2 comments about Advice to the Players.

1. Lewis has a much more theatrical approach to acting than some of his contemporaries (Strasberg, Meisner, etc). This was the first acting technique book I ever read. What struck me most was how much fun Lewis got out of the theatre and acting. It has a much different tone to it than a lot of acting books. He fills it with many funny and interesting anecdotes from his life in the theatre. His technique seems closely related to Stella Adler's. If you like this book you should check out his autobiography "Slings and Arrows". One of the founders of the Actors Studio, member of the Group Theatre, successful Broadway director, and Yale Drama School Professor (taught Meryl Streep). A fascinating man



2. The art of acting is ephemeral. Mr. Lewis states in his preface that one cannot "teach" acting any more than one can teach singing or dancing. If the talent and equipment exist, then a teacher may help the actor to hone his innate abilities. As one of Stanislavsky's heirs, Lewis has an eclectic approach to his advice. The book consists mostly of acting exercises he has gathered over a long career as actor and teacher and which he has found to be most helpful.

   The exercises are presented as transcriptions of actual classes--which they may be. The text includes what seems to be directives to named individuals "Ralph, take Rosemany by both her hands." This presentation choice has the effect of energizing the text with the immediateness that comes from speech. The reader receives a voyeuristic pull as though he were an outsider observing the class behind a two-way mirror. This style choice also relays a sense of Lewis as a teacher who is intelligent, generous and with a sense of humor.

   The exercises themselves are excellent. Lewis talks through an exercise so a reader could actually follow the directions. Then he explains why the exercise is important and how it helps an actor gain control over his instrument, that is his own physical, emotional and mental being.

   Lewis's approach is focused. The explanations are packed with detail. They are also practical. Lewis slips in helpful hints; for example, he tells how an actor simply by touching a physical object can dissipate a severe case of nervousness during performance. The tension leaves the actor's body and goes into the object.

   The exercises are organized into chapters that concentrate on technique areas that actors must master to improve their craft: relaxation, body work, concentration, sensory perception, intention. These are concepts well known to anyone who has taken acting classes. Lewis's contribution is that he presents these lessons with clarity and directness. I recommend this book to all serious acting students.

No comments about Virtual Theatres: An Introduction.

2 comments about Architecture and Film.

1. I didn't really notice cinema's similarity to architecture until I read Architecture and Film, edited by Mark Lamster, the senior editor at Princeton Architectural Press. What we have here is a collection of essays by film fanatics who also happen to be architectural critics or architects. There is not one film-studies scholar among the contributors; that alone is unusual for a collection of film essays.

   The other big surprise is that the writers don't focus on architecturally striking films in the vein of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner or Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Instead they write about more obscure films, such as the hysterical Cary Grant film Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Robert Quine's Strangers When We Meet, and the campy film version of Ayn Rand's arguably campy novel The Fountainhead. All three films feature either an architect as a main character or the nature of architecture in a commercial world as a principle theme. The Fountainhead in particular is probably one of the most ridiculous films ever made about art and commerce. Such ideas aren't bad in and of themselves, but the fascistic and sexual overtones in Rand's book and film are so over the top that both come off as soft-porn pieces. But I like this film, as it brings up the question of architecture as an art form: Does it only serve its purpose as a structure of necessity?

   The most unusual segment in the book is the essay by Eric Rosenberg: "Architecture and the films of the Beatles." In this short essay, Rosenberg comments on the nature of space and structures in keeping the Beatles isolated from the external world, with consideration to their fans. Other subjects covered include set directors, such as the great Ken Adam, who worked on all the early James Bond films, designed the fantastic war room in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, and also worked on Barry Lyndon. I found the essay on Adam particularly interesting because I am a big fan of his work. Adam talks about his disappointment in Barry Lyndon because a lot of the shots were based on paintings of that period; Adam preferred to use his own imagination for his set designs. In Dr. Strangelove, for example, he essentially used his mind's eye in building the war room. But fiction can greatly intrude upon fact -- when the newly elected President Ronald Reagan asked to see the government's war room, he was disappointed that it wasn't like the one used in Dr. Strangelove. As you see, films are better than real life. And so is the architecture in films




2. This examination of the way architecture and architects have been portrayed on the screen provides fourteen essays which analyze selected productions. Their authors are set designers, architects, and film producers who use their backgrounds to analyze the presence and importance of architectural props in film production.

3 comments about Colored Lights: Forty Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration, and All That Jazz.

1. Colored Lights: Forty Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration, and All That Jazz An absolutely fascinating look into the hearts and minds and working habits of two men who contributed so much to the American Theater over the last half century. Fred Ebb is no longer with us, so we can be truly thankful that he and John Kander collaborated on this book while he was still alive. As a songwriter myself, I always find such memoirs interesting and valuable.



2. Good for Greg Lawrence for facilitating this oral history ad thinking of the right questions to get these two chatterboxes off and running, to the races! Lawrence wrote an OK biography of Jerome Robbins, and an as told to "by" Gelsey Kirkland which was good, but this book is terrific fun. The only thing is, aren't Kander and Ebb a couple? Or was that something they didn't want to talk about? Maybe they're not, who knew! But discussion of their personal lives is totally not on the menu here. Maybe after they are dead the whole story will come out. They tell some great stories here about working with Bob Fosse, maybe the best sustained account available of the great choreographer's ambitions, dreams, desires, and mania. I like the way that Liza Minnelli and Harold Prince also jump in to give their two cents here and there from the bleachers. It's a technique you often see in journalism, and here it works just fine. Liza is subject #1 of Kander and Ebb's discussions. They are always trying to make her look good, or rather to bring her natural talents to the fore. But in doing so they paint a picture of a talented actress who was thwarted by the commercial failure of THE RINK and therefore never tried to be anything but "just Liza" again, and being "just Liza" is pretty messed up what with having a mother who tried to take over her life in a drunken haze and at least one boyfriend (Martin Scorsese) who attempted to direct a whole show for her (THE ACT) via Moviola. Kander and Ebb also discuss writing for Lauren Bacall and the differences that affected WOMAN OF THE YEAR when Raquel Welch came in and replaced Bacall. It's all very illuminating and will make you laugh out loud as well. Their post mortems for their flops THE RINK and STEEL PIER, which they consider among their best shows, are not convincing, but their account of work with a sour kvetching Frank Sinatra and a controlling Barbra Streisand have the bitter ring of truth. This is not a particularly light-hearted book but I think anyone who's interested in musical theater will get a charge out of it.
   
   I wish there had been more in it about the mysterious ingenue Jill Haworth who, after a strong of movies for Otto Preminger, took the Sally Bowles part in CABARET and got crucified for it--and had a "thing" with Sal Mineo (!!!) -- and then left show business. She is one of the most intriguing personalities of the 1960s and Kander and Ebb mention her only briefly (though very sympathetically).



3. As the song says, start spreading the news -- this memoir in dialogue form by John Kander and Fred Ebb really is a surprising gem. I didn't expect to enjoy a book that is mainly conversation but I went through it in one sitting (on a flight from NY to LA) and didn't want it to end. These two geniuses of musical theater are totally engaging, and their breezy dialogue is often as provocative (and sometimes hilarious) as their best musicals and songs. It's like being in the same room with the two of them and having a chance to eavesdrop on their wry insights into the shows and various personalities they've worked with, including Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Lauren Bacall, Bob Fosse, Shirley McLaine, and Anthony Quinn.
   
   The anecdotes in the book, even the dishiest ones, are told with wit and intelligence, and without the usual celebrity tell-all pretensions. Kander and Ebb come across as two very different personalities as collaborators, yet both seem very earthy and wise about life and show business. Anyone who was wowed by Chicago or Cabaret will be delighted by their reminiscences. And there are some surprising revelations, like the fact that their biggest hit, "New York, New York," would never have been written if it hadn't been for Robert Deniro, who they say disapproved of their first version of the song and made them rewrite it for him. I was also surprised by the down-to-earth side of Liza Minnelli that comes across in the Introduction -- not at all like her usual media image. This book is like a little play itself, and what a great way to experience forty years of Broadway history and backstage lore. Definitely, a unique'must read' for theater lovers.

2 comments about Floyd Collins.

1. This is the complete vocal score to Adam Guettel's "Floyd Collins." It contains all the vocal lines and underscoring from the show. Also present is a breakdown of the 8 orchestra books for the pit. A list of characters in included, but there is no discussion of their vocal ranges (not that it's all that hard to look through the score and find them for yourself).
   
   Mr. Sperling's keyboard reductions of his own orchestrations are incredibly accurate, if highly un-pianistic. This isn't so much his fault, as it is the nature of the beast. Guitar music just doesn't translate to the piano all that well. Chord symbols would have been nice-and they are included in the guitar appendix (a nice addition to the score)-alas, they are not present in the piano reduction.
   
   All in all a great volume.



2. This is a fabulous show; a must have for any musical theater group!

No comments about Alternate Tuning Chord Dictionary: A Complete Reference to Over 7,000 Chords.

No comments about 2002 Guide to Talent & Modeling Agents (Guide to Talent and Modeling Agents).

3 comments about From Page to Stage: How Theatre Designers Make Connections Between Scripts and Images.

1. I use this book as the text for Principles of Design for the Performing Arts--an intro to design course I teach. It's really the only book of its kind (with a design emphasis) available. While I could load up my students with four or five other books that would be far better in each respective area, From Page to Stage is the only text that brings them together in a compact and digestible form. The book is an easy read--important for a class top-heavy with studio work, and an adequate introduction to script analysis for design. That said, I think the book is long overdue for a serious second edition. Professor Ingham should consider dropping the odd, theater history chapter toward the end of the book, in favor of a massively expanded chapter on the actual execution of the design/collaboration process. The final chapter briefly touches on the actual "to stage" process. By far most of the book is devoted to the "from page" half. This is surprising as Ingham is herself a noted costume designer and would obviously have much to share in that area. There is next to nothing describing the production meeting process, communication with colleagues and directors, and the final steps in the production process. It's as if two or three chapters are missing from the end of the book.
   Don't get me wrong, I use this book, I recommend this book, and it isn't as if there is some better alternative--I'm simply eager to buy the greatly expanded second edition--should it ever appear.



2. Rosemary Ingham really captured the fundamentals of what it takes in creating and collaberating a design. Her book is full of examples of sources of inspiration, forms of play analysis, commentary on the NEA, and transcripts of directors and designers communicating ideals. This is a wonderful book and it belongs on every designers shelf.



3. This book is a great help for me since this is my 1st year at theater stage design

5 comments about Edward Albee: A Singular Journey.

1. I received this book as a gift from the author's son and daughter-in-law. It's simply an amazing story, perhaps the only thing more amazing than Gussow's writing is the man that he writes about. Gussow captures Albee's natural speaking wit and amazing story in an absolutely brilliant way.



2. Gussow admires and likes Albee and one supposes that is a good thing, but one wonders if that is enough to recommend this author for the job of writing Edward Albee's biography. Many will say so, of course, because of Gussow's credentials as a theater buff. If you see playwriting as a branch of the show biz trade, then surely Gussow is your man, but if prefer to speak of Ibsen and Chekhov in the same breath as Zola and Turgenev, that is, if one sees plays as part of literature, and wishes to speak of the theater beyond box office receipts and stardom, then maybe this star-gazing journalist could be bettered. I got tired of Gussow's praise for Albee's so-called political consciousness coupled with his admiration for Albee's talent for making real estate deals. Hypocritical radical chic seems so very yesterday. Albee's career follows more or less the course of Tennessee Williams and Noel Coward; early fame was followed by years of critical scorn and popular indifference. Unlike them, Albee has had a late-term come back. Revivals open annually as do new works. Yet, what somebody has to do is evaluate their worth. Saying it is all wonderful simply will not do.



3. Albee is without doubt my favorite living playwright, so I'm a little biased, but I read and enjoyed this book, and felt like I got to know Albee a lot better in the process, without losing any of my respect for him.
   Since his plays are so much about family and the pursuit of "success", it's worthwhile to know about how Albee--who was adopted--grew up. I recommend this to anyone who admires Albee's plays, and also to sceptics who want more insight on the ideas and the man behind them.



4. This is a very good biography of Albee, and the best book available on the great playwright, but for those who consider 'The Zoo Story' and 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' to be his sole significant works should look for lighter reading. The book refuses to be salacious, sticks to the facts and offers very to-the-point criticism on Albee's plays. Albee emerges as a figure of some mystery and extraordinary talent. The book does not find any powerful new insight as in, for example, Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams, but the book does move along nicely and is highly informative.
   Overall, a good read for Albee's fans.
   (By the way, what's up with all of the short 1-star reviews of the book, does someone have a personal vendetta against the author?)



5. This is a competent rather than inspired biography. It offers much useful detail about Albee's plays and is especially good at tracking what critics, friends, cast members, and Albee himself have written about each one. This amalgam of views best illumates "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." Unfortuantely, the book offers little detail about Albee's lovers or the texture of his sexual and emotional life. For instance, in mid-career, he lived for years with Bill Pennington. We learn only that this man was an interior decorator. We never learn about his looks, background, personality, or influence on Albee; there's not even a photograph. Lacking such physicality, the book often seems arid. Instead of amassing such details, Mel Gussow often prefers to quote long letters. I wish he had gone deeper into Albee's sexuality, to understand how it helped determine the style and force and distinction of Albee's work.

   Gussow has assembled excellent materials and extensively interviewed his subject (between 1994 and 1999), but I did not come away from his biography with a sharp or abiding sense of the playwright. Strangely, secondary figures such as composer William Flanagan and director Alan Schneider emerge as more luminous than Edward Albee.

4 comments about Bip in a Book.

1. 9/28/07 The Viewing was great(pgs 1-35)(not one word is spoke via intro or narration or clues) until Page 37 ,as Bip begins to lose part of his hand in a lean toward the darkness..until then the dark pages to the right have no meaning or relevance ...on Pg 39 Bip looses the top of his body inclusive of arms up to where his vest buttons begin and on Pg 41 we see all of Bip again , standing in the white page pushing(but not touching) from the dark page with both hands, Pg 43 he realizes he no longer has his hat and from then on the story continues and ends happily on Pg 64...Publishers Weekly(via Cahner Business Info Inc copyright 2001 on the amazon book review page was invaluable to me since I didn't quite understand what was happening on Pg 37. PublishersWeekly explained about him being "sucked into the darkness". Bip in A Book loses some of the entertainment valuable of skilled mime Marcel Marceau's Bip's "live animation".



2. 
   With the recent death of Marcel Marceau, the world once more lost an important component of its artistic body. For him, the end came but for us,the world became much more narrowly noisy.
   
   Marceau conferred the silence a similar and even major importance respect the word, due the imagination in every one of us was an invisible bridge that allowed him to convey us to a new universe where the vanished of the magic lantern and those times in which the silent cinema spelled to our grandparents.
   
   I had the chance to watch him four times in Caracas, and I still remember a clever utterance in occasion of a brief interview, in which he said these wise words:" The most touching moments of our existence, leave us without words. It's very difficult for a mime to lie, because for lying, the words are necessary."



3. It was really nifty how Marceau eventually breaks out of the book. The ending will have both you and your kid thinking about books in a new way. This is a classy production, with loving attention paid to layout, pacing, photography, and posture throughout. It's strange to talk about the wonderful writing in a book with absolutely no words, but it's true nonetheless! The story is captivating. The basic story line is easy enough to understand for young children (our 2.5 year-old loves it), but some of the more subtle interpretations will keep adults mulling over the book for a long time. And given how often your little will want to read the book, it's a good thing that it holds an adult's attention.



4. This is a wonderful book -- ingeniously conceived and flawlessly executed. I was surprised to find that my 9 year old daughter enjoyed the book as much as her younger sister. It's fun for young readers to figure out the story, and to imagine how the very tricky photography was done. Marcel Marceau continues to be an inspiring figure, graceful beyond his years. This book showcases his talent in a new, compelling, and personal way. It creates a fascinating world -- both inside and outside the box.