Customer Reviews

The Art of Coarse Acting

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I first became acquainted with Michael Green's marvelous book when I picked up a used paperback in a book store in Long Beach, Calif. in 1979. In the years since, I have read the book at least two dozen times -- always thinking that THIS TIME I'll be able to peruse it with a straight face, yet always, inevitably, dissolving into gales of helpless, tearful laughter before ten pages have turned. This is not only the funniest book ever written about acting, but one of the funniest books on ANY subject in the English language.
Many books dicuss the "high end" of acting -- character, subtext, internal monologue, etc. But none of them offer pointers on what to do if a fellow actor muffs his lines, or if you need to get off (or on) stage and the door won't open. Green fills that void in the most diverting manner imaginable. If you've always thought the phrase "I laughed till I cried" was only a figure of speech, then this is the book for you.
By the way, I have it on good (though unconfirmed) authority that Michael Green is the son of the late Hermione Gingold, the legendary British character actress

I first read this book as a teenager, while spending much of my spare time in amateur theatre, and have become Green's slave for life.

Whole segments of the book are quotable, and painfully - hilariously - familiar to anyone who has ever been involved with the stage, paid or unpaid. I remember reading excerpts to my brother over the phone, while both of us cried because we were laughing so hard ... because although these are not your own experiences, they might as well be.

Every actor - amateur or professional - will have come across a coarse actor in their lives: somebody who "knows his lines, but not the order in which they come", leaving everyone floundering; the blatant scene stealer who takes everyone's eyes away from the real action; the sets that collapse when they shouldn't, or don't collapse when they should.

I could go on. But you'd be far better served by reading the book instead, and keeping a box of tissues handy to wipe away the tears of hilarity.

In one memorably ruined production this was the director's obsession, so he gave the actor playing Lear tiny, birdlike movements.

Alas! The set designer strongly disagreed and burst forth with a magnificently bare stage relieved only by a giant phallic monument at the center.

His vision being that King Lear was: "A Man Lost in a Wilderness. "

They never did reach an agreement.

But, as Green points out, it really wouldn't have mattered, because if one is brilliant enough to be obsessed about Lear being 'A Man Trapped In a Tube', neither Shakespeare, the cast, nor the audience has much of a fighting chance. . .

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This book is a deliciously hilarious spoof of the British stage, with heavy emphasis on 'cultural' amateur societies. It is a satire on producing as well as acting, directing,--and the gurus who teach it.

But in a wonderful twist of irony, it is now required reading with many Theater Arts depatrments in universities around the world.

( "Do NOT go to acting school!"--- Eleonora Duse )

As well it should be. Filled with outrageously improbable anecdotes , it nevertheless hits home too well for anyone in the profession.

It is a true masterpiece of ham, which offers marvelous advice for directors on how to succeed through obscurantist doublespeak.

No director, for example, should EVER say anything that remotely sounds 'practical' such as : "Well, frankly, I have to get 'em to speak up. "

Far, far better, according to Green, is to say things that sound profound but mean nothing, such as : "I'm not interested at all whether the audience hears my actors, but---it is vital they should hear them thinking. "

Heavy . . .

( "If a director writes in his notes: 'The Oedipal complex is obvious in this scene, must discuss with the queen'; the sooner he is packed and thrown out of the theater, the better it'll be for everyone! "-- George Bernard Shaw )

Shaw has an ally in Green who, based on personal experience, is convinced that the director's primary job is to weed out the obvious psychotics in the cast during the first week of rehersals.

As to actors left on board Green believes he is far more practical than Stanislavsky, whom he does not admire on the grounds that 'these method people are so vague.' He advises actors should carry a chart (1. Speak Slower. 2. Speak Faster, etc.) for whenever the director goes off into interpretive raptures, Oedipal or not.

Simply ask him to point to which number he wants.

Ah! And who could possibly forget the classic: "How To Steal a Scene Though Unconscious" which puts anything ever written by Constantin to shame. . .

An very, very funny book, which suprisingly does contain unexpected gems of commonsense.

Five stars are not enough.

Hi all. This book is hilarious! I bought it to learn what NOT to teach my acting students, and it really helped. And it was a great read - the author is British, so there is plenty of dry wit, and the anecdotes had me in hysterics. I learned a lot, and laughed out loud every chapter. How can you miss? Sincerely, ElizaBeth

This tome is full of useful information for the coarse actor, including "How to Steal the Scene, Even though Unconscious," "How to be a mere Spear-Carrier, and still ruin a scene," "Basic Makeup Tips for the Coarse Actor," and the useful diagram on set building "The Human Cleat." Anyone who's ever been in a performance of "Arsenic and Old Lace" will appreciate this book -- as will anyone who's ever sat through the show. (Not that I'm slamming "Arsenic and Old Lace," I think it holds up remarkably well.)

Should be required reading in all theatre coarses. Oops, I mean courses...

As a coarse actor of many years standing, I fell in love with Michael Green's book 30 years ago, and was very sad to find that it was no longer in print just a few years later. Now I have been able to buy it again and pass its message on to a new generation of coarse actors!

It's a description of how some actors in community theatre exist - and the outrages they perpetrate on directors, designers and audiences.

It is also very, very funny.

I first came across The Art of Coarse Acting in 1989. At the time I was a young actor about 1/3 of the way through a professional career in theatre. Myself and several others took "The Art of.." very much to heart and made it a sort of personal challenge to incorporate it's teachings into our performances for the next several years (My particular goal was always to be allowed to either show up late or leave early. I achieved this only once). Sadly, I leant my copy to a fellow actor some ten years later and never got it back.

This is a must-read for anyone who dreams of a life on the stage (Either for fun or profit). "If pictures of your productions look like this, you may consider yourself a Coarse Actor." Priceless!

Although not venturing on to the stage as a perfomer since my school days in the 1960s, as a regular at amateur theatrical productions I have always enjoyed this classic text on acting, of the "coarse" variety. Michael Green covers every aspect of coarse theatre, from the selection of the play, casting, performance and aftermath.

Unusually, and uniquely I believe for Coarse books, the text is illustrated with some classc photographs, including a rare photograph of the author himself in what is accurately described as "all-purpose coarse costume". Another publicity photograph of coarse players in mid scene, comes with the statement that if any theatrical production's photographs look like this, then you have, unwittingly maybe, joined the ranks of the coarse actors. Having said this, I have seen some similar photogaphs in the national press of West End and RSC performances; in almost any play there are some coarse actors waiting to make their mark.

To see coarse acting at its finest, look at any sword fight on stage, screen or the humble televison. At some stage the combatants will engage in the "eternal parry" until eventually one of them tires of it, and delivers the coup de grace.

Probably the first "eternal parry" took place on the stage of one of the first theatres in ancient Greece, over two and a half thousand years ago; this surely makes it the earliest Coarse (in the Michael Green tradition) acivity ever to take place.

If you want a really entertaining read, the Art of Coarse Acting is highly recommended