The Method Acting Exercises Handbook is a concise and practical guide to the acting exercises originally devised by Lee Strasberg, one of the Method's foremost practitioners. The Method trains the imagination, concentration, senses and emotions to ‘re-create’ – not ‘imitate’ – logical, believable and truthful behavior on stage and in film. Building on nearly 30 years of teaching internationally and at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York and Los Angeles, Lola Cohen details a series of specific exercises in order to provide clear instruction and guidance to this preeminent form of actor training. By integrating Strasberg's voice with her own tried and tested style of teaching, Cohen demonstrates what can be gained from the exercises, how they can inform and inspire your learning, and how they might be applied to your acting and directing practice. As a companion to The Lee Strasberg Notes (Routledge 2010), a transcription of Strasberg's own teaching, The Method Acting Exercises Handbook offers an unparalleled and updated guide to this world renowned technique.

Never before published transcripts from Lee Strasberg's teachings at his school in New York City in the last ten years of his life.

Practiced by such actors of stature as Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Julie Harris, Dustin Hoffman, and Ellen Burstyn (not to mention the late James Dean) the Method offers a practical application of the renowned Stanislavsky technique. On Method Acting demystifies the "mysteries" of Method acting -- breaking down the various steps into clear and simple terms, including chapters on: Sense Memory -- the most vital component of Method acting Improvisation -- without it, the most integral part of the Method is lost Animal Exercises -- just one way to combat the mental blocks that prevent actors from grasping a character Creating The Outer Character -- so actors can give the freshness of originality to a role while at the same time living the life of the character On Method Acting is also an indispensable volume for directors, designers, lighting technicians, and anyone in the dramatic arts interested in creating a believable and realistic effect in their productions.

The way some introductory acting books are written, it seems that a literal leg break is your best option. In The Young Actor's Handbook, Jeremy Kruse, an actor, writer, producer, and director who teaches method acting, acting for camera, improvisation, and sketch comedy at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York, mends this mangled genre, distilling invaluable lessons and years of experience down to a lean, mean, intuitive hundred page primer. Rather than bludgeoning the uninitiated with dense paragraphs, vague concepts, and opaque examples, The Young Actor's Handbook ignites the beginning actor's creative soul with inspirational acting exercises, acting theory, writing exercises, and insight into what it means to be an actor. This concise and pragmatic manual will guide and inform the young actor, beginning actor, novice acting teacher, or anyone who wants to understand acting through a broad and diverse survey of essential knowledge. The teachings of Richard Boleslavsky, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Uta Hagen, Michael Shurtleff, Lee Strasberg, and Constantin Stanislavsky are eloquently and accessible rendered, as are basics of script analysis, camera technique, the audition mindset, agent acquisition, and the actor's life. Whether you're a curious novice, veteran acting teacher, or even an interested observer, The Young Actor's Handbook will enhance your understanding of this vast and rewarding craft.

In 2005, a DVD, "The Method" was produced to complement this book. The DVD is sold by Amazon, is top quality technically, has a printed and picture menu, and is viewable in other countries. Reissued and updated with new photos- The book starts with the historical background, then the chapters move on to a detailed description of actor training and directing. Much of the "Directing" section is based on Elia Kazan among other notable directors and Strasberg. This book lays out an entire course of training exercises in a most explicit, practical down-to-earth manner for an easy to read understanding of those techniques and procedures used in "Method" acting. The book also offers detailed guidance for actors and directors when working on a role as well as audition techniques for actors and directors. The book takes the reader through every element of "The Method" and its vocabulary: Relaxation, Concentration, Sense Memory, Affective Memory, Improvisation, Preparing and Learning the Role, Class Scene Studies, Directing, Audition Tips, Theatre Games and Exercises for Youth, among other valuable information (e.g. Appendices A & B include enlightening information about Stanislavski and Vakhtangov, while Appendix C explains, "Behaviorial Psychology as a Basis for the Method." The book can be used as a textbook [and is world-wide], but it is also for theatre and film practitioners, as well as for enlightened theatre and film going and the general public. In her foreword Susan Strasberg wrote, " When I read Lorrie Hull's book, I thought, "My God, she's done it! She's caught so much of the work. She got the answers, wrote them down, used them in her own twelve years of teaching for my father, and then translated it all into an understandable, explicit, practical book that offers valuable tools for any actor {beginner or professional), as well as for writers, directors, and teachers. I'm sure a lot of misconceptions about my father's work will be cleared up by this book...I feel sure that my father, 'Pop, ' would be enormously pleased." [For demonstrations of Method training, see "The Method" DVD and video with William Smithers, Shelley Winters, Martin Landau, and Cloris Leachman-also carried by Amazon)

'Petit's words go right to the heart of Chekhov's technique ... Anyone looking for a key to understanding more about Michael Chekhov's technique will devour it.' – Jessica Cerullo, Michael Chekhov Association, NYC The Michael Chekhov technique is today seen as one of the most influential and inspiring methods of actor training in existence. In The Michael Chekhov Handbook, Lenard Petit draws on twenty years of teaching experience to unlock and illuminate this often complex technique. Petit uses four sections to guide those studying, working with or encountering Chekhov's approach for the first time: the aims of the technique – outlining the real aims of the actor the principles – acting with energy, imagination and creative power the tools – the actor’s use of the body and sensation the application – bringing the technique into practice The Michael Chekhov Handbook’s explanations and exercises will provide readers with the essential tools they need to put the rewarding principles of this technique into use. Lenard Petit is the Artistic Director of The Michael Chekhov Acting Studio in New York City. He teaches Chekhov Technique in the MFA and BFA Acting programs at Rutgers University. He was a contributor and co-creator of the DVD, Master Classes in The Michael Chekhov Technique, published by Routledge.

Intended for actors, directors, teachers and researchers, this book offers an exceptionally clear and thorough introduction to the renowned acting technique developed by Michael Chekhov. Sinéad Rushe's book provides a complete overview of the whole method, and includes illuminating explanations of its principles, as well as a wide range of practical exercises that illustrate, step by step, how they can be applied to dramatic texts. Part One provides an outline of the ideas that underpin the work, which help to prepare practitioners to become responsive and receptive, and to awaken their imagination. Part Two charts a journey through the foundational psychophysical exercises that can both orient an actor's training routine and be applied directly to the development of a role. Part Three focuses on more specific and elaborate methods of scene work, characterisation and the art of transformation. Drawing on the full range of Chekhov's writing in English and French, this book also examines unpublished material from the Dartington Hall archives and features interviews with actors who have worked with the technique, including Simon Callow and Joanna Merlin. It illustrates Chekhov's approach by referring to Rushe's own productions of Nikolai Gogol's short story Diary of a Madman and Shakespeare's Othello, as well as characters and scenes in Sarah Kane's Blasted and the contemporary American television series Breaking Bad. Michael Chekhov's Acting Technique is an accessible, comprehensive and contemporary point of reference for those already trained in the method, as well as an initiation and toolkit for practitioners who are just beginning to discover it.