Customer Reviews

How to Stop Acting

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read Strasberg, Adler, Meisner, Suzuki, Morris, Mamet, Chekov and several other acting books by lesser-known authors. Without question, Guskin's book is the best, most immediately usable method I have ever encountered. Guskin gives so many useful exercises to undertake his innovative approach along with a great deal of advice for solving a myriad of problems and issues actors face.

When I began reading Guskin's book I was intrigued but skeptical. The approach seemed like it just might be extraordinary, but I had questions as to whether it would work within certain contexts I faced as an actor. For example, what do I do when I'm in the middle of an audition and I freeze and nothing is coming to me? What good is Guskin's approach then? Much to my delight, Guskin addresses this question in a thorough and satisfying way. In fact, Guskin answered all of my practical acting questions and gives simple, usable solutions which all fall within the context of his unique acting approach.

Just like any acting approach, ultimate success comes with undertaking his advice and practicing, practicing, practicing his approach. Do this and you will reap great rewards.

My one slight reservation, which doesn't diminish the power of the book, is that casting directors for film and television often want you to come into an auditon situation with a 'final performance' for the audition. They do not want you to 'play' or 'discover' various versions of your performance during your audition. Casting directors for film and TV want you to give them the character as it is stated in the written character breakdown that they give you. Yes, this 'final performance' too, can be accomplished using Guskin's technique, but one needs to go into such audition situations very well-rehearsed beforehand.

Indeed, Guskin is correct in asserting that this very preconceived notion of character required by film and TV casting directors is far less prevalent in the theater and in theater auditions. This is not a caveat, just some additional info.

Truly the finest, most simple, practical and usable acting book I've ever read.

After taking an acting class for the past two months, I have had various highs and lows both on stage and off. This book prepares you to accept those accidents of creativity and freedom that make good acting. The author is not exponent of any particular school of thought or ideology. Rather he uses his real world experience as an acting coach to such players as Kevin Kline, Matt Dillon, Bridget Fonda, Glenn Close and many others to show how vulnerability and "taking words off the page" rather than memorizing them will contribute to unexpected and startling performances.

His advice for conquering fear, relaxing and "going with the flow" is unconventional, but delightfully intelligent. The author speaks out on auditions, being on stage, and his biggest push is for actors to "be themselves" and let the words in the script speak for themselves. To stop acting, is to start being real, to finding the truth--and if I sound like I'm spouting gibberish, I assure that his writing is clear, concise, logical and well reasoned--and will lead to a deeper and more thoughtful understanding of acting.

Harold Guskin's approach is brilliant in its simplicity. He takes you away from "techniques" and back to the reality of being in the moment. When I practice his approach I'm able to truly listen and dialogue with the other actors on a deeper level, and to respond to their words and mine from an internally, gut-motivated, truly living and experiencing in the moment place. From the stage or the audience the result is more exciting, more alive, and much more meaningful. I never have to try to memorize lines when I work from this angle either. The words take on a life of their own and take up residence, flowing freely when the time comes. The result is a fresher and more alive characterization too -- not "overstudied". Mr. Guskin's approach is refreshing. I urge every actor to buy this book, get real, and stop acting.

I'm updating my review, because I think the first draft was skimpy, and I feel like I have a better view of this book now that more time has passed since my first reading.

The crux of the book is Guskin's concept of "taking it off the page." This was extremely valuable to me, and it turned cold readings from being scary to being my favorite part of the acting process! "Taking it off the page" is applicable to rehearsals, too, though, and to freshening up ongoing performances.

The book lightly touches on a lot of different types of acting: Auditions, Rehearsals, Sit-Coms, Serials, Small Roles, Big Roles, Touring, Film Acting. I think Guskin wants to explain briefly what you need to do differently for each of these situations. The book is too short to teach all details for any of these, though, so you will need other sources.

The book is very important to me, and my first experience with it was that I read it, and my very next rehearsal was the best rehearsal I had ever had. I felt so free, it was amazing. That is his main objective, to free you up to enjoy and explore.

A good book for actors who have a hard time breaking down a scene the "intellectual' way. Guskin teaches actors how to explore the character and to feel free when doing it to give more life to their performances and to be in "the moment". This book is great if you are interested in learning different techniques and new skills!

The real value in this book is in creating the value of acting from an unknown space, from a place where no preconceived ideas form the basis of the character being portrayed. This is essential for true artistry in performance because ONLY coming from an unknown space confers real creativity like nothing else can. An actor feeling safely ensconced in excessive theory/technique(i.e., in trying to "figure out" the character) does himself or herself a disservice.

Finding a good acting book is tricky. I got this book from my local library, it was one of the only few acting books they had. The title and front cover made me skeptical, I thought it would be some acting failure/egotist with his stupid made up technique, but this book thoroughly surprised me. Best book on acting I've ever read, I don't know why I'd never heard of it before. It's simple, sound, practical and it works. He offers a way of approaching material that is very freeing for the actor. I like it also because it doesn't intend to be a crutch to an actor which a book on acting shouldn't be. It offers a passage way to your own discovery, because that's the work of the actor, the exploration and discovery which can't be taught. This book is a great comfort and makes you want to act more. It's short and sweet and really helpful. Read it.

Harold Guskin's approach to acting is refreshingly simple, unique and -- I am happily discovering -- effective. I have completed three years of solid acting training in well-known techniques. Each of those techniques has been helpful to me as an actor; however, none of them produced the kind of freedom and excitement I find in applying Guskin's method. Thank you, Mr. Guskin.

This is an insightful, simple, and easy way to approach acting in the moment. If you're bogged down with stanislavsky based text work, or even if you're a new actor, this is a fresh, new way to approach your work and make it more dynamic. I found the work especially helpful in film and tv, but it can also be used for the stage. Yes, the author does name drop, but I think he needed to in order to get his own name out there, and who can fault him for that. I found these-celebrity example- selections in the book to be the least informative for me. The real meat and potatoes likes in Harold's unique and valuable technique. A must have for any actor. Harold is also great to work with one on one-if you can afford it!

"How to Stop Acting" is a big-hearted look at how to overcome a common foible in acting at every level: The tendency on the part of actors to let intellectuality, fear, and boredom limit (or completely eliminate!) the emotional freedom and responsiveness that will result in a performance that is as surprising as it is strong.

Harold's prose is easy, which makes the book a fast read. But just as Harold would advise you to go through a script slowly, taking it piece by piece and gaining a real understanding of it, I would advise you to go slowly through this book and do the same. Just because you'll be able to read it fast doesn't mean you should. There's a lot to soak up here.

In other books on acting that I've read, the instructors are larger-than-life personalities whose very presence on the pages is at least intimidating, if not completely terrifying (i.e. Hagen and Meisner). Harold, however, comes across as extremely affable and open. He talks to you, the reader, as an equal; a fellow student of the craft of acting.

Done badly, this chummy style of teaching might make it hard to take the instructor seriously. It's done well here, however, and it's clear at all times that, friendly or not, Harold Guskin knows more than you do about acting. For that reason, it's very easy to take him seriously.

Using stories from his own career, as well as many straight from the mouths of his world-class clients (I'll listen to any insights on acting given out by Kevin Kline and/or Glenn Close), Harold discusses traps and hurdles that actors face all the time, and practical ways of evading and escaping the difficulties they cause.

His recurring message to actors is simple: honest emotion lives in dramatic texts. Be genuinely responsive to the text, in the moment, and honest emotion will happen. His insights on how to get to that point in your development as an actor are inspiring. I would consider it a privilege to study privately with Harold someday.

Until then, I have no doubts that I will return to this book over and over again.