The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide
The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide
Jenna Fischer's Hollywood journey began at the age of 22 when she moved to Los Angeles from her hometown of St. Louis. With a theater degree in hand, she was determined, she was confident, she was ready to work hard. So, what could go wrong? Uh, basically everything. The path to being a professional actor was so much more vast and competitive than she’d imagined. It would be eight long years before she landed her iconic role on The Office, nearly a decade of frustration, struggle, rejection and doubt. If only she’d had a handbook for the aspiring actor. Or, better yet, someone to show her the way—an established actor who could educate her about the business, manage her expectations, and reassure her in those moments of despair. Jenna wants to be that person for you. With amusing candor and wit, Fischer spells out the nuts and bolts of getting established in the profession, based on her own memorable and hilarious experiences. She tells you how to get the right headshot, what to look for in representation, and the importance of joining forces with other like-minded artists and creating your own work—invaluable advice personally acquired from her many years of struggle. She provides helpful hints on how to be gutsy and take risks, the tricks to good auditioning and callbacks, and how not to fall for certain scams (auditions in a guy’s apartment are probably not legit—or at least not for the kind of part you’re looking for!). Her inspiring, helpful guidance feels like a trusted friend who’s made the journey, and has now returned to walk beside you, pointing out the pitfalls as you blaze your own path towards the life of a professional actor.
- ASIN: 1944648224
- ISBN: 1944648224
- Manufacturer: BenBella Books
A Life in Parts
A Life in Parts
“Nothing short of riveting...an engrossing first-person account by one of our finest actors” (Huffington Post)—both a coming-of-age story and a meditation on creativity, devotion, and craft—Bryan Cranston, beloved and acclaimed star of one of history’s most successful TV shows, Breaking Bad.Bryan Cranston began his acting career at the age of seven, when his father, a struggling actor and sometime director, cast him in a commercial for United Way. By fifth grade he was starring in the school play, spending hours at the local movie theater, and re-enacting favorite scenes with his brother in their living room. Cranston seemed destined to be an actor. But then his father left. And his family fell apart. Troubled by his father’s missteps, Cranston abandoned his acting aspirations and resolved to pursue a steadier career in law enforcement. Then, on a two-year cross-country motorcycle journey, Cranston re-discovered his talent for acting and found his mission and his calling. In this “must-read memoir” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), Cranston traces the many roles he inhabited throughout his remarkable life, both on and off screen. For the first time he shares the story of his early years as an actor on the soap opera Loving, his recurring spots on Seinfeld, and his time as bumbling father Hal on Malcolm in the Middle, to his tour-de-force, Tony-winning performance as Lyndon Baines Johnson in Broadway’s All the Way, to his most iconic role of all: Breaking Bad’s Walter White. “An illuminating window into the actor’s psyche” (People), Cranston has much to say about creativity, devotion, and craft, as well as innate talent and its challenges and benefits and proper maintenance. “By turns gritty, funny, and sad” (Entertainment Weekly), ultimately A Life in Parts is a story about the joy, the necessity, and the transformative power of simple hard work.
- ASIN: B01E4BC1SE
- Manufacturer: Scribner
How to Stop Acting: A Renowned Acting Coach Shares His Revolutionary Approach to Landing Roles, Developing Them and Keeping them Alive
How to Stop Acting: A Renowned Acting Coach Shares His Revolutionary Approach to Landing Roles, Developing Them and Keeping them Alive
"The Great Guskin" (John Lahr, The New Yorker) shares the approach he uses to help actors land roles, develop them, and keep them alive Harold Guskin is an "acting doctor" whose clients include Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, James Gandolfini, Bridget Fonda, and dozens more. In How to Stop Acting, Guskin reveals the insights and techniques that have worked wonders for beginners as well as stars. Instead of yet another "method," Guskin offers a strategy based on a radically simple and refreshing idea: that the actor's work is not to "create a character" but rather to be continually, personally responsive to the text, wherever his impulse takes him, from first read-through to final performance. From this credo derives an entirely new perspective on auditioning and the challenge of developing a role and keeping it fresh, even over hundreds of performances. Drawing on examples from his clients' work and his own, Guskin presents acting as a constantly evolving exploration rather than as a progression toward a fixed goal. He also offers sound and original advice on adapting to the particular demands of television and film, playing difficult emotional scenes, tackling the Shakespearean and other great roles, and more. His book will find an eager and appreciative audience among novices and established actors alike.
- ASIN: 0571199992
- ISBN: 9780571199990
- Brand: Brand: Faber Faber
- Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Sanford Meisner on Acting
Sanford Meisner on Acting
- ASIN: 0394750594
- ISBN: 0394750594
- Brand: Vintage Books
- Manufacturer: Vintage
Duo!: The Best Scenes for Two for the 21st Century (Applause Acting Series)
Duo!: The Best Scenes for Two for the 21st Century (Applause Acting Series)
Spotlighting the best of Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and experimental writings since 2000, Duo!: The Best Scenes for Two for the 21st Century offers bravura pieces for performance, acting class, and study. Culled from the work of over 100 playwrights – veterans as well as up-and-coming talents – and encompassing the seminal issues of our time – from race to gender, class to politics – this follow-up compendium to the popular edition of the 1990s is by turns comic or, serious – and sometimes both – but always intensely human. Duo!'s satisfyingly complex characters are the obscure or famous, young, middle-aged, and older.Tracy Letts confronts the aftermath of betrayal on a night too hot for sleep in August: Osage County; Karen Finley exposes sexual politics outside the Oval Office in George & Martha; Tom Stoppard investigates the difficulties of understanding Greek as well as the younger generation in Rock 'n' Roll; Lynn Nottage delineates gentility, the fear of being alone, and the passage of time in Intimate Apparel; Richard Greenberg weighs the costs of being godly or becoming merely human in the baseball-themed Take Me Out; and Tina Howe bends time, showing the universal power of dramatic recognition across the ages, in Water Music.
- UPC: 884088067755
- ASIN: 1557837023
- ISBN: 9781557837028
- Brand: Applause Books
- Manufacturer: Applause
Acting Stanislavski: A practical guide to Stanislavski's approach and legacy
Acting Stanislavski: A practical guide to Stanislavski's approach and legacy
Stanislavski was the first to outline a systematic approach for using our experience, imagination and observation to create truthful acting. 150 years after his birth, his approach is more widely embraced and taught throughout the world – but is still often rejected, misunderstood and misapplied.In Acting Stanislavski, John Gillett offers a clear, accessible and comprehensive account of the Stanislavski approach, from the actor's training to final performance, exploring:• ease and focus• the nature of action, interaction and objectives• the imaginary reality, senses and feeling• active analysis of text • physical and vocal expression of character • the actor in the context of training and the industry.Drawing on Stanislavski's major books, in both English translations, and on records of his directing process and final studio classes, Acting Stanislavski demystifies terms and concepts. It is for actors from an actor's point of view, and offers many practical exercises and examples as an integrated part of each subject.Acting Stanislavski also creates an up-to-date overview of the Stanislavski approach, connecting his legacy with the work of his successors, from Michael Chekhov to Meisner, Adler and Strasberg.A new, extended and fully updated edition of Acting on Impulse: Reclaiming the Stanislavski Approach (Methuen Drama, 2007), Acting Stanislavski now includes new exercises and biographies, a further chapter on The Character, and an expanded glossary along with many other additions to the previous chapters. It is an essential practical and educational resource for any acting student, professional or teacher.
- ASIN: 1408184982
- ISBN: 1408184982
- Brand: imusti
- Manufacturer: Methuen Drama
Monologues They'll Remember You By: 80 Unique and Compelling Monologues That Leave a Lasting Impression
Monologues They'll Remember You By: 80 Unique and Compelling Monologues That Leave a Lasting Impression
Finding the right monologue can often be a frustrating task. Too frequently, monologue books rely on time-worn staples that have been heard a million times before, or are padded out with aimless, insipid pieces that often aren't even taken from actual plays. In Monologues They'll Remember You By you'll find 80 (40 male, 40 female) fresh, engaging monologues from award-winning playwright Andrew Biss that allow you to create memorable character portraits of depth and vitality for that all-important moment in the spotlight. Divided into male and female comedic, dramatic, and seriocomic categories, this book also provides a useful guide on how to look beyond age and gender in many of these monologues in order to broaden your performance options. Additionally, each monologue is preceded by a concise summary of the plot, setting, and character profile.The starting age ranges of almost all of the women's and men's monologues included in the book are in their 20s and 30s, with the vast majority of them starting in their 20s. The age ranges are often very broad for these monologues and the author does an exemplary job in explaining why, both in the informative and illuminating foreword and in each monologue's introductory text.All of the monologues included in this collection are from published plays that are widely available, almost all having received successful and critically acclaimed productions in New York, London, Los Angeles and beyond.Whether a professional or a student actor, you'll find this book an invaluable resource for landing that coveted role or winning that competition.
- ASIN: B074S7XTVN
- Manufacturer: Entr'Acte Editions
Best Men's Monologues of 2019
Best Men's Monologues of 2019
Welcome to our new book of monologues for men, chosen for you by the team at True Acting Institute. We had thousands of submissions. The monologues that have been chosen are presented here in the book along with details about the playwrights.
- ASIN: 1575259354
- ISBN: 1575259354
- Manufacturer: Smith & Kraus
From Head to Toe Board Book
From Head to Toe Board Book
From Eric Carle, the New York Times bestselling creator of beloved books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Grouchy Ladybug, comes From Head to Toe, a colorful and energetic board book that will have young readers clapping their hands, stomping their feet, and wiggling their toes! Giraffes can bend their necks, monkeys can wave their hands, and donkeys can kick their legs. And so can you! Throughout this interactive board book, the animals of From Head to Toe invite young readers to copy their antics as they play.Through Carle’s vibrant collages and simple instructions, children will learn the importance of listening, exercising, and taking on a new challenge. Join the giraffes, monkeys, donkeys, seals, and more for a frolicking, fun adventure!
- ASIN: 0694013013
- ISBN: 9780694013012
- Brand: Harper Festival
- Manufacturer: HarperFestival
The Hiccupotamus
The Hiccupotamus
“There was a hippopotamus who hiccupped quite-a-lotamus. And every time he got’emus... he'd fall upon his bottomus!” Calamity ensues when an elephant, a centipede, and a rhinoceros try finding a cure for Hippo’s colossal case of hiccups. Author-illustrator Aaron Zenz’s creativity shines through in his colored-pencil artwork in this off-the-wall read-aloud. HIC! HIC! HIC!
- ASIN: 0761456228
- ISBN: 0761456228
- Brand: Cavendish Square Publishing
- Manufacturer: Two Lions