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.

2 comments about The Songwriter's Workshop: Harmony.

1. This book, along with its companion by the same author, Songwriter's Workshop: Melody, comprise a solid, straightforward course in writing songs along the lines of what I'd (reluctantly) call "classic rock and pop" of the 60's through the 80's. The harmonic vocabulary covered in this volume is comparable to what most guitar-oriented songwriters
   used then and continue to: open position chords with descending bass lines, major triads with thirds and fifths in the bass, etc. It may be a sign of the times at Berklee or, more
   likely, just the author's orientation but you won't find jazz/show tune techniques here nor Steely Dan changes so if that's more your cup of joe, I'd recommend Jack Perricone's "Melody in Songwriting" which makes a great followup to this series.
   
   But otherwise, there's little prior knowledge assumed (other than an interest in and listening experience to a wide range of songs) and much to be learned.
   
   Kachulis's approach is to build up song structures by having you focus on individual elements: groove, chord color, modal chord progressions over small sections building to contrasts
   over larger forms. Always refering to an example song or to the accompanying recording the approach is logical, and it should work for those requiring different levels of handholding and validation. You can imitate the examples closely or just
   glean from the principles, going your own way.
   
   And let's face it: Many of the points about song structure are just as applicable whether your composing German Lieder, folk ballads, cabaret torch songs or a neo-prog synth-drenched epic.



2. I was suffering from a severe case of writer's block before picking up "The Songwriter's Workshop: Harmony". I have picked up new techniques from modifing harmonies to learning popular chord progressions. The play-along CD has been instrumental in my development as a writer. I highly recommend this book if you are suffering from writer's block and want to learn great techniques to creating hit songs.

1 comments about No Legs, No Jokes, No Chance: A History of the American Musical Theater.

1. If you ever had a question about something related to the world of musical theatre the answer can be found in this little book. Actually, its not a little book at all but that is because Sheldon Patinkin goes into such historical depth which allows the reader to fully understand the importance of the subject matter. This book is a must read for musical theatre buffs as well as students interested in music. As a special education teacher I plan on using some of the valuable historical world facts found in No Jokes, No Legs, No Chance with my students as a means of furthering their understanding of how America developed.

1 comments about The Theatre: A Concise History (World of Art).

1. Perhaps this is a biased view of this book, having used it as a textbook in a College-Level Theatre course, but I fount that his book tries too hard to cram every little bit of information into the smallest amount of space possible, which makes it difficult to understand and/or retain what you have read. However, this book is definitely a good source of information for Theatre History and makes very good usage of the available graphics, which accompany the text nicely.

5 comments about Hedda Gabler (Dover Thrift Editions).

1. Hedda Gabler is one of the greatest plays in modern theatre. The introduction is a bit redundant in places, but it gives an excellent account of Henrik Ibsen's writing process and other literary interpretations of the play. The translation is never sloppy and it is entirely understandable to a native English-speaker.



2. This play is a very profound character study of a quite extra-ordinary woman. Hedda Gabler is an anti-heroine. She is a woman with strong ideals who has failed to find her way in the world. What an actress is required to play this complex part! I'm not sure who could handle the part right now, but I couldn't help but imagine Bette Davis in it. She would have been able to handle the complexity of this woman whose ideals for a perfect life were so unattainable, and who could not bear to live if those ideals couldn't be met. Hedda found that she couldn't manipulate everyone around her in order to achieve her goals either, so she put a bullet through her head because it all seemed so futile to her. This play is a definite characterization play, and so is different than a lot of Ibsen's other plays which were social-problem plays.



3. How can this be described as a boring play?! Hedda shoots herself in the end, which is very dramatic. The play abounds in black comedy. It is a funny play too, as when Hedda insults Aunt JuJu (what a silly name!) by pretending that JuJu's hat is the maid's, and saying that the hat is old and ugly. Most simple-minded readers see Hedda as being callous and cruel, because on the surface Tesman and his family appear to be nice. However, they view Hedda as a possession, a beautiful aristocratic ornament lighting up their bourgeois home. Hedda throughout her life has been treated as a possession of others, as General Gabler's daughter. When Eilert tries to make a lover of her, she responds violently. When Tesman attempts to own her, she insults him and his family. When Judge Brack blackmails Hedda, and implies that the price of his silence is her sexual favours, Hedda can't stand it anymore, that she, because of her sex and position in society, must be the object of others.
   Hedda must also be seen as a sympathetic character. The world of "Hedda Gabler" is one of repression, where people act according to invisible codes (similar to "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton). Hedda wishes for a world that is free from these rigid and repressive laws, and what is wrong with that desire? To be in a world where one can be their true self is Hedda's deepest wish. Tesman, the seemingly nice man, hides his deep hatred and resentment of Eilert. Judge Brack hides his lustful and conniving nature under a veneer of civilised conduct. This world is detestable to Hedda, and yet even she is a prisoner of this society. She never expresses her affection for Eilert, a person of a similar temperament to Hedda's. She cannot show her jealously of Eilert and Thea in a healthy manner. Hedda's constant movement on the stage imply her desire to escape this world, and highlight how trapped she is. When Eilert kills himself in manner most undignified, Hedda realises that in this world there is nothing romantic and beautiful, but only something ugly and rotton at the core. This is more than she can bear, and the added insults of Judge Brack drive her to suicide. Even then, she is cheated of that dignity she wished for. The characters don't give way to passionate grief, but apply logic-this doesn't happen in real life they reason. So Hedda is misunderstood, and the tragedy in her death is unrealised. It was the society that turned Hedda into a mean yet sad woman, much as it affected the other characters in a negative way.



4. I gave this book to my son for required reading. It was in good condition. Thank you.



5. "Hedda Gabler" has to be one of the most boring plays I have ever read. If you're looking for action in a play, then stay away from this one. Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll House" was mesmerizing and captivating, and this play is the exact opposite. There was no point to the plot and the ending served no purpose. Hedda was bored - that's the point; just shameful. I do not recommend.

1 comments about King Lear (Folger Shakespeare Library).

1. I liked this book because it was much larger than the normal size of a Folger Shakespeare Library book. It provided ample amounts of space for notes and the text went along with most copies of King Lear, at times providing more text.

4 comments about The Women Who Knew Too Much: Hitchcock and Feminist Theory, Second Edition.

1. The Women Who Knew Too Much: Hitchcock And Feminist Theory first appeared in 1988, but it remains a unique and important work of film theory for college-level students today and its reprint edition assures libraries with solid film analysis holdings will still have access. Hitchcock fans receive critical insights on seven important films, each of which serves as a foundation for an analysis of spectators of both sexes. This updated second edition includes a new chapter surveying the last 15 years of Hitchcock and adds further food for thought.



2. This book is skewed heavily toward a radical feminist perspective. I guess by that I mean that the author always seems ready to interpret a film as being hostile toward women. I consider myself a feminist, and heaven knows I am no apologist for Hitchcock in his attitude toward, and treatment of, women; but I also refuse to hate or blame men for every ill in the female cosmos. While one could make the case that Hollywood has institutionalized misogyny, and that the strong female roles of the 40s have been replaced to a large extent by roles as prostitutes and crime victims, sometimes the specific conclusions Ms. Modleski reaches are just plain loopy. Other times I think she adds great insight to her observations about the films of one the most talented directors ever.
   You just have to read the book knowing that the author does have a strong viewpoint and may not always present a balanced perspective.

   The author examines seven films: Blackmail, Murder!, Rebecca, Notorious, Rear Window, Vertigo and Frenzy.

   This is a book worth reading, particularly if you are a film (or especially Hitchcock) fan. But you should be aware that this author has an agenda to put forward, and sometimes she doesn't let common sense, or the facts, get in her way. This kind of a book can be very rewarding, but you have to put more effort into the reading of it -- not just reading what the author says, but trying to understand why the author says it. In this sense it is also a good introduction to feminist film theory.




3. This book was assigned reading for a Hitchcock class at NYU. I thoroughly enjoyed its even-handed approach to pondering the great film auteur's perspective on women as expressed in his films and the place of women in American films in general.

   Although I might disagree with about 5-10% of her conclusions, I would still highly recommend this study.




4. A fascinating though dense read for people interested in women's studies or Hitchcock. It ain't easy reading, but Modleski's perspectives of some of Hitch's best work (as seen through the lens of feminist criticism) is worth the struggle.

1 comments about Ten Greek Plays In Contemporary Translation (Riverside Editions).

1. Louis MacNeice was a more significant 20th cent. poet, and a better Greek scholar, both of those together, than nearly any translator of Greek tragedy I can think of. His "Agamemnon" alone justifies this volume. Also unique is C. T. Murphy's "Lysistrata", produced for a Harvard College student production (perhaps not one with Leonard Bernstein incidental music, though that was the rumor when I was Murphy's student at Oberlin). The Sophocles and Euripides translations are serviceable at least. Given that one play in the Oxford Greek Tragedy in New Translations series costs $8 or 9, and that Chicago or Penguin organize by single playwrites, and that the standard theatre history anthologies contain inferior translations in pricier volumes, this remains a terrific value for the money.

5 comments about Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era.

1. This is a great book that reviews really the top 50 stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. Brief bios left you wanting more. Great photos. The only disagreement I have is that I would have omitted Mae West from the top 50 and added Betty Grable instead as I think she was the bigger star.



2. The print was very small and hard to read and it didn't help that the print was light on the paper. You almost had to squint to read it and there was a lot of eyestrain. Not enough detail.



3. I received this book as a Christmas gift. I already own its companion, Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era. The book is nicely put together, with stunning pictures and interesting facts about each of the actresses. There are, of course, a few ladies, that I feel, should have been included in the place of others. I don't understand why Shirley MacLaine was included. She's a good actress, I just don't really consider her as being part of the studio era. I also thought that Joan Fontaine should have been included. I suppose everyone has their favorites to dispute. Overall, the list is accurate & complete.



4. I received this book as a gift and starting reading it right away. An interesting little book, but there should have been other actresses added and better editing done. For example on page 95 there is a photo of Susan Hayward and Richard Conte. The caption on the photo is 'I Want to Live! 1958) unfortunatly, Richard Conte was NOT in that film, the photo is actually from 'I'll Cry Tomorrow'. A mistake like this especially from the folks in connection with Turner Classic Movies is really an insult to movie buffs! This makes the rest of the book suspect. Shame on them! I seems that people have not found this review helpful... why, I have no idea?? If you like spending money on a book that has incorrect information than so be it. I would rather spend my hard earned money on something I can read with total satisfaction and not misprints.



5. where are my favorites. any book with WITHOUT joan blondell and deanna durbin is lame. the authors are bullies to frame their top 50 as any where close to the top 50 of the average joe.

1 comments about Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (The New Cambridge Shakespeare).

1. This really is "The Tragical History of Hamlet Prince of Denmark" and not only the Prince but his family. Not only his family but his friends. Not only his friends but all though that came before him and is told to those that came after him.
   
   You can take time to scrutinize and pick apart many underlying themes or may of the phrases that now challenge Bible sayings in today's sound bites. But the real fun is in just reading the story and you will find that it is not as foreign as you may have thought.
   
   A quick synopsis is that Old Hamlet conquered Old Fortinbras seizing his land. Now that Old Hamlet is dead, Young Fortinbras wants his land back and is willing to take it by force. Meanwhile back in Dänemark Young Hamlet who is excessively grieving for the loss of his father, gets a now insight from his fathers ghost. Looks like he was a victim of a "murder most foul"; it looks like his mother and uncle were in cahoots on the murder.
   
   The story is about what each person felt and acted or did not act upon the situation.
   
   You will find many movies and perverted imitations of the story but nothing will replace the original scripts that were intended to be watched.
   
   Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead