Impassioned Embraces


Book Description

Dealing largely with the many aspects of love (from the sublime to the ridiculous) and with the trials and terrors that actors must face, the plays mingle hilarity and poignance as they explore the problems that romance--and the need for self-expression--can engender. We encounter, for example, an actor struggling through a particularly devastating rehearsal; two teenagers gingerly dissecting a frog--and their sex lives; a bridegroom who finds that he really loves the bridesmaid rather than the bride; a woman (masquerading as a man) who tries to pick up a man (masquerading as a woman) in a bar; a couple chattering through a "splatter film" whose conversation is even wilder, and more intriguing, that the soundtrack of the movie; and assortment of sad/funny monologues about the various perils (and pleasures) of the acting profession; a wildly funny farce involving a man about to undergo a vasectomy, a shockingly inept doctor, an irate (and pregnant) nurse, and the doctor's madly jealous wife.




One on One


Book Description

(Applause Acting Series). Over 75 monologues for women from the contemporary stage, written by these and other major dramatists: David Mamet * Brian Friel * Steve Tesich * Harold Pinter * Alan Ayckbourn * Timberlake Wertenbaker * Neil Simon * John Patrick Shanley * Jane Anderson * Elizabeth Swados * Ariel Dorfman * Craig Lucas.




The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook, Updated and Expanded Edition


Book Description

All actors and acting teachers need The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook, the invaluable guide to finding just the right piece for every audition. This remarkable book describes the characters, action, and mood for more than 1,000 scenes in over 300 plays. This unique format is ideal for acting teachers who want their students to understand each monologue in context. Using these guidelines, the actor can quickly pinpoint the perfect monologue, then find the text in the Samuel French or Dramatist Play Service edition of the play. Newly revised and expanded, the book also includes the author’s own assessment of each monologue.




How to Be a Working Actor, 5th Edition


Book Description

The celebrated survival guide for the working actor - now completely updated and expanded with a foreword by Tony award-winning actor Joe Mantegna! Renowned for more than two decades as the most comprehensive resource for actors, How to Be a Working Actor is a must-read for achieving success in The Business. Now this "Bible of the Biz" has been completely revised and greatly expanded to address new markets, ever-changing opportunities, and the many new ways today's actors find work. Talent manager, teacher, and career coach Mari Lyn Henry and actress, author, and spokeswoman Lynne Rogers combine their extensive skills and years of experience to cover all the essentials of how to market yourself, land roles, and manage a successful career. They also include expert advice from scores of other industry experts - well-known actors, agents, managers, casting directors, and teachers. How to Be a Working Actor is loaded with advice on how to: - put together a professional wardrobe - get a head shot that brings out the real you - create a resume that really works - find the training to develop your talents - communicate effectively with agents and managers - use the internet to promote your business and explore new opportunities - get the most value out of union membership - excel at auditions and screen tests - discover how to get work in regional markets - cope with success How to Be a Working Actor takes a no-nonsense approach to the whole business of being a working actor, with detailed information on how to live on a budget in New York and Los Angeles, what the acting jobs are and what they pay, even how to find a survival strategy that will augment your career. And an extensive section on script analysis shows you how to investigate the depth of a character to create a memorable audition for roles in theatre, film, and television.




The Birthday Present ; And, The Ground Zero Club


Book Description

THE STORIES: THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT. Wallace Cooper, a put-upon, unpopular child, is celebrating his tenth birthday when his father arrives home with bad news: His medical license has been revoked and he must stand trial on a charge of conducting una







Media Mediocrity–Waging War Against Science


Book Description

We have all, at some point, seen science in action on television. Whether it was a show about disasters or weather, nature or the universe, a science commentator, even a crime show depicting forensic evidence — we have all gleaned tidbits of scientific information while being entertained by our televisions. Or have we? From science channels and documentaries to fictional and children’s programming, television brings a myriad of scientific discoveries and theories into the homes of people around the world. But how accurately do these programs represent science? In Media Mediocrity, television producer and broadcaster Richard Zurawski argues that the science we learn on television is inaccurate, misleading and sometimes even dangerous. Dealing with issues such as tobacco consumption, global warming and Intelligent Design — and a host of pseudoscientific pursuits like UFOs, ghosts and the afterlife, Media Mediocrity examines how television producers’ pursuit of ratings and profit trump any desire to provide the audience with an accurate knowledge of science — and argues that there are real consequences for this lack of knowledge. Four out of five viewers gather the bulk of their scientific knowledge from television, making television an important intermediary between society and its understanding of science. If television gives us misleading — or blatantly false — scientific information, how can we hope to make informed decisions about scientific issues? Equally importantly, who is it that is feeding us this false science? And what do they gain from doing so? If you think your TV has made you an expert, then read this book — and think again.




Women and Water


Book Description

THE STORY: Centering the opening action of the play on the Civil War, the author fills the stage with a swirl of people and events to capture the awful trauma of this cataclysmic happening. We meet the young Lydie Breeze, a Nantucket lass serving a




Years Ago


Book Description

THE STORY: Me, who is Ruth Gordon Jones (later famous as Ruth Gordon), is a young girl living with her retired sea-captain father and her mother near Boston. Me is determined to go on the stage, but Mama and Papa are aghast. Papa wants Me to




A Vision of Truth


Book Description