Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-211) and index.
Contents:
Part I : Preparing yourself -- Why study acting -- Step 1 : Understanding the actor's job -- Engagement -- Truthfulness -- Skill -- Usefulness -- Dramatic function -- Finding your own sense of purpose -- Discipline -- Summary -- Step 2 : Relaxing and centering -- Relaxation -- Finding your center -- Breathing, sounding, and moving from center -- The cycle of energy -- Your relationship to gravity -- Summary -- Step 3 : Your voice and speech -- Speech -- Voice production -- Articulation -- Speech, character, situation, and relationship -- Further training of body and voice -- Summary -- Step 4 : Working together -- Leading and following -- Seeing and hearing -- Summary -- Part II : Action and character -- Example plays -- Selecting your scene -- Step 5 : Exploring the text -- Denotation -- Connotation -- Rhythm -- The music of speech -- The given circumstances -- Who -- Where -- When -- Summary -- Step 6 : How scenes (and plays) work -- Stimulus, perception and attitude -- Automatic and spontaneous actions -- Deliberation, strategic choice, and the magic if -- Direct and indirect action: subtext -- The inner monologue -- Summary -- Step 7 : The shape of a scene -- Crisis -- Units of action, or "beats" -- Summary -- Step 8 : Objectives and actions -- Action and emotion -- Action and public solitude -- Dual consciousness -- Indicating -- Defining useful objectives and playable actions -- Obstacles and counteractions -- The through line and the superobjective -- Summary -- Step 9 : The foundations of character -- The magic if -- Character traits -- Summary -- Step 10 : Personalization -- Needs and personalization -- Emotion recall and substitution -- The super-choice -- Autobiography, diary, and self-image -- Summary -- Part III : The performance and after -- Step 11 : Early rehearsals -- Auditions and casting -- Preparation and homework -- Early read-throughs -- Getting up and off book -- Exploring your character's body -- Communication in rehearsals -- You and your director -- Summary -- Step 12 : Staging and final rehearsals -- Types of stages -- Directions onstage -- The ground plan and blocking -- Establishing the score -- Shaping and pacing the performance -- Costumes, makeup, and props -- Technical rehearsals -- Dress rehearsal -- Summary -- Appendix A : The tradition of the actor -- Appendix B : Scene and play sources -- Appendix C : Short practice selections from Shakespeare.
Summary:
Since the first edition of The Actor in You was published a quarter-century ago, thousands of students have benefited from Robert Benedetti's decades of experience educating some of the United States' finest actors. In this Seventh Edition, Benedetti expresses the fundamental elements of acting in simple language, leading readers through understanding their own bodies and voices, acting technique, and the basics of rehearsals and staging shows. Each step includes exercises to aid students in self-discovery and self-development as they grow from novices into practiced actors.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.