Acting the Right Part is a cultural history of huaju (modern Chinese drama) from 1966 to 1996. Xiaomei Chen situates her study both in the context of Chinese literary and cultural history and in the context of comparative drama and theater, cultural studies, and critical issues relevant to national theater worldwide. Following a discussion of the marginality of modern Chinese drama in relation to other genres, periods, and cultures, early chapters focus on the dynamic relationship between theater and revolution. Chosen during the Cultural Revolution as the exclusive artistic vehicle to promote proletariat art, "model theater" raises important questions about the complex relationships between women, memory, nation/state, revolution, and visual culture. Throughout this study, Chen argues that dramatic norms inform both theatrical performance and everyday political behavior in contemporary China.

Acting Right is the leading work on using drama to teach behavior. This step-by-step approach integrates engaging aspects of drama with effective elements of classroom management to empower students to take ownership of and be responsible for their own behavior. Used in classrooms across the country, these strategies help create the behavioral literacy necessary for students to concentrate, cooperate, collaborate and establish a sense of calm, focus, and balance in the classroom. Sean Layne is the founder of Focus 5, Inc., an arts education consulting company providing professional learning opportunities to schools, school districts, performing arts centers, arts organizations, and museums around the country. Sean has worked in the field of arts integration for 30 years. He is a national teaching artist for The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, DC. He designs arts integration training seminars for teaching artists for The Kennedy Center and is also a course leader and arts coach for their Changing Education Through the Arts program. For over a decade Sean was a professional actor as well as a Master Artist for the Wolf Trap Institute Early Learning Through the Arts program.

(Applause Books). A master actor who's appeared in an enormous number of films, starring with everyone from Nicholson to Kermit the Frog, Michael Caine is uniquely qualified to provide his view of making movies. This revised and expanded edition features great photos, with chapters on: Preparation, In Front of the Camera Before You Shoot, The Take, Characters, Directors, On Being a Star, and much more. "Remarkable material ... A treasure ... I'm not going to be looking at performances quite the same way ... FASCINATING!" Gene Siskel

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.

Previously only available to Katselas' students at the prestigious Beverly Hills Playhouse, Acting Class presents the concepts and methods that have helped lead a generation of actors to success on stage, in cinema, and on television. Now for the first time, this all-encompassing book is available to the general public, taking readers and sitting them in the legendary acting class of Milton Katselas, where he not only covers techniques and methods, but also includes valuable discussions on the attitude any artist needs to fulfill his or her dream.

Does acting matter? David Thomson, one of our most respected and insightful writers on movies and theater, answers this question with intelligence and wit. In this fresh and thought-provoking essay, Thomson tackles this most elusive of subjects, examining the allure of the performing arts for both the artist and the audience member while addressing the paradoxes inherent in acting itself. He reflects on the casting process, on stage versus film acting, and on the cult of celebrity. The art and considerable craft of such gifted artists as Meryl Streep, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Daniel Day-Lewis, and others are scrupulously appraised here, as are notions of “good” and “bad” acting. Thomson’s exploration is at once a meditation on and a celebration of a unique and much beloved, often misunderstood, and occasionally derided art form. He argues that acting not only “matters” but is essential and inescapable, as well as dangerous, chronic, transformative, and exhilarating, be it on the theatrical stage, on the movie screen, or as part of our everyday lives.

A systematic presentation of activity theory, its application to interaction design, and an argument for the development of activity theory as a basis for understanding how people interact with technology. Activity theory holds that the human mind is the product of our interaction with people and artifacts in the context of everyday activity. Acting with Technology makes the case for activity theory as a basis for understanding our relationship with technology. Victor Kaptelinin and Bonnie Nardi describe activity theory's principles, history, relationship to other theoretical approaches, and application to the analysis and design of technologies. The book provides the first systematic entry-level introduction to the major principles of activity theory. It describes the accumulating body of work in interaction design informed by activity theory, drawing on work from an international community of scholars and designers. Kaptelinin and Nardi examine the notion of the object of activity, describe its use in an empirical study, and discuss key debates in the development of activity theory. Finally, they outline current and future issues in activity theory, providing a comparative analysis of the theory and its leading theoretical competitors within interaction design: distributed cognition, actor-network theory, and phenomenologically inspired approaches.

For the first time in print, comes the revolutionary acting technique from the premiere acting coach of our era. Not a copy of the old masters, The Warner Loughlin Technique empowers the actor to create rich, nuanced and unique characters. Discover the technique used to help create some of the most remarkable performances of our time from actors such as Amy Adams, Ryan Reynolds, Kyra Sedgwick and countless other Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe, Tony and Grammy nominees and winners. Loughlin debunks the myth of the tortured actor and guides you step by step through her groundbreaking technique revealing powerful ways to unlock your creativity in a psychologically safe way. Her insight into life and art is remarkable. The Warner Loughlin Technique changes the way acting will be taught for generations to come. Find out more at warnerloughlin.com. "I was able to find my voice, and to find tears and to find levels, because I was able to have a safe place to go, that I could come back from. With your technique, in character prep, when I visit a character's life, her past and create an event good or tragic - that belongs to her. I don't take ownership of that pain with me. I don't take it on as my own...So this allows me not to be scared to go there, which allows me freedom as an actress to do anything, because I don't own it. It belongs to my character."-Amy Adams "Working with Warner was a revelation. I doubted that I could ever work without "observing" and judging every moment. I will be forever grateful [to Warner] for helping me get back to the joy of living in the spontaneous truth of every scene."-Kyra Sedgwick "I've been working with Warner Loughlin for years. Not only has she helped me become a better actor, but she's also helped me truly enjoy this work in ways I never imagined."-Ryan Reynolds "Before I started working with Warner on the technique, I felt like acting was just something that I could some days do, and some days not do. It was only through doing deep emotion with detail on each of the characters I got, that I could act everyday how I wanted to, because I ended up knowing the character inside and out. The thoughts are no longer my own, but the characters', so I don't have to work as hard during the scenes. Now being on set and being the character is fun and never feels pushed. I love the technique and it has helped me immensely."-Sosie Bacon "I met Warner over 10 years ago. She has coached me through comedy, drama, and even life! She has not only given me tools to be better at my job, but tools to be 100% confident through the process."-Emma Roberts "Warner's Technique has become part of my creative process... It's simply the most intuitive way for me to find a character's base human emotion. Warner worked with us on Disney's Frozen for many months and helped us create truthful characters... I've never felt so comfortable animating a character before and I think the sophistication in the performance in the film speaks for itself."-Lino DiSalvo, Head of Animation for Disney's Frozen

Jenna Fischer's Hollywood journey began at the age of 22 when she moved to Los Angeles from her hometown of St. Louis. With a theater degree in hand, she was determined, she was confident, she was ready to work hard. So, what could go wrong? Uh, basically everything. The path to being a professional actor was so much more vast and competitive than she'd imagined. It would be eight long years before she landed her iconic role on The Office, nearly a decade of frustration, struggle, rejection and doubt. If only she'd had a handbook for the aspiring actor. Or, better yet, someone to show her the way—an established actor who could educate her about the business, manage her expectations, and reassure her in those moments of despair. Jenna wants to be that person for you. With amusing candor and wit, Fischer spells out the nuts and bolts of getting established in the profession, based on her own memorable and hilarious experiences. She tells you how to get the right headshot, what to look for in representation, and the importance of joining forces with other like-minded artists and creating your own work—invaluable advice personally acquired from her many years of struggle. She provides helpful hints on how to be gutsy and take risks, the tricks to good auditioning and callbacks, and how not to fall for certain scams (auditions in a guy's apartment are probably not legit—or at least not for the kind of part you're looking for!). Her inspiring, helpful guidance feels like a trusted friend who's made the journey, and has now returned to walk beside you, pointing out the pitfalls as you blaze your own path towards the life of a professional actor.