Acting: Walking the Tightrope of an Illusion invites readers to take a front-row seat in an advanced, experimental workshop taking place each Sunday morning in New York City's legendary HB Studio. In Michael Beckett's class, working on scenes or developing new material is meditation-in-action, a doorway to an experience of Zen. Going far beyond technique as such, Michael invites his students to explore the deeper realms of the human psyche and consciousness. In these pages, the alert and receptive reader will find keys -- keys to unlock the creativity and confidence that comes to those with the courage and adventurous spirit to embark on a whole new way of experiencing reality, both in life and on the stage.

The Illusion of Acting is a simpleintroduction to acting at its roots, adhering to no style or method, but merely addressing the nature of playing pretend for a living. With so many techniques and teachings offered, this book hopes to simplify the landscape and provide a solid foundation to build upon with other more complex techniques that fit your particular style.

Excerpt from The Illusion of the First Time in Acting But is he a bad actor merely because he adopts his own methods and knows nothing about the art of other people? Well, I think perhaps he is. Altho he amuses me, I'm afraid he is a bad actor. But he is not as bad as he would be if that other type, who really knows the rules, took him in hand and tried to make him a good actor. Then he would be atrocious. As a matter of fact, he is an actor who can play only one kind of part. But he plays that better than any good actor living. Therefore the public, for whom the theater is run, gets the advantage. His reign lasts just as long as there are plays which require that type. If his part is a prominent one and he makes a very great success, so much the worse for him. He isthen placed in an exalted position from which he is bound to fall when the authors have worn themselves out in their frantic endeavor to hold him there; and he will automatically pass from the public ken, des tined merely to bob up now and then in a small part that lends itself to his personal ity - and destined to become a disappointed man for the rest of his life. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Alienation (Vefremdung) is a concept inextricably linked with the name of twentieth-century German playwright Bertolt Brecht - with modernism, the avant-garde and Marxist theory. However, as Phoebe von Held argues in this book, 'alienation' as a sociological and aesthetic notionavant la lettre had already surfaced in the thought of eighteenth-century French philosopher and writer Denis Diderot. This original study destabilizes the conventional understanding of alienation through a reading ofLe Paradoxe sur le comedien, Le Neveu de Rameau and other works by Diderot, opening up new ways of interpretation and aesthetic practices. If alienation constitutes a historical development for the Marxist Brecht, for Diderot it defines an existential condition. Brecht uses the alienation-effect to undermine a form of naturalism based on subjectivity, identification and illusion; Diderot, by contrast, plunges the spectator into identification and illusion, to produce an aesthetic of theatricality that is profoundly alienating and yet remains anchored in subjectivity.

This is a reproduction of the original artefact. Generally these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way the author intended. Since the original versions are generally quite old, there may occasionally be certain imperfections within these reproductions. We're happy to make these classics available again for future generations to enjoy!

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.