Theatre Craft: A Director's Practical Companion from A-Z [Paperback]

John Caird (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0571237371 | ISBN-13: 978-0571237371 | Edition: First Edition

Theatre Craft is an all-encompassing practical guide for anyone working in the theatre, from the enthusiastic amateur to the committed professional. With entries arranged alphabetically, Theatre Craft offers advice on all areas of directing, from Acting, Adaptation, and Accent to Sound Effects, Superstition, Trap Doors, and Wardrobe.

Enlightening and entertaining by turns, the celebrated director John Caird, honorary associate director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, shares his profound knowledge and wealth of international experience to provide an invaluable companion for anyone creating any size of play, musical, or opera—from the back room of a bar to a full-scale production on Broadway. This is required reading for the modern theatre practitioner.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This book is written with such humour and common sense that I may have to carry it around with me all the time.” —Judi Dench

“John Caird’s book is ample evidence of his skill, sensitivity, and good humour. Every young director should have a copy to hand.” —Simon Russell Beale

“John Caird is the most generous of mentors—delightful and delighted by the people around him. A director gifted with musicality, rigour, wit, and good grace.” —Fiona Shaw

About the Author

John Caird has directed and adapted countless productions of plays, operas, and musicals for London’s National Theatre, in the West End, on Broadway, and for the Royal Shakespeare Company—from Les Misérables and Nicholas Nickleby to Hamlet and Peter Pan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber; First Edition edition (March 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571237371
• ISBN-13: 978-0571237371
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book at great price!, April 29, 2010

By 

amacord - See all my reviews

This review is from: Theatre Craft: A Director's Practical Companion from A-Z (Paperback)

I really like this book - its no nonsense, non-anecdotal approach to the subject of directing is refreshing to me, since my library is mired in ego-heavy "Back when I directed my seminal production of ...." type literature. There is certainly a place for such books, but this guide is something different. It is aimed at directors, but I think would be helpful reading for anyone involved in the theatre, and can be read at almost any stage of development. Someone experienced in the field will find Caird's astute observations strangely reassuring and a beginner will gain lots of new information in small, approachable bites.

As with most single volume books in an A-Z type format, the entries just brush the surface of some subjects. But I love that you can find entries on subjects as diverse as Trap doors, Second-Nightishness, Nudity onstage and Child Actors. Definitely not in that order.

I bought this book at $20 and thought it was a tremendous bargain for the content -it's an even better purchase at the current amazon price.

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have, October 29, 2010

By 

Tregoney Shepherd - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Theatre Craft: A Director's Practical Companion from A-Z (Paperback)

What a pleasure it was to read this book. I learned more about being a director and performer from this, than from the thousands of dollars spent taking class in NY. As I am not a fan of the dry read, I opened this with a little trepidation, and was so pleasantly surprised. Mr. Caird writes with humor and intelligence and keeps you engaged from beginning to end. I immediately recommended it to other performer/directors that I know, and feel it should be required text in every college theater program. The wonderful thing is that this is a book I will go back to time and again with each different project I am attached to, whether it be as a performer or director. It is a MUST HAVE.

5.0 out of 5 stars a true practical companion, October 19, 2010

By 

Richard Roland (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Theatre Craft: A Director's Practical Companion from A-Z (Paperback)

I was lucky to have been directed by this man once, and maybe even luckier to have purchased his book! It's informative, enlightening, affirming, ever-encouraging, often very funny and a necessary bit of reading for not only any director, but also for actors, producers, stage managers, musicians, technical directors, designers, etc., and anyone who is even remotely interested in how theatre works. This book will sit on my table next to my script in the rehearsal room! I will be giving this book to friends of mine who've been directing a lot longer than I.