No comments about A Midsummer Night's Dream (The New Cambridge Shakespeare).

3 comments about The Art of Making Dances.

1. Written by one of the master pioneers of American modern dance, "The Art of Making Dances" was Doris Humphrey's final effort before she died in 1958. Published after her death, the book is a tribute to her legacy of providing a formal methodology of the craft of choreography. The book is an excellent manual for the beginning choreographer by outlining elements of dance and music composition, design, dynamics, rhythm and gesture. She includes choreography assignments to illustrate each compositional element. While somewhat dated in its choreography references, Humphrey offers the reader advice for what to look for in formal choreography making the book an excellent introduction to understanding and appreciating dance for the practitioner as well as the audience member.
   
   Dalienne Majors
   Chair of Dance
   Berkeley Carroll School
   Brooklyn, NY
   
   July 2006



2. I like this book for it's drawing examples and it's heart to heart talk. I can almost hear the writer talking directly at me about how to look at dancing in a different way. . .the heart and emotion of the dance not the techinques that are drummed into us from the time we first put our foot down. This book was recommended to me from a person that studies and teachs ballet. I am a bellydance studen myself but found that it was very helpful in getting over my fears of making my owns dances. Highly recommended for all levels and types of dancers.



3. as a post-modernist who is always asking "why?" or "who says so?" i see this text as simply brimming with possible areas for undermining aesthetics, theories, and practices in choreography... when i was an undergrad, i learned to choreograph by reading this book. essentially i learned how to make "grocery store list" dances... do i have the "proper" levels? check! do i have "interesting" variations? check! is my music "appropriate" for dance? double check!! have i avoided anything that should be better described with words? ummm... hmmm. well... err... this is where the problems get really big -- yes, i adamantly suggest a beginner learn the material from this book, but only so that the dated notions can be completely thrown away. i give this book 5 stars, because it introduces some of the most important concepts about craft all in one nice, orderly place, but i also give it 5 stars because of the hundreds or thousands of dances that could be made simply to refute the ideas contained herein. yes, get the book... it's essential to your training as a dance maker... yes, throw EVERYTHING away once you've learned it. this text is a bibliography brimming with sources on dance/performance concepts... now that i'm a college professor i'm teaching the choreography 1 class how to use this book as is, but i'm teaching the choreography 4 class how to refute it completely.

3 comments about Four Great Plays by Henrik Ibsen (Bantam Classics).

1. Henrik Ibsen's creation of "modern theater" makes him one of the most influential playwrights, along with William Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett, in the history of drama. This unique collection of the four plays he wrote between 1879 and 1884 provides teachers of drama/literature with an opportunity to look at a major writer trying to develop his craft. Ibsen is concerned with social criticism and each of these plays reflects his change in perspective as he tries to write a drama that will be both socially relevant and commercially successful. You have to remember the time and place that considered it shocking for Nora to leave her husband or for Mrs. Alving to consider euthenasia for her son. By turning to "comedy" (of a sort) in "An Enemy of the People," Ibsen found a way of making his point in a manner more acceptable to his audiences. By looking at not only the plays but how each was received by the public, teachers/students can better appreciate what Ibsen was trying to do with each successive play.

   For all four of these plays the notion of responsibility is primary. In "A Doll's House" Nora Helmer decides to leave her husband because he is unworthy of her love. In "Ghosts," Mrs. Alving has to decide whether she should give her diseased son poison as a mercy killing. In "An Enemy of the People," Dr. Stockmann decides to stay and fight to have the infected baths repaired even after the town ostracizes him. Finally, in "The Wild Duck" the idealist Gregers Werle comes home and destroys a family by insisting the truth be told. A classroom set of this particular volume is relatively inexpensive and provides an excellent case study of the growth of a major writer. Students do not often get the opportunity to read several works by the same writer. Shakespeare is the exception to this rule, but usually students are exposed to different types of plays (comedy, tragedy, history) rather than to a series of consecutively written plays.




2. henrik ibsen has perfected the realist movement in theatre. he has accomplished what so few have: to maintain the realistic effect, without succumbing to the tediousness of every day life. his plays ring true for the common man, yet not in a pedestrian manner that becomes boring. in my opinion, he far surpasses any other playwright in the realist movement, including chekhov.



3. So much in reading Ibsen depends upon the translation of these great works. These four plays of Ibsen's so-called "realistic period" revolve around social issues of his day which plague us 100 years later. Do we ever learn from such literary wake-up calls? Although the dramatic tensions here, which could have easily have been 20th Century tensions, rumble through these plays, the translations here are wordy and dated, thus making the plays sound overly melodramatic and at times downright silly. Still, everyone should read -- and discuss -- Ibsen's plays for their uneasy questions regarding universal social problems: money, privacy, freedom to act, government corruption, unchecked journalism, and the moral and physical diseases which only seem to wear a new face each year.

5 comments about The Producers: The Book, Lyrics, and Story Behind the Biggest Hit in Broadway History!.

1. 
   This is a soundtrack of the original 1968 movie "The Producers." It is not a soundtrack of the movie that was made from the musical that was adapted from the original movie "The Producers" (whew). That may be good or bad, depending on your point of view.
   
   The original movie wasn't really a musical, altho it was about a musical and had some music. Therefore, this CD is mostly dialog. The 3 main pieces of music of interest are "Springtime For Hitler," "Love Power," and "Prisoners Of Love." These are all great works of musical comedy, but, considering the price, that's not much for the money.
   
   I decided to buy this because: 1> for some strange reason, digitally transferring the audio of these songs from my DVD didn't work quite right; 2> I absolutely loved the (original) movie and these songs, and 3> I thought it might have a snippet or two extra that I might want (such as when Dick Shawn sings "1+1 is 2, 2+2 is 4, I feel so bad 'cause I'm losing the war") - it doesn't.
   
   Well, I got the songs I needed - at a pretty exorbitant price - maybe it'll be worth more someday as a collector's item. I do like that they included Zero's "That's our Hitler!" at the end of Love Power.
   
   Also, just for the record, if you only know "The Producers" from the stage or the 2nd movie, you really should watch the original The Producers (Deluxe Edition). In my humble opinion, it is much, much, better (in fact, one of the finest movies ever made), albeit less musical. Unfortunately, many people are only interested in something new or "hot," so that's how you can make money today - by perversely reworking something sublime into an inferior product.



2. IF you LOVE Mel Brooks. IF you LOVE the stage show " The Producers" . IF you LOVE the music, BUY BUY BUY THIS BOOK. This is a MUST have for ALL "The Producers " fans. This book is the Guide to what is the most stimulating show I have EVER seen.
   Based on the process of turning the original " The Producers " ( Gene Wilder ) movie into a Stage show, along with cast selection and music ( The entire score and lyrics By MEL BROOKS . HIMSELF ).
   JUST BUY BUY BUY THIS BOOK.
   
   It even tells you how to spell Ullas' 1st name correctly, wow wow wow wow. Got to go , Its almost 11.



3. On my C.D. list for Christmas is this HILLAROUS C.D. I've always been a weird producer fan thinking that the movie is actually better than the stage show- despite the lack of 1968 songs. This C.D. is annoyingly funny.
   
   "Love Power"has always been my favorite song in the movie- I laugh each time I see it in the movie. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed this Christmas for this wonderful C.D. I'm still a little disappointed that Mel Brooks cut the character and the song from the show.
   
   Although there are only two songs with complete lyrics. This is still a soundtrack that any "Producer" fanatic will enjoy and I personally like the "Springtime For Hitler" song in the movie more than the actual one put into the show. You also catch a glimpse of Mel Brooks voice as the Nazi "Come and be a smartie and join the Nazi party."
   
   By all means hit that buy now button and laugh yourself silly with these two songs!



4. ... KITCHY fodder for the limp-wristed masses.
   
   (PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE CD OF THE ORIGINAL FILM, SO IF YOU HAVE TO RATE ME, BASE IT ON THAT!)
   
   I loved this movie. I watched it at a time when the Vietnam War was waning in in 1975 here in Chicago, as it was playing on WGN TV on the late late late show. Apparently, even the censors were asleep at the time, but God bless em, this was the perfect time to see him. Mel's brand of humor reminds me of a time when they used to use brown paper bags to wrap up the porn in.
   
   It always has been a guilty pleasure to watch this film, laugh at the humor, and sing along with the actors. This CD captures the essence of the film, the heart of his message - it was as if the lyrics, the tone, and the actor's very intonations were possessed by the vision Mel tossed out after looking into himself and at the world when he penned these tunes, and think about it - in the late 60's! Who was confronting racism, gay sexism, and the Jewish question? Secondly, who could do it with such brave humor and didn't fear the reprocussions?
   
   This CD contains over a dozen tracks of spoken lines from the film, and to listen to Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder's interaction witrh the wonderful diologue is to listen to the genius of Mel Brooks' zenith of comedy. In this CD is also included the true ability Mel had in making his special brand of comedy work - it was simply to make it as campy as hell by including MUSICAL NUMBERS ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST! Yes, I was laughing about Hitler, and Goebbels ( "I loves my little joe") and yes, I was shocked at first, but who wasn't?
   
   This CD of the movie is giving us some of the greatest parody tunes of ALL TIME - "Springtime For Hitler," "Prisoners Of Love," "Love Power," and the spoken word of Zero Mostel - ULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLA! ('I met her at the public library.') I can listen to this CD in the car, at home, ANYWHERE.
   
   (I can also watch this film on DVD - a bit dated, yes, but it represents a time when this was still edgy - but I will stand by this and gladly watch this over and over til it cracks.)
   
   (On a personal note: I am saddened at what Mel Brooks did by making this film about a failed play into a musical about a failed play!!!
   
   I consider it to be one of his all-time masterpieces and part of his holy trilogy of his genius -
   
   "The Producers" is followed by "Young Frankenstein" and of course the gem on his cap, "Blazing Saddles." He will NEVER be able to top himself, because once you've been to the mountaintop, how can you go any higher?)
   
   PLEASE! Buy this CD and LISTEN to it and remember a time when anyone could go out and try to be daring, try and amaze, listen to every second of this CD - I own a copy, and heartily endorse it!
   
   A play based on a film based on a play? Only in New York.
   
   Sad.



5. "The Producers: The Book, Lyrics, and Story Behind the Biggest Hit in Broadway History!" is such a colorfully fun book. It goes through the excruciating brainstorming process, right through opening night and the actual script. The pictures are so vibrant and you can just hear the actors saying the lines on the page. The handwritten notes on the side of the pages are interesting and catching. This book is perfect for fans of the show and Broadway. I recommend.

5 comments about The Backstage Guide to Stage Management: Traditional and New Methods for Running a Show from First Rehearsal to Last Performance.

1. I found this book very, very helpful and informative. I purchased this book when I was stage managing my first musical (community theatre) and read through it again before the last show I did. I have only stage managed three shows so far, but thanks to what I learned in this book I received a great compliment - Thanks for your work, you were so professional, I look forward to working with you again. This is a must have for a stage manager. I feel that as I progress and do more (including hopefully professional jobs someday) I can continue to refer to this book and hone my skills.



2. As a recent graduate with a BFA in stage management, I have found Kelly's book to the the most in depth look at the craft. It addressed more complicated issues, and most interestingly, new developments, that the other books I've read(Stern, Ionazzi) don't touch on. I agree that it isn't a book for a beginner, but for someone with a little experience, looking to refine their skills, its the best book out there.



3. As a young budding director I found this guide helpful in some of things, I MYSELF was trying to achieve. At the same time this book reads like automotive directions in Spanish. Those unfamiliar with theatre lingo this is not a beginners guide!



4. This is the best book on theatrical stage management currently available, for the money. It is well written, well organized, and very comprehensive. Kelly's approach to stage management is outstanding and he communicates it in a clear and interesting manner in the book.

   Besides, being such a good book, it is priced very well. The only books that are comparable in content cost at least three times as much.

   A must have for everyone seriously interested in stage managing.




5. From the minute I picked this book up it has become my "bible". Chock full of helpful tips and funny stories of the author's experiences as a stage manager. Not overly technical - with lots of helpful forms to smooth the way for a production (and the stage manager's nerves)! Have it with you through every show - before, during, after. Bravo! Encore!

5 comments about Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese.

1. I may have enjoyed this book a bit more if I was familiar with more of the subjects discussed inside. Several of the films I'd never even ehard of. The writing is funny, but it can get a bit old periodically, especially in the second to last segment which (haha) deals with "The Blair Witch Project." Mike Nelson's going on about how the witch trying to make friends with the students was trying. I have to say, his history of the names that the witch has been known as through the years was funny, especially since it addresses the differences in name between the actual town of the filming and the fictional area of the movie.
   
   Read the excerpt here on Amazon, which pokes fun at the movie "Volcano." The rest of this book is more of the same, looking at TV shows as well. Nelson even critiques "MST3K: The Movie" which is the best part of the book.
   
   There's some great moments here, but you really have to be familiar with the topics and, as I try to avoid a lot of bad television, do not.
   
   Check out Nelson's "Mind on Matters" and "Death Rat" before picking this up. I finished "Death Rat" last week. Thoroughly enjoyable.



2. "Movie Megacheese" is a perfect book for a rainy day:it's hilarious,and Mike Nelson has tried-heroically-to transfer his snarky remarks from his Mystery Science Theater 3000 to the book world.
   
   Mike Nelson provides insights into "The Saint" (why doesn't Val Kilmer's character use the alias St.John Eudes?),"Action Jackson" (explaining why the hero doesn't have the surname Paulson or Thibedeau),and "Star Trek:Generations" (the villain dresses like Sting&wants to get hit by a dryer spark). His comedic assessment of Food Network is as relevant as ever-though Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay are notable omissions. His digs at Emeril Lagasse are worth the price of the book. Bam!
   
   Mike Nelson's take on "Bridges of Madison County" is a disappointment,but his send-up of "Patch Adams" pretty much sums up the current state of Robin Williams' career (though "Happy Feet" and "Night at the Museum" weren't made yet). "Movie Megacheese" is mostly humorous,and it works as bite-size comedy. Unfortunately,it's too short. Considering how many awful movies have been made since the book first came out,it's time for an extended edition or a sequel.



3. Being a rabid MST3K fan, I must confess this book was a bit of a letdown. Maybe my expectations were too high. There is humor here, but there were way more half-smiles than hearty laughs, and some of the swing-for-the-fences jokes definitely ended up in the catcher's mitt. Whenever you can guess the punchline before finishing the sentence, things are a little stale. I couldn't recommend paying retail price, but if you find it used like I did, you'll get your money's worth.



4. Having watched Mike on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" for many years, I had an idea of what to expect. Yet, "Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese" blew me out of the water with its laugh-out-loud reviews. Nelson is a gifted writer with a sharp tongue and an even sharper rapier wit. My only complaint is that he doesn't do enough of these! Who wouldn't pay $20 to see him tee off on "Gigli" or "Norbert"? We need another hit of the 'cheese, Mike! Overall, an enjoyable read from cover to cover!



5. Thanks in large part to my exposure to "Mystery Science Theater 3000", I am now a stark-raving-mad cheeseball cinema aficionado. So it was a no-brainer that I'd eventually get around to reading former MST3K host Mike Nelson's essays on several big-budget cheddar-fests that the show could never hope to afford licensing rights to. I figured buying a copy of Mr. Nelson's book (from Amazon, `natch) and reading it would be the best way for me to pay the guy back for making me laugh occasionally at his not-half-bad-or better quips and put-downs. Sure, it took me over five years to finally up and get the book, and used from one of the Amazon Marketplace dealers no less. But hey, better late than never...
   
   Most of the movies Nelson takes on go about as far back as the mid-80s to just before the tome's 2000 publishing date. He goes after a few of the usual suspects ("Anaconda", "Independence Day", and "Action Jackson" are but a few examples), as well as a few not-so-obvious flix ("The Bridges of Madison County", "DragonHeart"). He even goes so far as to use the horrid "Batman & Robin" (which he declares is "not the worst movie ever", but "the worst THING ever") as a springboard to rip into the entire Burton/Schumacher "Batman" franchise in one essay. In some cases he teams up two or more particularly cheddary flicks that are connected by a theme, like "Action Jackson" and "Stone Cold" because of the movies' main stars' former careers in pro football.
   
   But it's not just movies this former Satellite of Love co-denizen takes apart with his usually straightforward but occasionally rambling manner and incendiary wit that occasionally enters the realm of naughtiness, but rarely in a particularly overt manner. As opposed to, say, a subtly overt manner. Or (horror of horrors) an overtly overt manner. About the worst you can expect from him is the reason he is now "(unable) to eat any smoked pork products" since seeing Kevin Bacon's goods in "Wild Things." And I can't say I blame him. Kinda makes me wonder if he swore off loaves and fishes after seeing Graham Chapman lettin' it all hang out in "Monty Python's Life of Brian", doesn't it?
   
   The second-worst you can expect from Mr. Nelson is his description of the cast-off crud coming offa Clint Eastwood's character during a shower scene in "The Bridges of Madison County." While the words he uses to describe the "soupy gray runoff" of shower water that contains "all manner of skin oil, dirt, dander, and body hair" aren't particularly nasty or obscene in and of themselves, their overall arrangement and vivid power of description meshed together in a hellish literary tag-team kept me from finishing off the steak dinner I was eating whilst reading that particular passage. Eh, I could stand to lose several dozen pounds, anyway...
   
   Also hit are notable TV shows that were running at the time, like "Xena", the Kvin Sorbo "Hercules" series, and "Savannah". The latter show has Mr. Nelson visualizing the anguish that producer Aaron Spelling's going through with the show's relative lack of success compared to the Spelling-produced contemporaries "90210" and "Melsrose Place". An anguish he tries to eliminate by tossing a few more additions to his obscenely opulent estate. "Do you realize how many rooms he has to build on the South Wing to begin to stanch the wound?", Mr. Nelson asks the reader. Quite frankly, I don't think I can even begin to realize such emotional torture, nor would I want to...
   
   Also given their just desserts (so to speak in the former case) is the Food Channel and Cartoon Network. It's pretty apparent from his writings that Mr. Nelson actually enjoys the Food Channel, but isn't too keen with Cartoon Network, which had a lotta Hanna-Barbera shows on heavy rotation at the time the book was published. Although he cites "Speed Racer", "Woody Woodpecker" and "The Smurfs" as examples of the CN's crappiness, I'm pretty sure it was the Hanna-Barbera stuff that really pushed him over the edge. Mainly `cuz just about alla Hanna-Barbera's `toonage sucks razor blade-studded hot coals smothered in Tabasco sauce. Well, that and he lets the reader in on the lameness of "Scooby-Doo", "The Flintstones", and "The Jetsons." `Course, in the five-plus years since this book came out, CN's line-up hasn't really improved all that much; I'd much rather endure Yogi's umpteenth insipid pic-a-nic basket pilferage than watch five seconds of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"...
   
   Anyhoo, Mr. Nelson also takes it to several notable Hollywood personalities whose contributions to film have made many folks rather cynical and jaded about the moviegoing experience, myself included. The woodenness of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Keanu Reeves (his response to Reeves' role in "Speed": "... (a) member of the L.A. bomb squad?! I wouldn't trust this man to sell me a stamp."), the hilarious yet awful screenplays of Joe Eszterhas, and the existence of Carrot Top are but three among a crop of (usually) rather obvious, riffed-on-to-death targets that even the most third-rate of third-rate standup comics abandoned years ago for fresher material. Like William Shatner's infamous method acting for example.
   
   On the upside: at least the author admits in his bash of Carrot Top that the pastime of Carrot Top-bashing has become a rather hackneyed and tiresome one... but after viewing "Chairman of the Board", he just can't help it. And I can't say I blame Mr. Nelson, though I must admit his shots at the fire-tressed prop comedian are ironic in a way, seeing as how he ("he" as in "Mike Nelson", not as in "Carrot Top") replaced Joel Hodgson on MST3K, who was himself a prop comedian, and took advantage of his mad skillz to assemble those silly doo-dads he'd show off to Dr. Forrester and Boob-Tube Francis during those "invention exchange" sketches. `Course, it'd be more ironic, not to mention downright hypocritical, if Nelson were a prop comedian himself while ripping on Mr. Top. Thankfully, his parents ("his parents" as in "Mike Nelson's parents", not as in "Carrot Top's parents") apparently gave him enough hugs and applied a tiny bit of corporal punishment on him when he was a lad, thereby sparing the world the agony of another Gallagher-wannabe...
   
   As for Nelson's writing style: in some ways, it's reminiscent of the stuff he'd come up whilst locked in the SOL's screening room with his AI-endowed compatriots. While both Crow and Tom Servo had the ability to throw out an intellectual and/or esoteric reference or two, Mr. Nelson's references were by far the most intellectual and/or esoteric. Which is the main reason why I laughed at the robots' put-downs far more often than I did Mr. Nelson's. Fortunately, I was able to grok about 92.34% of these sometimes-laugh-out-loud-funny MENSA-level put-downs... which was about the rate of grokkery I had when I came across similar sometimes-laugh-out-loud-funny MENSA-level put-downs in this tome. Still, that 7.66% that I needed Google to figure out-- and had me letting out a staccato "D'oh!" whilst smacking the palm of my right hand to my forehead when I finally figured it out-- has been playin' hell on my self-esteem for a few days now...
   
   But seriously: while I got a pretty good laugh at times from "Movie Megacheese", there were a few areas where Mr. Nelson's efforts at humor read like a cross between Larry King's insipid USA Today columns, and something Dave Barry would come up with whilst trying to overcome a really bad case of writer's block. Which is almost as corny and unfunny as Dave Barry withOUT writer's block. I mean, okay, every once in a while he'll will toss out a quip in his weekly column that gets a light chuckle from me. And his annual "Stupid Christmas Gift Guide" is kinda amusing in its own dumb little way. And that Harry Anderson sit-com that was loosely based on Barry's columnar ramblings had a few cute moments. But is he really all that and a side of curly fries? I think NOT! I will admit, however, that he's a little bit funnier than the Sunday comics... but that's only if the Sunday comics doesn't carry "Garfield." Otherwise, all bets are off.
   
   But, I'm getting away from the main subject matter at hand, sorry about that. I go on weird tangents some times... which is something Mr. Nelson also does on occasion in "Movie Megacheese", albeit not to nearly the lengths that I do in some of my product reviews. He also throws out an agonizingly drawn-out (albeit usually amusing) analogy on occasion, like Dennis Miller without the smarm, and with only a small fraction of the obnoxious pomposity. Fortunately, the book's truly laugh-out-loud bits-- of which there were more than a few-- more than made up for the groan-inducing corny parts.
   
   Bottom line: if you're into trashy movies & TV shows, as well as the personalities who have made those movies and TV shows so memorable (no matter how hard you try to forget), and you actually enjoy watching "Road House" for its cheeseball appeal whilst believing that Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey are demons set forth by Satan to destroy the genre of slapstick comedy as we know them, you might do well to pick up a copy of "Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese." And may be even read a few pages while you're at it...
   
   `Late

3 comments about Writing in Restaurants.

1. There are some really great essays in this book, especially if you're a person who loves the theater. Much like "True and False", this book takes aim at problems plaguing America's theater. His best essays in here are for actors - they inspire and reclaim some of the art's dignity.

   Also, if you're like me, you can appreciate his essay in here on pool halls. I've never seen anyone nail why they're such great places to visit like he does in this book.

   This isn't his best work. But it's a pleasant read nonetheless. Worth the time.




2. This book's strength was that it made me challenge my own beliefs. As a filmmaker and writer, I have developed a sense for writing crap that appeals to the lowest common denominator. Mamet made me re-evaluate what made me become a writer, and the importance of the theater. I find his writing very interesting from the standpoint that he is very much of the theater, and an elitist as a result, but he is very favorable when discussing Hollywood. I think everyone should read his section on the Oscars in this book. Overall, I was very pleased I read the book, and would have to ultimately recommend it to others.



3. David Mamets "Writing In Restaraunts" is a perfect execution of playwriting technique guidance and education. When Mamet, the pulitzer prize winning author, combines his know how of writing business and his suave writing style, you get "the goods". Do yourself a favor, and purchase this book.

3 comments about The Ultimate Audition Book: 222 Comedy Monologues, 2 Minutes And Under Vol. 4 (Monologue Audition Series).

1. Great for auditions. The monologues are ready to go, just pick and choose as you need.



2. This book is so great for any actor! I would highly recomend it because it has such an array of pieces for anyone! And anybody who has had to audition knows the trouble it is to find good monologues that meet time requirements, age specifications, and come from an actual play! This book has it all if you're in a quick hurry to learn a monologue. My only problem with this book is picking a monologue out of such a great collection! But I better decide in less than a week! :-D



3. This collection is a lot funnier than previous editions and I love the variety. I found a lot of material to use in my auditions and they're getting me plenty of laughs. Hey, I'm actually funny now!!!

No comments about The Lion in Winter: A Play.

2 comments about The Actor and the Target: New Edition.

1. This is an excellent resource for actors. The general guidlines are great. But the part I liked best of all were the specific examples regarding an actor faced with the difficulties of playing Juliet. The specific examples are complex and so helpful in fleshing out the general guidlines and for making them easier to remember for future reference. I also liked the fact that there was a lot of "new age" psychology--which is so great at plugging us into our own psychys--which is really what acting is all about. This book was dealing with very complex concepts, but they were presented simply and clearly. I give it 5 stars unequivically. As an actor, I am very grateful for this book!



2. The Actor and the Target is an invaluable insight into the actor's process. Well written with terrific clarity and wisdom.