The Actor’s Art and Craft
Beschreibung:
William Esper was a graduate of Western Reserve University and the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City. Bill trained as both actor and teacher under Sanford Meisner. Bill and Sandy worked closely together for 17 years, during which time Bill served as Associate Director of the Playhouses's Acting Department (1973-1976). Bill founded the William Esper Studio in 1965 and the Professional Actor Training Program at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts in 1977. These two schools are renowned for routinely contributing actors of the highest quality to the International stage and screen. Bill died in 2019 at age 86.
Damon DiMarco earned his M.F.A. from the Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts under Bill Esper's tutelage. He acts professionally on stage, screen, and TV, and teaches at Drew University. Damon's other books include, Tower Stories: an Oral History of 9/11; Heart of War: Soldiers' Voices from the Front Lines of Iraq; and My Two Chinas: The Memoir of a Chinese Counterrevolutionary with Baiqiao Tang, which features a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Prologue
Bill s Class
ONE Begin Again Empty Your Cup
TWO The First Exercise Did You Hear What He Said?
THREE Repition Continues Did You Really Hear What He Really Said?
FOUR Developing Concentration
FIVE How to Justify Absolutely Anything
SIX Don t Gird Yourself to Act; Open Yourself to Receive
SEVEN Objectives and Expectations: Be Careful What You Want
EIGHT Action Problems: Awaken Your Inner Criminal
NINE Scene Work: Private Conversations Approach the Text and Pick Up Your Impulses
TEN Farewell to Repition: Don t Do Anything Unless Something Happens to Make You Do It
ELEVEN Daydreams, Fantasies, and Your Inner Life: Emotional Preparation
TWELVE Relationships: I Know He s Your Brother, but Who Is He Really?
THIRTEEN The Domestic Exercise: How Are Things At Home?
FOURTEEN The Second Round of Scene Work: Go Deeper into the Text
FIFTEEN Final Questions: It s a Wrap. Now Where Do We Go from Here?
Acknowledgments