Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus (Paperback)

by Marina Caldarone (Author), Maggie Lloyd-Williams (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
ACTIONS: The Actors' Thesaurus is a vital companion for actors in rehearsal—a thesaurus of action words to revitalize performance.

Actors need actions. Actors cannot ‘act’ adjectives, they need verbs. Verbs are an aim to achieve, an action to perform.

‘Actions’ are active verbs. ‘I tempt you.’ ‘You taunt me.’ In order to perform an action truthfully--and therefore convincingly-- an actor needs to find exactly the right action to suit that particular situation and that particular line. That is where this book comes in….

ACTIONS is a thesaurus of active verbs that the actor can use to refine performance until s/he hits exactly the right one to help make the action come alive. ACTIONS: The Actors’ Thesaurus by Marina Caldarone & Maggie Lloyd-Williams has gathered together the (formerly) dogged-eared photocopied lists of action verbs from greenrooms and rehearsal rooms and put them together in this pocket-sized thesaurus. All with a view to helping actors get to the heart of meaning and to a great performance. This thesaurus of action words is indispensable in developing mood, line readings, and acting choices for each and every line.

From the Publisher
This new book just released by Drama Publishers gathers together -- for the first time -- the acting community’s –- formerly — secret lists of action words and makes them available in an organized and comprehensive format.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 158 pages
• Publisher: Drama Publishers (August 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896762521
• ISBN-13: 978-0896762527
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,772 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater > Acting & Auditioning
  #67 in	Books > Entertainment > Performing Arts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great place to start!, August 12, 2008

By	Jody "[e-mail]" (Northwest Ohio) - See all my reviews

"Actions" is the perfect size to carry around, and I've found it invaluable in preparing for auditions as well as fleshing out a role. The juice in this book is in the concept of characterizing a theatrical beat in one action word. Since theater is visual, it is critical for an actor to physically demonstrate the inner workings of the character, and this book is a great jumping off point. I did purchase a pocket size thesaurus to use with it, since on several occasions this book did not contain the exact word I was looking for. I've played four widely different roles since acquiring this book, and consider the hours I've spent looking for that perfect "aha!" word well worthwhile. I'm making much more confident acting choices, and I think my characters are more assured, clearly defined and authentic. Highly recommended!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!!!, December 5, 2007

By	Yolanda E. Fleischer "Lonnie" (West Bloomfield, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm an acting teacher in the theatre department at a university. I've found one of the biggest problems for actors was naming their goal/objective/victory...whatever you want to call it...and coming up with tactics that were compelling and ACTABLE. This book offers a goldmine of ideas for actors. Now, hopefully, they can move on from "convince" and "avoid"!!!



[ASIN:0896762521 Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus]]

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must have for actors., January 17, 2007

By	A. E. Grimsled (La Crosse, WI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book makes it so much easier to clarify your actions and your goals when acting. It was introduced to me by a director and our whole cast bought copies and use them all the time. I highly recomend it!