Customer Reviews

At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions

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Most people in theater have heard of Grotowski, but few have any first-hand experience of his work. This book is bound to become a standard work on acting as it explains in clear and consice detail how Grotowski applied his technique to the pratical work of acting.

As a bonus, the book bridges the gap between traditional Stanislavski method and physically-based acting, by showing how Grotowski's work is in continuation of the Method, not in oppostion to it. Any serious student of theater will want to have this book on their shelf

For anyone interested in getting more information on Grotowski, this is of course a must-read, although occasionally the humility with which Richards infuses his prose borders on making it a must-slog-through. In a way, it's appealing that Richards tends to describe only his own work - only the things that he himself did, but I tend to find the descriptions fuzzy. I often felt the descriptions of exercises or actions were not concrete enough for me to imagine them; this is by no means a practical handbook.

Having said that, it is an excellent read for probably every serious actor, who will recognize in Richards' frank account their own mistakes, frustration over lack of discipline, and impatient desires to be brilliant. Definitely inspiring, occasionally repetitive or unclear.

This is a fascinating book on the Grotowski method of acting work. It is very well written and a must read for anyone in the acting profession and of interest to others who are curious about the creative process.

Whoever said anything about "The Method" should realize Grotowski has nothing to do with Lee Strasberg. Grotowski has picked up at the end of Stanislavski's work, which only stopped evolving because of his death, and Jerzy Grotowski has expanded on those ideas and brought new meaning to physical actions. Thomas Richards explanations of how Grotowski and the Labratory Theatre's work taught actors like himself to embrace physical actions in a powerful, intense way is truly inspiring. This book is a must read, particularly in conjunction with "Towards a Poor Theatre" by Grotowski for any person working in modern theatre.