Discover the cognitive, social, emotional, and other psychological benefits of learning how to act and perform. This book looks behind the curtain of theatre education to see how thinking on stage happens in real secondary classrooms. Reporting on the first large scale systematic qualitative analyses of acting classes for adolescents, the author…

"The Student Actor Prepares" is a practical, interactive approach to a student actor's journey. Each chapter includes acting principles, their importance to the process, and workbook entries for emotional work, script analysis, and applications to the study of theater. Topics cover a brief history of the art of acting and how the study…

This unique book features an array of approaches, strategies, and tools for teaching multiculturally in the early years. The teachers and classrooms portrayed here provide young children with rich educational experiences that empower them to understand themselves in relation to others. You will see how amazing teachers engage in culturally…

Divided into two parts, the Director's Handbook and the Actor's Handbook, On With the Show! enables directors and actors to get the most out of rehearsal time at home and on the stage. Providing essential time-saving techniques, worksheets, and samples, this guide allows performers and directors to work more effectively and efficiently toward the…

This book--written for amateur theater groups, students, and drama enthusiasts--pinpoints many of the problems that arise when plays are produced on a limited budget and argues that it is not necessary to have large sums of money behind a production for it to be artistically successful. Acting, directing, and the art of make-up are discussed in…

Stage violence is a complex art which, when conceived inventively, approached with professional care and respect, and practiced with patience and energy, can be the highlight of a scene or of an entire play. This book is designed for amateurs who have not had the benefit of formal training in stage violence. Chapters discuss falling (the…

Providing an introduction to anyone considering directing as a field of study or career, this book takes a broad look at the process of directing and encourages students and professionals alike to look outside of the movie industry for inspiration. Chapters in the book discuss selecting and acquiring material; budgeting and financing; casting and…

Intended for teachers who have no particular experience or training in teaching theater, but who have a love of theater and enjoy a good play, this book discusses making theater with children. It explores improvisation, reading and acting with scripts, adapting plays for young actors, and writing plays. The examples presented in the text are…

This collection of new plays for young actors comes from the repertoire of the Young Conservatory, a professional theater training program for young people ages 8 to 18 at the American Conservatory Theater. Each of the five plays in the collection was developed in this way: an outstanding professional playwright is invited to create a new play…

Designed to be used by teachers with varying degrees of dramatic arts experience and by students with limited English proficiency as well as native English speakers, this clear, simple guide familiarizes teachers and children with classic literature through the narrative-mime approach. The guide contains: (1) eight of Aesop's fables adapted and…

Suggesting that improvisation is an invaluable technique that can be used in acting classes and in rehearsals for school, amateur, and professional productions, this book presents 900 improvisation ideas for teachers and directors to use. The first section presents ideas for improvisations on character conflicts, including teen/parent conflicts,…

This directory/guide of New York acting coaches is intended for both beginning and veteran professional actors; it aims to help each individual thespian develop his or her acting skills with the best possible coach for that individual. The guide contains interviews with both the teachers and their students. It profiles 26 teachers, using their own…

This book explores the acting theories and teaching methods of great teachers of acting--among them, the Europeans Stanislavski, Meyerhold, Brecht, and Grotowski; the Japanese Suzuki (who trained in Europe); and the contemporary Americans, Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, and Sanford Meisner. Each chapter of the book includes a sample class, which…

This comprehensive guide for instructors and students is designed for both beginning and advanced courses in directing for the theater. The guide presents the basic concepts of directing progressively and is the only directing text that combines theory with "hands-on" participation units. The exercise-driven guide's approach is totally…

This book is a critical biography of filmmaker Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin's life is traced in interpretative fashion from his birth, with special interest centering on the people and events in his life that molded and influenced his creative activities. Discursive criticism of Chaplin's films, identifying their child-like world view, for example, is…