Customer Reviews

The Actor's Checklist: Creating the Complete Character

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read much of the literature on acting in print. If you want one book that spells it all out for you buy this book. If I had a choice of only one book on the subject The Actor's Checklist would be it, and I don't even know nor had I ever heard of the author before.

An excellent workbook for experienced and beginning actors. Much more than a 'checklist', it can be used as a class textbook or a personal aid to creating the complete character. There's nothing new in here, just a very fine compilation of the best methods and techniques, logically arranged, complete with exercises for each section. This is definitely my favorite resource for my own acting work. The only disappointment is the price. I would like to make this the required text book for my adult students, but I feel the cost is too high. $12-$15 would be more appropriate.

I've been acting and directing in school/college and community theatre for over 30 years. I've taken college courses in directing and acting classes at professional theatres and have read many of the standard books on acting (Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, etc.). The Actor's Checklist is one of the best, most accessible books on the subject that I've read. O'Neill's book is different from a lot of books on acting in that it takes the theory from those standard texts and leads the actor by the hand in applying that theory to their work in the rehearsal process, both at home and onstage. In fact, one of the emphases of the book is that work must be done offstage (i.e., homework) as well as onstage. So many times, especially in community theatre, actors do not do any thinking about their characters, and they certainly don't spend much time or energy working on their parts when away from the theatre. I hope to use much of what I've learned from The Actor's Checklist both when I'm acting and when I'm directing.