No comments about Introduction to Theatre Arts 2.

No comments about Directory of Theatre Training Programs: Profiles of College and Conservatory Programs Throughout the United States (Directory of Theatre Training Programs) (Directory of Theatre Training Programs).

2 comments about Mel Bay Presents - Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1050 Reels and Jigs (Hornpipes, Clogs, Walk-arounds, Essences, Strathspeys, Highland Flings and Contra Dances, with Figures).

1. Boy, am I relieved. My old paperback of "1,000 Fiddle Tunes" had been losing pages for years. An indispensable book.



2. This is a collection worth owning for any traditional Irish musician. Some of the best versions of tunes I've found and tunes that just arn't available anywhere else are in this collection.

4 comments about How to Sell Yourself as an Actor: from New York to Los Angeles (and everywhere in between!).

1. I had to review this book. When you're looking for a bit of guidance or reassurance as an actor from a book, you want to be sure that you're spending money on a good opinion. So to any actor that's feeling a little lost and is in between auditions, I think this is a worthwhile buy. However, if you're a pretty opportunistic and entrepeneurial kind of person with a positive attitude and bucket loads of self-belief, then I'd keep a hold of your money. K Callan's book is great to give you that motivation you need to keep going. It's practical, sensical and, although you could probably think of a lot of her ideas yourself, sometimes it's great to have it written down on the page - a checklist of sorts. I live in Australia and I still found it helpful. Basically, the book is a way to get you thinking about yourself - what you have to offer, is there work for you, how can you market yourself, how can you create your own work and then thinking about the marketplace - who's going to hire you, what are producers, casting agents thinking when they see you. It's all those non-acting elements that are vital to your career. The only thing I didn't like so much, as usual, is her list of figures about the type of career you can expect - average length five years!! - the rest of the time, you're just trying to get by. I think that's important to keep in mind, but you can't shoot for the moon and always be practical and realistic. You've gotta have those big dreams and believe you're going to be the next.... But, just be grateful for the breaks you do get.
   Easy read, great wrap up tips at the end of each chapter. A good motivator.



2. As a talent agent, I've been lucky enough to speak with K Callan at several seminars and I've always been impressed by her concern for actors who are just starting out in the business. Her book is full of valuable information and I think every actor out there will benefit from reading it.



3. okay...so maybe not ALL career levels. if you're julia roberts or deniro, i think you can pass up this book (but probably only because you're now rich enough to PAY someone to handle all this rigamarole for you, not b/c you couldn't learn anything from it). i have been an actor in nyc for the past 5 1/2 years, and when i picked up this book, i wrongly thought that it would be juvenile in tone and would offer me little that i didn't already know. not so. yes, the first few chapters deal with issues that many mid-career folks have already encountered, but the majority of the book is very informative and insightful even to hardened, old actors like myself - choosing an agent and/or manager, unions, protocol and etiquette, and my favorite, a chapter she calls 'getting a life.' she paints no pretty, glamorous picture of the biz, the info is updated and current, and it's a pleasant read. don't be a snobby actor...you've got something to learn; buy the book.



4. This is a great book to guide an actor to the different aspects of chasing her/his dream. She gives advice in every possible thing an actor can face. Buy this book with your eyes closed.
   I give it 5 stars despite the fact that I have a comment to the author. At the end of the book, she gives an advice that could detriment and help an actor not following this career. Because she writes that some well known actors, like Duchovny, after they reached the fame they have now, are not happy, and feel empty. I criticize her in this issue, because, she could have taken this information as an advantage to the actor, as an inspiration and not as a negative warning as she did, instead she could teach that sometimes actors chase this profession for the wrong reasons. She could have said that if an actor just want the money and fame, and is not interested also in the pleasure that acting brings, he or she will be disappointed, because once you get there, you will notice that you are the same person in the inside. She can use this information to show that the grade of frustration sometimes reached in this profession is not different from the one reached in other professions as well. I have a cousin who was in his 5th year of Medicine, and told me he was bored and tired, because he realized, medicine was not what he expected. That was 7 years ago. Today he is a radiologist, but he would rather be a full time Digital Photographer. So, there's no reason to disempower a future actor with a wrong interpretation of a fact. Because probably she will finish in another activity, that will bring even more dissatisfaction. And is well known that when we, actors, feel a little emptiness, is usually for a short time, while we recharge our batteries. On the other side, I have seen lots of other professionals, with years of frustration for not following their initial dream, but I have never seen a working actor frustrated because he wants to be a dentist or engineer.

4 comments about Monty Python's Spamalot.

1. Funny show and enjoyable music. At least one of the songs is not in the same key as what's sung on the original Broadway cast CD - an annoyance but rather typical of "vocal selections" music books. This is the publisher's decision (Hal Leonard), not Amazon's fault. On the positive side, this book has many of the songs and is much cheaper than the full piano-vocal score.



2. I've thoroughly enjoyed listening and relistening to the songs on this CD while on the road. It's funny to hear how Broadway-ized the memorable scenes from the movie are in these songs. The only thing that came close to disappointment was not hearing the phrase "silly Enlish k-nig-ht" during the "Run Away" song.



3. I decided to take a chance with this piano/vocal/guitar collection since I had already read a review warning that it was a fairly simplistic arrangement. It is indeed very basic; someone with four years of piano experience could handle just about every piece.
   
   All that was taken from the actual score was the melody and the chords. Songs that had clear baselines, such as You Won't Succeed on Broadway's descending octaves at the end of each couplet, simply don't have them in these book. Typical left-hand arrangements are a series of eighth notes pairs with bass-root, inverted chord, over and over again no matter what sort of mood the piece should set. Given the range of tempos and their amusing descriptions, (where else would you find the term "Jaunty Madrigal"?), having identical left-hand arrangements is ridiculous. Right hand arrangements tend to double the melody with chords filling them out below. Most songs are cut down to a bare minimum, leaving out parts that could easily have been included such as accents, grace notes, and the like.
   
   Most frustrating of all is missing lyrics for subsequent verses, which is absolutely unforgiveable. "Knights of the Round Table" only has 2 verses. Yes, you can pull the lines off the internet, but why should you have to?
   
   Probably the best arrangement of the whole book is "You Won't Succeed on Broadway" which does include all the lyrics but inexplicably cut the piano solo! So when I say it's the best, that's where "best" gets a 7 out of 10. The Act II Finale does not appear, either. However, the book does include most all the other songs from the musical. Many sheet music books from musicals omit more. I am looking forward to a vocal score being offered as these are a reduction rather than an arrangement and offer all the incidental music as well as instrumental and lead-in sections.
   
   Hal Leonard often rates their arrangements on a difficulty scale but I can't find one on this book. I would give it a "2" on their 6 point scale where 6 is the hardest.



4. A bit dissapointing that the arrangements in the book are so bland and simple with the melody doubled in the piano and basic work added around this. With great vocal scores like 'Wicked', 'The Producers'and 'Witches of Eastwick'available with fantastic accompaniments 'Spamalot' is a tad dissapointing. However, all the great numbers from the show are here and with a talented accompanist to improve the arrangments this book is still a great buy.

1 comments about The Prestige - Screenplay.

1. A page turner with great visuals. Captivating from page one. One can only hope it transfers to the screen with the same brilliance.

5 comments about Margot Fonteyn: A Life.

1. Daneman, Meredith 2004 Margot Fonteyn. Viking, New York ISBN-10: 0670843709 ISBN-13 978-0670843701
   
   The dancer as a spy? One of the mysteries of Margot Fonteyn is her association and almost certain minor activities as an agent. This book hints at such (page numbers are taken from hardcover edition). First there is her association with Graham Greene, a known British agent during WWII; in an apparent inconsistency on page 265 she is said to be his lover, while on pages 279-280 he is merely said to enamored of her. On page 279 the author mentions Greene's love letters to Margot.
   
   
   By 1959, when Greene has become at least on the surface an admirer of Castro, Margot finds herself with Castro named first president Manuel Urrutia Lleó's wife, Esperanza LIaguno, who (according to the author p. 352 and 366) was ransacking the wardrobes of deposed dictator Batista's wife (Martha Fernández de Batista).
   
   
   At present admirers of Castro will not allow Grahame Greene's 1958 novel "Our man in Havana" (which most oddly predicts the 1962 presence of nuclear missiles in Cuba) to be mentioned in Wikipedia's Cuban section about authors who wrote on Cuba. These admirers of the communist dictator furiously erase each insertion of any reference to Greene and his work, giving one pause and setting one to wonder at the rationale behind this odd and extreme measure of zeal. Ernest Hemingway yes! Graham Greene No!
   
   
   Through the book runs a continual thread of the open and clandestine politics of the geo-strategic country of Panama tied to her and her husband Robert "Tito" Arias. However, the clincher is Margot's role in the defection of Russian Ballet star Rudolf Nureyev (e.g. pp. 383, 386-396 and others).
   
   The Castro government has allowed mention of some of Fontyn's activities to help impose blockade on UK weapon shipments to Cuba in late 1958 and in the Castro organized invasion of Panama by Cuban partisans of her husband Roberto Arias in 1959 (1). It was during the preparations for this invasion that the above mentioned wardrobe looting was observed by the famous ballet dancer.
   
   One day, when the British Intelligence's secret files for this period are released, perhaps we will know the whole story.
   
   [...]



2. I was very disappointed in this book about the great Margot. Was it really necessary to put in all the salacious details of her sex life in order to give us a picture of her career and life? I think a little more restraint on the part of the author was definitely in order. I wanted to learn more about the ballerina's career on stage, not especially about what she did in bed and what her sexual prowess was. I agree with the lady who said she would not recommend this book to her daughter, the budding ballerina as I thought the 'so-called' sex information on La Fontaine was tasteless and over the top.



3. I was iniciated ten years ago by the two daugthers of my wife, who have practiced ballet all their lives, in the knowlege of ballet. Before I just did not understand it, and even today know little about it. This biography, however, is beautifully written, very well researched, with a great sensitivity and it has been beautiful for me to know from the inside this life of "the most famous ballerina of the world", a life very different from a point of view and at the same time so near to our own lives.
   
   My life has been enhanced after this lecture. Now I understand a thousand times better ballet and I love it. Thanks to Meredith Daneman for her great work.



4. I enjoyed the book because Margot lead a fascinating life. And I didn't know about the end of her career and life. But I believe most readers choosing to read about Margot are not interested in her sex life. Particularly not interested in lewd statements of her prowess from any past lovers. I would have loved to recommend it to my daughter because Margot is a wonderful role model, but the sexual references make it inappropriate and I would instead recommend her Autobiography.



5. I so agree with the reviewer who said the author was lucky in her subject ... the four stars are for Margot, not Daneman. Margot's life is the history of ballet outside Russia and neither her life nor herself could fail to be fascinating. Wonderful to read all that history in one place. BUT ...
   
   Oh god, do we really need all this sleazy speculation? Most of the book is devoted to who did with who and how. According to the author, everyone did everything with everybody. This based on the slightest whiff of a rumour from any source. Instead of real descriptions about the Fonteyn/Nureyev partnership, she goes on and on and on (pages and pages, seriously) about every form of physical contact that may have occurred between them and agonizes about whether actual "penetration" (that's really a quote) occurred. According to her it's a tragedy that we will never know because they both took the secret to their graves. Actually they both categorically denied it all their lives.
   
   Fonteyn also gets a blast because when she wrote some filler in a book about Pavlova, acting as a presenter of Pavlova's own notes (NOT a biographer) she didn't tell everyone the rumour that Pavlova was (gasp) possibly illegitemite and (gasp gasp) possibly half Jewish. All Pavlova said was that her father had died when she was two and according to this author, Margot ought to have jumped right in there with the rumours and was negligent not doing so. This is a person I would never care to meet and spending 580 pages with her seriously detracts from the pleasure of spending 580 pages with Margot. Especially since, like most people who write books this long, she excelled in Creative Writing 101 and seriously needs an editor for her flowery passages.
   
   So -5 for her and + 5 for Margot equals +4, Margot being worth a lot more.

No comments about Fun with Hand Shadows (Dover Game and Puzzle Activity Books).

5 comments about Making Money in Voice-Overs, 2nd Edition (with CD): Winning Strategies to a Successful Career in TV, Commercials Radio and Animation (Book & CD).

1. This book was highly recommended to me by a producer in New York. I read it and immediately knew that this is who I wanted to learn from. Great tips throughout - she really wants everyone to succeed - she's not selfish with her knowledge at all. I subsequently contacted the author through her website (www.terriapple.com) and signed up to train with her while she was in New York. She's widely recognized as one of the BEST in the business; professional, positive, smart and she has a real "Go Team!" attitude that shows in her writing style. Without a doubt, this book is the first step in working toward a career in voice-overs.



2. There are so many typos in this book that it is actually frustrating to read. There is also so much repetition, not in general, but huge paragraphs that can be found word for word three pages earlier. Terri Apple is very good at cheerleading and she obviously knows the business but there's too much emphasis on LA contacts and way, way, way too many text errors to recommend this book. And I'm not talking about grammar. I'm talking about "The re" "and and" or whole words left out. I found myself struggling to read this book. Since it was published in 1999 some of the advice is out-of-date, like carry a pager (pre-cell phones) which is not Ms. Apple's fault, nor her editors, if she had one. I do find her responsible for the content of her book. With so many books on voice-overs out there, I would recommend another.



3. I doubt that Terri Apple even edited her book one-time through. There are a number of grammatical mistakes and spelling errors, making the meaning of several sentences nearly incomprehensible. Had she or an editor read this book, they would have caught many of the obvious mistakes ahead of time. The chapters were not very well laid-out and extremely inconsistent. The book's content was not organized well. Much of the information in each chapter did not coincide with the chapter title and she would skip ideas from one paragraph to the next. Also, she repeated much of the same information in several different chapters under different sections. Perhaps she wrote the book in between her many voiceover auditions. The information in this book is outdated since the industry has changed so dramatically since its publication. Terri Apple has proved that pretty voices should only be used when they have something to say. And that a pretty voice can be an ugly read.



4. Personally I expected more helpful hints and techniques for improving your skills in voice-overs but instead most of the book is concentrated on advising how to promote your talent. So if you want to know how to be a voice-talent this is propably not the best book for you, but if you feel you already have what it takes to be a voice-over artist, it gives you advise what to do to get yourself into business.



5. The massive amount of helpful information in this book is marred by only two things:

   o It desperately needs some copy editing to remove the sentence fragments and other "word-processing glitches," and

   o The discussions of technology need to be reviewed by someone with a firmer grasp of how such things actually work.

   Because of this, I would give it 4-1/2 stars instead of 5 if that rating were available.

   In the big picture, however, these are minor quibbles with a book that otherwise covers a lot of ground and answers a lot of questions that aspiring voice actors would have. It provides an in-depth look at the voice-over business (with particular focus on Los Angeles) from the perspective of a busy, in-demand performer who has paid enough dues to know what she's talking about, and because it is fairly new it covers recent developments that older books omit. Certainly well worth the modest investment for anyone wanting to know more about this business.

1 comments about Theatre Sound (Theatre Arts (Routledge Paperback)).

1. John Leonard's Theatre Sound is an excellent read for everyone from the beginner to an advanced sound designer. The refreshing material in his book isn't overloaded with technical jargon, but goes over everything for a full understanding of the subject. It's also loaded with thoughts on theory, from sound effect design to speaker localization. A very good read, and highly recommended!