Training of the American Actor

by Arthur Bartow (Editor)

Overview

The handbook of the American actor's art and craft.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781559366199
Publisher:	Theatre Communications Group
Publication date:	02/01/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	392 KB

About the Author

Arthur Bartow is the Artistic Director of the Department of Drama at New York University. He is the author of The Director's Voice (TCG) and has been a consultant and a producer. He staged the original production of Short Eyes by Miguel Pinero and Elizabeth Swados' The Beautiful Lady.

Editorial Reviews

There are probably as many actor-training methods as there are actors, not to mention an exponential number of books explicating those methods. Aspiring thespians serious about their craft can begin with Bartow's (drama, emeritus, Tisch Sch. of the Arts, NYU; The Director's Voice) survey of American methods, both European-inspired and homegrown. Bartow first traces the history of actor training in America, from on-the-job mentoring to the academy. He then cedes the spotlight to ten teachers who were in most cases pupils of the teachers whose methods they describe (e.g., the Lee Strasberg technique is outlined by Strasberg's former pupil and widow, Anna). Three teachers describe their own methods; perhaps the most intriguing section is Mary Overlie's delineation of her Six Viewpoints method of deconstructing and reassembling theatrical forms. Most chapters include exercises, and all conclude with reading lists and sketches of both teacher and profiler. Richard Brestoff's The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methodsprovides similar coverage, but Bartow's work is broader, deeper, and more intimate. Largely free of technical jargon, it should be required reading for all working and would-be actors. An essential purchase for academic libraries with theater collections and highly recommended for larger public libraries.
—M.C. Duhig, Carnegie Lib. of Pittsburgh

Library Journal