Actors Art

Professional stage actors are expected to have ready knowledge of a multitude of unwritten yet well-established protocols. Traditionally, this knowledge was passed along from one generation of stage actors to the next via word of mouth, or were learned by having one’s missteps corrected—until now.

Passages is the story of two people whose disparate lives began at the same time, thousands of miles apart. She survived a Nazi mass execution. He dodged mobster hitmen. But time, circumstance, and danger brought their lives together to face the dangers from the past.

In 1992, Count Phillippe Pozzo di Borgo, on the heels of his wife's diagnosis with a terminal illness, suffered a paragliding accident that left him a quadriplegic. Forty-two years old, trapped inside his luxurious Paris town house, he was an outcast for the first time in his life. Abdel, an unemployed Algerian immigrant who had been an outcast for his entire existence, would become Phillipe's unlikely caretaker. Quick-thinking, unsentimental, and more than a little wild, Abdel surprises both himself and his employer.

Transform your acting performance by mastering the authentic German accent. Whether you're preparing for a role or expanding your skillset, learning how to deliver a natural German-accented English can set you apart in auditions and on set. This immersive audio course guides you step by step, helping you sound confident, precise, and believable—without slipping into stereotypes.

From his earliest experiences in Air Force radio to his third act as a crime-solving doctor on television and beyond, Dick Van Dyke has been delivering steady comedic and dramatic performances for more than seven decades. An actor, producer and writer, Van Dyke has been a recognizable name for generations, thanks to the naming conventions of the early days of television, wherein a lead actor’s name would be used as the title of the series.

This is a not-so-serious guide to take you on a wild ride to Hollywood stardom. Get ready for laugh-out-loud advice, ridiculous but actually true tips, and the most entertaining journey of your life. Let's dive into the madness of becoming a movie star! And, not to be totally out-in-the-dream world, there are some really good tips at the end to get you honestly started in the crazy world of movie making. Just think of all the streaming services making movies and TV series shows. They need actors and thousands of them. Who is to say you can't be one of them.

George Chakiris famously played the angry gang leader Bernardo in the film version of West Side Story (1961), for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor. My West Side Story is an insider's look at how this theatrical and cinematic landmark evolved from a conversation in Jerome Robbins's Manhattan apartment between him, Arthur Laurents, and Leonard Bernstein to ten Oscars, three Golden Globes, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy.

Learn the ins and outs of how to get started in Voice-Over, including: microphone etiquette, how to make some of the most common noises and sounds (you might be surprised), working with copy, creating a demo reel, what to expect in the studio, the business of the business and much more. This is, hands down, the most comprehensive book on Voice-Over available. From beginners to pros, you’ll find value in Debi’s wealth of knowledge. Her tips and advice are the gems that only a true industry veteran and hard-working professional would know. Now she’s sharing it all with you!

Much like her hit TV show, I Love Lucy, Americans in the 1950s fell in love with Lucy. Born in New York in 1911, Lucille Ball was always a natural performer. She danced in the chorus of Broadway shows and acted in small parts in Hollywood movies. But Ball's true gift was comedy. She found a way to showcase her gifts in 1951 when CBS gave her the chance to star in a sitcom.

You could be the proud parent of the next big child star. Naturally, you’d want to support their dreams and help them put their acting prowess to work. But first, a reality check: Even if your kid has plenty of talent, finding success in the entertainment industry can be quite challenging.

Jeff Corey (1914-2002) made a name for himself in the 1940s as a character actor in films like The Killers (1946). Everything changed in 1951, when he was summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Corey refused to name names and was promptly blacklisted, which forced him to walk away from a vibrant livelihood as an actor and embark on a career as one of the industry's most revered acting instructors. In Improvising Out Loud: My Life Teaching Hollywood How to Act, Corey recounts his extraordinary story.

There has never been a show business book quite like The Show Won't Go On, the first comprehensive study of a bizarre phenomenon: performers who died onstage. From the comedy magician who dropped dead on live television to the amateur thespian who expired during a play called The Art of Murder, the book is a celebration of lives both famous and obscure, as well as a dramatic and accurate recounting of events leading to the moments they died "doing what they loved."

There is no general consensus about how Shakespeare "should" be played. There are no rules. But, while the Bard created superhuman characters and placed them in situations that stretches the imagination to its limits, he also provided his actors with the keys to playing them.

From this comprehensive, yet critically measured wealth of material, Rollyson offers a distinctive and insightful portrait of Marilyn Monroe, highlighted by new perspectives that depict the central importance of acting to the authentic aspects of her being.

Owen Gleiberman has spent his life watching movies-first at the drive-in, where his parents took him to see wildly inappropriate adult fare like Rosemary's Baby when he was a wide-eyed 9 year old, then as a possessed cinemaniac who became a film critic right out of college. In Movie Freak, his enthrallingly candid, funny, and eye-opening memoir, Gleiberman captures what it's like to live life through the movies, existing in thrall to a virtual reality that becomes, over time, more real than reality itself.

While many film fans may not be familiar with Bill Duke's name, they most certainly recognize his face. Dating back to the 1970s, Duke has appeared in a number of popular films, including Car Wash, American Gigolo, Commando, Predator, and X-Men: The Last Stand. Fewer still might be aware of Duke's extraordinary accomplishments off-screen as a talented director, producer, entrepreneur, and humanitarian. Bill Duke is the memoir of a Hollywood original.

With a foreword by Academy Award winner and theatre legend Horton Foote, this inspiring new book will strengthen in you the most essential and vital skills of great acting! It will lead you to a very personal way of working, as an actor who is absolutely authentic and tremendously simple—so rare in today's theatre.

Access Accents bring the highly sought-after voice techniques of top voice coach Penny Dyer to the actor's audio device. A unique opportunity to prepare for auditions at short notice.

Brimming with previously untold stories and insights, How Coppola Became Cage both revels in and demystifies Cage's onscreen eccentricities. No other modern actor has explored such profound creative extremes while bending the boundaries of good taste. Here is the origin story of an actor who truly is wild at heart and weird on top.

An Actor's Business covers everything you need to know to market yourself as an actor, with thorough and concise information about the movie-making process, drama school, community theatre, acting on television and in commercials, unions, and agents. A thorough and well-written resource for anyone wanting to understand all facets of the acting business, this book presents an experienced perspective on the world of professional acting.