

Do you know a teen that's been bitten by the acting bug? Here's just the book they need! Acting for Young Actors , aimed at teens and tweens, lets kids hone their skills and develop their craft. It begins with the five W' WHO am I? WHAT do I want? WHY do I want it? WHERE am I? WHEN does this event take place? Sounds basic - but many young child actors are told simply to "get up there and act." This book explores each of these questions, using helpful exercises to allow young actors to work through problems of character identity and motivation. With comprehensive chapters on auditioning, rehearsal, and improvisation, plus a primer on how young actors can break into film, theater, and television, Acting for Young Actors is every kid's ticket to the big time.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Dinah Lenney, authored Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir (University of Nebraska), and holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the Bennington Writing Seminars, where she recently returned as an associate faculty member. She received her BA from Yale, and a Certificate of Acting from the Neighborhood Playhouse, and continues to work on stage and screen, having just begun her 14th season as Nurse Shirley on NBC's critically acclaimed ER. Dinah's essays and reviews appear regularly in national journals and newspapers. She's the co-author, with Mary Lou Belli, of Acting for Young Actors (Watson-Guptill, Back Stage Books), and she teaches both acting and writing at UCLA. Dinah lives in Echo Park with her husband and their two children.


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Reviews

[Char Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book in preparation to co-teach a youth acting class. Generally very good! Lays out the basics in a good format to break down the script and character. Some of the advice is a little dated, as one might expect with how much the world has changed in the past few years. But a good foundation for teaching children acting theory.

[MalayaKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

recommend for all young actors. quite informational, and made me feel a lot more confident while still being an easy read.

[Bryn Swain]

“So many other people than you are in charge of whether or not you become a celebrity. But you and nobody else is in charge of the kind of artist you want to become.”
— Jason Ritter

[Cathy Vanderstappen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geweldig to-the-point, helder en compact geschreven. De schrijvers richten zich "direct" tot adolescenten die willen acteren. Door dit te lezen voel je je plots jonger of denk je terug aan jouw eerste stappen als speler. Je vindt er oefeningen in terug, maar wel beknopt. Verder lees je welke raad professionals geven én staan er heel wat aanvullende suggesties bij: repertoirelijst, do's en don'ts, verdiepende en aanvullende literatuur. Kortom: compact, maar heel verhelderend!

[Ian T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Lou Belli has written the best guide out there with hundreds of tips and tricks for all young actors out there. She presents these tricks in a way that are easily understandable for the young mind. Everything a young actor needs to know about the acting profession is explained in thorough detail.

For every chapter of the book, there is a different topic of discussion. And for every chapter there are an array of exercises, quotes, and tips for the young actor. Everything about the book is informational and the best part of the book is: it's explained in a fun, understandable way. Even if you know nothing of the acting industry, you can easily pick up on terms using the included glossary.

This book has changed my view on acting. I would recommend this book to anyone who is even interested a little bit into the acting world. This book is informative and entertaining and I really enjoyed reading it.

[Shawn Deal]

A great book for young teen actors. Covering all aspects including acting for fun and acting for money. A book that includes acting tips as well as how to be a better actor, plus breaking into the business of professional acting and what to do from there. Everything in this book may not relate to everyone but everyone is going to get valuable information from it.

[Gregorio · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple book I read for the last EAR Fuzz, it helped at times. For someone who never learned about the research involved with acting, it was quite interesting to read the different points the author had. IT was ok.

[Isla ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide for anybody who is even mildly interested in acting, whether it be theater or professional acting. Includes acting exercises, auditioning tips, film fun facts, and so much more!

Personally, I don't want to become an actor. However, I heavily annotated this copy! So helpful!

[Pindari N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really insightful. Two thumbs up.

[Novalynda Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to acting, even if some of the chapter don't apply to you.