No comments about Major Voices: The Drama Of Slavery.

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

2 comments about The Movie Business: The Definitive Guide to the Legal and Financial Secrets of Getting Your Movie Made.

1. This is arguably one of the best contemporary books on the market that addresses the legal and financial aspects of producing a feature film. While the book does go quite heavily into the legalese producers must consider, it's still accessible enough for the novice producer or filmmaking enthusiast to walk away with a weighty respect for the intricate behind-the-camera activity that occurs in regard to film development, production, and distribution.
   
   p.s. this is not a publisher's ghost plug for the book, but a straight-forward review from an independently-minded reader.



2. This book will definitely help anyone with a script or movie from getting taken to the cleaners by a producer or distribution company. In addition, A man I highly admire, Jerry Molen, wrote the foreword for this book. This book assisted me in getting my last movie, The Indie Pendant, made. And, you should look for me to be talking about it on my new radio show, The Indie Film Hour, coming in 2006 on World Talk Radio.com. www.vdefilms.com

3 comments about Young Women's Monologs From Contemporary Plays: Professional Auditions For Aspiring Actresses.

1. Great selection of monologues, and a strong suit is that some of the material is new to the readers. Another reviewer said some of the monologues "weren't from plays." That's a huge misunderstanding. They are ALL from plays, just some of the scripts haven't been picked up for major production yet. But that means these monologues are fresh, intriguing, and were selected based upon the quality of the writing and characterization instead of "name brand recognition" -- meaning plays everyone can access, meaning directors and producers just might be sick of hearing them. (NOTE: Don't EVER audition for a musical singing "Tomorrow" or "Corner of the Sky.") Always go for the fresh and new in theatre; the element of surprise in the material always works in your favor in auditions. You won't be compared to anyone else's delivery. Good book to have for any serious-minded female performer, and even the "Young" in the title is a misnomer; actresses of all ages deserve to scour this one for great audition and acting class pieces.



2. They loved the monologue that my daughter used at her NYU college audition---there were many good ones to choose from. The best selection I have seen in one book!



3. I needed a monologue book with monologues from plays, so I thought this would be perfect. It is pretty good, but a good portion of the monologues are not from plays - they are original. The ones from plays are good though. This book has something for every age and every emotion.

2 comments about The Screenwriter's Manual: A Complete Reference of Format & Style.

1. We're extremely happy that the book has been found to be an excellent resource.
   
   We wanted to clarify why there are two books available on Amazon with two prices. Allyn & Bacon, a Pearson Education Company, is an educational publisher, and as such we publish books with pedagogical tools to be used in college courses. The edition with the sample log line and treatment and sample step outline appendices is for the education market. When we decided to publish an edition for the broader consumer market, titled The Complete Screenwriter's Manual: A Comprehensive Reference of Format and Style, the pedagogical tools were no longer necessary, and thus we could remove them and set the trade edition at a lower price.



2. Every page of this book -- except two appendices (16 pgs: Sample Log Line and Treatment, and Sample Step Outline) -- is identical to what is found in "the Complete Screenwriter's Manual, another version of this book at $12.32 Amazon ($18.95 retail). That being said, the content that is identical is absolutely excellent. Both works outline in extreme detail how to format all the elements of a screenplay: dialogue, slug lines (scene designations), instructions or action description, parentheticals, and transitions. Copious examples of how to write into a screenplay the following: sound effects, flashbacks, phone conversations, car scenes, foreign languages, dreams, time-shifts, voiceovers, and much more. Also shows common MISTAKES in formatting that mark a script as the work of an amateur.

4 comments about The Fantasticks: The Complete Illustrated Text Plus the Official Fantasticks Scrapbook and History of the Musical.

1. Who would have guessed that such a simple, straightfoward musical would be the longest running show in New York history? Read this copy of the libretto, and you'll know why. The show is very simple and very honest. It has drama and lighthearted comedy in just the right amounts to create what is, in many ways, the perfect musical. This volume also contains lots of extra information about the show, including the lyrics to a new song written for the show in its later years, and a number of photos. The music is missing, of course, but even without the OCR to the show, you get a great sense here of what makes The Fantasticks so, well, fantastic.



2. It never fails to amaze me that Jones & Schmidt were capable of such powerful poetry while still studying for their masters degrees. This thesis show is a powerhouse of simplicity and a panorama of minimalism. Sound oxymoronic? It is. The show is so disceptively simple, but the stories it tells are universal, and they are guaranteed to ring true for even the most tarnished audience member. One read, and it won't be hard to "try to remember" this show for a long time!



3. This is one of the most wonderful musicals ever. It has a wonderful story and plot but the best part about it is the music. The music is absolutely FANTASTICK! The musical contains a wide variety of songs, each with its own mood and purpose. There are funny and amuzing songs, ominous songs, loving songs, wishful songs... there's something for everybody. I first saw the Fantasticks in New York and fell in love with the music. I have almost all the songs completely memorized and I am working on putting a few of the song into my audition repertoire. This is music that every true musical fan should have. Its brilliant.



4. It has been two years since I was first introduced to The Fantasticks. Ever since I saw the show I have been captivated by its remarkable story, lyrics, and music. It was only recently that I read this 30th anniversary edition and truly found out how amazing this show is.

   Tom Jones' personal account of The Fantasticks shows the reader what exactly goes in to a show before it actually debuts. The first section "Try to Remember" is well set as the first chapter of the book. The reader will benefit more from reading this chapter before the show.

   The third section (the second was the libretto) is a look at the actors really shows you the life of the longest running Off-Broadway show.

   I know my words cannot do justice to this amazing book. I would recommend this book to any die-hard Fantasticks fan, or to anyone interested in getting to know the best musical ever written.

1 comments about The Compact Bedford Introduction to Drama.

1. I had to buy this book as part of a college course curriculum.
   
   It basically is filled with a bunch of plays written in various time periods around the world. It is arranged chronologically so there is a good amount of background information in the book on the different time periods.
   
   In each 'chapter' or section of the book there is a brief introduction about the time period in which the plays were written. Then, for each play there is a short section before and after the play which gives prelude and summary which can help you further understand some of the more complicated plays. There are reviews by famous authors and playwrights as well following each play.
   
   The reason I give this book only 3 stars is because there were many segments of the book which were very difficult to read and follow. I found myself many times going back over a particular section and reading it four and five times to make sense of it (mostly in the summaries and reviews - the plays were in original format and I had already read most of them at some point in my grammar school years). Now, I am a very intelligent person so if I find a section of reading difficult, the average reader will find it extremely difficult. Plus, I am not a major fan of literary arts which I'm sure contributes highly to this.

3 comments about A Viewer's Guide To Film: Arts, Artifices, and Issues.

1. A must have for every filmmaker, motion picture historian, movie reviewer, and film fan. Absolutely everything you wanted to know about what goes into making movies work the way they do.
   
   -- Reni Bor-Nevets



2. I've used this book in teaching film courses (I'm a former student of Professor Gollin myself) and find this a very readable introduction to the study of film. Prof. Gollin takes the reader through the production process as well as explaining various academic and critical approaches to film studies. I would recommend this to any serious film viewer who is looking for a place to begin a deeper understanding of this popular art form.



3. Your book is to long per thought. Hard to read, and some of the words you used are not even in the dictionary.

1 comments about Stage Design.

1. This book, though really thick, has a very limited scope. It is really a lot of huge sets that are site specific or just plain rock shows. Not really that much to do with theater as in a play with performers telling a story. It's more performance pieces in large scale. I was disappointed that stage design in this case is really event design. Some of it is interesting if you are interested in rock shows where the budget is in the millions and it really is all about special effects. Not my thing.

No comments about Rasa: Performing the Divine in India.