Customer Reviews

A Practical Handbook for the Actor

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I was recently enrolled in a second year acting class at a midwestern university with a decent theater department. The teacher was a no-nonsense Meisnerian with many years of acting and teaching experience, but I just couldn't get the method. I read many books, including those by Moni Yakim and Michael Chekhov. None of them helped. I was angry, frustrated, and despairing.

On the night before I was to act in the first presentation of my final scene, I picked up my old copy of A Practical Handbook for the Actor. Suddenly everything I had been taught in class made sense. The book brought into relief all the effective aspects of the Meisner approach while trimming the nonsense. I stayed up till 2 a.m. analyzing my scene according to the guidelines in the book.

The next day, December 7, 2000, I performed my first real piece of acting. I was powerful, alive, and in some small degree even knew what I was doing. I scared myself I was so good. Following the book's directions, I dispensed with "emotional preparation" and just silently told myself before the scene started what I would do. Emotional prep never worked for me, but by telling myself what I would do I was nearly quaking with rage. During the scene I was free to perform without worrying about whether I was getting it right. I didn't try to be emotional, yet the feelings poured out, just as the book said it would. Hallelujah!

A Practical Manual is one of very few books on acting that is worth reading. (Acting One by Cohen is another.) It packs more wisdom and common sense than books many times its length. I've read it twice and will probably read it again. (I find myself extrapolating its ideas into playwriting as well.) Furthermore, if I were to study acting formally, the only school I would consider is the one formed by the Manual's authors: the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City.

As David Mamet writes in the introduction, most acting teachers are frauds. Even the ones who know what they're doing--like my teacher--may not be skilled enough to help you grasp the fundamentals, and you may have to do outside research. A Practical Manual for the Actor may be just the guide you need to save your life. It did mine.

Ok. When you're studying an art, like acting, it is sometimes frustrating to hear people talk about "craft" and "technique" without getting really specific about what you must actually DO to achieve such things and develop as an artist. People often talk about art as if it is some vague, nebulous, magical thing. And, I guess, it benefits them to talk about it that way. Because then, everyone respects them immensely for being able to do such a thing, and (like a magician) they don't reveal any of their secrets.

This book pulls the veil away. While I don't necessarily advocate relying ONLY on this resource (instinct, other techniques, etc., should all be in an actor's bag of tricks), this book provides clear, actionable directions on how to achieve more specificity in your choices as an actor, how to make your characters more focused, and how to deliver more compelling performances. Based on Stanislavsky's method, the book advises embodying each line with action (and tells you how), LISTENING to your stage-mates, and thinking about the physicality of a role (and tells you how).

What I like best about this book is that it breaks something complicated, like rendering a complex character, down into manageable things you can do to get yourself there as a performer. Bravo!

I am a firm believer that there is no one "right" way to be an actor. However, I *do* think that actors should expose themselves to many different schools of thought and find what works for them. So whether you are a Meisnerian, a Stanislavski-ite, or a Hagenist, you owe it to yourself to read this. It is what I would call "de-constructionist" acting technique -- breaking things down to their essential elements of action and intent. I was never able to get my mind around some of the more esoteric elements of other acting methods, but this one made sense to me. You may also want to read "True and False" by David Mamet, as it provides some of the philosophical underpinnings for this approach to acting.

I've been an acting student in several settings (high school, university, amateur) and a theater teacher/director in a private high school.

I had the privilege of studying under one of the contributors of this book, Scott Zigler - and have used this book long after my university days were over.

This short, concise, easy-to-implement acting guide transformed acting from an awkward, synthetic emotional experience into a tangibly real, physical action. I HIGHLY recommend this text for anyone involved in theater performance, direction, or production. Bravo, Melissa Bruder and others!

No matter what you think of David Mamet's aesthetic or opinions, he knows the basics of acting. 'A Practical Handbook for the Actor' is just that. Whether you're just starting out or are feeling stuck while you rehearse for that new Broadway phenomenon, this is the book for you. The common sense in this book is refreshing from all those "just feel it" methods, no pun intended.

The best thing about this book is that it is a handbook, not a rule book. No matter what your training is, you will find this book helpful in the begining stages of working on a text from the actor's viewpoint.

I use this book for myself and whenever I teach at the Seattle Children's Theatre and have yet to know of anyone's discontent.

This is simple straightforward book - I read it in less than two hours. It also details a tried-and-true acting technique. Most of the concepts discussed in this book were not new ones to me, but I've never seen them as concisely and well-expressed as here.

But as the book warns, don't close your mind to other techniques. There is merit in other schools of acting, though they are not always obvious at first sight. And above all, to become a good actor, you need to commit yourself and put in the effort. You're not going to become a Meyrl Streep overnight.

I used this book to teach a beginning acting class at our community college. It is an excellent introduction to the craft. The book gives clear examples of selecting an action that create clear and exciting choices for the actor. Rather than focusing on emotional states such as "you're angry or you're happy," the text shows how to allow emotional truth to come from the moment while focusing on what the character is doing. The examples in the book are practical and relate well to the craft. I particularly appreciated that an action should have a test in the other character. So rather that an character delivering a letter with an action "to deliver" that is over without fanfare, a more exciting action would be "to please my boss so I'll get a promotion." The character still delivers a letter, but with a more dynamic action that is interesting to watch. The book is short. I covered the material in our film acting and stage acting units in about eight classes. It's short, sweet & to the point. I recommend it as a great review for experienced actors and as a wonderful introduction to beginning actors. Enjoy!

I studied for a couple of years at the Atlantic Theatre in NYC which David Mamet and William H Macy founded...they teach exclusively the principles in this book..the title says it all.."Practical"..as far as analyzing a script, breaking it down and coming up with acting impetus this book will free you from all that crap you've been taught and give you basic, workable tools to act..especially in auditions where you might be given a script and then 5 minutes later be asked to do it..once I got a grasp of the practical techniques I found my audition success rate soar..I still incorporate these techniques in every audition...the method and all that other acting stuff you'll learn like smelling the coffe and being a leave floating off a tree, well, that's nice but an actors basic tools never change, knowing your lines and analyzing the script, knowing what's going on in the scene and what you want in the scene..this book give you the tools to do just that...highly recommended!

If you've read True and False by David Mamet, this book is a great one to read right after. It explains the finer points of 'acting-style.' No matter what you read, as an actor, there are always questions about 'script analysis' and character development. This book almost answers any questions you could have, not by just explaining the answers, but guiding you so that eventually you can easily find the answers yourself.

I've been an acting student in several settings (high school, university, amateur) and a theater teacher/director in a private high school.

I had the privilege of studying under one of the contributors of this book, Scott Zigler - and have used this book long after my university days were over.

This short, concise, easy-to-implement acting guide transformed acting from an awkward, synthetic emotional experience into a tangibly real, physical action. I HIGHLY recommend this text for anyone involved in theater performance, direction, or production. Bravo, Melissa Bruder and others!