Acting Is Believing A Basic Method

Acting is Believing

From the preface: The materials in this book are organized in such a way as to make them practical for classroom use, they are intended for any reader who is interested in a basic approach to the art of acting; and though the book has been written with the stage actor in mind, the methods described may be used as well by the actor in any other field. The basic approach to acting is the same for the proscenium stage, theatre-in-the-round, motion pictures, television, and radio. The differences lie in the differing technical adjustments required by these various mediums. The approach here presented is based, to a considerable extent, on the methods of Stanislavski. The borrowings have been recognized throughout, and the debt Stanislavski and to certain of his followers is gratefully acknowledged. In no sense, however, does the book pretend to be an interpretation of the Stanislavski "system." It attempts only to draw upon some aspects of the system which have proved to be practical in helping beginning actors to develop an effective technique for bringing a character into existence on the stage. In some instances the vocabulary of Stanislavski's translators has been employed. Other terms have been used wherever they seemed to have greater clarity.

Acting is Believing

Acting is Believing

Appropriate for any course in which students learn the basic principles of stage performance and acting, the seventh edition of this classic text builds on the strengths of the previous editions. Drawing on a wide range of dramatic materials, the author uses the Stanislavski method of acting as unifying concept in the book.