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A LEAP FROM THE METHOD:

Name: A LEAP FROM THE METHOD:
Author: Allan Rich
ISBN: 978-1-4208-2223-6

AN ORGANIC APPROACH TO ACTING

by Allan Rich ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 11, 2007

Great advice from a show-business veteran.

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Respected character actor and stage coach reinterprets Stanislavsky’s Method for a modern audience.

Rich, a Los Angeles personality with a long career in show business, re-envisions the actor’s craft, offering practical advice to those that aspire to the stage and screen. With short, vivid chapters, Rich succinctly dispels with the notion that performers must have a natural talent to succeed–plenty of hard work, a willingness to defer to the playwright and the courage to dig deep into a role to discover the central truth of a character will do in its absence. Rich pokes holes into Konstantin Stanislavsky’s psychological approach to acting that asks a performer to search for personal memories to add emotional resonance to a performance. He suggests instead that the actor must not reproduce, but reinterpret a role when playing it night after night. The basis of Rich’s new, simplified approach is the philosophy that an actor must search the text for insights into the character rather than rely on their own past experiences. To be economical on the stage and not rely on physical movement are also important elements to an effective performance, as is the discovery of the essence of the character’s behavior. Rich offers practical recommendations that run from knowing the entire play in order to understand the playwright’s intentions to never sleeping with your leading man or lady, lest the intensity of the stage romance be diminished. A quick autobiographical narrative kicks off this charming, informative manual. The author recounts his early Broadway appearances and the crisis of confidence that led to several lean years and a midlife career as a businessman and art dealer with an itch to return to the stage. Unfortunately, a last section filled with testimonials on the effectiveness of Rich’s method and gaudy plethora of celebrity photographs distract from the polish and professionalism established by the author’s instructive theories.

Great advice from a show-business veteran.

Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2007

ISBN: 978-1-4208-2223-6

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.