5 comments about How Not to Audition: Avoiding the Common Mistakes Most Actors Make.

1. This is a great book. Ellie and Denny really know their stuff. I've been an Agent, Manager and partner in [...] and this is one of the best books I've read on auditioning. Actors face an incredible amount of rejection in their careers, it's unfortunate but it's a fact of life in this business. This book arms the actor with the tools they need to maximize the potential for success in each audition.
   
   Michael Packenham



2. Very informative. It discusses everything from unions, resumes, headshots, production roles, audtion after-events, and everything in between.



3. As a talent agent, I've had the pleasure of dealing with Ellie directly and I can honestly say that she's someone who really cares about actors. And let's face it. If you want a book about casting, you should buy one that's written by a real casting director, not an out of work actor. This book gets a big thumbs up from me.



4. Ellie Kanner and Denny Martin Flinn's book is mandatory reading for any actor smart enough to realize that it all starts with the audition, and can just as easily end there. How NOT to Audition is the definitive insider's guide to successfully navigating the complicated maze of auditions and landing that all-important role in film, TV and theatre.

   Kanner and Flinn detail the common errors that most inexperienced actors make when auditioning and help guide readers around the hidden pitfalls. How NOT to Audition gives details on proper etiquette during auditions and cold readings and includes strategies and techniques that will help any actor nail that part. While Kanner and Flinn can't guarantee actors a gig, they can guarantee that if they follow these simple guidelines, they will have a more successful auditioning experience.

   Ellie Kanner has been a casting director for the past 14 years. She cast the pilots of Friends, The Drew Carey Show and co-cast HBO's Sex and the City, among others.




5. Ellie Kanner is an expert and experienced casting director. Denny Martin Flinn is a skilled and successful screenwriter. Kanner and Flinn combine their respective talents and insights in How Not To Audition: Avoiding The Common Mistakes Most Actors Make. This outstanding and "real world" based advice guide for earning that crucial role offers the aspiring actor a wealth of practical suggestions, illustrative examples, and a hard-won wisdom derived from long years of personal experience. How Not To Audition is a superb guide which is enthusiastically recommended for anyone with a serious interest in establishing themselves with a performing career in theater, film or television.

4 comments about The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama, Brief Edition.

1. This Anthology's shortcomings in no way reflect poorly on the material in the book, but rather in what the editors chose to exclude. All the pieces (and there are many) come with excellent background information, interesting and relevant theory, and most importantly source text from many of the relevant playwrights, including original essays by Brecht and Artaud. The anthology includes many of the classics, and where it proves itself especially useful is in its inclusion of sociopolotical plays such as "Information for Foreigners" and "Los Vendidos", contemporary rewrites such as "Hamletmachine" and the clever pairing of the classic "Tempest" with the lesser known searing colonization commentary "A Tempest" by Cesaire. But totally lacking is treatment of the entire Roman and Medieval periods, as well as the post-Shakespeare pre-Ibsen area. The anthology remains an invaluable tool for survey courses (I used it for a Intro Theatre Studies Class) but perhaps is too limited for more specific Theatre applications.



2. I would first like to mention that this book has stunning supplementary materials (theory, performance discussions, etc.) that make the book well worth using for a general survey of Western dramatic history.
   But it is what is excluded or glossed that makes this collection fall somewhat short. I teach out of this book for a major university (it is the required text for multiple other classes, so it is requested that I use this text as well.) While it does cover many major and significant periods, the Romans are entirely ignored and non-western theatre is seemingly thrown in as a sidethought... leading many of my students to question whether there is really a worthwhile eastern theatre tradition. When teaching Greeks and Renaissance drama, it is critical to understand the approach that the Romans took to the theatre. Even a Senecan tragedy would have enlivened the "Classical" section of the anthology.
   I do understand that not ALL periods can be given equal weight, but by disrgarding periods and regions (or even worse, by giving them such short shrift that nobody even considers them beyond a passing comment) our students are presented an incomplete history of theatre. I must order a number of other texts to fill these holes in the historical timeline.
   That being said, what this anthology does include is well documented and supported by appropriate texts. As I mentioned, it is a good basic introduction to theatre history and theory (and is possibly the strongest out there for this task) and should deserve 4 stars, but the 3 stars reflects my reservations above.



3. I read so much about the anthology, but nowhere did I find what plays were actually presented, for those interested here is the list: Orestia, Agamemnon, Liberation Bearers, Eumenides, Oedipos King, Medea, Lysistrata, Matsukaze, Chushingura, Second Shepards' Pageant, Everyman, Doctor Faustus, Hamlet, The Tempest, Life is a Dream, Tartuffe, Phaedra, The Rover, Loa DIvine Narcissusm Recruiting Officer, Doll House, Father, Cherry Orchard, Major Barbara, Six Characters..., Mother Courage, Endgame, Homecoming, Hamletmachine, Cloud Nine, Our Country's Good, Trifles, Hairy Ape, Glass Menagerie, Dutchman, Vedidos, True West, Fences, M Butterfly, Angels in America I, Fires in the Mirror, America Play, Lady Aoi, My Beatles, A Tempest, Information for Foreigners, Death and King's Horseman, Translations, Gangsters, No Sugar, Dry Lips Oghta..., Valley Song. On top of it all, there are incredible and insightful critical reviews.



4. I had to buy this book for my dramatic lit classes in school and fell in love with it. It covers plays from the early Greeks to modern plays. Before every play there is a bio of the writer that outlines their history and how they came to write the play you are about to read. At the beginning of each section there is an essay about that time period. It talks about what was happening then, the different writing styles that evolved, the layout of theatres and how they changed and the different prominent writers of that time. The book also includes many pictures from different productions of the plays in the book. It shows pictures with traditional stagings and also updated or stylized stagings. Pretty much all of the plays also have at least one critical essay included as well. This is a great assortment of plays with lots of good background info to get you going. Whether you are just looking for a good collection pf plays to read or are a drama student looking to broaden your play collection for scene study and monologue work this is the book for you.

5 comments about Standing Room Only: Strategies for Marketing the Performing Arts.

1. This is a decent reference book if you have limited marketing experience. If you have any Graduate level marketing classes or marketing experience, you'll find it to be like the other Kotler books: stale and behind the times.



2. I found Standing Room only was useful as the recommended text for the Arts Management Post Graduate at UTS Sydney. It would be great for a new edition to be published that includes more recent marketing examples and methods, like e- business and contemporary arts organisations as it is really dated.



3. I've been in the entertainment public relations business for 30 years and this book is one of the best I've encountered. It's accurate, up to date, well-written and thorough.



4. If you want to run an arts organization or run one now, or run part of one: have a long visit with this book. As an MBA who has interviewed many performing arts managers and worked as a performing arts funder and on various boards over decades, I commend this to all people in the business except my competitors.

   It wouldn't be fair to compare this to other business how-to books because it is a compendium, not just management theories-du-jour. And perhaps because not-for-profits have a "spiritual" side, the reader senses that the authors are holding nothing back out of mercenary considerations. So if you suspect you don't know everything about running a performing arts organization, this is the place to start.

   The book is a gift, a mission informed by the authors' love of and belief in the arts as inherently good. Just one idea gleaned here could save your organization, especially in times of funding and subscription-ticketing stress. While a revised edition might meld more internet ideas into the fantastic array of tips-'n-tools presented, as-is, "SRO" is exhaustive but not exhausting.




5. Kotler touches on many subjects from customer loyalty, changing audiences to data analysis. Theories are enhanced by using various arts companies as examples.

   The book is not intended give in depth answers, that is "You must do this" to save your company, but guides you through sound marketing tactics/commonsense.

   I suggest you use it as a guide to refer to, but it's not a bible as every marketing situation that any arts company finds itselves in is different to the next - there is no divine answer only a helping hand.

1 comments about Henry IV, Part II (Folger Shakespeare Library).

1. Surely this is not a review of the Shakespeare's play. I am not in a position to say anything about Shakespeare except it's something like an addiction. After you read a few of his plays in the original - everything else looks pale, like a comics book more or less.
   
   This is about Folger Shakespeare Library. I read Hamlet, Tempest and Henry IV Part I and Part II in their editions. They are amazingly good. I can't find enough words. Five stars is not enough for them.
   
   I read "The Merchant of Venice" in "The Annotated Shakespeare" - you can't even compare it with the Folger Library editions, which adds so much value for the contemporary reader both with their line by line commentary and with their articles before and after the play.
   
   Simply the best.

No comments about Interdisciplinary Learning Through Dance: 101 Moventures.

1 comments about Red Light Winter: A Play.

1. Last year there was a producton of Red Light Winter performed at my school. I thoroughly enjoyed it because Adam Rapp has a talent for creating believeable characters. This play is set in Amsterdam. Hence "Red Light" Winter. It follows two friends vacationing and the prostitute they stumble upon. What ensues is highly entertaining and fun. I would recommend this play to anyone who wants to escape through a play. When reading this play I feel like I am in Amsterdam. A great read.

2 comments about Acting in Musical Theatre.

1. I am a first-time actor, performing in a community theatre production of Annie Get Your Gun (as Tommy Keeler). I have no acting experience or education, and no idea how to act, though I can sing and dance. I find this book a marvelous help in learning principles and concepts of acting, and I'm sure I'll learn alot from it as I learn the art!



2. Excellent book for the actor whether you're a beginner, starting a career or established in the field. Also a great read. I highly recommend it.

5 comments about All the Words on Stage: A Complete Pronunciation Dictionary for the Plays of William Shakespeare.

1. Today even well trained actors balk at having to do Shakespeare. This book provides the tools necessary to bridge the daunting task of getting your mouth around the words and understanding what you are saying. Thanks to the authors for creating a book that captures their extensive knowledge and expertise in a user friendly volume.



2. Beyond the pronunciation dictionary, essential to every North American actor and director of Shakespeare, the book's notes on scanning Shakespeare's verse set forth briefly in ten clear pages, not extended pedantic garble, what an actor must know, since scansion may dictate pronunciation. The additional notes on dialects, accents, Latin and other foreign languages used by Shakespeare, and the observations on differences in poetic diction in each of his plays, also have great value.



3. This is as essential a tool for any actor performing Shakespeare as the voice, body and mind! I highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about their craft.



4. GREAT FIND!! Any and every word Shakespeare ever wrote is in this book with the proper pronounciation. This is a "must have" for any Shakespeare actor, or for someone who wants to read Shakespeare and know exactly how to say every word. Also, the verse speaking techniques are excellent. If you are serious about Shakespeare, get this book!



5. This incredibly thorough and efficient book is essential to any person who wishes to study or truly appreciate Shakespeare. I've been an actor and a student of English literature for many years, but I did not have the access to or admiration for classical works that I have gained since using Younts' and Scheeders' text.
   The poetry is better this way! You need to know how to say it if you want to perform it! Actors, Directors, and Lovers of Shakespeare, GET THIS BOOK!!!

1 comments about The Actor's Scenebook: Scenes and Monologues From Contemporary Plays.

1. This scene and monologue book is a must for all actors. It has a broad range of materials that includes excellent audition pieces. I highly recomend this for begining actors to advanced actors. On top of a great selection of pieces, it also contains information for dealing with stage fright. I give this book four stars.

5 comments about Louise Brooks: A Biography.

1. This book is an expansive overview of the life of Louise Brooks and also of the early days of the movie industry. Very throughly researched, it gives a nuanced look and the beautiful, brilliant and maddeningly self-destructive icon. It also is a wonderful history of the entertainment world in the 1920's and the personalities who populated that world. A must-read from fans of Louise Brooks.



2. Several books have been written about Louise Brooks, but this book is probably the most concise and most thorough of them all. The book starts off with Louise's birth and it describes all the people that helped to make Louise so interesting and famous. There are many black-and-white photos of Louise, from the time she started in show-biz (at age 4) to Louise in her later years, just before her death.
   
   Since Louise Brooks had such a fascinating life, it is not a surprise that this book is so long. Each Chapter basically covers a chunk of her life, and each Chapter describes (in detail) the characters that encountered & shaped Louise, and also all the Theatre and Movie productions that Louise was involved in.



3. This is what a biography should be: insightful, understanding, offering a measured & complex view of its beloved subject. And what a subject Barry Paris has in Louise Brooks! Her beauty, her intelligence, her compelling charisma all shine in these pages, giving us a multi-faceted view of this ravishing star. For someone who had never heard of Louise Brooks, this biography will send him or her in eager pursuit of her all-too-few films & her own writing -- and both are of the very highest standard.
   
   It's clear that Brooks never did anything without wanting to give her all, to make true art out of it, a work of beauty & meaning that would stand the test of time. And the same could be said of this superb biography. While Paris clearly adores Brooks (and with good reason), he never succumbs to blind hagiography. Nor does he stumble in the opposite direction of pathography. His purpose is to explore the life of a fascinating woman, and to present it to the reader as thoroughly & lucidly as possible. He succeeds on every level. Louise Brooks emerges from these pages as both a flesh & blood woman, and as the dazzling, mysterious icon she became to countless admirers.
   
   In short, the best book on Louise Brooks you'll ever find, most highly recommended!



4. I have not yet read this entire book, but just glancing through it when it arrived I would find that I have just read twenty pages or so whenever I openned it up. I can't wait until I read it cover to cover.



5. Barry Paris's bio is a wonderful read and in my opinion did more for the recent increase of interest in Brooks than anything other book.
   
   At the time of it's publishing in the mid 90's the internet was a mere flicker of info, photos bios and trivia about obscure stars like Louise Brooks were very hard to come by. After this book was published, I was one of several people who started fledgling web sites in Brooks' honour. While I gave up, one of those websites carried on to become the Louise Brooks Society, the definitive website on her life. Paris' book is essential reading for anyone who is facinated by this beautiful starlet.