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$26.32 ex GST
$28.95 inc GST
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Peter Gill
Apprenticeship is Peter Gill’s potent recollection of the changing theatrical landscape of the 1960s and his journey from being a young actor to becoming a world-renowned director and playwright. Using his recently re-discovered 1962 diary, he recalls being in
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, as part of the first RSC London season, and how this experience began to develop his own ideas of what theatre might be.
Gill explores his reaction to that apprenticeship in the context of young directors training today. An experience the diary shows to have been at times "baffling and exhilarating and sometimes frankly awful", it nevertheless produces an evocative portrait of post war British theatre and the profound impact of the work of Brecht and the Berliner Ensemble on theatre and on Gill's own subsequent work.
Apprenticeship is also, in part, the story of a young actor trying to understand what the theatre is and, in the process, moving towards becoming a director.
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Oberon Books | 978-1-84002-871-3 | HB
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$40.91 ex GST
$45.00 inc GST
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Gareth Armstrong
Vastly entertaining autobiographical account of two journeys: one all over the world with an eccentric one-man show, the other to the heart of the history of the Jews.
Having established a moderately successful, but inevitably intermittent acting career, Gareth Armstrong felt the need of a reliable side-line to cover the gaps. A one-man show seemed the answer - and Shylock a good subject. But no-one was more surprised than he by the way first his research and then the character took over his life.
He has now travelled the world over with
Shylock, from San Francisco to Sri Lanka, from Romania to New Zealand, his myriad encounters enriching both him and the show, adding ever more threads to his one-man story of the Jew.
Frequently hilarious, often provocative, this account of a Gentile actor's exploration and discovery of the most famous of fictional Jews is fascinating, revealing - and always entertaining.
'a gem to add to that small but rich library charting the rigours and devotions of an actor's life'
Guardian
'A winning combination of autobiography, travel writing, theatrical gossip and Shakespearean analysis'
Independent
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Nick Hern Books | 978-1-85459-785-4 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | HB
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$36.32 ex GST
$39.95 inc GST
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Scenarios, Scripts, Lazzi
Barry Grantham
A unique collection of performance pieces and improvisation exercises in the Commedia style by the UK's leading practioner. A sequel to the best-selling
Playing Commedia
.
Commedia Plays contains eight plays each with a detailed introduction, illustrating the different periods and styles of Commedia dell'Arte. Suitable for performance on stage, the plays can also be used in the classroom and workshop as the basis for improvisation.
Also included is a compilation of 'Lazzi' - the pieces of 'business' that form the basis of Commedia's comic action. These range from the
Double Takes and
The Surprise Embrace to whole scenes such as
Cross Dressing and
The Unwanted Proposal. The book as a whole serves as a practical illustration of the development of Commedia over some four hundred years.
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Nick Hern Books | 978-1-85459-871-4 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | PB
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$45.41 ex GST
$49.95 inc GST
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Rehearsal and Performance Techniques for Actors and Directors
Mike Alfreds
A top-ranking director sets out his rehearsal techniques in this invaluable handbook for actors and directors
Mike Alfreds has been directing plays for 35 years. He founded Shared Experience—still going very strong—in the 1970s and ran the Cambridge Theatre Company in the 1990s, also working extensively at the National Theatre and abroad. He is hugely respected within the profession.
Now he has done what no other director has dared to do since Stanislavsky—he has committed his methodology to print.
So, in
Different Every Night, we are taken into the rehearsal room to work principally on Chekhov. He shows how to break down the text into units and individual beats—and offers techniques for the actor to bring the text to life. And to keep it alive through many repetitions not only in rehearsal but also in performance. In doing so he offers a vital masterclass for actors and directors.
Different Every Night is the culmination of a lifetime working in the theatre. It is intensely hands-on and full of practical advice for both directors and actors. No director should ever again not know how to conduct rehearsals and bring them to successful fruition!
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Nick Hern Books | 978-1-85459-967-4 | PB
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$27.23 ex GST
$29.95 inc GST
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Adam Macaulay
A collection of ‘informal’ interviews with Australian directors of stage, film and TV about actors and acting. An intelligent and enlightening commentary on acting in Australia today, which strips away the layers of mythology surrounding the industry, revealing the energy, passion, humour and vision within.
The directors are: John Bell, Bruce Beresford, Di Drew, Gale Edwards, Michael Gow, Michael Jenkins and Nico Lathouris, Ros Horin, Barrie Kosky Aubrey Mellor, Simon Phillips and Kate Woods.
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Currency Press | 978-0-86819-669-5 | PB
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$27.23 ex GST
$29.95 inc GST
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Peter Hall
In these four lectures Peter Hall reveals a lifetime of discoveries about classical theatre, Shakespeare, opera and modern drama. The central argument is that form and structured language paradoxically give freedom to power of thought and feeling, much as the masks of early Greek drama enabled actors to express extreme emotion. The mask may take many forms – the precise language of Beckett and Pinter, the classical form of Mozart’s operas, or Shakespeare’s verse.
Now reprinted to form part of the Oberon Masters series; a brand new series of good-value and attractively presented hardbacks on key themes within the arts written by leading lights in each subject.
'The wisest and most stimulating short book about theatre since Peter Brook’s
The Empty Space' - Charles Spencer,
Sunday Telegraph
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Oberon Books | 978-1-84002-993-2 | Australia/NZ | HB
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$27.23 ex GST
$29.95 inc GST
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Shakespeare’s Play from Conception to Opening Night
Mark Kilmurry
When Mark Kilmurry co-founded the Studio Company with Patrick McIntyre, he had the opportunity to play the part he had always ached to perform: Hamlet. But in preparing for the production he begins to wonder if his desire is foolhardy. Can he take on such a mammoth role and also be the director? Kilmurry shares his thoughts in this diary, from initial ideas through to opening night. He explains the rationale behind Studio Company’s acclaimed 2004 production, the how and why of the cuts to the script, and describes the rehearsal techniques and exercises that brought it all to life.
Includes performance text.
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Currency Press | 978-0-86819-785-2 | PB
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$36.32 ex GST
$39.95 inc GST
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Mervyn Millar
The latest in the ‘National Theatre at Work’ series follows the production of
War Horse, a play adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel, from early concept workshops to one of the most beguiling and original plays for younger people ever staged at the Olivier, the actors working with magnificent, life-sized puppets to take the audience on a gripping journey through history.
The Horse’s Mouth is the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of how this acclaimed and highly technical piece of theatre was achieved.
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Oberon Books | 978-1-84002-765-5 | PB
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$36.32 ex GST
$39.95 inc GST
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Chris Johnston
A treasure trove of drama games and exercises,
House of Games has proved itself an immensely valuable resource for teachers, theatre directors and drama workshop leaders. Following on from Keith Johnstone's famous
Impro and Augusto Boal's
Games for Actors and Non-Actors, Chris Johnston's book provides ideas and guidance for drama groups of all kinds.
'It is friendly, accessible, well structured and full of good advice
- much of it plain common sense... Reading it is like being in a room buzzing with relaxed and informed conversation about basic principles, and good ruses for realising both general and specific aims' Mick Wallis,
Theatre Research International
See also Chris Johnston's
The Improvisation Game.
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Nick Hern Books | 978-1-85459-905-6 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | PB
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$31.77 ex GST
$34.95 inc GST
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John Abbott
How to use improvisation to enrich and enliven the rehearsal process Actors in rehearsal often feel they’ve reached a dead end in trying to build their character. Improvising around the situation – ‘what would your character do if…?’ – helps the actor truly inhabit the role and liberates their creativity. This book brilliantly illustrates how improvisation can be used as a rehearsal technique in a wide variety of contexts.
John Abbott is the author of
The Improvisation Book, which was aimed at drama teachers wanting to conduct successful improvisation sessions. Now he turns his attention to directors who want to incorporate improvisation into their rehearsals.
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Nick Hern Books | 978-1-85459-523-2 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | PB
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