On Acting

Sanford Meisner was one of the best known and beloved teachers of acting in the country. This book follows one of his acting classes for fifteen months, beginning with the most rudimentary exercises and ending with affecting and polished scenes from contemporary American plays. Written in collaboration with Dennis Longwell, it is essential reading for beginning and professional actors alike. Throughout these pages Meisner is a delight—always empathizing with his students and urging them onward, provoking emotion, laughter, and growing technical mastery from his charges. With an introduction by Sydney Pollack, director of Out of Africa and Tootsie, who worked with Meisner for five years. "This book should be read by anyone who wants to act or even appreciate what acting involves. Like Meisner's way of teaching, it is the straight goods."—Arthur Miller "If there is a key to good acting, this one is it, above all others. Actors, young and not so young, will find inspiration and excitement in this book."—Gregory Peck

(Applause Books). A master actor who's appeared in an enormous number of films, starring with everyone from Nicholson to Kermit the Frog, Michael Caine is uniquely qualified to provide his view of making movies. This revised and expanded edition features great photos, with chapters on: Preparation, In Front of the Camera Before You Shoot, The Take, Characters, Directors, On Being a Star, and much more. "Remarkable material ... A treasure ... I'm not going to be looking at performances quite the same way ... FASCINATING!" Gene Siskel

Few actors have had a career as dynamic as that Kathleen Turner's; success has followed her from the television screen to major blockbusters, from indie films to the theater stage. Over her forty-year career, Turner has developed an instinctual knowledge of what it takes to be a successful actor, and, in her conversations with esteemed film professor Dustin Morrow, she shares these lessons with the world. With her iconic wit on full display, Turner dazzles readers with her shrewd insights on the craft of acting and charming anecdotes from her own storied career. Touching on each of her roles, she expounds on the lessons she’s learned and describes her journey of discovery in the world of acting. An epic and intense one-on-one master class in acting from the best teacher imaginable, Kathleen Turner on Acting is a must for acting and directing students of every age, established actors and directors, filmmakers, theater pros, and artists of every stripe.

The theories, techniques, and practices of the world's great actors--in their own words, with introductions and biographical sketches. Bibliography. Index.

"The Improvisation Technique is then applied to exercises with scripted lines, developing sophisticated improvisation skills for enhancing character, emotions, conflict, and agreement as well as improving the actor's audition process. Also included is a unique process for breaking down scripted scenes into improvisation choices."--BOOK JACKET.

Aspiring film and television actors will discover exercises for relaxing the face to achieve maximum expressiveness; maintaining proper eye focus in front of the camera and conveying the "beats" of a scene, even in the shortest takes. They'll also learn tested techniques for adapting to the styles of different directors; modulating voice and breath for maximum effect; preparing for the first day on the set; enduring multiple takes and on-the-set waiting; and much, much more. For any performer who intends to make a living in front of the camera, Acting for Film is the most authoritative resource!

Honed by the author's 35 years of teaching, this advanced book offers different warm-up exercises concentrating on the actor's sense of smell, sound, sight, and touch; sensory tools for conveying the climate and environment of the text; tips for suggesting a character's physical conditions; and much more. Individual exercises will help actors to free the voice and body, create a character, find the action and condition of scenes, and explore the subconscious for effective emotional recall. Readers will also find meticulous guidelines for best using rehearsal time and preparing for in-class scene work. The foreword is written by two-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton. Those who act, direct, or teach will not want to miss the acting lessons that have made T. Schreiber Studio a premier actor training program.

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 actually produce emotions on cue. Written with verve and accessibility, and using practical exercises to guide the actor through each stage, Acting With Passion is the must-have text for actors seeking that magical 'state of aliveness'.

Useful for teaching beginning acting, this text contains twenty-eight lessons based on experiential exercises. It covers basic skills, such as talking, listening, tactical interplay, physicalizing, building scenes, and making good choices.