The Actor S Secret

Offering revolutionary new training for the actor, The Actor's Secret teaches actors and performers how to incorporate the fundamentals of the Alexander Technique, Somatic Experiencing®, and Breathing Coordination in order to reduce performance anxiety and stress; improve stage presence, breathing, and vocal production; and restore well-being and healthy functioning. These three kinesthetic disciplines are designed to lead to profound change and healing through body-mind reeducation. Part I explains in detail the principles of the three techniques. A practical method for self-improvement and neuromuscular reeducation, the Alexander Technique focuses on changing inefficient habits of movement and patterns of tension that inhibit the ability to move easily. Breathing Coordination helps increase breathing capacity and awareness. A method for resolving emotional trauma, Somatic Experiencing® follows a process of tracking bodily sensations to restore vitality and health. Enhanced with over 100 instructive photos, Parts II and III present explorations and exercises that draw on elements of the three methods. Topics covered include the importance of presence and non-doing; the proper mechanics of vocalization and singing; the understanding of character and role; and the actor's journey from auditions to performance, including initial script preparation, rehearsal, monologue, and scene work. Developed by Betsy Polatin, a movement specialist and master lecturer at Boston University's College of Fine Arts, the book's exercises provide the actor with simple tools for exploring his or her acting work. Most techniques and self-help books teach a new way of "doing." The secret of this book lies in "non-doing." When the actor learns to first recognize and then suspend habitual patterns, he or she opens the door to deeper artistic choices. "I have worked with many fine Alexander Technique teachers over the years and Betsy Polatin is far and away one of the finest. Her touch, her instincts, and her knowledge are miraculous."—Andre Gregory, actor and director, My Dinner with Andre

"The Hollywood Survival Guide reveals the insider information necessary to navigate each step of your acting career in L.A. Aussie actress Kym Jackson explains how each facet of the film and TV industry works and how it affects you. From visas to auditions, from getting an agent to what happens behind the casting curtain ... it's everything you need to become a successful actor in Hollywood". -- Back cover.

When it was first published in 1993, Secrets of Screen Acting broke new ground in explaining how acting for the camera is different from acting on stage. Reaction time is altered, physical timing and placement are reconceived, and the proportions of the digital frame itself become the measure of all things, so the director must conceptualize each image in terms of this new rectangle and actors must 'fit' into the frame. Based on a revolutionary non-Method approach to acting, this book shows what actually works: how an actor, an announcer--anyone working in front of the cameras--gives excellent performances on screen. Instead of starting with what is real and trying to wrestle that onto the screen, Patrick Tucker explains how to work with the realities of a shoot and work from there towards the real. His step-by-step guide to the elements of effective screen acting is an extension and explanation of a lifetime of work in the field, containing over 50 acting exercises and the tried-and-tested Screen Acting Checklist. As well as being completely updated to cover new techniques, film references and insights, this third edition now includes a set of Film Clip Time Codes for each film. These not only itemise the films discussed in each chapter, but also pinpoint the precise moments where each example can be found so that students, teachers, and professional actors can refer to them quickly and easily.

The inside how-to scoop on the lucrative career of voice-over acting told by the top talents in the field, including voice-over actors from Law and Order, ABC News, The Today Show, and the Sopranos. An inspirational, real-world, practical handbook for anyone seeking a career in the highly lucrative field of voice-over acting.

Raymond Burr (1917-1993), a film noir regular known for his villainous roles in movies like Rear Window, became one of the most popular stars in television history. He delighted millions of viewers each week in the toprated shows Perry Mason and Ironside, which ran virtually uninterrupted for nearly twenty years.

Agents representing actors across a wide spectrum of show business opportunities give candid career advice in this one-of-a-kind guide. Based on interviews with sixty industry professionals, this book takes you behind the scenes to show how performers’ representatives do their work day to day: how they help actors in the business of finding employment, and how they explore and define opportunities in specialized fields for ethnic, teen juvenile, senior, and other categories of performers. Some agents focus on one niche of the market—jobs in commercials or soap oreras—some specialize in modeling, and still others cover a broad range of stage and film work. The author profiles people working in various-sized agencies in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Houston,Miami, Seattle, and other cities. Also discussed is using the Internet to find leads.