The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods (Career Development Series) (Career Development Book) [Paperback]

Richard Brestoff (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1575250128 | ISBN-13: 978-1575250120 | Publication Date: February 1, 1996 | Edition: 1st

With clarity and insight, Richard Brestoff introduces the great acting teachers, explaining their techniques and how ther are applied today. Beginning with Quintilian and Delsarre he guides us to the present with an inside look at what is currently being taught in the major acting schools and private acting studios; The Actor's Studio, Yale University, NYU, Juillard and many more are visited. Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods will help you understand the most important ideas about acting, where they originated and how they are used in training programs today. Some of the teachers focused on are Stella Adler, Stanford Meisner, Lee Strasberg, Brecht, Stanislavsky, and Suzuki.

Editorial Reviews

Review

..each program is discussed and evaluated with specific teachers and types of training techniques offered --The Coast Book Review Service February 1996

About the Author

Richard Brestoff is an Assistant Professor of Drama in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine. He is an actor with credits on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theater, and in film, television and radio. He is the author of The Camera Smart Actor, The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods, Acting Under the Circumstances, and most recently, The Actor's Wheel of Connection.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus; 1st edition (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575250128
• ISBN-13: 978-1575250120
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great overview of how acting has been--and is--taught, July 22, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Dobbs Ferry, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods (Career Development Series) (Career Development Book) (Paperback)

Anyone interested in a well-written and accessible overview of the evolution and current status of the methods of training actors could not do better than to get this book. Richard Brestoff has clearly done a thorough job of research. He seems to have trained under practitioners of virtually every extant training system, and presents them in a way which is both entertaining and readily understood, even by those with little or no background in theater or film. The final section of the book, with concise descriptions of many of the available sources of training in the United States, would be of great value to any student who wants to pursue an acting career. It is not easy to present a great deal of solid information and maintain a lively, readable style, but this writer has done it. I suspect that even those with no professional interest in acting would enjoy the book. Professional actors will come away from it with renewed respect for their art and rekindled dedication ! to improving their craft.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brestoff inspires future major, September 24, 2002

By 

radeyah muhammad (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods (Career Development Series) (Career Development Book) (Paperback)

I read this book over the summer after reading Stanislavski's An Actor Prepares and Building a Character while preparing for a rather challenging role. I found this book to be exceptionally written, extremely clear, and entertaining. I found all of the different schools and techniques of acting so interesting that it inspired me to consider majoring in it and possibly going on from there to receive my MFA from the Actor's studio. I especially liked the way that he arranged the book so that one could go back and compare different techniques. Because of this book, I am far more ahead than most people in my IB theatre class and I am able to apply what is going on within myself as I begin building my character and and as i watch my acting coach while she is directing a school play. If anyone is interested in theatre, acting,or just wanting to learn something new, this is definitely the book. If it were possible to give this book ten stars I surely would.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An odd book, not for everyone, November 30, 2006

By 

Mitchell Bucky Fay - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods (Career Development Series) (Career Development Book) (Paperback)

First, this is not a book for beginners, although my school assigned it for beginning acting. It is much more involved in theory than practice, and so it is better suited for those with some experience.

Second, it says almost nothing about some of the approaches used in the UK or much of anything not derived from Stanislavski. There are two short chapters on "non-method" approaches. This doesn't really do justice to work done by members of the RSC, for example.

Third, his writing style is NOT for everyone. I believe the word "twee" comes to mind. At times I would have happily shaken the author by the neck for his way of writing.

That said, it does give a good overview of SOME of the great teachers and their methods. It is quite subjectively selective, so don't feel that you're getting it all, but it is useful.