Cover art for A Beginner's Guide to Acting Methods
Published
Methuen, July 2025
ISBN
9781350434158
Format
Softcover, 360 pages
Dimensions
24.4cm × 18.8cm × 2.2cm

A Beginner's Guide to Acting Methods Understanding Practitioners and their Legacies

Not yet released
Due July 24, 2025.
Fast $7.95 flat-rate shipping!
Only pay $7.95 per order within Australia, including end-to-end parcel tracking.
100% encrypted and secure
We adhere to industry best practice and never store credit card details.
Talk to real people
Contact us seven days a week – our staff are here to help.

Wanting to understand the workings and methods of your favourite theatre practitioner? Look no further. This accessible guide summarizes the methods of 20 practitioners by collecting the most important features of their work and framing them so that even the novice actor will understand the material.

Introducing us to the work of practitioners such as: Konstantin Stanislavski, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Bertolt Brecht, Michael Chekhov, Jacques Copeau, Maria Knebel, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Viola Spolin, Uta Hagen, Augusto Boal, Jerzy Grotowski, Tadashi Suzuki, and Anne Bogart among a number of others, the book sets readers on the path to discovering the methods they want to explore in greater depth.

It does so through each chapter offering:

  • biographical information on each practitioner

  • a description of their method

  • suggestions for digging deeper and further exploration

  • journal and discussion questions

  • the opportunity for practical application with 3-6 hours' worth of in-class activities for instructors to use

As a whole, the book seeks to offer an introduction to the many acting teachers and their methods in one place, demystifying terminology such as "biomechanics", "active analysis", "grounding" and "viewpoints", and introducing readers to the founders of the principles that make up modern acting.

Related books