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A Beginner’s Guide to Acting Methods
Understanding Practitioners and their Legacies
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A Beginner’s Guide to Acting Methods
Understanding Practitioners and their Legacies
- Textbook
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Description
Wanting to understand the workings and methods of your favourite theatre practitioner? Look no further. This accessible guide summarizes the methods of 20 practitioners by collecting the most important features of their work and framing them so that even the novice actor will understand the material.
Introducing us to the work of practitioners such as: Konstantin Stanislavski, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Bertolt Brecht, Michael Chekhov, Jacques Copeau, Maria Knebel, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Viola Spolin, Uta Hagen, Augusto Boal, Jerzy Grotowski, Tadashi Suzuki, and Anne Bogart among a number of others, the book sets readers on the path to discovering the methods they want to explore in greater depth.
It does so through each chapter offering:
- biographical information on each practitioner
- a description of their method
- suggestions for digging deeper and further exploration
- journal and discussion questions
- the opportunity for practical application with 3-6 hours' worth of in-class activities for instructors to use
As a whole, the book seeks to offer an introduction to the many acting teachers and their methods in one place, demystifying terminology such as "biomechanics", "active analysis", "grounding" and "viewpoints", and introducing readers to the founders of the principles that make up modern acting.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I - Full Chapters
1. In the Beginning
2. Konstantin Stanislavski
3. Vsevolod Meyerhold
4. Jacques Copeau
5. Rudolf von Laban
6. Michael Chekhov
7. Maria Knebel
8. Bertolt Brecht
9. Stella Adler
10. Sanford Meisner
11. Viola Spolin
12. Uta Hagen
13. Jacques Lecoq
14. Augusto Boal
15. Jerzy Grotowski
16. Tadashi Suzuki
17. Harold Guskin
18. Anne Bogart
19. Declan Donnellan
20. Patsy Rodenburg
21. Chelsea Pace
Part II - Partial Chapters
22. Lee Strasberg
23. Frank Silvera
24. Barbara Ann Teer
25. Susan Batson
26. David Mamet
Conclusion: Missing Chapters
Notes
Index
Bibliography
Product details

Published | 26 Jun 2025 |
---|---|
Format | Paperback |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 360 |
ISBN | 9781350434158 |
Imprint | Methuen Drama |
Dimensions | 246 x 189 mm |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |

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