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The Master Key to Acting Freedom: Getting Ready for the Theatre of Life
Graham Dixon has been involved in the work of Michael Chekhov as a professional actor, director and teacher for nearly 50 years, having studied with and met many of Chekhov’s original students. As the director of the Michael Chekhov Studio London, he’s recognised internationally as one of the most important teachers in this imaginative approach to acting.
In The Master Key to Acting Freedom, Graham explores the basic principles of Michael Chekhov’s approach to a new way of acting. Over the course of a four-day workshop with twelve participants from varying backgrounds, he shows how Chekhov’s approach is radically different from many of the practices currently taught to actors and directors. Chekhov’s approach is an ‘open system’ enabling the actor to access directly – ‘to tap into’ – an objective, creative world by using a heightened ability to imagine and sense. The resultant feelings, thoughts and will impulses are natural, unforced, true and joyous!
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The Jobbing Actor: A Coaching Programme for Actors
‘The book all actors need – a vital manual to help you stay balanced in an increasingly demanding industry’ Miranda Hart
The Jobbing Actor is an innovative six-week coaching programme designed by accredited coaches to help you achieve your acting ambitions. It’s not just another ‘how to’ guide telling you what you already know; it’s a professional self-development programme that’s high on impact and low on bullshit.
Week by week, it will guide you through a structured series of industry-focused and holistic exercises and challenges. Full of uplifting advice and practical hints and tips, it covers every aspect of building and sustaining a career – from auditions and self-taping, through dealing with rejection and other trip-ups, to networking, branding and diversifying. Also included are daily journal pages in which you’ll set your targets and goals, and track your progress.
Inspiring, empowering – and fun! – The Jobbing Actor is your own personal coach in handy paperback form. It’ll empower you to take stock of where you are personally and professionally, instigate long-term, positive change, and reclaim ownership of your career.
Anita Gilbert and Letty Butler (aka Bert & Butler) have between them over forty years’ experience in the business. Anita has worked as a professional actor, as well as a theatrical agent, and is now a full-time voice and accent coach. Letty is a jobbing actor and comedienne, with extensive credits for stage and screen. She’s also an award-winning writer and professional life coach.
‘Brilliant. A godsend to actors!’ Eleanor Tomlinson
‘No-nonsense, practical advice delivered with humour, warmth and a real desire to help actors succeed’ Peter Hunt (Head of Casting, Lime Pictures)
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£11.00 -
Christopher Walken A to Z: The Man – The Movies – The Legend
Is Christopher Walken from Mars? He must be. How else can you explain his incredible range of talents and experiences? He has worked as a lion tamer, he has danced in music videos for Madonna, Duran Duran, and Fatboy Slim, and he has appeared in 100+ films for some of Hollywood’s hottest directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, David Cronenberg, and Tim Burton. He is the most popular guest host in the history of “Saturday Night Live”. He is the only actor to play a Bond villain and a Batman villain. He was handed his high school diploma by Gypsy Rose Lee. He was on a houseboat with Natalie Wood on the night she mysteriously drowned. He has appeared in some of the worst films of all time – everything from “Kangaroo Jack” to “Mousehunt to Gigli” – and yet his popularity never wanes.No wonder Christopher Walken has attracted an enormous cult following. Now his fans can learn about the wide world of Walken in Christopher Walken A to Z, the first-ever biography of the most fascinating man in show business, arranged in a fun, breezy A-to-Z format. With entries on everything from Actors Studio (the famous theatre workshop where Walken worked as a janitor) to zombie movies (one of his favourite movie genres), “Christopher Walken A to Z” is a trippy salute to the world’s most endearing and enduring celebrity.Read more
£11.70£14.20 -
Fantasy Monologues for Young Actors: 52 High-Quality Monologues for Kids & Teens
By the author of the best-selling Contemporary Monologues for Young Actors!
Following the smash success of Contemporary Monologues for Young Actors, award-winning NYC playwright Douglas M. Parker has created a new volume of unique monologues that allows young actors to explore a broad range of characters, emotions and situations.
Fantasy Monologues for Young Actors offers 52 fun, accessible and inventive monologues that will tap into every inch of an actor’s creativity. Featuring appealing, instantly involving pieces ranging from the comedic to the heartfelt, every monologue is written in contemporary and accessible language. Created specifically for actors and acting students ages 7-14 and for the teachers, directors and acting coaches who work with them..
These monologues feature:
- A broad range of unique circumstances and emotions: comedic, inspirational, heartfelt, lonely, curious, etc.
- Gender-neutral, so every monologue could be performed by a boy or a girl
- Emotional arcs and strong outcomes to challenge your actors and keep audiences engaged
- Modern day topics with contemporary language that really relate to kids today
- Perfect for auditions, as short performance pieces and for use in the classroom
Here are two sample monologues from the book:
FLYING
There’s a scene in Peter Pan where Peter teaches the kids to fly. And the way he does it is, he tells them to think their happiest thoughts. And they do it, and they just start flying. I mean, it tells you right in the book how to do it! So I thought – if they can fly, I bet I can too. So I just started thinking about all the things that made me the happiest. Like the day we picked up my new dog, Rex, from the kennel. And the day I beat my dad at chess – which is also known in my house as the day my dad let me beat him at chess. Or the time my sister gave me a birthday present, when it wasn’t even my birthday. Or when my mom says she loves me. And by the time I was finished, even though I was still lying in my bed, I was flying so high I thought I’d never touch the ground again. And I could look down and see everyone and everything in my life and they were all looking up and smiling and waving back at me . . . I don’t know if there really is a Peter Pan or an island filled with lost boys and pirates and Indians, but it doesn’t matter. Because I know one thing for sure . . . I know how to fly.
PAIL OF WATER
(Your character is either Jack or Jill from the well-known nursery rhyme.)
You make one mistake and people never forget it. Seriously. I mean, yeah, Jack [or Jill] and me went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. And, yes, one of us fell down and broke his crown and yeah, yeah, the other one came tumbling after. And no – we did not bring back any water. We did not succeed in our mission. And, if I was to be totally honest, we also lost the bucket. But come on. It wasn’t like we went up the hill to save the planet from an alien invasion. There wasn’t a baby up there about to be eaten by a bear. It was water. We fell down. We didn’t come back with a pail of water. Someone else got up out of their chair, got a bucket, climbed up the hill and fetched a pail of water. Big deal. Life will go on. And just to set the record straight, I am perfectly capable of fetching water. I personally have fetched hundreds of pails of water, both before that incident and after. So has Jack [or Jill]. It was one time. Sheesh. Maybe it’s time we all moved on.
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The Actor and the Camera
Drawing on his lifetime career in front of the camera (and sometimes behind it), Denis Lawson offers a wonderfully accessible introduction to acting for film and TV. For the young actor hoping to break into the industry – whether in a drama series, soap or sitcom – this book is the ultimate insider’s guide.The author takes us on a guided tour of the film or TV set from day one. We meet the various members of the crew, from the director of photography to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ADs, and learn what each of them does – and how to get the most from them in your work as an actor. Then comes the actual business of shooting the scenes, beginning with readthroughs and rehearsals (if there are any), on to hitting your mark and getting your eye-line right, finishing with the actor’s involvement in post-production.
Throughout, Lawson takes the actor’s point of view, offering encouragement and enlightenment, as well as being refreshingly candid about some of the more inane procedures. Above all, he offers a magnificent array of tips and inside knowledge for coping with what can be a daunting experience for a hopeful young actor.
Denis Lawson has been running film workshops for drama students and working actors for over twenty years. His work as an actor includes the BBC’s Bleak House, Holby City, Sensitive Skin, Marchlands and Inside No. 9 on television, and Local Hero, Broken and The Machine on film. In 2012 he joined the cast of BBC TV’s New Tricks, now in its eleventh series with an audience of almost nine million.
With a foreword by Ewan McGregor.
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£9.40£10.40The Actor and the Camera
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Behind The Scenes: A Guide to Being a Background Actor
Discover the captivating world of background acting in “Behind the Scenes: A Guide to Being a Background Actor.” This comprehensive and practical guide takes you on a journey through the intricacies of the industry, providing insider tips, expert advice, and invaluable insights to help you succeed in this exciting field. From finding opportunities and mastering set etiquette to building a versatile wardrobe and collaborating effectively with the production team, this book covers it all. Whether you’re an aspiring actor or a film enthusiast curious about the magic behind the camera, “Behind the Scenes” is your ultimate companion to navigate the world of background acting and embrace the thrill of being a part of the entertainment industry.
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More than an Actor
Well-bred, educated at Eton and the Central School for Speech and Drama in London, the youngest of four boys in an upper-class family, Peter H. was in many ways the embodiment of Englishness, from the way he took his tea to his love of Shakespeare. Encouraged by his wonderful mother, he chose a career in acting and, under the tutelage of Sir Laurence Olivier at the British National Theatre Company, became a stellar performer – a classical actor in the postwar era of gritty realism.
W. Grey Champion’s narrative, relying on contemporary accounts of people who knew Peter, tells the haunting story of the man himself – beset by misfortune and tragedy, which aggravated mental and physical disorders ending his life too soon. The author withholds Peter’s stage name early on in order to accentuate his vision of a truly superlative person, who was much more than an actor.
A compelling imaginative read that pays tribute to the memory of the venerable Jeremy Brett (Peter Jeremy William Huggins). – Linda Pritchard
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£13.30More than an Actor
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An Actor’s Handbook: An Alphabetical Arrangement of Concise Statements on Aspects of Acting (Performance Books)
“I have felt there was nothing for me to do except to devote my labour and energy almost exclusively to the study of Creative Nature…I have acquired a sum of experience in the course of long years of work and this is what I have sought to share with you.” (Stanislavski)Here in concise form is what Stanislavski said about acting, alphabetically arranged to aid students, professionals and lay people interested in the stage craft. These collected short statements on a variety of subjects cannot replace the full expression of Stanislavski’s ideas and discoveries in his other books, but they will serve to refresh the reader’s memory and pinpoint what Stanislavski has to offer enquiring minds both in and out of the theatre.Read more
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Peter Lorre: MMAS: Midnight Marquee Actors Series
After coverning horror film icons Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Vincent Price, Midnight Marquee Press wanted to go in a slightly different direction for our fifth edition of the Actors Series, by highlighting quasi-horror man Peter Lorre. While the other entries in the series were predominantly horror film actors, Peter Lorre made many horror film appearances, but was never actually considered a horror film star. Instead, it was Lorre’s persona, that of a quirky, deviant little man, sometimes charming, sometimes boiling over with venom, that made him a perfect match for horror films. However, Lorre also played opposite such mainstream stars as Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, Kirk Douglas, Mickey Rooney and Bob Hope. Lorre felt just as comfortable enacting supporting roles in A films as he did starring in the Bs. This book takes an in-depth look at the film work of this versatile performer by providing analyses of films such as M, Mad Love, The Face Behind the Mask, The Maltese Falcon, The Raven and The Comedy of Terrors as well as many of the other films that made Peter Lorre a film legend.Read more
£18.60£33.30Peter Lorre: MMAS: Midnight Marquee Actors Series
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One Man Tango: An Autobiography
‘One Man Tango’ is distinguished by honesty that has marked actor Anthony Quinn’s 60-year career as one of the true originals of stage and screen.Read more
£3.20 -
On Directing: Interviews with Directors
The profession of directing is barely a century old. On Directing considers the position of the director in theater and performance today. What is a director? How do they begin work on a play or performance? What methods are used in rehearsal? Is the directRead more
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Great Shakespeare Actors: Burbage to Branagh
Great Shakespeare Actors offers a series of essays on great Shakespeare actors from his time to ours, starting by asking whether Shakespeare himself was the first–the answer is No–and continuing with essays on the men and women who have given great stage performances in his plays from Elizabethan times to our own. They include both English and American performers such as David Garrick, Sarah Siddons, Charlotte Cushman, Ira Aldridge, Edwin Booth, Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, Edith Evans, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft, Janet Suzman, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Kenneth Branagh. Individual chapters tell the story of their subjects’ careers, but together these overlapping tales combine to offer a succinct, actor-centred history of Shakespearian theatrical performance.
Stanley Wells examines what it takes to be a great Shakespeare actor and then offers a concise sketch of each actor’s career in Shakespeare, an assessment of their specific talents and claims to greatness, and an account, drawing on contemporary reviews, biographies, anecdotes, and, for some of the more recent actors, the author’s personal memories of their most notable performances in Shakespeare roles.Read more
£11.60£16.10Great Shakespeare Actors: Burbage to Branagh
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A Korean Approach to Actor Training
A Korean Approach to Actor Training develops a vital, intercultural method of performer training, introducing Korean and more broadly East Asian discourses into contemporary training and acting practice.
This volume examines the psychophysical nature of a performer’s creative process, applying Dahnhak, a form of Korean meditation, and its central principle of ki-energy, to the processes and dramaturgies of acting. A practitioner as well as a scholar, Jeungsook Yoo draws upon her own experiences of training and performing, addressing productions including Bald Soprano (2004), Water Station (2004) and Playing ‘The Maids’ (2013–2015).
A significant contribution to contemporary acting theory, A Korean Approach to Actor Training provides a fresh outlook on performer training which will be invaluable to scholars and practitioners alike.
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£34.60 -
Shooting the Actor
A companion volume to Being an Actor, Callow’s classic text about the experience of acting in the theatre, Shooting the Actor reveals the truth about film acting. The book describes his film work, from Amadeus to Four Weddings and a Funeral, from Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls to Shakespeare in Love.
Its centrepiece is a hilarious and sometimes agonising account of the making of Manifesto, shot in the former Yugoslavia. When Callow first met the film’s director Dušan Makavejev to discuss the movie, they both got on famously. Months later the two were barely speaking. Insightful and always entertaining, Shooting the Actor reveals more than any formal guide could about the process of film-making and the highly complex nature of being both actor and director.
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£2.80Shooting the Actor
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John Gielgud: Matinee Idol to Movie Star (Biography and Autobiography)
John Gielgud: Matinee Idol to Movie Star is the most authoritative and comprehensive account of the finest classical actor of the twentieth century. This entertaining but critical biography charts the ups and downs of Gielgud’s long and glittering career, from his young ground-breaking Hamlet to his later success in plays by Pinter, Storey, Bond and Bennett, and his recognition as a major movie star following his role in Arthur. It also reassesses his complex relationship with his great rival Laurence Olivier and throws fresh light on his personal relationships and the turbulent episodes of his private life that threatened to shatter his career.For this biography Jonathan Croall’s exhaustive research has included over a hundred new interviews with key people from his life and career, including Peter Brook, Kenneth Branagh, Alec Guinness, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins, and it draws on several hundred letters to and from Gielgud that have never been published, including correspondences with Noël Coward, Somerset Maugham, Siegfried Sassoon, Edith Evans and Edward Gordon Craig. What emerges is an intimate, complex and often startling portrait of this great actor and much-loved man.
Gielgud’s interpretations of Shakespeare’s great roles made Shakespeare’s plays a commercial success on London’s West End for the first time. He was also hugely influential as a director and an actor-manager and worked extensively in film and television later in life. Since Jonathan Croall’s first biography of Gielgud was published in 2000 a considerable amount of new material has come to light and the result is a much more rounded, candid and richly textured portrait of this celebrated stage and screen actor.
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£13.30£38.00 -
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Speaking The Speech: An Actor’s Guide To Shakespeare
With a foreword by Mark Rylance.Why does Shakespeare write in the way he does? And how can actors and directors get the most out of his incomparable plays? In Speaking the Speech, Giles Block – ‘Master of the Words’ at Shakespeare’s Globe – sets out to answer these two simple questions. The result is the most authoritative, most comprehensive book yet written on speaking Shakespeare’s words.
Throughout the book, the author subjects Shakespeare’s language to rigorous examination, illuminating his extraordinary ability to bring his characters to life by a simple turn of phrase, a breath or even a pause. Block shows how we can only fully understand these characters, and the meaning of the plays, by speaking the words out loud.
Drawing on characters from across all of Shakespeare’s plays – and looking in detail at Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice and Much Ado About Nothing – Block covers everything the actor needs to know, including: the essential distinctions between prose, rhymed verse and unrhymed verse, and the different strategies to be used when speaking them; the difference between you and thou; Shakespeare’s use of silence; and the vital importance of paying attention to Shakespeare’s original punctuation.
Speaking the Speech is a book for actors and directors who want to improve their understanding of Shakespeare’s language in order to speak it better. It is also a fascinating read for anyone who wants to deepen their appreciation of Shakespeare’s language and the way it comes to life when spoken aloud.
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£12.00£14.20Speaking The Speech: An Actor’s Guide To Shakespeare
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Class Actor: My Autobiography
From his first notable role as a teenage actor alongside Ray Winstone in the cult film Scum, via the central character of Jimmy the mod in the mighty Quadrophenia, to the voice of Blur’s Parklife, Phil Daniels has built a solid reputation as one of Britain’s most talented and well-respected character actors. A graduate of the Anna Scher Theatre in the 1970s, Daniels has always stayed true to his working class roots, lending his roles a much-admired authenticity and integrity. With his distinctive voice, cheeky mistrust of authority figures and wicked sense of humour, Daniels remains a driven individualist committed to his craft.Daniels’ career covers a period that has seen unprecedented change in UK society, and Class Actor, his first ever autobiography, reads like a provocative popular culture history of the past 30 years. It charts his 1960s childhood in a rundown part of London’s King’s X, his passion for Chelsea FC, his coming of age during punk rock, his anger and disaffection throughout the Thatcher years – perfectly realised in highly acclaimed pieces such as Mike Leigh’s Meantime- through to his role as Kevin Wicks in EastEnders and his place in Britpop’s hall of fame. Class Actoris a lively and entertaining insight into the passions of a unique artist who remains driven to tell ‘ordinary’ people’s lives through drama.
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£3.10 -
The Actor’s Business Plan: A Career Guide for the Acting Life: 7 (Performance Books)
The Actors Business Plan is a self-directed practical guide for actors graduating from formal training programs, 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 giving positive steps to develop a happy life as an actor and as a person. It assists performers to flourish using the same kind of business/career planning that is a necessary part of life for entrepreneurs and business people. This introduction to the acting industry provides essential knowledge not only for how the business actually works, but also describes what casting directors, agents, and managers do, demystifies the role of unions, discusses how much things cost, and offers advice on branding and marketing strategies. It differs from other such handbooks in that it addresses the everyday issues of life, money, and jobs that so frequently destroy an actors career before it is even begun. While addressing NYC and LA, the guide also gives a regional breakdown for those actors who may wish to begin careers or to settle in other cities. It is loaded with personal stories, and interviews with actors, casting directors, and agents from throughout the US. The Actors Business Plan is the answer to the common complaint by students that they were not taught how to negotiate the show business world while at school. It is the perfect antidote for this problem and can easily fit into a ten or a thirteen-week class syllabus. Offering support as a personal career coach, empowering the actor to take concrete steps towards their life and career dreams, The Actors Business Plan: A Career Guide for the Acting Life is a must-have book for actors who are determined to be a part of the professional world .Read more
£14.20 -
Funny Things That Happened at Rehearsal: A Theatre Memory Book
Let’s face it, every day at rehearsal is hilarious.If you’ve ever rehearsed for a play, you know how kooky rehearsals can get. And you know how much you’ll miss it when the show’s over. This book is the perfect way to record theatre memories and funny stories of things that happened at rehearsals.
This book features:
- Over 100 pages to record 200+ memories
- Space to record date, what show you were rehearsing for, and where
- Handy 6″ x 9″ dimensions
- Sturdy paperback cover
This book is a perfect gift for the high school thespian, theatre nerd, or stage actor in your life. Scroll up and click “add to cart” now!
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£5.70 -
older & wiser : how to start an acting career over 50
Older and Wiser: A Guide to Starting Your Acting Career After 50 is a comprehensive guidebook for individuals who are interested in pursuing an acting career later in life. The book offers practical advice, insights, and encouragement to help readers overcome age-related challenges and build a successful acting career.
The book begins by discussing the mindset and attitude needed to succeed as an actor at any age. It encourages readers to let go of self-doubt and limiting beliefs, and instead focus on their strengths and passion for acting.
The guidebook then delves into the technical aspects of acting, such as the Meisner and Stanislavski techniques, which are explained in layman’s terms. The book also covers the practical aspects of building a career, including finding auditions, creating a portfolio, and networking with industry professionals.
The book emphasizes the importance of perseverance and resilience in the face of rejection and setbacks. It also provides guidance on how to maintain physical and mental well-being to sustain a career in the industry.
Overall, “Older and Wiser” is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to pursue their passion for acting later in life. It provides a roadmap for building a fulfilling career and encourages readers to embrace their unique talents and abilities.
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£5.30 -
Stanislavsky and Race: Questioning the “System” in the 21st Century
Stanislavsky and Race is the first book to explore the role that Konstantin Stanislavsky’s “system” and its legacies can play in building, troubling and illuminating today’s anti-racist theatre practices.
This collection of essays from leading figures in the field of actor training stands not only as a resource for a new area of academic enquiry, but also for students, actors, directors, teachers and academics who are engaged in making inclusive contemporary theatre. In seeking to dismantle the dogma that surrounds much actor training and replace it with a culturally competent approach that will benefit our entire community, the “system” is approached from a range of perspectives featuring the research, reflections and provocations of 20 different international artists interrogating Stanislavsky’s approach through the lens of race, place and identity.
Stanislavsky and … is a series of multi-perspectival collections that bring the enduring legacy of Stanislavskian actor training into the spotlight of contemporary performance culture, making them ideal for students, teachers and scholars of acting, actor training and directing.
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£29.80£34.20 -
Actor’s Journal: Journal Log book for Actors and Actresses, Audition Notebook, acting diary.
Are you an actor and looking for the perfect actor’s journal ?
Here you are this is the largest and best actors log book, the interior includes space to record Production, Role, Casting director, Date, Time, location, Pieces performed, outfit, Behind the table, notes and more.
Perfect actors gift idea.
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£8.50 -
Acting and Singing with Archetypes (Limelight)
The journeys in ÊActing and Singing with ArchetypesÊ are based on the Voices of the Archetypes and Myths workshops that Frankie Armstrong has conducted throughout Europe Australia and the United States. Primarily geared toward theatre teachers directors and theatre workshop leaders this groundbreaking interactive book ä with an accompanying CD ä shows actors and singers how to expand their creative choices by taking journeys to find the archetypes within themselves. ÞArchetypes are universal essences that we all recognize: the Mother the Lover the Trickster the Spiritual and Temporal Leader. Each one is not a fully developed character but rather its essence ä images forms voices bodies and psychological elements ä around which a performer can organize a portrayal and begin full character development. ±The first part of the book± contains sixteen archetype journeys. Each archetype journey is accompanied by preparatory explorations for the voice body and imagination. The CD sung by Ms. Armstrong provides songs and examples of vocal ornamentation to prepare and assist the journeyer. ±The second part of the book± contains suggestions on how to apply the discoveries to real acting situations explaining how to use the archetypes in the creation of multifaceted characters and in classroom explorations such as mask making improvisation monologue scene and song work and devising theatre.Read more
£14.20 -
Confessions Of An Actor, A Lined Notebook: Funny Novelty Gift For Actors | Secret Santa, White Elephant, Christmas or Birthdays
Funny Parody Notebook for Actors
If you are looking for a funny gift for a friend or co-worker with a sense of humor, then this notebook will do the trick.
Ideal for colleagues or good mates, this lined notebook is sure to give them a laugh. And, it is also a really rather useful lined notebook for musings, jottings, journaling, and creative procrastination.Features include:
Size 5.5″x8.5″ / 14 x 21.5 cm (similar to A5)
140 lined pages
Good quality crisp white paper
Great for journaling or to-do lists
Appealing typographic cover design
Matt finish cover
A parody classic style book coverThis Notebook makes a great joke Secret Santa gift, stocking stuffer, or anytime gift for good friends.
Order one today!Read more
£5.50 -
So You Want to Be in Musicals?
An insider’s guide to achieving that dream career by one of the brightest stars in musical theatre.Being in a West End or Broadway musical is the dream of thousands of talented performers. But competition is intense and reaching the spotlight can often require a leap into the dark. So You Want To Be In Musicals? is your comprehensive guide to building – and sustaining – a successful career in musical theatre, and introduces you to everything you need to know about:
- Training how to select a drama school, what to do to get in, and what to do once you’re there
- Auditioning how to choose and prepare your pieces, and foster a positive attitude towards auditions
- Rehearsing how to construct your character, work with the director, and develop your own creative process
- Performing how to deal with nerves, what to do as an understudy, and how to sustain that eight-show-a-week routine
- Working how to get an agent, how to market yourself effectively, and how to maintain a healthy body and mind
Along with a wealth of honest, straightforward advice, the book is packed with instructive anecdotes from Ruthie’s own glittering career.
Written with Daniel Bowling music supervisor and director on many of the West End’s biggest shows – including The Phantom of the Opera, Joseph, Mary Poppins and Avenue Q – So You Want To Be In Musicals? provides an extraordinary wealth of inside information and advice, that would usually take years of hard work and determination to obtain, in one essential volume.
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£10.50£12.30So You Want to Be in Musicals?
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The Invisible Actor (Bloomsbury Revelations)
The Invisible Actor presents the captivating and unique methods of the distinguished Japanese actor and director, Yoshi Oida. While a member of Peter Brook’s theatre company in Paris, Yoshi Oida developed a masterful approach to acting that combined the oriental tradition of supreme and studied control with the Western performer’s need to characterise and expose depths of emotion. Written with Lorna Marshall, Yoshi Oida explains that once the audience becomes openly aware of the actor’s method and becomes too conscious of the actor’s artistry, the wonder of performance dies. The audience must never see the actor but only his or her performance. Throughout Lorna Marshall provides contextual commentary on Yoshi Oida’s work and methods. In a new foreword to accompany the Bloomsbury Revelations edition, Yoshi Oida revisits the questions that have informed his career as an actor and explores how his skilful approach to acting has shaped the wider contours of his life.Read more
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How to Do Standard English Accents: From Traditional RP to the New 21st-Century Neutral Accent (The Actor’s Toolkit)
The essential handbook for every actor In every drama school, in every English-speaking country, students from all over the world have to learn a Standard English Accent, and voice and drama tutor shave to teach it. But what exactly is it? How many varieties are there? And which one should they use when? Following on from How To Do Accents, this book provides a long awaited,up-to-date answer to these important questions and offers a complete course in how to do A Neutral Standard English Accent & Upper and Upper-Middle Class Varieties Part One: contains all the tools you need to learn a current Neutral Standard English Accent; neutral in terms of class, race, age, gender, occupation and social background Part Two: introduces you to the most useful Upper and Upper-Middle Class varieties of Standard English AccentRead more
£16.10£19.00 -
Theatre Nerds Are the Best: Theatre Nerd Journal Geeks, Actor Gifts for Director, Acting Thespian Blank Lined Composition Book Diary
Theatre nerds! Here’s the journal you’ve always wanted. A notebook to record anything from your theater hobby or profession. Great gift for Theatre lovers.
Details:
- 110 pages
- Premium matte cover design
- High quality interior stock
- Perfectly sized at 6×9 inches
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£5.50 -
Book The Fucking Job!: A Guide for Actors
As the follow-up to his best-selling At Left Brain Turn Right and Alphabet Soup for Grown-Ups, Book The F*cking Job is fast becoming the how-to manual for working actors all over the world. To Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Anthony Meindl’s Actor Workshop, we created a variety colorful covers for the re-issue of Book The Fucking Job! Pick the color that fits your mood!For over 20 years, top Acting Coach Anthony Meindl has been demonstrating his unique approach to modern acting training to thousands of actors worldwide. The demands for today’s actors have changed and with it have emerged many new breakthroughs in understanding creativity.From science to the power of the moment; from consciousness and mindfulness meditation to the art of the “f*ck it,” Mr. Meindl describes how you can let go of your control of how you think a scene should be and instead let something much more powerful and creative happen for you. Discover the exciting possibilities that await you in your creative journey when you learn the science of surrender.Find answers to your questions about technique, the business, and life in Book The F*cking Job! A new guide for the next generation of artists.Read more
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Actors Notebook: Cinema Notebook for Cinema Artists
ACTORS NOTEBOOK
Specially design for actors (TV, FILM, THEATRE). It is a very important notebook to create characters (including a To Do List, Remember list, Characters information and a Daily Rehearsal Journal).
This is NOT a literature book to learn Acting. It is design for Actors working or studying in (Films, TV, Theatre) that want a simple but organize way to create their characters and keep track of their daily rehearsals.
The notebook has 100 pages in a laminated paperback cover with glossy finish. You can also find more CINEMA NOTEBOOKS FOR CINEMA ARTISTS at amazon (cinematographers notebook, directors notebook, , Jorplanner notebook, Producers notebook). “it is not a professional book but it helps you work professionally” JSV designer.
Check the collection www.cinemanotebooks.com
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£6.70 -
Actor Gifts: Lined Notebook Journal Diary Paper Blank, an Appreciation Gift for Actor to Write in (Volume 3)
A Wonderful Gift for Actor!
This notebook/journal would make a great, memorable and useful gift for Actor.
Show your awesome Actor friends how much you appreciate their hard work with this notebook/journal.
This is a perfect notebook for taking notes, journaling, organizing, writing and brainstorming.
Features:
- 6”x9” notebook/journal, perfect size for your desk, backpack, school, home or work.
- 120 pages of high quality paper.
- Soft, matte laminated paperback cover
- It can be used as a journal, notebook, diary, planner or just a composition book for school and work.
- Perfect for gel pen, ink or pencils.
- It will make a great gift for any special occasion: Christmas, Secret Santa, Birthday, Graduation, Retirement, Appreciation, etc.
Your friends will appreciate this thoughtful notebook/journal.
Get it today and give your friends something practical and memorable!
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£5.00 -
Duologues for Female Actors: Classic Scenes
I have compiled and edited this collection of Classic duologues for female actors to study, perform and enjoy. These scenes are suitable for a range of acting exams and awards as well as for auditions and festivals. I have tried and tested these scenes with numerous students over the years with great success and more importantly, they have thoroughly enjoyed working on themThe duologues in this collection are taken from a range of plays : including works from the Greeks, Restoration Drama, French Farce, Ibsen, Chekhov, Wilde, Shaw, Tennessee Williams and Jean Anouilh. Each scene has an introduction prepared suitable for exam or festival work and are also timed with exams and festival work in mind. I hope you enjoy this collection.Read more
£11.40 -
Eat Sleep Audition Rehearse Rehearse Freak Out Kill it On Opening Night Repeat: Musical Theatre Journal with Blank Pages to Write in – Theater … Acting Notes: Broadway Gift…
Broadway musical theater journal notebook with blank pages to write in. Take acting notes, stage cues, and dramatic instruction down in this cute actor gift.Read more
£4.30 -
Acting Journal. Audition Notebook Journal To Write & Record Theater Auditions For Drama Or Musicals. Novelty Gift Idea For Actor, Director Or Broadway Fan: Log Book To Write…
Looking for a tool to help you keep track of your auditions and write down everything about the performance?
This acting journal is a great notebook to help you be a successful actor. It is a great way to record and keep track of your theater auditions whether it’s for a school performance, college, dance or even New York City theatre. High quality journal of ideal size suitable for men or women to write. It will make a perfect gift for that special actor or actress in your life.
This Log Book Records:
- Fill-in-the blank table of contents to write the show for easy reference with page number
- Show, date, episode, production
- Time, characters, scene description
- Wardrobe
- Make-up
- Music/ Sound
- Special effects
- Additional notes
Grab a copy for yourself and write down everything about the theater and the musical performance!
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£6.50 -
Marilyn Monroe: A Photographic Life
The camera loved Marilyn, and she loved it right back. In this luxurious volume, get to know the enigmatic star through iconic and rare photos, intimate stories, and removable memorabilia.Everyone knows the classic photographs of Marilyn Monroe: in the dress she wore to John F. Kennedy’s birthday, or leaning out of a balcony over the streets of New York City, or famously standing over the subway grates while shooting The Seven Year Itch. Behind the glamour, we’ve also heard the sad stories: her mother’s institutionalization, her three failed marriages, her own struggles with mental health, her surprising death that still leaves us with questions.
Marilyn Monroe: A Photographic Life delves into the life of the star—before, during, and after she became a “Blonde Bombshell.” Born Norma Jeane Mortenson (the Baker came later), she had a troubled childhood that culminated in her self-described “inferiority complex.” But all the while, she dreamed of something more.
Read the stories behind her first marriage (and why she kept it secret when she started modeling), her early roles with the studios (and the one exec who thought she didn’t have “it”), and her life as a budding actress that include humble anecdotes (at one point, she was so poor that she and a roommate shared one pair of high heels—and whoever had a date that night got to wear them).
Along with the stories are fabulous rare photographs and reproductions of frameable memorabilia, such as:
- Birth and marriage certificates
- Handwritten letters
- Certificate of conversion to Judaism before her marriage to Arthur Miller
- Screen Actors Guild membership card
- Picture of Marilyn sketched by Jane Russell
- Watercolor Marilyn painted for JFK
- Childhood photos
- Shots and ads from her earliest modeling days
- Wedding photos
- Images of those who knew her, including Groucho Marx, Ella Fitzgerald, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and so many more
- Marilyn’s favorite image of herself, taken in 1956
Further chapters cover Marilyn’s marriages to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, her time in England and New York, and her rise as one of Hollywood’s most sought after starlets. Through it all—the self doubts, the illnesses, the isolation—we see Marilyn triumph with the help of friends and confidantes and her own tenacious will of knowing what she wanted.
We see time and again the depths of Marilyn’s heart and her capacity to care for others. “I want to love and be loved more than anything else in the world,” she once said, and with Marilyn Monroe: A Photographic Life, you can’t help but oblige.
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£17.90£20.90Marilyn Monroe: A Photographic Life
£17.90£20.90 -
Being an Actor
When it was first published in 1984, this book exposed the pressures, rewards and insecurity of an actor’s life, and caused a storm of controversy for its forthright views on the shortcomings of contemporary directors. Ten years later, Simon Callow has provided a new and gloomy assessment of the state of British theatre today, with the decline of ensemble playing, a lack of training for young actors, “brochure theatre” where novelty replaces substance, and audiences who applaud the hydraulics of the stage machinery rather than the quality of the actor’s performace. It ends with a warning that without attention to the roots of the art of stagecraft, the tree of British theatre will surely die.Read more
£2.60Being an Actor
£2.60 -
Respect for Acting: Expanded Version
The classic book on acting, in an attractive updated edition
Since its original publication in 1973, Uta Hagen’s Respect for Acting has remained a durable classic and a must-read for all students of acting. As an acting instructor at the Herbert Berghof Studio, Hagen helped to develop the talents of world-class actors like Robert DeNiro, Matthew Broderick, Gene Wilder, Amanda Peet, Austin Pendleton, Whoopi Goldberg, and more. In this book, Hagen offers an indispensable account of the techniques that professionals use to elevate their acting to an art form. This updated edition illuminates Hagen’s original text with a new foreword written by Katie Finneran, retaining the David Hyde Pierce foreword, along with added background on HB Studio―one of the original New York performing arts training and practice spaces―and an excerpt from Hagen’s autobiography SOURCES.
In working through this book, actors will learn physical, verbal, and emotional practice that empower them to connect their own self-concept to the characters they play. Specific, detailed exercises help actors learn to address a range of problems actors face, like maintaining immediacy and relevance, and developing the dimensions of a role over a long performance run. Respect for Acting is a book for actors and audiences who understand the need for truth in the creative process.
- Discover the acting book that has shaped professional theater performances for decades
- Learn the history and background of Herbert Berghof Studio, one of New York’s foremost acting schools
- Practice the craft of acting with concrete exercises and instruction on technique
- Delve into the deep questions that arise when actors truly inhabit the lives of their characters
Actors at all levels of their craft will love this stunning updated version of the essential Respect for Acting.
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£17.20£19.90Respect for Acting: Expanded Version
£17.20£19.90 -
Christmas Coloring Book for Toddlers and Kids: Festive Fun for Little Hands & Simple Christmas Designs for Toddlers and Kids simple design
Embark on a festive journey with our “Christmas Coloring Book for Toddlers and Kids,” a magical compilation of 50 heartwarming designs tailored for the youngest artists. This enchanting coloring book is crafted to infuse the holiday season with creativity and joy for toddlers and kids.
Within these pages, your little ones will encounter a world of whimsical Christmas scenes, featuring beloved characters, delightful decorations, and adorable winter creatures. From jolly Santas and his reindeer to charming snowmen and festive ornaments, each illustration is a delightful canvas ready to be adorned with a burst of color.
Designed with simplicity in mind, the large, easy-to-follow lines ensure a stress-free coloring experience for tiny hands. The charming designs offer an opportunity for young artists to explore their creativity, all while enhancing fine motor skills in an enjoyable and engaging manner.
More than just a coloring book, this festive edition is a celebration of the holiday spirit. Whether your child is an aspiring artist or simply loves to revel in the magic of Christmas, this book promises hours of entertainment and the creation of cherished memories.
Make this holiday season extra special for your little ones with the “Christmas Coloring Book for Toddlers and Kids.” It’s not just a coloring activity; it’s a magical journey through the joyous wonder of Christmas. Let the festive coloring adventure begin!
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£5.70 -
Laban for Actors and Dancers: Putting Laban’s Movement Theory into Practice – A Step-by-Step Guide
A handbook, complete with graded exercises, for teachers and students wanting a practical introduction to Laban’s famous system of movement.
Rudolf Laban is to movement what Stanislavski is to acting. He devised the first wholly successful system for recording human movement, a system which is increasingly influential in the training of actors and dancers.
‘Required reading for every young student of the theatre – and a lot of the older ones would reap enormous benefit from it’ Murray Melvin
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£11.40£14.20
