No comments about New School Acting II - A Practical Manual.

1 comments about The Culture of Spontaneity: Improvisation and the Arts in Postwar America.

1. Whether your interest is in improvisation, spontaneity, creativity, performance, popular culture, or modern history, this book provides necessary background in understanding origins of much of the creativity that defines the lives we lead in the Western World today. Mr. Belgrad's work is academically rigorous and beautifully written at the same time. The connections among and between the people who have often previously been thought of as individuals or members of subcultural cliques is amazing. Belgrad's list is long and impressive and beautifully researched. From the beat poets and writers (Keroac, Ginsberg, Leroi Jones), to the abstract impressionists (Pollack); from the Zen potters to the modern and improvisational dancers (Merce Cunningham); from New York to Black Mountain College to San Francisco, the era of Post War America was explored by amazing people. This book links and weaves the lives, ideas, work, and play of these people as no one has ever done before. Mr. Belgrad's reference list is a gold mine of research directions. If you are seriously involved in Improvisation at any level this is absolutely required reading.

1 comments about A Moving Experience: Dance for Lovers of Children and the Child Within.

1. I had the oportunity to teach a class of corporal movement and creative dance for children. The school gave me a curriculum guide that took me 2 weeks to complete. What was I going to do for the rest of the school year? Then I stumbled upon this book and it was heaven! The ideas are magnificent; the ilustrations are clear, from then on we had a blast! Thank you!

1 comments about The Crucible: A Screenplay.

1. This film manages to be chilling and haunting without being classified as such a film. The subject is one of immortal controversy, of a religion that has been debated about from the beginning of time: witchcraft. Women were mistakenly burnt, being accused of practicing witchcraft, which in reality is a more peaceful and earth-rejoicing religion than most others, though most people wouldn't have you aware of that. Women were stripped, hanged, burnt and mamed in front of all the village people. I myself have read much on the religion and that contributed all the more to my disturbance but pure enjoyment in watching this film. One of the times I watched it I started crying. It's so sad the trials and hysteria that took place. The people who were under the illusion they were doing God's work, when really they were killing innocent people. Sad. The film has a tremendous script, solid directing and excellent, spooky acting. A great thanks to the camera angles in contributing to the overall haunting feeling of this film. A chilling and emotional experience.

5 comments about Extra Work for Brain Surgeons: A Hollywood OS Directory 24th Edition.

1. I worked as a background player (Extra) for the first 3 years of my retirement. Without "Extra Work for Brain Surgeons: A Hollywood OS Directory" by Angela Bertolino I would have been lost. This book is the best book ever written for those who want to be in the movies and don't know how to do it. You DO get your money's worth and more with this Informative and great book.



2. Now in an updated and expanded twenty-fourth edition, "Extra" Work for Brain Surgeons is a one-of-a-kind reference - an annual directory compiled especially for individuals working as background actors in the entertainment industry. Assembled with direct input from casting directors so that aspiring extras have the most current information about the correct procedures to secure work, "Extra" Work for Brain Surgeons is jam-packed with over 500 pages of information about Extras casting companies, calling services, guidelines on everything from how to write a resume to the requirements for children seeking work as extras, maps, a "must-know" glossary for anyone working in the business, and much more. Indexed for quick and easy reference, "Extra" Work for Brain Surgeons is an absolute must-have for anyone pursuing work as an extra or getting an acting career off the ground, and highly recommended.



3. u guys out there this book here will help you become a extra or a movie star you should read it!!!!!!!!!!!!!



4. I recently read the entertainment directory titled "EXTRA" WORK FOR BRAIN SURGEONS. This guide has it all for anyone who wants to get started in the entertainment industry by doing extra work. They help you avoid the scams and actually help you find legitimate work on real film and TV sets, many of the big-budget ones too. This is a really useful handbook for anyone wanting to break in to show business. And the author, ANGELA BERTOLINO, has a pretty interesting story: She started writing and self-publishing the book because she was scammed out of thousands of dollars trying to "make it" in Hollywood. She set out to disseminate the information she wished she had had access to when she was starting out.



5. Have you ever longed to walk through a scene on a set featuring your favorite soap stars? Have you wondered how you could be one of those people eating pasta in a restaurant scene behind the great actors like George Clooney or Will Smith? If you've been trying to break into the Extra world you absolutely have to have a copy of "Extra Work For Brain Surgeons." It is the extreme guide to Extra-hood. Honestly, I don't know where else you would look for this much helpful information.
   
   Having been there (Los Angeles) and done that (paying way too high registration fees for not much return) Co-Founder and CEO Angela Bertolino decided it was time that there was a truly helpful guide for newbies to the extra set. Teaming up with Co-Founder Carla Lewis, Hollywood OS was born. Now, this annual directory is a must have for every walk on wannabe.
   
   You'll find it all here...what exactly you can expect as an extra, why you'd want to be a member of SAG or AFTRA, how to get paid for extra-extra work, what vouchers are, what the new point system is going to be like, how to get your name and headshots out there, why you should register and how much you can expect to pay for registering with casting companies, and oh so much more. This is truly the "how-to" guide for actors and actresses wanting to do walk-ons. More than that though, it is a why-to, when-to, who-to go to book. And then there is the whole second half of the book that lists casting companies, what their fees are, what types they usually cast, how long they've been in business, what they won't tolerate from background actors, what they will allow, what they will do for you, and inside scoops. Looking for an agent? The book will give you pointers. Need help with your resume? Yep, that too. Don't know what a "meat axe" could be? How about a "wigwag?" Don't worry! The book even has a glossary of unusual acting terms.
   
   I live on the east coast, I don't act and I've never had an interest in it. But this book could help even a person like me find work, if I moved to Hollywood. Yes, it is a regional guide, but I doubt there is a more comprehensive one out there! Not only that, but the book is entertaining. Written in an easy going, friendly voice, reminding readers not to skip certain sections and making even the mundane side of extra work interesting (filling out forms, taxes, and labor codes), "Background" actors will find the read not only imperative, but enjoyable.
   Review by Heather Froeschl

4 comments about Restoring the Dance: Seeking God's Order.

1. As a dance leader I have read many books on the dance but this is a training manual for any one interested in learning to worship with all that is within them. Definately a required reading for our dance ministry members. Purchase one for yourself and one for each of your dance team members.



2. I have taught dance in church since 1989 and this book came into my path in 2000 when I hit a real low point. It restored in me the reason why I began to dance at all. Everything that God had showed me through prayer was here and she was saying it in print. The best teaching book ever, and one for every pastor to read to understand his danceteam.



3. This extensive explanation of dance's original creation and place in the church for worship is a must-have for anyone interested in worship. Not just a dance book. Biblical foundations of dance's history and use in the church put any questions to flight about its propriety. GET THIS FOR YOUR MINISTER FOR TEACHING OVER THE PULPIT! Excellent resource.



4. Restoring the Dance is a definitive book on restoring the art of dance to the church. It briefly looks at the history of dance in the church. It gives practical examples of how and why dance should be restored to Christian Worship.

1 comments about Acting in Animation: A Look at 12 Films.

1. This book is strictly a companion to Ed Hooks' Acting for Animators. It shows how the author's principles of animated acting are (or are not) applied on a DVD chapter-by-chapter basis for 12 animated features. Similar to the breakdown of The Iron Giant at the end of the original book.
   
   Hooks' teachings are great food for thought when it comes to not just creating a quality animated performance, but in the writing of the scene the performance exists in. The films examined cover a fairly wide range. Mostly recent films, but a few older ones. Largely Disney, but also some Pixar and Studio Ghibli as well. All the films (with the possible exception of Pinocchio) are fairly easy to get a DVD of.
   
   The only peeve I have with this book is a few instances of poor proof-reading when characters are referred to by the wrong names. In Monsters Inc. Sully is called Randal a couple times, Woody is twice referred to as Andy in Toy Story 2, and in Tarzan, Sabor the leopard is called a tiger. (Not as big a problem, just annoying.)
   
   If you haven't read Acting for Animators, don't get this book just yet. If you have, this is the perfect way to see Hooks' lessons in practice.

2 comments about The Dark at the Top of the Stairs..

1. 
   Dark at the Top of the Stairs is not William Inge's most popular play. It is overshadowed by Picnic and Bus Stop. The family drama relates more closely to Inge's sad "Come Back Little Sheba".
   
   The 50's play is set in the 20's as a Midwestern family, with various personalities, problems, fears, anxieties that encompass the darkness that exists in everyone's lives. And, not to mention that with any family unhappiness, the children's difficulties are meshed into the adults tribulations.
   
   A family man, Rubin Flood, and his wife, Cora, endure a short separation over discussions about his unwillingness and fear to advance technologically in his employment. He is a harness salesman in the age of the coming of the vehicle. Cora is bringing up two children with their own personal and private issues. Cora remains strong while getting her daughter ready for a date and yet dealing with a son who lives in a fantasy world of Hollywood stars.
   
   The film focuses on marital discord, separation, prejudice, suicide, and adultry. There is a film version that starred Robert Preston, but to get the full depths of the darkness, read the play.....MzRizz



2. Very good play. Lots of layers. Dramatic with touch of tragedy yet redeemed by optimism. Unselfconscious, intelligent.

No comments about Sophocles: King Oidipous: Introduction, Translation and Essay (Focus Classical Library).

No comments about Voice and Diction: A Program for Improvement (7th Edition).