Acting Under the Circumstances: Variations on a Theme of Stanislavski : A Step-By-Step Approach to Playing a Part (Career Development Series) [Paperback]

Richard Brestoff (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1575251876 | ISBN-13: 978-1575251875 | Publication Date: July 1999 | Edition: 1

From the author of The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods, Under the Circumstances details a step-by-step approach to playing a part. Based on the work Constantine Stanislavski was using near the end of his life, we follow two actors as a teacher guides them through their parts in Henrik Ibsen's great play, A Doll House. Then we learn how techniques are used for monologues and cold readings. We learn how analysis stems from instinct, from experiencing the character's circumstances without becoming them or speaking their dialogue. Actors memorize "events" and not lines. This approach, never before so clearly explained or engagingly taught, gives actors, from novices to professionals, a reliable, creative, and innovative method for playing a part. Under the Circumstances is a book you will put to immediate use.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book comes out of the author's own experience as an actor and teacher. As he rereads the works of Konstantin Stanislavksi (the founder of "method" acting), Brestoff (The Camera Smart Actor, LJ 12/94) was struck by Stanislavski's approach, which calls upon actors to "experience the circumstances of a play before speaking any dialogue or trying to characterize." Brestoff has refined and expanded on Stanislavski's ideas, taking the reader through the process followed by two actors as they work on a scene from Ibsen's A Doll's House. Improvisation is a key to visualizing the roles actors are to play. An 18-point process review concludes this well-written and very useful book. Recommended for theater arts collections.AHoward E. Miller, MLS, St. Louis
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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: 183 pages
• Publisher: Smith & Kraus Pub Inc; 1 edition (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575251876
• ISBN-13: 978-1575251875
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful beyond acting, November 3, 2000

By 

"nickbrestoff" (Los Angeles, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting Under the Circumstances: Variations on a Theme of Stanislavski : A Step-By-Step Approach to Playing a Part (Career Development Series) (Paperback)

Right from the start, please know that I am the author's (slightly older) brother. Despite this, my appreciation for Richard's book is genuine, because I appreciate that actors are professional communicators. And aren't we all in the communication business, whether at home with spouse and kids or in the office? I'm a business litigation attorney, and I have to be able to synthesize and get to the nub of complex factual circumstances, just as Richard teaches actors to do. I've tried using Richard's techniques in what my profession, and they work! So, my view is that no matter what you do, Richard's book is invaluable, because it will provide you with a technique for being insightful about your "circumstances," and getting other people to understand whatever it is you are saying to them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A practical introduction to a difficult art., February 3, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting Under the Circumstances: Variations on a Theme of Stanislavski : A Step-By-Step Approach to Playing a Part (Career Development Series) (Paperback)

Richard Brestoff's Acting Under The Circumstances tells actors how to play their parts using intellect and creative intuition. From learning quickly and settling into a role to performing at peak efficiency during a reading, this provides an important and basic step-by-step approach to acting.

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile approach to the "action" of acting, May 12, 2007

By 

Sugith Varughese (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Acting Under the Circumstances: Variations on a Theme of Stanislavski : A Step-By-Step Approach to Playing a Part (Career Development Series) (Paperback)

What I like about Brestoff's approach is that it focuses on actions or intentions. A lot of beginning, and not so beginning, actors focus on feelings or emotions. But we're called ACTORS, not FEELERS. Brestoff emphasizes playing actions or intentions. Emotions will follow, but they won't be pre-programmed, but organic to the acting moment.

It's most useful for actors who are not beginners, but have the basics under their belt.

I use this as a suggested 2nd year text at Humber College's School of Creative and Performing Arts in Toronto where I am on the faculty in the Acting for Film and TV program.