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Commedia Oz
$29.95 ex GST
$32.95 inc GST

Commedia Oz

Playing Commedia in Contemporary Australia

Steven Gration and Nicky Peelgrane
Commedia Oz is designed to assist the interpretation and playing of Commedia in an Australian context and is a training manual for teachers, students, actors and directors.

Chapters cover the history and influence of Commedia; suggestions for modern interpretations; activities and exercises; the role of the director and the actor’s journal; training actors; an interview with Jacques Lecoq (the French Commedia actor/trainer); a professional script; and ideas for units of work and assessment. There is also a glossary and a reference section for further reading.

The authors became collaborators after Nicky was cast in Steven’s play, Stardust (the script of which is published in the book) which toured schools in Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

Read an extract of Commedia Oz (pdf)

Currency Press | 978-0-86819-820-0 | PB
David Williamson’s Jack Manning Trilogy: A Study Guide
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$14.95 inc GST

David Williamson’s Jack Manning Trilogy: A Study Guide

David Moore
This guide is designed to help teachers use Williamson’s conferencing plays featured in The Jack Manning Trilogy more effectively in the classroom, whether it be from a literary, theatrical or counselling perspective. Written by a founding director of Transformative Justice Australia, the Sydney-based company that inspired Williamson’s trilogy.
Currency Press | 978-0-86819-697-8 | PB
Dimensions of Acting
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$32.95 inc GST

Dimensions of Acting

An Australian Approach

Terence Crawford

This major new work is a comprehensive look at the craft of acting from a distinctly Australian perspective. A sophisticated, frank and passionate book, Dimensions of Acting explores the process of creating a performance.

At the centre of his thinking, Crawford rejects the notion of acting gurus, observing that good actors do whatever works. They don’t follow one particular method to the exclusion of everything else, he says, to do so would be anti-art. And if cobbling together bits and pieces that suit the job at hand is a challenging and messy process, no one said that art should be simple.

The trick is knowing what to use and when. Crawford identifies eight Dimensions as the building blocks for a performance: the Environment and Dramaturgy of the play, the History and Activity of the character, the Characterisation and Personalisation of the actor, the Aesthetic of the production and finally, the bedrock for all actors, Communication in performance. These Dimensions can be used to help actors discover which bits of acting theory might turn them on, whether from Stanislavski, Lecoq or Aunty Gladys. They also provide a focus for when things aren’t working, offering approaches that can be fruitfully explored.

Along the way Crawford references great plays and writers, notably Shakespeare, as well as the major acting theories, providing an invaluable guide to teachers and students at all levels. The book also focuses on a number of widely-studied Australian plays including Away , Stolen and Gary’s House .

With thirty years of working in Australian theatre behind him, Crawford delivers practical tools for performers and new insights into acting and the Australian theatre.
Currency Press | 978-0-86819-883-5 | PB
Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops
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$21.95 inc GST

Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops

Jessica Swale
A lively collection of one hundred drama games for the teacher/youth leader to play with kids ranging from six upwards. Using a distinctive slimline format, the book offers a new game on each page with instructions on How to Play, notes on the Aim of the Game and advice on age range and number of players. A drama teacher’s dream!

This book is the first in a projected series offering a wealth of drama games for people of all ages and abilities. Their aim is to ensure that the drama leader never runs out of fresh ideas.
Nick Hern Books | 978-1-84842-010-6 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | PB
Drama Games For Those Who Like To Say No
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$21.95 inc GST

Drama Games For Those Who Like To Say No

Chris Johnston
A dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book in the Drama Games series, this title is for teachers and workshop leaders working with difficult or reluctant students, youth groups, young offenders, and all those who seem intent on saying ‘no’ to whatever is offered them.

'This book offers invaluable ways for artists, teachers, workshop leaders and activists to better use the arts to empower young people' Ken Livingstone, from his Foreword.

For these groups, drama games and activities need to be robust and engaging, and the dozens that appear in this book have been devised with this in mind - and then tested by their target players. Each page features clear instructions on How to Play, notes on the Benefits of the Game, and advice on age range, number of players and timing.

Following the ninety games and exercises aimed at developing core skills, the book offers scenarios for a series of improvisational challenges that test participants' abilities in mediation, communication, negotiation, assertiveness and managing emotions. Also included is a collection of games aimed at preparing teachers and workshop leaders for facilitating challenging sessions.

The ultimate aim is to encourage reluctant participants to engage, collaborate and develop not just skills for drama but skills for life.

Nick Hern Books, UK | 978-1-84842-049-6 | Australia/NZ | PB
Drama Journeys
$27.23 ex GST
$29.95 inc GST

Drama Journeys

Inside Drama Learning

Mary Mooney & Jennifer Nicholls
A resource book for primary school teachers on the art form of drama. The book introduces the forms and conventions that are commonly used in drama teaching and will show educators how these forms can be developed and used in the classroom. Relating to the NSW Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus, Drama Journeys will be of value to primary teachers in all states, as it inspires a hands-on approach to facilitating vibrant and innovative drama experiences in the primary school classroom.
Currency Press | 978-0-86819-696-1 | PB
Improvisation in Rehearsal
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Improvisation in Rehearsal

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.

Also by John Abbott - The Improvisation Book
Nick Hern Books | 978-1-85459-523-2 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | PB
Keith Bain on Movement
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Keith Bain on Movement

Keith Bain
‘My dialogue with Keith has never stopped. His teachings are the foundation of my technique.’
Cate Blanchett.

‘He had a profound impact on the way I conduct myself physically and in that sense is with me all the time’
, Richard Roxburgh.

‘I think he has hooked more people on dance than anyone’
Graeme Murphy.

Keith Bain, a born teacher and himself a champion dancer, actor and choreographer, was the first in Australia to create a comprehensive discipline in the study of movement for performance. Over 50 years he has profoundly influenced Australia’s performers for stage and screen and his book is full of examples of the gentle wisdom recalled by many. With wit and simplicity he tells his life story and reveals the sources behind his belief in the infinite capacity of the human body to convey emotion and defy gravity.  

 

Currency House | 978-0-98079-822-7 | HB
Musical Environments
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$54.95 inc GST

Musical Environments

A Manual for Listening, Improvising and Composing

Richard Vella
An innovative guide to the world of sound, using a multi-disciplinary and sensory approach to perceiving and making music—for teachers, students and even people without musical backgrounds. Includes insights into the history and technology of music creation, improvisation and composition exercises, plus listening examples spanning pop to world music—many of which feature on the accompanying CD.
Currency Press | 978-0-86819-544-5 | PB
Performance Making:
$22.68 ex GST
$24.95 inc GST

Performance Making:

A Manual for Music Workshops

Graeme Leak
Leak takes a fresh approach to musical learning by using the body as a performance instrument. It’s a technique that defies the constraints of more conventional ways of learning music which focus on a particular instrument or style. Based on extensive experience as a musician and teacher, Leak’s unique ‘performance-making’ process builds musical skills and imagination, transforming students into composer–performers. This book shows how to run a performance-making workshop (everything from setting up a workspace to managing group dynamics), and offers a wide range of warm-up techniques plus challenging exercises on pulse, metre, rhythm, tone, timbre and more.
Currency Press | 978-0-86819-673-2 | PB
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