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The Actor and the Target
£13.70£16.10 (-15%)
A definitive guide to acting. A revised and updated edition of Declan Donnellan’s international bestseller, a fresh and radical approach to acting by a world-famous director and one of the most successful titles ever published by Nick Hern Books.
“The Actor and the Target comes from the heart of his own experience. Fear, generalising and other actor’s blocks are dismembered lethally and with infectious relish” Alan Rickman
“Brilliantly direct, the ‘target’ equips the actor with keys to unlock the fears and flab of acting. Declan’s insightful voice guides us to the heart of the process; exhilirating to read and more importantly to put into practice.” Joseph Fiennes.
“Cuts open every generalisation about acting and draws out gleamingly fresh specifics.” Peter Brook
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Additional information
| Publisher | New edition (30 Sept. 2005), Nick Hern Books |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 304 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1854598384 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1854598387 |
| Dimensions | 14 x 2.3 x 21.6 cm |
by Ben Smith
It’s quite a wordy book explaining the technique of allowing yourself to be affected by the target. Nevertheless, it is an important read if you’re willing to get serious about acting. The most important lesson I took from this is that everything in your acting is affected by the target and what you observe from it.
by Lese B
I love this book. So practical and a good read.
by Annie
My bible really improved my acting skills
by John
Looking at the other reviews I was really looking forward to reading this. By now I have read quite a few books on the method of acting and was open to everything this one could teach me, but I found it simply confusing, convoluted, and some-what pretentious.
According to Declan Donnellan, the “target” is the objective of the character in that specific moment, or something that the character places all of their focus and energy towards – but the catch is that if you think about the “target” then you have failed, as apparently you can’t be truly focused on the target as a specific thing, but he also claims that the “target” is something that is ever changing and is never static, thus your focus must constantly be moving with it, yet you can’t know where the “target” is moving, because if you did then you would lose focus, and thus according to Declan, lose sight of the “target” all together. Confused? Me too.
His acting method plays a complete ‘Catch 22’ on itself. To be a good actor you must apparently focus on the target, but the target is ever changing and moving – so if you ever identify the target, it means you have ultimately lost sight of the target. What a load of convoluted rubbish.
I put this book down half-way-through. Stick to Michael Chekhov if you are looking for inspiration and an actually worthy method of acting.
by OpenToNewIdeas
I’m a teacher, nothing to do with acting, but I saw the book at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, bought it, loved it, and bought another online for a friend, also a teacher.
I was seduced by the blurb, and can now say it’s true: “[It] is no more for actors only than The Art of War is reserved for warriors…”
When I’m teaching, I try to listen to the student, find gaps in their knowledge and work from there, rather than having a set agenda for a lesson, or even a course right from the start. This book resonated with this approach, and I got a lot from it, despite not thinking of using it for acting. I want to read it again, which is a good sign.
by Ema
What a great book. Very intellectually stimulating and inspiring. It takes a more philosophical approach throughout but it is written so simply and it is therefore easy to understand and follow. I love this approach to acting and the way it is explored.
by x iLeon
This is such a great book, full of essence, wittily written and devoid of meaningless bubble. Other reviewers have already covered aspects of this, so all I’ll add is that as an actor, this is the kind of book you dream of coming across. Entirely practical, it shows you how to rid of blocks and give your performances life and urgency. It’s witty style is thoroughly inspiring. And the revelations in it go much further, into illuminating aspects of the human psyche (as dramatic art should).
I read a copy from my library and it was so good that I had to get my own, to festoon with pencil marks and use as a regular acting bible.
by LarsDK
I aquired it as a director wanting to understand more of the acting process and I loved it.
It’s beautifully written, clear, dense and full of deeps insights about drama and acting.
I found myself underlining half the book for quotes worth remembering.