5 comments about All the Words on Stage: A Complete Pronunciation Dictionary for the Plays of William Shakespeare.

1. Today even well trained actors balk at having to do Shakespeare. This book provides the tools necessary to bridge the daunting task of getting your mouth around the words and understanding what you are saying. Thanks to the authors for creating a book that captures their extensive knowledge and expertise in a user friendly volume.



2. Beyond the pronunciation dictionary, essential to every North American actor and director of Shakespeare, the book's notes on scanning Shakespeare's verse set forth briefly in ten clear pages, not extended pedantic garble, what an actor must know, since scansion may dictate pronunciation. The additional notes on dialects, accents, Latin and other foreign languages used by Shakespeare, and the observations on differences in poetic diction in each of his plays, also have great value.



3. This is as essential a tool for any actor performing Shakespeare as the voice, body and mind! I highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about their craft.



4. GREAT FIND!! Any and every word Shakespeare ever wrote is in this book with the proper pronounciation. This is a "must have" for any Shakespeare actor, or for someone who wants to read Shakespeare and know exactly how to say every word. Also, the verse speaking techniques are excellent. If you are serious about Shakespeare, get this book!



5. This incredibly thorough and efficient book is essential to any person who wishes to study or truly appreciate Shakespeare. I've been an actor and a student of English literature for many years, but I did not have the access to or admiration for classical works that I have gained since using Younts' and Scheeders' text.
   The poetry is better this way! You need to know how to say it if you want to perform it! Actors, Directors, and Lovers of Shakespeare, GET THIS BOOK!!!

1 comments about Another Opening, Another Show: A Lively Introduction to the Theatre.

1. Okay, if you're a non-major and you want to know something about theatre, wouldn't you want to know correct information? I unwittingly used this book full of errors to teach an Intro to theatre course, recently, and found myself constantly correcting or clarifying concepts in the book to my students. This shouldn't have been necessary. While I think it's fine to simplify concepts for beginning students, it's not okay to get things simply wrong. The design section has big problems in this regard. For instance they say "Although imprecise names like puce, chartreuse, and peach are still used to market products in the fashion and automobile industries, serious artists have abandoned such vague descriptions and use only the precise name that defines a particular hue . . ." I don't know who the "serious artists" are that the authors write about but no professionals I've ever worked with, in New York City and other places "use only the precise name." Usually we don't even use a name and grab something that is pretty much the color we want and say--dye the cloth this blue but a little lighter or we use names like peach and chartreuse. I have problems with some of their defintions and use of terms like 'intensity' when I've always heard the term 'saturation' used for the same concept, which is more descriptive and help students distinguish color from how bright or dim a light.
   The way Markus and Sarver cover multi-cultural/diversity issues like color blind casting and plays by people of color is embarrassingly patronizing or just weird. If watching a place by Luis Valdez helps us "learn respect for people of different ethnic backgrounds" why doesn't watching a play by Henrik Ibsen, since I'm not, nor were any of my students, Norwegian or European?
   The section on acting implys that Stanislavski's method acting is the only kind of actor training available in the United States. While they don't have to deliniate the Suzuki or other methods at least they could add that while method acting is the most popular actor training there are other actor training schools.
   While the section on producing theatre is New York is pretty good I would not purchase the book for that.
   The text seemed geared toward an elementary student not high school or college. And while it is not all bad, it has too many faults to be adopted for classroom use.

1 comments about Mediation Theory and Practice.

1. I Needed this book for class, however this was a good book for the course.

1 comments about Theatre Brief w/ Enjoy the Play.

1. I guess that you'd have to say that this book is an introduction to the Theatre. But that would be cutting it pretty short. This is the shorter, 400+ page version of Mr. Cohen's 600+ page book. It has some 280 photographs (instead of 370). Although this book is the Brief Edition, it is hard to tell in looking them over to see that anything is missing from its bigger brother. It has history of the theater, it has a world tour of theater in other places, it has technical sections on subjects like lighting, costumes, makeup, and sound.
   
   The major theme in the book is a description of what a play is, what it does, how it does it. This is done by an analysis of the general rules of play writing, and an analysis (with extensive excerpts) from seven plays: Prometheus Bound, Odipus Tyrannos, The York Cycle, Romeo and Juliet, The Bourgeois Gentlemen, The Three Sisters, and Happy Days.
   
   This seventh edition is updated to include the most recent offerings, recent trends in the theater, an inside view of several prominent Americna playwrights, reorganization of the chapter on musical and contemporary theater, and finally a short booklet called 'Enjoy the Play' on simply going to a play and enjoying it.

No comments about The Interviewing Guidebook.

2 comments about Playwriting: From Formula to Form.

1. This work, written by two playwriting professors from Wyoming University, covers all the basics that any beginning, medium level or veteran playwright would ever need. In fact, the book is outlined much in the manner of a top rate survey course, possessing the vital ingredient of bold head outlines and charts. It would be easy for playwrights to develop their own checklists, flow charts, or a series of note cards covering the essentials of the craft from the lifting of the first curtain to the drawing of the final curtain. Also, when the playwrights make a point about motive, plot development, or dramatic conflict, they follow up their assertions with examples from established works extending back as far as Greek drama.

   For those who write both plays and screenplays, this work is highly valuable in that the authors point out the basic differences of the two pursuits, and how some writers become trapped by confusing one with the other. The authors point out the difference between the visual medium of film with the reliance on a camera and cinematic effects alongside the on the scene visuality and focus on the well stated word that chracterizes the immediacy of a theatrical experience.

   Downs and Wright devote extensive detail to the importance of plotting and characterization, providing road maps to keep the industrious writer on track. In addition, they provide play samples. This serves two excellent purposes: 1) reading how a well crafted play develops on the printed page; 2) demonstrating the proper editorial technique for writing a play so that improper form can be avoided, and the damaging recognition of technical presentation flaws by skilled theatrical readers.




2. This book sets out in specific terms the formula for a sucessful play with reasons and pitfalls of both ignoring and following the formula. It is ideally suited to classroom use and has an inclusive glossary. The examples plays used will spark discussion although I found them the least helpful portion of the book. It is clear and concise and as useful as any book can be in this area. The roles of protagonist, antagonist and inciting incident are explored not only in contemporary but historical terms and the lessons contained would benefit any writer of any type not just the beginning playwright. It is a book I will pick up over and over again while writing as a guide not only in the idea stage but final polishing. I highly recommend it as it is very readable and practical. It was used with great results in a playwrighting seminar I attended.

5 comments about Fiddler on the Roof: Based on Sholom Aleichem's Stories.

1. This moving play presents Jewish life in Tsarist Russia circa 1905. It's the story of dairyman Tevye and his family in the fictional village Anatevka. Tevye is a hard-worker who clings to his faith and traditions, and dreams of riches he'll never see. He believes he'll soon need the matchmaker to marry off his older daughters - but they soon force their more modern ideas about romance on their unhappy father. Tevye must also deal with a changing world and life in a nation with anti-Jewish hostility. The powerful script and song lyrics give readers the feel of Jewish life in Eastern Europe a century ago. Many Jews back then (like my great-grandfather) were leaving for a better chance in the USA or elsewhere; many that remained were later massacred by Hitler.
   
   This musical opened on Broadway in 1964 with Zero Mostel in the title role; it ran over ten years with a then-record 3,242 performances. Adapted from the tales of Yiddish writer Sholom Alecheim (1859-1916), FIDDLER is a powerful tale of family, tradition, humor and sadness.



2. The book is in great shape, and it cost $ .02 + $ 3.99 shipping--altogether just over $ 4.00 for a book I needed quickly for a writing assignment. That's unbelievably cheap for a script of a great musical show with photos of the original Broadway production. I had the book within 5 days of ordering. Hippo Books has my vote for best internet seller I've ever encountered!



3. Though it differs slightly from the production script this version is very well done with excellent photos.



4. Wonderful! It's the full script not a novel. It includes some wonderful pictures from the original production.



5. Reading "Fiddler on the Roof" is not the same as the experience of seeing it performed. In print, the story falls as flat as the pages. With so many characters the reader may have trouble decoding what is happening to who.
   
   "Fiddler ..." is a wonderful story that captures Jewish life in pre-World War II Russia as well as any book. With humor, the reader sees the world through the eyes of a man with five daughters that need husbands. As each daughter gets hitched, a new wrinkle to the story is added. But the story ends on a sad and ambigious note as the family is forced from their land because of "... trouble in the world". With this, the very tradition on which the story is based is shattered.

5 comments about The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide.

1. The Wildlife of Star Wars is a whimsical look at some of the creatures that inhabit the Star Wars universe. This bestiary is beautifully drawn and colored and presented as a coffee table style book. There is just enough information in the captions to hold your interest but not draw your attention away from the wonderful artwork.



2. I love this book. It's particular combination of pretty art and extraodinary imagination make this a book a great colectionist article for every Star Wars fan.



3. Although this is another starwars art book, it is a great book in and of itself. The artwork is amazing as well as well thought out and researched. I have shared the book with many including children who are fascinated and inspired by the animals and environments within. This book is a great buy for artists looking for inspirational work.



4. This is an awesome book for Star Wars movie lovers, but I'm a completely engrossed Star Wars fan who looks on Wookieepedia, and I expected a bit more than this. It's got all the things movie-goers would love, but I just wish it had more on wildlife from other planets than what's provided. I'd have liked some Yuuzhan Vong wildlife, some Ithorian creatures, and maybe an article on tarentatek or vornskrs, fascinating as they are. It just needs a little more outside the movies.



5. I bought this book over 5 years ago when it first came out. I saw it at a local bookstore and had to have it! If you enjoy speculative zoology -- Dougal Dixon, Wayne Barlowe, "The World of Kong" (2005)-- then you will definitely want this volume. Even those who aren't Star Wars fans will appreciate the creative artwork and thought given to creating these fantastic alien environments and creatures.

No comments about Plays Onstage: An Anthology.

5 comments about How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime.

1. Roger Corman wrote "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime" in 1990, reflecting on a 35-year career making movies, during which he was nearly always in production. The title of the book should be taken literally. Corman tells us just how he directed or produced the low-budget independent films for which he is famous. After giving a brief account of his early life, Corman dives into his career of non-stop filmmaking, launched by "The Monster from the Ocean Floor", made for $12,000 in 1954, through directing films for American International Pictures 1955-1969, producing youth-oriented exploitation films and distributing foreign art films for his own company New World Pictures 1970-1982, and finally his focus on the home video market in the 1980s.
   
   Corman learned the business of making movies as he went along, so he takes the reader though the financing and production of many of his movies, his mistakes, his philosophy, and his legendary efficiency. The recollections of people who worked with Corman, many of whom got their start in the unofficial "Corman School", are scattered throughout the text. These add an interesting variety of perspectives. Among those who chime in with their thoughts on working with Corman are actors Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, and Vincent Price, directors Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, John Sayles, and Francis Coppola, and Corman's wife and associate producer Julie Corman.
   
   Corman's disdain for bureaucracy, his many methods of penny-pinching, his attempts to inject social relevance into exploitation films, his commitment to making films to suit the market (or even to suit the sets!), and his almost infallible instincts for what people want to see come across strongly. Corman's obsessive thrift seems almost pathological at times. He might have done better to spend a little more money here and there and to have more concern for his cast and crew's safety. But the ways in which he managed time, re-used sets and footage, and got people to do things for cheap would be helpful to anyone trying to break into the business on a low budget. Corman filmed "The Little Shop of Horrors" in 2 days on a leftover soundstage. It's one of the cheapest and most enduring films he made.



2. The funniest random comment from Roger Corman in this book related to the use of stock footage: Corman mentioned that when he was filming the Edgar Allan Poe series (Poe was popular since all of his tales were in public domain)that nobody associated with the productions ever envisioned the home video market would permit film students and others to analyze the films on a frame by frame basis! One oft used fire sequence was economically obtained when Corman paid the owner of a barn, who had obtained a burning permit to demolish the dilphidated structure, a few dollars to photograph the razing of the barn. The collapsing rafters from the flaming roof appeared in film after film.
   
   Roger Corman managed to learn enough about filmmaking to become a profitable commodity. He avoided the major studios with one exception: "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre." This celebrated cult film was shot on the backlot of 20th Century Fox and featured just about every heavy and extra who had ever appeared on the television series "The Untouchables." Corman was foiled in his bid to cast Orson Welles as Al Capone. Studio executives feared that Welles would wrest control of the film away from Corman and begin directing the movie. Fox contract player Jason Robards, who was to have played Bugs Moran, was quickly recast as a malnourished Scarface, and Ralph Meeker was substituted as Moran. Corman regulars, Jack Nicholson, Dick Miller and Bruce Dern can also be glimpsed in the finished film. This cult favorite was the closest that Corman ever came to the Hollywood mainstream.
   
   Corman was steadily employed as a cost conscious producer and director who got most of his projects completed on time and under budget. He was an advocate of getting every last dollar's worth of production values up on the screen. The sole exception was "The Intruder." This civil rights message picture about a bigoted political agitator was the only Corman film to lose money in its initial release.
   
   Roger Corman's greatest legacy may well be the number of actors and directors who launched their celebrated careers in his B minus films. This book is an amusing diversion, but like many of Corman's drive-in quickies it is not too deep in terms of its analysis.



3. An interesting if not biased look at the life (and art?) of Roger Corman. Essential reading for low-budget filmmaking.



4. I'm not sure of how I happened upon this biography, but I'm glad I did. I'm not particularly a Roger Corman fan, having seen perhaps three or four of his films without really noticing that Corman had a part in their making.
   
   Corman's life is interesting. Not only was he probably the most successful independent filmaker in history, he was also mentor and first-chance for many of today's leading producers, directors, writers and stars.
   
   Remarkably down to earth and honest, Corman admits that his life has not been totally fulfilling: like many successful people, success is never enough - there's always one more challenge down the road and more than one challenge left unexplored in the past.
   
   Corman engages in some, but not deep, analysis of his films, explains his evolving political philosophy and provides snippets that from another author might be construed as name-dropping. But Corman was there and it's his interactions with these people he's talking about, so it's not in the least obnoxious.
   
   Above all, the value of Corman's book may not be to film buffs, but to business people, especially small scale entrepreneurs. Corman's management methods and his approach to filmaking were true nose-to-the-grindstone. He knew his market; he studied his market; he created his product to appeal to his market and he kept costs down to a minimum in order to reduce his risk of loss.
   
   Quite a guy and his biography is worth the couple of hours it takes to read it.
   
   Jerry



5. To this day, I haven't seen one Corman film I've liked. Still, this book is a nice look into the world of low-budget producing. It gave me the opportunity to truly understand my disdain for Corman and AIP.
   
   Most of the book focuses on three or four of the productions Corman is most proud of. I would have preferred him spending additional time on his more obscure films. Teenage Caveman only gets a paragraph or two written about it.
   
   A documentary would have been a more appropriate format for this material than a book. It would have been much shorter that way at the very least. Then again, Corman always had a knack for dragging things out in his films. Ever seen Swamp Diamonds?
   
   The main theme of the book seems to be, "Yeah, Corman's films were bad, but he did pretty good for what he had." That doesn't take away the fact that they're bad films. Don't watch them unless you have a high threshold of pain.