Series: Performance Books

A book which has remained seminal in its field as one of the key texts in dance education. Jacqueline Smith-Autard delves into the creative arena of dance with a logic unmatched by any other creative author in this field. Speech and Drama Jacqueline Smith-Autard has made significant contributions to the development of dance in education in the UK and abroad....

The Improv Handbook is the most comprehensive, smart, helpful and inspiring guide to improv available today. Applicable to comedians, actors, public speakers, and anyone who needs to think on their toes, it features a range of games, interviews, descriptions, and exercises that illuminate and illustrate the exciting world of improvised performance. First published in 2008, this second edition features a...

Stanislavski was the foremost influence on the "Method" school of acting, as developed by Lee Strasberg. Here in concise form is what Stanislavski himself said about acting, aimed at students, experienced theatre people and laymen interested in stagecraft. These collected short statements on a variety of subjects cannot replace the full expression of Stanislavski's ideas and discoveries in his other...

Intended for actors, directors, teachers and researchers, this book offers an exceptionally clear and thorough introduction to the renowned acting technique developed by Michael Chekhov. Sinéad Rushe’s book provides a complete overview of the whole method, and includes illuminating explanations of its principles, as well as a wide range of practical exercises that illustrate, step by step, how they can...

How has the work and legacy of Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed been interpreted and practised around the world? What does it look like in different working contexts? The second edition of this book provides an accessible introduction to the political and artistic principles Boal's techniques are founded on, tracking exemplary practice from around the globe. Using detailed contemporary...

Stand-up: it’s the ultimate solo art form. Yet, behind the scenes, you will increasingly find the shadowy figure of a director. For comics themselves and for those who support them, this is the first book to give the director’s perspective on creating and performing stand-up comedy. Drawing on his own experience of directing stand-up alongside speaking to comedians and their...

Stanislavski and the Actor offers a clear, modern presentation of Konstantin Stanislavski's methods of actor training and rehearsal. It is based on the course Stanislavski designed and taught with a team of hand-picked assistants in the last three years of his life (1935-38) at the Opera-Dramatic Studio in Moscow. Jean Benedetti now reconstructs that course. Stanislavski and the Actor is...

The Actor’s Business Plan is a self-directed practical guide for actors graduating from formal training programmes, as well as for those already in the business whose careers need to move ahead more successfully. Using the familiar language of acting training, the book offers a method for the achievement of dreams through a five-year life and career plan, providing positive steps...

The Singer Acts, The Actor Sings is a practical workbook for singers and actors of all disciplines, from musical theatre through classical repertory to popular performance styles. This book addresses the needs of both students and professionals, helping them to face the challenges of musical performance undaunted and to achieve the exhilarating feeling of living through song. Paired with online...

Throughout the 1980s, Dario Fo, Italy's best-known and most provocative satirical playwright, and his wife Franca Rame, the celebrated actress and feminist, conducted a series of performance-seminars around the world on the subject of acting. In places as diverse as London's Riverside Studios, Rome's Teatro Argentina, and Perugia's Free University of Alcatraz, Fo and Rame have revealed to rapt audiences...

Encountering Ensemble is a text for students, teachers, researchers, and practitioners who wish to develop a deeper understanding of the history, conceptual foundations, and practicalities of the world of ensemble theatre. It is the first book to draw together definitions and practitioner examples, making it a cutting-edge work on the subject. Encountering Ensemble combines historical and contemporary case studies with...

Harold Guskin is an Acting Doctor whose clients include David Suchet, Glenn Close, James Gandolfini, Bridget Fonda, and dozens more. In How To Stop Acting, he reveals the insights and techniques that have worked wonders for beginners as well as stars. Instead of yet another 'method', Guskin offers a strategy based on a radically simple and refreshing idea: that the...

Musical Theatre Song is a handbook for musical theatre performers, providing them with the wide-ranging skill set they need for success in today's competitive musical theatre environment. Breaking down the process into knowing how to select your song material based upon your individuality and how to prepare and perform it in a manner that best highlights your attributes, Stephen Purdy...

A collection of acting exercises from around the world. Divided into four parts, from "Body" through to "Voice, heart and mind", the book covers all the elements the reader needs to engage to train as an actor. There are voice warm-ups and bodywork through to interacting with space and creating characters. Drawing on influences from Japanese Butoh to African dance,...

'This is the kind of book that troubles grey-suited committees of academic peers. It’s too enjoyable. But that, given its subject, is just what it ought to be, and it treats that subject seriously . . . There isn’t a “dull” page anywhere in the book.' – Professor Peter Thomson, Studies in Theatre and Performance Comedy is changing: stand-up comedians...

Actors and other professional voice users need to speak clearly and expressively in order to communicate the ideas and emotions of their characters – and themselves. Whatever the native accent of the speaker, this easy communication to the listener must always happen in every moment, onstage, in film or on television; in real life too. This book, an introduction to...