Performing Arts
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The Ballroom Blitz: The escapist and romantic new novel from the nation’s favourite entertainer
The stunning new Buckingham novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Anton Du Beke.
September 1940. As the skies split apart and bombs rain down on London, it’s all the staff at the famed Buckingham Hotel can do to keep their guests in the luxury they’re accustomed to, and evoke the magic of the Grand ballroom for them each night.
Home on leave and still reeling from the tragic events at Dunkirk, the dashing Raymond de Guise struggles to define his role in this new world, and to do his duty both to his country, and his beloved wife Nancy- who needs him now more than ever.
With profiteers skulking the London streets, and devious rivals plotting the Buckingham’s downfall, the hotel staff must all hold onto what matters most- and decide where their loyalties truly lie.
As the bombing intensifies and Christmas fast approaches, somehow the show must go on…
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£6.80£8.50 -
The Best Dance Moves in the World … Ever!: 100 New and Classic Moves and How to Bust Them
Dance is a universal language, spoken and understood by all. It knows no barriers and traverses time and space. Dance moves are like building blocks that can either enliven a simple side-to-side shuffle, or be joined up to create a dazzling night-long display.Starting with the basics, THE BEST DANCE MOVES IN THE WORLD … EVER! gives you the lowdown on the history of dance, pioneers of dance and what you should know before you hit the dance floor. Then it takes you on a tour of the 100 dance moves that you need to know, including:
SIMPLE MOVES such as Finger Bopping, The Swim and The Smooch
SLICK MOVES like The Grapevine, The Madison and The Charleston
CLASSIC MOVES including The Twist, Vogue, Thriller and The Time Warp
MOVIE MOVES inspired by Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction, Napoleon Dynamite
and many more
Covering dances suitable for every taste in music, from funk, disco and soul, through RnB and rock ‘n’ roll, to pop, punk and even rave and partnered with clear step-by-step instructions with easily understood illustrations, readers’ health, self-confidence and ability to have a good time are all given a thorough workout.
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£2.70 -
The Circus Professor’s Guidebook: A Performance Development Course for Kids
Discover a thrilling journey that empowers parents, teachers, and kids alike to unlock the world of captivating stage performances—introducing “The Circus Professor’s Guidebook,” a groundbreaking curriculum designed to transform children into confident and skilled performers through the exciting realm of circus arts.
Delve into “The Circus Professor’s Guidebook,” as it illuminates the fascinating relevance of circus arts in nurturing essential performance development skills. Unveil a world of excitement where imagination takes center stage, and watch as young minds embark on a gripping adventure toward becoming remarkable performing artists.
With 60 games throughout the book, each chapter immerses kids in engaging exercises meticulously crafted to foster creativity and ignite their imaginations. From mime to clowning, each activity provides hours of immersive play and exploration, ensuring endless delight for kids and inspiration for instructors, parents, and teachers.
As the program unfolds, witness the seamless progression from one chapter to the next, building upon acquired skills and experiences. The Circus Professor’s insightful reflections, laced with humor and intellect, add a charismatic flair to the learning process.
“The Circus Professor’s Guidebook” isn’t just about circus arts – it’s a gateway to a world of dramatic performing arts. Each week’s treasure trove of ideas and learned performance skills contribute to a central goal: cultivating talents directly applicable to the vast realm of stage performance.
Enroll your children in this transformative journey and witness them blossoming into burgeoning performing artists with professional-level skills. As their abilities flourish, parents and teachers can relish the satisfaction of nurturing extraordinary talents and creating lasting memories. Experience the magic of “The Circus Professor’s Guidebook” and open the curtain to a future brimming with confidence, creativity, and spectacular stage performances.
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£7.80 -
The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit (new edition): Revised Edition
A revised and updated edition of Bella Merlin’s essential guide to Stanislavsky.The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit collects together for the first time the terms and ideas developed by Stanislavsky throughout his career.
It is organised into three sections: Actor-Training, Rehearsal Processes and Performance Practices. Key terms are explained and defined as they naturally occur in this process. They are illustrated with examples from both his own work and that of other practitioners.
Each stage of the process is explored with sequences of practical exercises designed to help today’s actors and students become thoroughly familiar with the tools in Stanislavsky’s toolkit.
‘Bella Merlin magically converts her extensive knowledge into real-world practice and on-the-floor technique. This new edition is a necessary and lively resource for any theatre practitioner.’ David Chambers, Professor of Directing, Yale School of Drama
‘One of the essential books about acting for both professionals and students… brings new clarity to unlocking what Stanislavsky means for actors today.’ Michael Earley, Principal, Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance
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£11.40£12.30 -
The Dance Cure: The surprising secret to being smarter, stronger, happier
“Peter has brilliantly put into words what I have felt my whole dancing life: that the power of dance can liberate and change all our lives.” Darcey BussellHumans are born to dance. And in today’s sedentary world, we would all benefit from doing more of it. Science shows that just ten minutes of dancing provides a thorough work out for the body and brain, raising the heartbeat to cause a release of feel-good endorphins, connecting us to our emotions and reducing our stress levels. Dancing quite simply makes us feel more alive.Dr Peter Lovatt, a former professional dancer turned dance psychologist, has spent the past two decades studying why we dance and what it does for us, and is on a personal mission to make dancing as natural an activity in our daily lives as walking or drinking coffee.Filled with fascinating case studies from his research as well as great stories from dance history, The Dance Cure will inspire even those who think they “can’t dance” to turn the music on, get up on the floor and dance themselves happy.Read more
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The Dancers’ Study Guide: A dance guidebook of dance history, health and fitness, performance lessons, tips and advice
The Dancers’ Study Guide will help you become a professional performer. This detailed guide looks at what it really means to be a dancer with a strong emphasis on health and nutrition and maintaining your fitness given the high physical demands.It also covers learning to dance, coping with auditions and the psychology and mindset of success. It has everything you need to know about being a successful dancer and performer. This well-researched and insightful book is for anyone interested in dance from its origins to its evolution, stretching, technique, dance vocabulary and ballet basics including a comprehensive timeline of dance history. Based on solid scientific fact, lessons, tips and advice, world-famous dancer and choreographer Anthony King shares knowledge gained from over fifteen years as a dance teacher at Covent Garden’s Pineapple Dance Studios.Read more
£16.10 -
The Dancers’ Study Guide: A dance guidebook of dance history, health and fitness, performance lessons, tips and advice
The Dancers’ Study Guide will help you become a professional performer. This detailed guide looks at what it really means to be a dancer with a strong emphasis on health and nutrition and maintaining your fitness given the high physical demands.It also covers learning to dance, coping with auditions and the psychology and mindset of success. It has everything you need to know about being a successful dancer and performer. This well-researched and insightful book is for anyone interested in dance from its origins to its evolution, stretching, technique, dance vocabulary and ballet basics including a comprehensive timeline of dance history. Based on solid scientific fact, lessons, tips and advice, world-famous dancer and choreographer Anthony King shares knowledge gained from over fifteen years as a dance teacher at Covent Garden’s Pineapple Dance Studios.Read more
£16.10 -
The Ecstasy of Being: Mythology and Dance (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell)
Joseph Campbell’s collected writings on dance and art, edited and introduced by Nancy Allison, CMA, the founder of Jean Erdman Dance, and including Campbell’s unpublished manuscript “Mythology and Form in the Performing and Visual Arts,” the book he was working on when he died.Dance was one of mythologist Joseph Campbell’s wide-ranging passions. His wife, Jean Erdman, was a leading figure in modern dance who worked with Martha Graham and had Merce Cunningham in her first company. When Campbell retired from teaching in 1972, he and Erdman formed the Theater of the Open Eye, where for nearly fifteen years they presented a wide array of dance and theater productions, lectures, and performance pieces.
The Ecstasy of Being brings together seven of Campbell’s previously uncollected articles on dance, along with “Mythology and Form in the Performing and Visual Arts,” the treatise that he was working on when he died, published here for the first time.
In this new collection Campbell explores the rise of modern art and dance in the twentieth century; delves into the work and philosophy of Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and others; and, as always, probes the idea of art as “the funnel through which spirit is poured into life.” This book offers the reader an accessible, yet profound and provocative, insight into Campbell’s lifelong fascination with the relationship of myth to aesthetic form and human psychology.
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£8.50 -
The Elemental Actor: How to Release Your Hidden Powers
We are all a complex mixture of the elemental energies identified by many different cultures throughout history: Earth, Air, Fire, Water – and a fifth element called Quintessence or Spirit. As an actor, you need to be able to access each of them, so that you can draw on whichever element you need to bring your role fully into life.
In The Elemental Actor, Mel Churcher explores these deep, primal drives, and gives you practical tools to harness them to make your work more powerful and alive. Her unique approach combines elements of actor training, voice work and movement to increase your range and help you bring depth, specificity and intensity to your performance.
The book includes over one hundred games and exercises to help you explore each of the elements, incorporate this work into your practice, and apply it to the world of your role. There are also tips for preparing for auditions and dealing with performance anxiety, as well as advice on how to stay healthy in body, voice and mind.
Offering an everlasting palette that will enrich any performance, whether on stage or screen, The Elemental Actor will help you release the wellspring of your imagination, and put elemental power into your work.
Mel Churcher is an international acting, dialogue and voice coach who has worked with companies including the Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Young Vic, Royal Court Theatre and Graeae Theatre Company. She is one of the top acting and dialogue coaches in TV and movies, and has worked with some of the biggest stars of stage and screen.Read more
£14.20 -
The English Actor: From Medieval to Modern
The English Actor charts the uniquely English approach to stagecraft. In thirty chapters, Peter Ackroyd describes, with superb narrative skill, the genesis of acting – deriving from the Church tradition of Mystery Plays – through the flourishing of the craft in the Renaissance to modern methods that followed the advent of film and television. The biographies of the most notable and celebrated actors are also explored, right up to the present day. In this book, Ackroyd gives us an original and superbly entertaining appraisal of how actors have acted – and how audiences have responded – since the medieval period, and what we mean by the ‘magic of the stage’.Read more
£7.10 -
The Essential Guide to Contemporary Dance Techniques
The Essential Guide to Contemporary Dance Techniques explores the multifaceted learning processes and underlying principles behind the technical skills and abilities of a contemporary dancer. The depth and complexity of this challenging sensorial, intellectual, reflective and creative process is presented with clarity, to support every training dancer in achieving the most from their learning experiences. Insights into three major technical forms: Graham technique, Cunningham technique and Release-based technique, reveal the distinct approaches, processes and experiences possible in contemporary dance training. Essential technical and performance considerations are covered, including: breath; alignment; core activation; connectivity; dynamic qualities of motion; use of the body; use of space; action and finally, relationships to the audience. With personal contributions from respected teachers at top dance institutions, this practical guide offers a unique insight into the expectations and processes of professional training classes as well as the success you can achieve with them. With images from real-life technique classes and dynamic performances, this is an essential companion for all contemporary dance students.Read more
£16.10 -
The Essential Guide to Jazz Dance
Jazz dance and its inherent music is recognized as one of the original and most potent art forms of the last two centuries. From its African roots to our present-day global dance community, the jazz idiom has afforded a cross-fertilization with all other artistic, cultural and social representations within the arts industry, providing an accessible dance platform for dancers, teachers and creatives to enjoy both recreationally and professionally. The Essential Guide to Jazz Dance offers a practical and uncomplicated overview to the multi-layered history, practices and development of jazz dance as a creative and artistic dance form. It covers the incredible history and lineage of jazz dance; the innovators, choreographers and dance creatives of the genre; specifics of jazz aesthetic, steps and styles; a detailed breakdown of a practical jazz dance warm-up and technical exercises; creative frameworks to support development of jazz dance expression and aesthetic; performance and improvisation; jazz music and musical interpretation, and finally, choreographing and creating jazz works. With over 230 colour photos and a wealth of tips and advice, this new book will be an ideal reading companion for dancers of all abilities, dance teachers, choreographers as well as all jazz dance enthusiasts.Read more
£17.30£19.00The Essential Guide to Jazz Dance
£17.30£19.00 -
The Essential Guide to Tap Dance
From the propulsive rhythm of the African dancer, to the swinging ragtime of the American jazz age, tap dancing has evolved into a unique blend of cultural expression, improvisation and creativity, open to all ages and abilities. With clear step-by-step instructions, The Essential Guide to Tap Dance covers basic steps such as the shuffle, pick up and paddle, before building these into traditional combinations such as the time step and shim sham. Additional material includes the history and development of tap dancing; rhythm and musicality; learning the language of tap dancing; the role of improvisation and choreography and finally, the basic steps to advanced techniques. This is the perfect companion to instruct the beginner tap dancer and expand the more experienced dancer’s technique, offering full-colour pictures, helpful instruction and essential notes on this vibrant and accessible dance form.Read more
£16.90£19.00The Essential Guide to Tap Dance
£16.90£19.00 -
The Final Curtain: Obituaries of Fifty Great Actors
Michael Coveney has been writing theatrical obituaries alongside reviews for several decades and makes a telling, sometimes surprising, selection of the best performers of our time, from Laurence Olivier to Alan Rickman, Peggy Ashcroft to Helen McCrory, Richard Briers to Ken Dodd. Most of these obits appeared in the Guardian, several in the Observer, the Financial Times and the Evening Standard.
The fifty articles are arranged in chronological order of each actor’s demise and constitute a vivid history of postwar theatre through the lives of the actors, ‘the abstract and brief chronicles of the time’ as Hamlet called them. There are happy/sad juxtapositions of shooting stars Robert Stephens and Alan Bates; tragic niece and aunt, Natasha Richardson and Lynn Redgrave; classical queens Diana Rigg and Barbara Jefford; and versatile showtime hoofers Una Stubbs and Lionel Blair.
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£24.60£28.50The Final Curtain: Obituaries of Fifty Great Actors
£24.60£28.50 -
The Intent to Live: Achieving Your True Potential as an Actor
“I call this book The Intent to Live because great actors don’t seem to be acting, they seem to be actually living.”
-Larry Moss, from the IntroductionWhen Oscar-winning actors Helen Hunt and Hilary Swank accepted their Academy Awards, each credited Larry Moss’s guidance as key to their career-making performances. There is a two-year waiting list for his advanced acting classes. But now everyone-professionals and amateurs alike-can discover Moss’s passionate, in-depth teaching.
Inviting you to join him in the classroom and onstage, Moss shares the techniques he has developed over thirty years to help actors set their emotions, imagination, and behavior on fire, showing how the hard work of preparation pays off in performances that are spontaneous, fresh, and authentic.
From the foundations of script analysis to the nuances of physicalization and sensory work, here are the case studies, exercises, and insights that enable you to connect personally with a script, develop your character from the inside out, overcome fear and inhibition, and master the technical skills required for success in the theater, television, and movies.
Far more than a handbook, The Intent to Live is the personal credo of a master teacher. Moss’s respect for actors and love of the actor’s craft enliven every page, together with examples from a wealth of plays and films, both current and classic, and vivid appreciations of great performances. Whether you act for a living or simply want a deeper understanding of acting greatness, The Intent to Live will move, instruct, and inspire you.
From the Hardcover edition.
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£16.40 -
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
£13.90 -
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.
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£13.20 -
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 -
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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£24.20£26.60 -
The Methuen Book of Duologues for Young Actors (Audition Books) (Audition Speeches)
Selected by Anne Harvey, an experienced actress, director, writer and adjudicator, these scenes are suitable for performance at auditions, solo acting classes, festivals and examinations. Ranging from Renaissance to contemporary literature, the pieces are varied in content, tone and style and are equipped with an introduction setting the context. Writers include: Edward Bond, Ken Campbell, David Crampton, Caryl Churchill, Noel Coward, Monica Dickens, Lisa Evans, Dario Fo, John Ford, David Hare, Jonathan Harvey, Lillian Hellman, Adrian Henri, Robert Holman, Moliere, Willy Russell, Diane Samuels, G B Shaw, David Storey, Frank Wedekind and many more…Read more
£11.00£12.30 -
The Methuen Drama Book of Monologues for Young Actors
Selected by Anne Harvey, an experienced actress, director, writer and adjudicator, these dramatic monologues are suitable for performance at auditions, solo acting classes, festivals and examinations. Ranging from early Elizabethan to contemporary literature, the pieces are varied in content, tone and style and are equipped with an introduction setting the context. Writers include: Alan Ayckbourn, Enid Bagnold, David Campton, William Congreve, Sarah Daniels, Charles Dickens, Athol Fugard, Lucy Gannon, Graham Greene, John Godber, David Hare, Stanley Houghton, Henrik Ibsen, Shaman Macdonald, David Mercer, Iris Murdoch, Dennis Potter, Tom Stoppard, CP Taylor, Hugh Whitemore and many more.Read more
£12.30 -
The Oberon Book of Monologues for Black Actors: Classical and Contemporary Speeches for Women: Classical and Contemporary Speeches from Black British … for Women Volume 1…
How many Black British plays can you name? Inspired by both classical and contemporary plays, The Oberon Book of Monologues for Black Actresses gives readers an insight into some of the best cutting-edge plays written by black British playwrights, over the last sixty years. This collection features over twenty speeches by Britain’s most prominent black dramatists The monologues represent a wide-range of themes, characters, dialects and styles. Suitable for young people and adults, each selection includes production information, a synopsis of the play, a biography of the playwright and a scene summary. The aim of this collection is that actors will enjoy working on these speeches, using them to help strengthen their craft, and by doing so, help to ensure these plays are always remembered.Read more
£9.50 -
The Outstanding Actor: Seven Keys to Success (Performance Books)
Drawing on Ken Rea’s 35 years’ teaching experience and research, as well as interviews with top actors and directors, The Outstanding Actor identifies seven key qualities that the most successful actors manifest, along with practical exercises that help nurture those qualities and videos to demonstrate them.Featuring contributions and insights from Ewan McGregor, Jude Law, Judi Dench, Al Pacino, Lily James, Rufus Norris and many more, The Outstanding Actor gives you techniques that you can immediately put into practice in rehearsals, classes or private preparation. It also shows you how to increase the chances of having a more successful career.
This new edition covers topical issues such as the #MeToo movement, gender balance and race issues, and how these affect working conditions and careers. There are also brand new links to video resources that bring the valuable exercises to life.
The book also includes forewords by Damian Lewis and Lily James.
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£12.20 -
The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes
This is the ultimate anthology of theatrical anecdotes, edited by lifelong theatre-lover Gyles Brandreth in the Oxford tradition, and covering every kind of theatrical story and experience from the age of Shakespeare and Marlowe to the age of Stoppard and Mamet, from Richard Burbage to Richard Briers, from Nell Gwynn to Daniel Day-Lewis, from Sarah Bernhardt to Judi Dench.Players, playwrights, prompters, producers―they all feature. The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes provides a comprehensive, revealing, and hugely entertaining portrait of the world of theatre across four hundred years.
Many of the anecdotes are humorous: all have something pertinent and illuminating to say about an aspect of theatrical life―whether it is the art of playwriting, the craft of covering up missed cues, the drama of the First Night, the nightmare of touring, or the secret ingredients of star quality.
Edmund Kean, Henry Irving, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Ellen Terry, Edith Evans, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren―the great ‘names’ are all here, of course, but there are tales of the unexpected, too―and the unknown. This is a book―presented in five acts, with a suitably anecdotal and personal prologue from Gyles Brandreth―where, once in a while, the understudy takes centre-stage and Gyles Brandreth treats triumph and disaster just the same, including stories from the tattiest touring companies as well as from Broadway, the West End and theatres, large and small, in Australia, India, and across Europe.
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£11.60£12.30The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes
£11.60£12.30 -
The Oxford Dictionary of Dance
Over the last twenty years the boundaries of dance have been radically redrawn. There has been an explosion of new activity within traditional forms like ballet, a stream of new dance languages invented by fresh generations of choreographers, and there is a growing appreciation in the West of dance forms from the rest of the world. Fans today are likely to attend performances in classical ballet, Spanish flamenco, Indian Bharata Natyam, Japanese Butoh, jazz, modern and post-modern dance. In classical ballet they may see companies as varied as the New York City Ballet, Bolshoi, or Paris Opera. In modern dance they may see work that stems from the Graham or the Cunningham schools of movement; while in post-modern dance they may be watching choreographers who mix influences as varied as folk dance, T’ai Chi, Balanchine, and Mary Wigman, or who may be practitioners of Eurocrash, minimalism, contact improvisation or release. This new dictionary by two leading and authoritative writers on dance will provide the information necessary for dance fans to navigate the diverse modern dance scene. With an emphasis on performance the dance we see in theatres today – readers will find both fact and analysis on a wide range of subjects from dancers and choreographers to dance styles and technical terms.Read more
£33.20 -
The Place of Dance: A Somatic Guide to Dancing and Dance Making
The Place of Dance is written for the general reader as well as for dancers. It reminds us that dancing is our nature, available to all as well as refined for the stage. Andrea Olsen is an internationally known choreographer and educator who combines the science of body with creative practice. This workbook integrates experiential anatomy with the process of moving and dancing, with a particular focus on the creative journey involved in choreographing, improvising, and performing for the stage. Each of the chapters, or “days,” introduces a particular theme and features a dance photograph, information on the topic, movement and writing investigations, personal anecdotes, and studio notes from professional artists and educators for further insight. The third in a trilogy of works about the body, including Bodystories: A Guide to Experiential Anatomy and Body and Earth: An Experiential Guide, The Place of Dance will help each reader understand his/her dancing body through somatic work, create a dance, and have a full journal clarifying aesthetic views on his or her practice. It is well suited for anyone interested in engaging embodied intelligence and living more consciously.Read more
£21.80£22.70 -
The Power of the Actor: The Chubbuck Technique — The 12-Step Acting Technique That Will Take You from Script to a Living, Breathing, Dynamic Character
In The Power of the Actor, a Los Angeles Times bestseller, premier acting teacher and coach Ivana Chubbuck reveals her cutting-edge technique, which has launched some of the most successful acting careers in Hollywood.The first book from the instructor who has taught Charlize Theron, Brad Pitt, Elisabeth Shue, Djimon Hounsou, and Halle Berry, The Power of the Actor guides you to dynamic and effective results. For many of today’s major talents, the Chubbuck Technique is the leading edge of acting for the twenty-first century. Ivana Chubbuck has developed a curriculum that takes the theories of the acting masters, such as Stanislavski, Meisner, and Hagen, to the next step by utilizing inner pain and emotions, not as an end in itself, but rather as a way to drive and win a goal.
In addition to the powerful twelve-step process, the book takes well-known scripts, both classic and contemporary, and demonstrates how to precisely apply Chubbuck’s script-analysis process. The Power of the Actor is filled with fascinating and inspiring behind-the-scenes accounts of how noted actors have mastered their craft and have accomplished success in such a difficult and competitive field.
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£19.30 -
The Royal Ballet Wall Calendar 2024 (Art Calendar)
An exquisite calendar featuring incredible photography of some of the most vibrant and visually stunning performances from The Royal Ballet to grace London’s Royal Opera House. It showcases the elegant poise of dancers in recent productions such as Cesar Corrales as Lescaut in Manon and Fumi Kaneko in The Weathering. Informative text accompanies each work and the datepad features previous and next month’s views. Printed on FSC-certified paper, with plastic-free packaging.
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£9.60£10.40 -
The Royal Ballet: 75 Years
This book is a perceptive and critical account of the first 75 years of The Royal Ballet, tracing the company’s growth, and its great cultural importance – an indispensable book for all lovers of ballet.
In 1931, Ninette de Valois started a ballet company with just six dancers. Within twenty years, The Royal Ballet – as it became – was established as one of the world’s great companies. It has produced celebrated dancers, from Margot Fonteyn to Darcey Bussell, and one of the richest repertoires in ballet.
The company danced through the Blitz, won an international reputation in a single New York performance and added to the glamour of London’s Swinging Sixties. It has established a distinctive English school of ballet, a pure classical style that could do justice to the 19th-century repertory and to new British classics.
Leading dance critic, Zoë Anderson, vividly portrays the extraordinary personalities who created the company and the dancers who made such an impact on their audiences. She looks at the bad times as well as the good, examining the controversial directorships of Norman Morrice and Ross Stretton and the criticism fired at the company as the Royal Opera House closed for redevelopment.
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£14.20The Royal Ballet: 75 Years
£14.20 -
The Stars of Hollywood Remembered: Career Biographies of 81 Actors and Actresses of the Golden Era, 1920s-50s: Career Biographies of 82 Actors and Actresses of the Golden Era,…
Biographies and filmographies of 81 actors and actresses who had passed from the scene by September 1996 are presented in this reference work. The filmography lists all the films in which they appeared, along with the studio and year of release.Read more
£28.50£35.10 -
The Ultimate Dance Business Planner: Dated 2023/2024, Keep Focus, Make Goals, Evaluate and Build your Dance School with Purpose
The Ultimate Dance Business Planner is not just any planner it is a planner for dance business owners who like to keep focused, make goals, evaluate their business and feel purposeful and motivated to build their schools.
The dance planner is created by dance business expert and multi-passionate dancepreneur Deborah Laws. Deborah is on a mission to help dance school owners see themselves as business owners/ founders and company directors and not just dance teachers.
Through Deborah’s cleverly designed planner, not only will you have a new desk organiser to keep everything in one place, but you will be prompted to create strategies to grow your school, be mindful of keeping on track with your goals and stay focussed with guided to-do lists. This planner is fully dated and runs from August 2023 – July 2024.
It’s like having your very own business mentor by your desk!
Day-per-page diary, including goals and to-do lists
Create monthly strategies to work savvy and balanced in your business using Deborah’s special S.T.A.R.S systemMap out your yearly events and campaigns for retention and attraction
Evaluate specific dance business-related criteria each month and track growthBe inspired by weekly motivational quotesNot only do you get all of the above but you now get Deborah’s exclusive monthly mini pieces of training and tips on growing and managing your school via the QR codes at the start of each month. Your book is now packed full of fabulous content that makes it so much more than just a business planner. Enjoy!
This year could be your most organised, successful and profitable year yet with your Ultimate Dance Business Planner by your side!
This 394 page Planner is 8″ x 10″, paperback and full colour throughout
Printed on bold white paper and with a book industry-perfect binding and a beautiful matt cover, the crisp white paper has a quality that minimises ink bleed-through.
This book is suitable for pen or pencil.
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£33.30 -
Tricks Of The Mind
Derren Brown’s television and stage performances have entranced and dumbfounded millions. His baffling illusions and stunning set pieces – such as The Seance, Russian Roulette and The Heist – have set new standards of what’s possible, as well as causing more than their fair share of controversy. Now, for the first time, he reveals the secrets behind his craft, what makes him tick and just why he grew that beard.
Tricks of the Mind takes you on a journey into the structure and pyschology of magic. Derren teaches you how to read clues in people’s behaviour and spot liars. He discusses the whys and wherefores of hypnosis and shows how to do it. And he investigates the power of suggestion and how you can massively improve your memory. He also takes a long hard look at the paranormal industry and why some of us feel the need to believe in it in the first place. Alternately hilarious, controversial and challenging, Tricks of the Mind is essential reading for Derren’s legions of fans, and pretty bloody irresistible even if you don’t like him that much…
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£9.50Tricks Of The Mind
£9.50 -
Trish Arnold: The Legacy of a Movement Training for Actors: The Legacy of Her Movement Training for Actors
A unique guide to Trish Arnold’s pioneering movement training for actors, focusing on both the context and the practice.Trish Arnold (1918 – 2017) was a pioneer in the field of movement, her work quietly influencing international theatre, film and drama school training. In stature, she stands alongside more famous movement practitioners such as Jacques Le Coq, Rudolf Laban and Litz Pisk.
As the first and only recorded collection of her work, this book offers the reader a clear and concise explanation of movements developed by Arnold throughout her career and looks at where these came from and how they have been passed on to the next generation of practitioners.
The book documents Trish Arnold’s journey into theatre from a classical ballet background and is supplemented throughout by beautiful illustrations of her movements by Ben John, original notes and sketches of Arnold’s, and quotes from fellow movement director Jane Gibson, Arnold’s first apprentice, as well as teacher of voice production Kristin Linklater, whose voice work was hugely influenced by Arnold’s movements.
Through this book, we come to understand the foundations of Arnold’s practice – both its origins and how to implement it – and its legacy in theatre making today.
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£22.20£24.70 -
Trusting the Actor: New Techniques for Actor Training
This revolutionary book is more than just a dry theoretical study of acting techniques. Against a background of Apartheid South Africa it tells the story – both humorous and moving – of how teacher/director Brian Astbury – founder of South Africa’s legendary Space Theatre – and hundreds of actors and acting students both in production and at Britain’s top drama schools developed a set of exercises over two decades to help actors overcome problems not addressed in other methods.These teach how to be ‘in the moment’;
to gain access to the inexhaustible storehouse of the imagination;
to access, integrate and properly use the emotions of the character;
to overcome difficulties with learning lines;
to recreate performance without conscious thought.“An idiosyncratic, challenging and practical guide to the craft of acting, crammed with anecdotes and humorous insights”
Richard E. Grant Actor/director/writer (Withnail and I, The Player, Wah-Wah and many others)“A truly inspirational teacher”
Julie Hesmondhalgh Actor (Hayley, Coronation Street)“A unique figure in British theatre. Provocative, controversial, doggedly inspiring. He has been the pivotal teacher, enabler and mentor for me and countless others.
Rufus Norris Director (Festen, Cabaret, Market Boy, Tintin, Vernon God Little, Blood Wedding)“I cannot recommend it highly enough”
Stephen Moyer Actor (True Blood, NY-LON, Prince Valiant, the RSC)“A conversational (almost chatty) love story, a tale of a theatre company’s struggle against Apartheid, an irreverent look at life”
Alexander Siddig Actor/director (Deep Space Nine, Syriana, Un Homme Perdu, 24, Primeval, Hannibal)“Brian Astbury was, without a doubt, the biggest influence on me. His teachings are still what I go to in trouble”
Jason Flemyng Actor (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Quatermass Experiment, Drum, the RSC)Read more
£2.80 -
Viz Annual 2024: The Barber’s Pole: A Heap of Clippings Swept Up from Issues 302-311
Back in 1922, when Howard Carter first smashed his way into the tomb of long-dead Egyptian King Tutankhamun, the guttering candle in his hand illuminated a scene of unimaginable splendour. “Can you see anything?” asked Lord Carnarvon.“Yes! Wonderful things!” responded a breathless Carter.Fast forward just over a century, and any adventurer opening a copy of Viz – The Barber’s Pole will be similarly astounded by the comedy gold they will find haphazardly piled up within its covers. Because just like the tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, the 226 pages within its stout and glossy covers are packed with priceless treasures.
It’s the sort of 24-carrot comedy gold that has made Viz the country’s fourth* or fifth** favourite humorous magazine (* ** possibly sixth) for well over four decades…
* Edge-of-seat Adventures: Jack Black and His Dog Silver, Who’s Who in a Medieval Plague Village, Motorhead’s Christmas Adventure, and Bad Bob the Randy Wonderdog.
* Shocking scandals about your favourite showbiz stars, Scotch eggs, Deepfake Porn, Tony Blair, and your chance to become a Crypto-Billionaire.
* Cartoons: The Fat Slags, Sid the Sexist, Biffa Bacon, Mrs Brady Old Lady, Johnny Fartpants, The Real Ale Twats, Roger Mellie, and Raffles the Gentleman Thug
* Readers’ letters and Top Tips, spoof ads, quizzes, games, things to cut out and make, and much more.
Obviously, at this point we would like to point out that, unlike King Tut’s burial place, there is no real evidence that Viz has ever been the subject of a deadly curse, placed upon it three thousand years ago by a sinister, hooded priest of the God Thoth. And we consider it very unlikely indeed that anyone who dares to break open the cover of Viz – The Barber’s Pole will simply drop dead from unexplained causes – as Lord Carnarvon did a year to the day after breaking the seal on Tutunkhamun’s tomb.
Sorry, no refunds.
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£8.60£13.30 -
Voice And The Actor
Voice and the Actor is the first classic work by Cicely Berry, Voice Director of the Royal Shakespear Company and world-famous voice teacher. Encapsulating her renowned method of teaching voice production, the exercises in this straightforward, no-nonsense guide will develop relaxation, breathing and muscular control – without which no actor or speaker can achieve their full potential.
Illustrated with passages used in Cicely Berry’s own teaching, Voice and the Actor is the essential first step towards speaking a text with truth and meaning. Inspiring and practical, her words will be a revelation for beginner and professional alike.
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£11.30£14.20Voice And The Actor
£11.30£14.20 -
Voice Over Artist – You’ve Probably Heard Me Before: Calendar & Daily Planner For A Voice Actor Or Actress
Grab this awesome planner for a voice actor or actress to help you get an overview of your weekly and daily goals.Read more
£5.10 -
Voice-Over Voice Actor: The Extended Edition
Interested in Pursuing a Career in VO? Curious what goes on behind the scenes in a business where people talk funny for money? This updated edition of the award-winning first book offers a fun and comprehensive look at what it takes, what goes on, and what it’s like behind the mic from two (still) working pros who started from scratch. In this book you will discover: • The ins and outs of auditioning • Vocal warm-ups and exercises • Tips for reading copy to maximum effect • Hints to help you stand out • Advice for setting up your own home studio • Keys to marketing yourself: demo > agent > job • What to expect when you book the job • A bonus workbook to hone your skills • Performance capture, podcasting, & more!Read more
£17.50 -
Welcome to the Arts: Dance
Brilliantly curated and beautifully illustrated, the Welcome to the Arts series offers all-hours admission to some of the world’s most wondrous performances.From Swan Lake to Riverdance, flamenco to tap, Dance features some of the most iconic performances and popular dances from around the world. Learn about the history, culture, evolution and technique of each dance, while also discovering the stars of past and present, including Fred Astaire, Carlos Acosta, Martha Graham and much more. Exclusive backstage access also allows you to see what goes on behind the theatre doors, including prop and costume design.
Expertly written by Sir Alistair Spalding and published in conjunction with Sadler’s Wells, this beautifully illustrated book is also a large format, so the whole family can be immersed in the wonderful world of dance.
The perfect gift for any Strictly fan, musical lover or budding dancer.
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£19.30£23.80Welcome to the Arts: Dance
£19.30£23.80 -
What Actors Do: Advice to the Players in Seven Paradoxes and a Manifesto
‘Only what is open and searching is active and alive. You, the actor, must learn to find security in insecurity, certainty in uncertainty, to trust that this will lead to discovery and growth.’
In What Actors Do, revered theatre director Mike Alfreds explores the wellspring of the actor’s craft, tracing a pathway to creative freedom through the thickets of competing methodologies and confusing paradoxes that you will face throughout your training and career.
How do you give life to a character that both is and isn’t yourself? How can you be childlike and open in your work without becoming childish? How, when you know what’s coming next, can you still be spontaneous?
Frank, uncompromising and full of sharply focused insights, this book will help you strip away the inhibitions and habitual thinking that can shackle our imaginations. It will show you how to generate truthful performances by trusting your inner creativity and remaining radically open, responsive and present in every moment.
Mike Alfreds has been directing plays for more than seventy years. In the 1970s he founded Shared Experience, and has since worked for the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Shakespeare Company and also extensively abroad. He is hugely respected within the profession, and is the author of two previous books, Different Every Night and Then What Happens?
‘If I was allowed to train again to be an actor, but I was only allowed one teacher, it would have to be Mike Alfreds. To me he is a genius when it comes to acting and storytelling’ Mark Rylance
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£10.50£12.30
