Teaching Acting with Practical Aesthetics uses constructivist pedagogy to teach acting via Practical Aesthetics, a system of actor training created in the mid-1980s by David Mamet. The book melds the history of Practical Aesthetics, Practical Aesthetics itself, educational theory, and compatible physical work into the educational approach called Praxis to create a comprehensive training guide for the modern actor and theatre instructor. It includes lesson plans, compatible voice and movement exercises, constructivist teaching materials, classroom handouts, and a suggested calendar for Acting courses. Written for Acting instructors at the college and secondary levels, Acting scholars, and professionals looking for a new way to perform, Teaching Acting with Practical Aesthetics offers detailed instructions to help students sharpen their performing skills and excel on stage.

Teaching Acting with Practical Aesthetics uses constructivist pedagogy to teach acting via Practical Aesthetics, a system of actor training created in the mid-1980s by David Mamet. The book melds the history of Practical Aesthetics, Practical Aesthetics itself, educational theory, and compatible physical work into the educational approach called Praxis to create a comprehensive training guide for the modern actor and theatre instructor. It includes lesson plans, compatible voice and movement exercises, constructivist teaching materials, classroom handouts, and a suggested calendar for Acting courses. Written for Acting instructors at the college and secondary levels, Acting scholars, and professionals looking for a new way to perform, Teaching Acting with Practical Aesthetics offers detailed instructions to help students sharpen their performing skills and excel on stage.

Teaching Acting with Practical Aesthetics uses constructivist pedagogy to teach acting via Practical Aesthetics, a system of actor training created in the mid-1980s by David Mamet. The book melds the history of Practical Aesthetics, Practical Aesthetics itself, educational theory, and compatible physical work into the educational approach called Praxis to create a comprehensive training guide for the modern actor and theatre instructor. It includes lesson plans, compatible voice and movement exercises, constructivist teaching materials, classroom handouts, and a suggested calendar for Acting courses. Written for Acting instructors at the college and secondary levels, Acting scholars, and professionals looking for a new way to perform, Teaching Acting with Practical Aesthetics offers detailed instructions to help students sharpen their performing skills and excel on stage.

For anyone who has ever wanted to take an acting class, "this is the best book on acting written in the last twenty years" (David Mamet, from the Introduction). This book describes a technique developed and refined by the authors, all of them young actors, in their work with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, actor W. H. Macy, and director Gregory Mosher. A Practical Handbook for the Actor is written for any actor who has ever experienced the frustrations of acting classes that lacked clarity and objectivity, and that failed to provide a dependable set of tools. An actor's job, the authors state, is to "find a way to live truthfully under the imaginary circumstances of the play." The ways in which an actor can attain that truth form the substance of this eloquent book.

This dissertation uses constructivist pedagogy to teach acting via practical aesthetics, a system of actor training created in the mid-1980s by David Mamet and his college acting students. Primarily taught at the Atlantic Theatre Acting School in New York City, practical aesthetics has been the focus of little academic research. The same lack of research regarding constructivist pedagogy exists in academic theatre scholarship. The author takes a step toward rectifying this situation. Using an action research methodology, based on approximately thirteen years of teaching experience, the author suggests that practical aesthetics and his accompanying voice and movement exercises can be effective in training novice actors. The author melds theory and practice into the educational approach called praxis to create specific detailed lesson plans which can be used to implement practical aesthetics. These lessons constitute primary research on this topic. Compatible voice and movement exercises are also included to provide a comprehensive semester length digest. The first chapter is an introduction, the second outlines practical aesthetics, the third focuses on constructivism, the fourth discusses teaching acting using constructivist learning design, the fifth provides narrative lessons that can be used in the classroom, and the closure provides a review as well as suggestions for further research. An intriguing point made in the closure is a call for studies that might determine practical aesthetics' applicability and usability in other fields such as law, business, politics, public speaking, and even non-profit work. Although the primary audience for this dissertation is secondary school and college acting instructors, any scholar studying acting theory or constructivist pedagogy may find value in its contents.

In this practical guide, renowned actor and director Michael Chekhov shares his innovative approach to the craft of acting. Drawing on his extensive experience in the theater and his unique understanding of the actor's creative process, Chekhov presents a comprehensive system of techniques designed to help actors develop their physical, mental, and emotional abilities. Through a series of exercises and principles, actors can learn to create compelling, truthful performances that captivate audiences and bring characters to life on stage and screen.

The first comprehensive survey and study of the major techniques developed by and for the American actor over the past 60 years. Presented side-by-side, each of the 10 disciplines included is described in detail by one of today's foremost practitioners. An invaluable resource both for the young actor embarking on a career and for the theatre professional polishing his or her craft. ''successful acting must reflect a society's current beliefs. The men and women who developed each new technique were convinced that previous methods were not equal to the full challenges of their time and place, and the techniques in this book have been adapted to current needs in order to continue to be successful methods for training actors. The actor's journey is an individual one, and the actor seeks a form, or a variety of forms, of training that will assist in unlocking his own creative gifts of expression.''

"All the elements of preparing a monologue audition - script analysis, staging, voice, timing, gesture, movement and self-presentation skills - are thoroughly explored here. The goal of the book, as Ms. Kohlhaas states in her Introduction, is not only to help you prepare for auditions, but to make working on monologues a regular and enjoyable part of your acting life. As you follow the author along the path she charts, you are not only learning to rehearse monologues effectively, you are learning to turn auditions into exciting ways to grow and challenge yourself as an actor."--BOOK JACKET.

"First published in the United States, this unique survey of the twentieth century's most influential acting methods offers invaluable practical insights for actors and drama teachers all over the world." "Each of the ten famous techniques included in this handbook is described in detail by one of today's foremost practitioners. Each chapter outlines the development of the respective technique and offers practical guidance for actors wishing to explore it for themselves." --Book Jacket.

A manual of common sense for actors and those that want to be. "Thank you so much Mark for this fabulous book, I feel elated again and have ditched all the other stuff." JOHNATHON FARREL When you own Truth in Action, you'll: Learn to Develop the Mindset of the Truthful Actor, which means that no matter what skill level you're at, you'll see immediate improvements. Discover how to pull apart any script and grasp the actable parts of it, which means that no matter how good or bad the material is, you'll understand it and you'll have the know-how to translate it into action - the language of the actor. Understand how to connect with your scene partners, which means you'll create great on screen/stage chemistry with your fellow actors. Learn how to transform the ideas and instructions of the director into truthful action. Discover the secrets of truthful acting and how to put them into action, which means you'll create authentic, organic and sincere performances.