Actor Movement: Expression of the Physical Being is a textbook and video resource for the working actor, the student and all those who lead and witness movement for the actor, including movement tutors, movement directors and directors.

Great actors are not simply great interpreters of text; they are also great interpreters of movement; able to 'embody' all aspects of a character's life, with body and imagination as their instruments. In their work they are expected to become many bodies, all behaving differently from their own. Actors have to construct, inhabit and offer...

Singing on stage can be a daunting prospect for actors, particularly for those who have not sung before. Yet singing should be an essential part of every actor's toolkit.

Singing on Stage: An Actor's Guide gives an insight for the first time into the vocal techniques and practical approaches that have been developed over generations as an integral part of the training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Jane Streeton and Philip Raymond are highly experienced performers and teachers; their book encourages each actor to explore their own authentic voice as opposed to offering...

Brecht on Performance: Messingkauf and Modelbooks presents a selection of Brecht's principal writings for directors and theatre practitioners, and is suitable for acting schools, directors, actors, students and teachers of Theatre Studies. Through these texts Brecht provides a general practical approach to acting and to realising texts for the stage that crystallises and makes concrete many of the more theoretical aspects of his other writing.

The volume is in two parts. The first features an entirely new commentated edition of Brecht's dialogues and essays about the practice...

Dramaturgy in the Making maps contemporary dramaturgical practices in various settings of theatre-making and dance to reveal the different ways that dramaturgs work today. It provides a thorough survey of three major areas of practice - institutional dramaturgy, production dramaturgy and dance dramaturgy - with each illustrated through a range of case studies that illuminate methodology and which will assist practitioners in developing their own 'dramaturgical toolbox'.

In tracing the development of the role of the dramaturg, the author explores the contribution of Lessing,...

Based on the latest research from the fields of neuroscience and mind-body psychology, Acting With Passion offers a revolutionary new approach to the age-old problems of the actor: dealing with nerves, engaging the body, quieting the inner critic, auditioning, creating a character, and even playing comedy.
With this step-by-step guide, actors who have struggled with 'visualization' and 'emotional recall' can learn an alternative method of accessing feelings through the release of chronic, subtle muscular tensions that connect into the brain at lightning fast speed and can...

What is it to be a stand-up comedian? To be funny, solo? You have no character-role, no double-act partner, and nowhere to look but out into the darkness, with just a microphone, an audience and your imagination.
This is a job without an annual appraisal; a job where you are publicly appraised every ten seconds. The results are harsh and obvious: if the audience isn't laughing, you 'died'; if they can't stop, you 'killed'.
Deborah Frances-White and Marsha Shandur unpack the inner-workings of the minds of comics, sharing their secrets, insecurities and successes; their betes noires...

Michael Chekhov's Acting Technique: A Practitioner's Guide is a textbook for actors, directors and teachers seeking in-depth analysis and explanation of the Michael Chekhov acting technique. It provides a complete overview of the whole method, offering clear explanations of the principles, practical exercises and application of the exercises to dramatic texts. The book is both a toolkit for practitioners who have not trained in the method, as well as a comprehensive reference book for those who have.

Part One explains the concept of pyscho-physical acting with reference to...

The art of armed and unarmed stage combat thrills actors and audiences alike the world over. This book details many of the foundational techniques used by actors studying stage combat and actor-movement disciplines. A variety of specific training exercises are described that connect the actor's imagination to a cohesive and meaningful actor-training curriculum - integrating stage combat with the actor's process of developing a fully embodied awareness of the physical life of the character.

Developing physical awareness and dexterity is an essential component of an actor's training...

The Actor's Workbook is an essential workbook for actors, actors in training and teachers of acting and drama. The workbook and video provide a clear, step-by-step guide to learning techniques in acting.

The book presents a system of exercises which will develop core acting skills, offers techniques for developing an authored role and models for devising new work. These techniques are based on the practices of Konstantin Stanislavski and his recent theatrical descendants including Uta Hagen, Sanford Meisner, Michael Chekhov and others.

The exercises in the book are...

In Performing Opera: A Practical Guide for Singers and Directors Michael Ewans provides a detailed and practical workbook to performing many of the most commonly produced operas. Drawing on examples from twenty-four operas ranging in period from Gluck and Mozart to Britten and Tippett, it illustrates exactly how opera functions as dramatic form.

Grounded in close analyses of performances of thirty scenes and five whole operas by first-rate singers and celebrated directors, Performing Opera provides readers with an appreciation of the unique challenges and skills...