“Should I go to a school and get more training in acting, or should I just go out there and 'do it'?” A Field Guide to Actor Training will help you answer this question! The book is designed to be an introduction to various theater training methodologies, highlighting their basic tenets and comparing and contrasting each system of training and rehearsal. The goal is to provide a one-stop-shopping kind of resource for student/beginning actors who are seeking training through private studios or graduate schools and who crave guidance in selecting training that is right for them. Starting with the big question of “Why is actor training important?” and moving on to overviews of the major acting methodologies, vocal training, physical actor training, and advice on how to find the right kind of training for each individual, A Field Guide to Actor Training is an essential resource for the student actor.

A Field Guide to Actor Training (Limelight)

Wayth, Laura

Humor & Entertainment

Applause Theatre & Cinema

(Book). The Zombie Film is the most comprehensive examination of the zombie film genre to date. With a detailed filmography of over 400 movies stretching back to the genre's earliest days, it begins with such classics as White Zombie (1932), starring Bela Lugosi, but also examines lesser-known films, such as The Ghoul (1933), with Boris Karloff, and the exploitation film Ouanga (1936). The book then moves through the hybrid science fiction zombie films of the 1950s, including Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), and then slashes through bloody Euro classics by filmmakers like Lucio Fulci and Amando de Ossorio. The book details the revisionist work of director-writer George Romero, who revamped the genre beginning with Night of the Living Dead (1968), and the zombie film's blossoming in the new millennium with mainstream works like Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later (2002), the comic Shaun of the Dead (2004), the popular TV series The Walking Dead (2010-), and the summer blockbuster World War Z (2013). Also given their due are thoughtful low-budget zombie movies, like Zombies Anonymous (2006) and The Dead Outside (2008). The Zombie Film features over 500 illustrations and entertaining sidebars on such subjects as zombie literature, zombie myth and history, zombie comics, and literary sources, such as H. P. Lovecraft and Richard Matheson.

The Zombie Film: From White Zombie to World War Z

James Ursini

alain-silver

Movies

An Actor Succeeds is a very special collection containing all the best trade secrets of the biggest and most successful film and theater professionals. Presented in an informative format, An Actor Succeeds is a useful yet entertaining how-to, tips-and-advice book comprising nearly 900 quotes mostly from actors but also directors, writers, casting directors, and more. The book is conveniently divided into five chapters: Acting, Auditioning, Connecting, Working, and Coping. Here's a sampling of quotes from each section: Acting “Of course we all learn that acting is basically reacting. The least acting you ever have to do is in a close-up. The close-up may require an actor's reaction, but a small, subtle one. Generally speaking, the less you 'act' in a close-up, the better.” – Sir John Gielgud Connecting “Acting, especially in motion pictures, is very hierarchical, like a caste system. The stars are royalty, the other actors are serfs-okay, commoners... If you're not a big shot, you gotta be careful not to push or intrude. You gotta watch what you say, how you say it, and, especially, when you say it.” – Bruce Dern Working “Acting in front of a camera or a live audience requires intense concentration, to shut out the real world and create the character's reality. Focus is just as important for an actor as for a cinematographer.” – Keira Knightley Coping “Partly I got into show business to become rich and famous and thus show up anyone who'd treated me badly growing up. But doesn't one evolve with maturity? My focus ultimately changed from negative to positive, as I found that I enjoyed the work, even the struggle, for its own sake.” – Michael Landon

An Actor Succeeds: Tips, Secrets & Advice on Auditioning, Connection, Coping & Thriving In & Out of Hollywood (Book)

Hadleigh, Boze

In this groundbreaking book, noted director and educator William Wesbrooks provides an exciting and eminently practical approach for singers and actors who want to think about their work in a way that brings them a greater sense of vitality, freedom, and empowerment. Drawing upon his years of experience and a keen psychological insight, Wesbrooks utilizes our inherent attraction to storytelling. He presents an exciting process that allows you as a performer to extract from the dramatic circumstances of stories everything you need to bring the characters you play and the songs you sing to a place of vibrant realization. His approach will inspire you to trust in yourself and your own ability as you use your mind, body, and spirit, so as to begin “living inside” your stories in a way that brings them to life for yourself as well as your audience. The process is simple in its structure yet profound in its impact. Dramatic Circumstances will prove an invaluable resource for actors, singers, teachers, directors, and anyone else who knows and believes in the power of stories to inform and touch the lives of those who tell and hear them.

Dramatic Circumstances: On Acting, Singing, and Living Inside the Stories We Tell (Book)

Wesbrooks, William

The Wizard of Oz FAQ is a fact-filled celebration of the beloved 1939 fantasy masterpiece starring Judy Garland. It's all here – from L. Frank Baum and his Oz novels to the complete background story of the movie's conception, development, and shoot, with special attention given to the little-known parade of uncredited directors, casting difficulties, and on-set accidents and gaffes, as well as more than 75 sidebars devoted to key cast members, directors, and other behind-the-scenes personnel. You'll find a wealth of fun facts: How MGM overworked Judy Garland before, during, and after Oz; why director Victor Fleming had his hands full with the Cowardly Lion and Dorothy's other friends; what it was about Toto that really bothered Judy; the physical horrors of filming in Technicolor; the racial Oz gag that was scripted but never shot; when the Wicked Witch was going to be beautiful; why The Wizard of Oz owes a lot to silent-screen star Mary Pickford; the story of deleted scenes, and a full two weeks of shooting that had to be scrapped; why MGM star Mickey Rooney was part of the movie's traveling publicity blitz; how the Wicked Witch was literally blown off her broomstick one day; the place where lions, tigers, and bears really do live together; singers you hear but never see; the day MGM fired Judy Garland; and much more. Just follow the yellow brick road!

The Wizard of Oz FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Life, According to Oz

Hogan, David J.

Reference

Over the past four decades, the Stephen King movie has become a genre unto itself. The prolific writer's works have spawned well over 100 adaptations for both the big and small screen, ranging from modern classics of horror (Carrie, The Shining) to Oscar-nominated fare (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) to unapologetic, B-movie schlock (the King-directed Maximum Overdrive). The filmmakers to put their stamp on King's material include acclaimed auteurs Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, and Brian De Palma; masters of horror Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, and George Romero; and popular mainstream directors Rob Reiner, Frank Darabont, and Lawrence Kasdan. Stephen King Films FAQ is the most comprehensive overview of this body of work to date, encompassing well-known hits as well as forgotten obscurities, critical darlings and reviled flops, films that influenced King as well as those that have followed in his footsteps, upcoming and unmade projects, and selected works in other media (including comic books, radio dramas, and the infamous Carrie musical). Author Scott Von Doviak provides background information, analysis, and trivia regarding the various films and television productions, including “Bloodlines” sections on related works and “Deep Cuts” sections collecting additional odd facts and ephemera. All you ever wanted to know about the king of horror onscreen can be found here.

Stephen King Films FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of Horror on Film

Doviak, Scott Von

Arthur Miller decided to become a playwright after seeing her perform with the Group Theater. Marlon Brando attributed his acting to her genius as a teacher. Theater critic Robert Brustein calls her the greatest acting teacher in America. At the turn of the 20th century – by which time acting had hardly evolved since classical Greece – Stella Adler became a child star of the Yiddish stage in New York, where she was being groomed to refine acting craft and eventually help pioneer its modern gold standard: method acting. Stella's emphasis on experiencing a role through the actions in the given circumstances of the work directs actors toward a deep sociological understanding of the imagined characters: their social class, geographic upbringing, biography, which enlarges the actor's creative choices. Always “onstage ” Stella's flamboyant personality disguised a deep sense of not belonging. Her unrealized dream of becoming a movie star chafed against an unflagging commitment to the transformative power of art. From her Depression-era plays with the Group Theatre to freedom fighting during WWII, Stella used her notoriety as a tool for change. For this book, Sheana Ochoa worked alongside Irene Gilbert, Stella's friend of 30 years, who provided Ochoa with a trove of Stella's personal and pedagogical materials, and Ochoa interviewed Stella's entire living family, including her daughter Ellen; her colleagues and friends, from Arthur Miller to Karl Malden; and her students from Robert De Niro to Mark Ruffalo. Unearthing countless unpublished letters and interviews, private audio recordings, Stella's extensive FBI file, class videos and private audio recordings, Ochoa's biography introduces one of the most under recognized, yet most influential luminaries of the 20th century.

Stella!: Mother of Modern Acting (Applause Books)

Ochoa, Sheana

Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Book by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony for Best Musical, South Pacific flourished as the golden musical of Broadway's post-WWII golden era. Nearly 60 years after its 1949 premiere, South Pacific returned to Broadway in Lincoln Center Theater's glorious Tony-winning production, setting box-office records and bringing this timely and timeless musical to new generations. With a score by Rodgers &amp; Hammerstein and a libretto by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan, based on James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Tales of the South Pacific, this landmark musical combines compassionate love stories with the saga of a world at war. Richly developed characters are faced with life-changing moments in a complex world, their thoughts and yearnings powerfully expressed in the lyrics to such songs as “This Nearly Was Mine ” “Younger Than Springtime ” and “Some Enchanted Evening.”

South Pacific: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical The Applause Libretto Library

Music by Richard Rodgers Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II New book by Douglas Carter Beane Original book by Oscar Hammerstein II In March 2013, a new Rodgers and Hammerstein musical opened on Broadway – new to Broadway, but based on a TV musical first written nearly 60 years before, and beloved by audiences all over the world. It was Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, which very quickly became the belle of the ball of the Broadway season, winning cheers for its fresh take on a timeless classic. Douglas Carter Beane created a new, Tony-nominated book that was hailed for complementing the inspirational themes of Rodgers and Hammerstein with a 21st-century sensibility, giving the musical new characters, surprising plot twists, and revelatory moments that harkened back to the Charles Perrault version of the fairy tale. The score was cheered as well: the familiar songs from the television versions – “In My Own Little Corner ” “Impossible ” “A Lovely Night ” “Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful ” and so on – along with undiscovered gems from the “trunk.” Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella was hailed by the Associated Press as a “charming, witty and relevant take on the classic story” and cheered by New York magazine as a “wised-up, wit-spackled CINDERELLA... As solidly entertaining as they come!”

Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical The Applause Libretto Library

(Applause Books). More than any other director, Francis Ford Coppola exemplifies the drive and invention of modern American cinema. Acclaimed since his first Godfather movie in 1972, he went on to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes for The Conversation and to make an unforgettable impact on audiences worldwide with the gripping Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now . He has also launched the careers of such actors as Nicolas Cage and Tom Cruise. In recent years, Coppola has returned to his roots to the low-budget, personal movie, written and directed without the involvement of the major Hollywood studios, working in Romania (for Youth without Youth ), Argentina (for Tetro ), and his home state of California (for Twixt ). Additionally, he has encouraged the work of other talented filmmakers from his daughter Sofia ( Lost in Translation , Marie Antoinette ) to Brazilian director Walter Salles ( On the Road ) to Robert De Niro ( The Good Shepherd ). In 2010, he was awarded his sixth Oscar the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. The tireless Coppola is also committed to winemaking, earning acclaim for his Niebaum-Coppola range and opening a second winery in the Sonoma Valley. Talking exclusively to Peter Cowie for the updated edition of this biography, Coppola looks back on the past 20 years and reflects on his much-cherished independence, as well as on the state of modern cinema.

Coppola

Biographies & Memoirs

Cowie, Peter

Arts & Literature

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