Acting: An Introduction to the Art and Craft of Playing

Acting: An Introduction to the Art and Craft of Playing discusses both the theory and practice of acting while placing the actor center stage as the crucial artist in the theatre. This book examines the underlying issues of acting and describes potential approaches to meet these challenges.  Practical, experiential examples of applying the vocabulary are provided, but the book is not overloaded with exercises. The book identifies and clearly states the four fundamental actions and four basic tasks that form the basis for acting, focusing the student's energy for playing physically, vocally, imaginatively, and emotionally.  Topically organized chapters examine the underlying processes and theories of the acting process through an open and descriptive approach and provide clear and concrete exercises to facilitate student development and understanding.

Table of Contents:
Index of Exercises   Preface to the Teacher/Coach             Acknowledgments   Preface to Student Players             Two Terms to Consider   I. PREPARATION FOR PLAYING 1. Acting and Performing Who We Are and How We Function             Acting and Performing             Art and Theater             Acting The Practice of Practice Improvisation 2. The Creative Environment             Commitment             Risk             Breath 3. Ki: Energy for Playing             The Four Ki-Posts             Intention II. THE TOOLS FOR PLAYING             Workouts and Warm-ups 4. Body: The Actor’s First Tool Human Motion             The Body at Play             Fitness             Yoga             Laban Movement 5. Voice: The Actor’s Second Tool Origin of Human Speech             Developing Your Voice             The Active Voice             Breathing             Sounding             Vocal Range             Articulating 6. Imagination: The Actor’s Third Tool The Nature of Imagination             The Active Imagination             Using the Imagination             As If… 7. Feelings: The Actor’s Fourth Tool The Nature of Feelings             Sensations             Emotions             Feeling Exercises             Cooling Down 8. The Names of Action Acting Is Doing             The Fundamental Actions   Intermission #1: The Theatrical Illusion               The Willingness to Believe             Theatrical Illusion of Time   Intermission #2:  A Warm-up III. PLAYING 9. The Basic Tasks             The Basic Tasks             Relationships             Status             Sample Open Scene  10. Playing in Plays             From Impulse to Text             The Play (text) Dramatic Structure             Conventions Realism Play Analysis Scene Analysis Analyzing Text             The Promptscript 11. Playing Character             Character             Character Analysis 12. Playing the Field Stage Technique             Four Questions for the Space             The Impulse to Move             Seven Guidelines for Playing the Field             Playing the Proscenium Field             Planes             Crosses             Body Positions Costumes, Lights, and Sound             Costume             Light             Sound 13. You the Player, You the Artist The Rehearsal Process             Read-throughs             Homework             Rehearsing             Run-throughs             Tech             Opening Night Playing Well with Others             The Student-Teacher Relationship             The Actor-Director Relationship Curtain Call–The Spirit of Play             Presence             Postscript Appendix Action List (Push, Pull, Hold, Release–from and to) Task List (Attract, Repel, Sustain, Free) Sample Entrance Lines Sample Exit Lines   Selected Bibliography               Acting             Movement             Voice             Theory and Analysis             Background   Index