No comments about The Fosse Style.

1 comments about The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone.

1. I am neither a parent nor a fan of Broadway, but I still found much in this book to relate to. (I *was* a "Life Goes On" fan.) The way Maile projected so much of her emotion onto one person/idea is something I think many of us do for various defensive and protective reasons. Maile's writing is honest, intimate, smart and funny even when she's revealing her rather painful experiences. It's so compelling that I read it in two sittings. I really hope to read more of her in the not too distant future. I feel like she could write about anything and I'd enjoy it immensely.

3 comments about Acting Is Believing: A Basic Method.

1. Life is a stage and everyone is a performer and actor. If you want to understand yourself and possibly change behavior, this book is great. I have the first edition which I paid $$$ for. I am not an actor, but we all act a part when in front of people. If we want to portray some person with certain traits or characteristics which would benefit us, you can learn from this book. It is not being someone who you are not, but bringing out some behavior which is part of you anyway, which would positively benefit you.



2. If you need a good, step-by-step resource that outlines all of the basics you need to know to perform well, go ahead and buy this book. It is a little expensive, but it is worth it because no other book I have run across gives you such powerful basic methods to charge-up your acing skills when you are feeling a little confused about what you should/could be doing. Someone who follows the instructions in this book can literally transform from a clumsy actor to a basically skilled actor in about a week.



3. This is a fabulous book for novice actors! An absolute must for the beginner. Summurised in these pages you can find the teachings of the great masters of drama (such as the well known Stanislavski. It is very clear and easy to read and understand even for the complete beginners. On top of all the good advice and techinques you get a lot of exercises to practice what you've learnt till then. It really has helped me with my acting!

1 comments about The Arabian Nights: A Play.

1. I am a theatre teacher and have read several (read around 100) plays looking for a play that 1)has several significant female roles, 2) has literary merit, 3)has a story with some heart 4)has humor and 5)will stretch my actors in ways they have not worked before. Mary Zimmerman's THE ARABIAN NIGHTS has all that and more. It really is a fantastic piece built around the tale of The Arabian Nights but using stories that are not overtold. Every time I read this script I discover more and more to it. Although it has some clever notes from the original production of this play, there is PLENTY of room for new creation including an improvisational idea for a portion of the script and an allusion to modern day Iraq at the end of the play. I hope we are able to secure the rights to do this show because I am looking forward to directing this play with my students. Even if you don't produce the play, it is well worth reading.

3 comments about Perform at Your Best: Acting Techniques for Business, Personal & Social Success.

1. A friend gave me these cards as a gift. I was at first impressed by the box and the look and feel of the cards. A very nice coffee table friendly box set that's about the size of your hand, very eloquently designed. Upon opening the box ther is an introduction pamphlet and a credential page for the author, Jane Marla Robbins that gives the cards merit. The front of the cards have a cute cartoon with a question like "Want to walk into that party looking and feeling great?" When you flip the card over there are a couple of great, easy to read techniques that you can keep in your head and use in different situations. Postitive, humurous and very effective. Thumbs Up.



2. Witty, down-to-earth, practical advice in a fun format. A handy guide and morale-booster for anyone facing an unfamiliar audience. It's like having your own acting coach, with a sense of humor. I gave a set to my daughter who's just out of college and job-interviewing in San Francisco. It goes well with Acting Techniques for Everyday Life, the book by the same author. A little time taken to understand Ms. Robbins's approach to acting can have a surprisingly transformative effect on--yes--your every day life.



3. Jane Marla Robbins' cards have been extremely helpful in boosting my confidence level and are helping me make better impressions in my work and social life. I have always struggled with feeling insecure in difficult situations but after reviewing the cards and putting the techniques to use I feel I no longer have the same sense of dread going into situations that literally used to make me sick to my stomach. I plan on giving the cards as gifts to several friends who also struggle with low self esteem. The illustrations are very clever and funny and they help me visualize the techniques -- which makes it a lot more fun to practice learning how to feel more comfortable in difficult situations...but I'll still never act!

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

1 comments about The Revenger's Tragedy (New Mermaids).

1. Brian Gibbons, editor of the New Mermaids second edition (1991), describes The Revenger's Tragedy (1607) as a minor masterpiece. Judged against contemporaneous revenge plays like Hamlet and King Lear (and even Titus Andronicus), the term 'minor' certainly does not imply inferior. Minor or not, The Revenger's Tragedy deserves five stars. I found it as much easier reading than most Elizabethan and Jacobean plays.
   
   Despite its title, The Revenger's Tragedy is no more bloody than Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy (fifteen years earlier) and it is certainly not as insanely gruesome and brutal as Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus (1594). No dismemberments and no cannibalism. Bloody, yes. But not excessively so.
   
   Nonetheless, we learn of a murder, a rape leading to a suicide, and yet another aggressive seduction (or rape, if need be) that is in the planning stage. So ends Act 1. Revenge and mayhem follow.
   
   The plot is not unduly complex. Vindice desires revenge for the poisoning death of his betrothed, Gloriana, by the lustful, aging Duke. Vindice also indirectly blames the Duke for his father's death, though "he died of discontent, the nobleman's consumption". Vindice is perhaps obsessive; he has retained Gloriana's skull and sometimes speaks directly to her.
   
   In disguise he provokes discord between his enemies and leads them to plot against each other. (This ruse reminds me of Malevole's subterfuge in John Marston's play, The Malcontent.) A poisoned skull, a mistaken execution, and a murderous banquet highlight the later acts. The play concludes with an ironic twist, possibly added as a moral lesson, or simply to surprise the audience.
   
   Hats off to either Cyril Tourneur or Thomas Middleton, or whoever may have authored this fascinating revenge play.
   
   Update July, 2007: I recently encountered reference to this lesser known play in a murder mystery. Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972, wrote sophisticated mysteries under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake from the mid-1930s to the early 1960s. Thou Shell of Death (1936) is a revenge murder patterned on The Revenger's Tragedy. In the first scene Vindice speaking to the skull of his dead mistress says: "My study's ornament, thou shell of death, Once the bright face of my betrothed lady ...."
   
   Note: The Revenger's Tragedy is included in the Oxford World's Classics edition titled Four Revenge Tragedies (edited by Katherine Eisaman Maus). Her introduction to this inexpensive paperback edition compares The Revenger's Tragedy to three contemporaneous revenger plays.

5 comments about How to Get the Part... Without Falling Apart!: Featuring the Haber Phrase Technique for Actors.

1. We use Margie's books in our classes at yourACT Acting Classes in Atlanta, and Margie herself comes to teach her Advanced Intensive once or twice a year. We were impressed with the book, and even more impressed with Margie. I have been acting for more than 3 decades, and she taught me things about auditions and cold-reading that I had not learned anywhere else. In particular, her "Phrase Technique" allows actors to "take it off the page" without trying to memorize the text as they go. It's revolutionary and freeing.



2. This is a very worth while book for anyone studying drama. I purchased it for my 17 year old grandson who has great talent and a strong will and determination to enter the acting profession. He followed it step-by-step and set about passing the tasks presented. We live in a very small town without much offered (except for a high school teacher on her own time, as he graduduated early from high school) that is working with him privately. This book was like being in a class and receiving assignments in his junior year while he homeschooled himself, only better. Pauline Adamson



3. As a talent agent, I always recommend this book to both new and working actors. Margie is one of the best acting teachers in LA. Her book is written in a no nonsense manner and the advice is very valuable. It's the next best thing to being in her class. This one's a must have.



4. This book gives alot of practical information about the Audition process and the actors interview. Also in the book is the "The Harber Phrase Technique" specifically created by the author. There is advise on your pictures and resumes and more.
   I really liked the real-life stories given by popular actors and actresses about their audition experiences.
   This a is a great book for any actor who want to have better auditions and get more call-backs.



5. I LOVED this book! We actors all know what it's like to not prepare the way we need to for an audition. In reading Margie's book, I realized it's not just fear (masked as paralysis or procrastination) that keeps us from preparing. It's cause we aren't sure what questions to ask -- questions that will REALLY stimulate and plug us in when we only have 10 minutes, an hour, a day -- at any rate, not 4 nice, long weeks of rehearsal -- to bring life to the role. Just by reading this, I felt like I had taken a course. For seasoned actors as much, if not more, than for beginners. A handbook of what we could all stand to be reminded of. This book has made auditioning FUN again.

No comments about Action! Acting Lessons for CG Animators.

4 comments about Strike Up the Band: A New History of Musical Theatre.

1. Great turn-around time. Arrived quickly and in great condition. Would buy from them again!!
   
   Thanks!!



2. This is a very clever and insightful distilled overview, and as a performer I appreciate his experience as a performer, director and producer all of which informs his deep academic research. He has a strong, unapologetic author's viewpoint which makes for more interesting reading.



3. I have read and enjoyed Scott Miller's past books and "Strike Up the Band" is a worthy addition to his output (though I have to admit that I have only read about three-fourths as of this writing). Miller writes interestingly and informatively about composers, works and, especially, helps the reader relate the musical art form to the social and political environment that its history mirrors. I plan to use the book as a text for a class I will be teaching next year.
   
   
   The above notwithstanding, I did see evidence of sloppy editing, e.g. "Juilliard" not "Julliard"; "Antonio" not "Anthony" Banderas" and vocal "cords" not "chords"), and I regret that my students will not have the benefit of a bibliography with which to expand their scholarly curiosity.



4. Starting with the first page entitled, "The Overture", this book instantly captures your interest and compels you to read on to find out what each consecutive chapter contains. Scott Miller's words make every era, from the early 1900's up to the present time, an exciting journey through the history of musical theatre. I liked the fact that he integrated into his book what was going on in the world at the time the musicals were produced. Reading about my old favorites, "Oklahoma", "The King and I" and "South Pacific" was pure fun, but learning about one of the newer musicals, "Urinetown", was not only fun, but enlightening. I've read all his previous books, but this one tops them all!