How to rehearse when there is no rehearsal : acting and the media

Spivak, Alice. (Author). Blumenfeld, Robert. (Added Author).

Summary: "This practical book on the subject of how to act, based on Ms. Spivak's forty years of acting, coaching, and teaching classes, provides a step-by-step system for quickly analyzing and creating a character. Her innovative approach can be applied even in the short time an actor has to prepare for auditions and, as is so often the case today, for many film and television performances. Timely advice includes how to do camera takes, interpret and follow stage directions, and prepare for auditions and work in theater, film, and television commercials, soap operas, sitcoms, and nighttime dramas."--BOOK JACKET.

Item details

ISBN: 9780879103422
ISBN: 0879103426
Physical Description: print
xxii, 280 pages ; 23 cm
Publisher: New York : Limelight Editions, 2007.

Contents / Notes

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-270) and indexes.

Formatted Contents Note:

Foreword: Thoughts about Stanislavsky and Acting Today / Robert Blumenfeld xi -- Preface: The Need for This Book xvii -- Part 1 Acting and Current Working Conditions 1 -- Chapter 1 The Stanislavsky System Explored 3 -- Chapter 2 Why Rehearse? 19 -- Commitment and Practicing Alone 19 -- Rehearsing Scenes for Class 28 -- Chapter 3 Film and Television: The End of Rehearsal 31 -- Television Commercials 35 -- Soap Opera and Nighttime Television Drama 36 -- The Situation Comedy (Sitcom) 41 -- Part 2 Rehearsing on Your Own 49 -- Introduction Developing the Process 51 -- Impulses and Instincts 59 -- Concentration and Relaxation 62 -- Substitution and Endowment 65 -- Chapter 4 Step 1: How to Read the Script 69 -- Finding the Themes 76 -- Finding the Playwright's Music 77 -- Chapter 5 Step 2: Developing the Relationships 81 -- First Readings 85 -- Revealing the Subtext 92 -- Chapter 6 Step 3: Paying Attention to the Inner Objects 95 -- Chapter 7 Step 4: Finding the Objective 103 -- Chapter 8 Step 5: Following Up on Place and Circumstances: The Here and Now 127 -- Place 127 -- Circumstances 134 -- Chapter 9 Step 6: Planning the Activity 137 -- Chapter 10 Step 7: Delving into the Prior Relationship 147 -- Chapter 11 Step 8: The Character Chart, Part 1: Writing a Preliminary Character Background 153 -- Background Questions 156 -- Chapter 12 Step 9: The Character Chart, Part 2: Deciding on the Character Traits 169 -- More about Negative Character Traits 174 -- Two Exercises 178 -- Chapter 13 Step 10: The Character Chart, Part 3: Life Drives 181 -- Chapter 14 Step 11: Becoming the Character 187 -- Essences 189 -- Complete Character Charts 201 -- Part 3 The Steps Condensed When You Have No Time: My Experience in the Media 207 -- Chapter 15 The Ideal and the Practical: Working in Film and Television 209 -- Chapter 16 The Director and the Camera 229 -- Camera Takes and How to Deal With Them 229 -- Working with Directors: Translating the Director's Language 238 -- Chapter 17 Auditions 247 -- Plays 250 -- Film 252 -- Television 255 -- Prepared Monologues 257 -- A Parting Word 263 -- About the Author and Collaborator 279.