Like every week we post a book review on a subject related to acting, health, personal growth or anything related to the showbiz industry. This time it’s the highly acclaimed “Practical Handbook for the Actor” whose authors (all of who are young actors) include: Melissa Bruder, Lee Michael Cohn, Madeleine Olnek, Nathaniel Pollack, Robert Previto and Scott Zigler.

In the book a technique developed by the authors is explained, written for any actor who has ever felt frustrations in acting classes or felt like they lacked clarity or objectivity. Its writing style is very direct and definitely gets you right to the point of the matter.

Divided in 2 parts: THE TECHNIQUE: with topics like; analyzing a scene, truth of the moment, and other tools of the craft it gives you a great overview. And the second part: PITFALLS is more about working in the real world, getting stuck in emotional traps, the professional characters you will meet along the way or even keeping the theater clean…

So, Is it worth reading? DEFINITELY. It’s a very small price (around $11.00) to pay for such a good little handbook that can serve as a leisurely read . It has really good advice, but most of all is clear and concise in its explanations.

Like every week we post a book review on a subject related to acting, health, personal growth or anything related to the showbiz industry. This time its about how to take and give more positive criticism.

The book “The power of positive criticism” by Hendrie Weisinger, P.HD shows you how to take or give advice that doesn’t turn people down or make them get on the defensive. It basically shows you how to “sugar-coat” your criticism to still get what you want from others. In a tone more appropriate to a 3 year old than a mature adult, the writer almost degrades its readers by treating them like incompetent and ignorant children.

After much sorting I finally found the part where then the book goes into talking about actual criticism and it did slightly improve. He explains his method of the "20 tips" and how to put them to work and includes plenty of real life examples. Such tips include things like:

- Be improvement orientated
- Criticize your criticisms
- Tell them what you want
- Acknowledge that its subjective
- Know your criteria for criticizing…

So, Is it worth reading? Well, it wasn’t exactly what I expected when I read the back-cover and the title. I expected more on dealing with criticism than on giving it. And its more business orientated than for personal growth, so I would say NO, don’t waste your money. As actors we deal with criticism constantly but unfortunately its mostly on the other end.
 

Well, let me tell you, it does as promised. It’s a rather practical manual for any young artist wether a painter, dancer, actor, singer or poet. Written with great insight and on a broad number of subjects such as: confidence, discipline, self-esteem, fame and failure…etc. Its certainly a book less oriented to the business side of the career in arts and much more on the personal growth and “self-awareness”. And you know we feel its just as important to take care of both here!

The format is easy: its multitude of anecdotal letters written to a young “BZ” who we assume is a friend or younger self of the artist, in which she gives random advice in a familiar voice.

So, Is it worth reading? YES! It’s a wonderful read, and almost like if you were reading a blog, but with huge amounts of great insight on how to cope with some of the harder emotional aspects of being an artist. My only complain is that sometimes the author can be a bit repetitive on not-so-important stuff. Its ok to insist on the major points, but don’t reiterate yourself to fill pages of no importance.

Like every week we post a book review on a subject related to acting, health, personal growth or anything related to the showbiz industry. This time it’s the memoirs of Charles Strouse: “Put on a Happy Face”

Strouse is an Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winning composer. He is mostly known for his work in Annie and Bye Bye Birdie. While he is definitely one of the most talented composers there are and has enriched Broadway with such songs as “The Sun’ll come out Tomorrow…” the writing in the book is not at all easy flowing.

In the book he tells of his life experiences and obviously his many achievements. But uses too much of other well-known celebrities to give himself a boost. Name-dropping of the likes of Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin on Lauren Bacall.

So, Is it worth reading? While I don’t wish to demean any of Charles Strouses’ achievements and take nothing from how wonderful a person he may be, Im strictly basing my opinion on the book as a whole. And that includes the writing, the level of entertainment it offers and the flow of things. And I think it lacked level in all of the above. So NO, I would not read this book unless you truly are interested in the composers life.

The book includes:
FASHION by Anna Cora Mowatt (1845)
THE OCTOROON by Dion Boucicault (1859)
RIP VAN WINKLE by Joseph Jefferson (1865)
MARGARET FLEMING by James A. Herne (1890)

This weeks review is probably the shortest we’ve written, because we are not reviewing these popular plays, but the book itself. Obviously the plays are something you can find elsewhere, so why this book? Well, the authors Introduction is a wonderful background and situating piece. Added to that, each play also has its own introduction and gives really great insight to us actors and directors on how to approach them.

So, Is it worth reading? Well… Not really. I believe the introductions are beautifully written and interesting although short. So unless you have a special interest in one of these particular plays I would say don’t waste your money. If you do want to buy it though, go to Nineteenth Century American Plays: Seven Plays Including The Black Crook

These books are simply wonderful. If I ever feel like I want to learn about a new subject I have no idea about or am overwhelmed, then I always turn to Dummies. They give you insight in a very reader-friendly manner, touching all subjects related to the topic at hand, providing you with any information you need. The Screenwriting for Dummies edition does just as any other Dummies book, and wonderfully explains the ins and outs of how to approach writing for TV, movies or plays. It provides tips, common used jargon from the industry, and plenty of clear examples. It will serve as the perfect go-to reference guide to start a new career in screenwriting. It is meant to be a springboard to then further expand if you want to master any aspect, not as an answer to the experts questions. As far as the tips on how to approach screenwriting from an actors point of view they don’t exactly dig into that, although it is mentioned in several chapters, that some of the best screenwriters have had atleast some experience as actors to gain insight on how to create characters. So maybe you would like to explore a different creative outlet? Remember tht Silverster Stallone wrote Rambo for himself when he couldn’t get cast in other movies. So, Is it worth reading? If you have any interest in the process of screenwriting or want a new creative outlet and are thinking of writing your next lead role yourself custom to you, then YES. If you want a good reference book on insight to a different aspect of this business YES. Otherwise simply from an actors standpoint, its not worth it. But check:how to break into acting for dummies (reviewed on this site).

Like every week we post a book review on a subject related to acting, health, personal growth or anything related to the showbiz industry. This time it’s Judy Carters manual to “Stand Up Comedy”.

Obviously any step-by-step guide can teach you about comedy, timing and techniques for stand up comedy, but what no bok can do is make you funny! That’s something you have to come equipped with. To that effect, the book comes with a chapter called: How to tell if your funny. That includes a test to find out exactly to what extent you have a sense of humor that an audience can relate to.

Once that is settled and you are sure you have all the comedic raw talent to work with, the book goes into how to overcome anxiety, the formulas for creating comedy material, how to find your own comedic style, the do’s and don’ts on rehersals, what to do if you bomb, and a 3 step process to get an act together.

Along the whole of the book the author puts in exercises to aid in getting the chapter message across.

So, Is it worth reading? YES it is if you want to explore your more comedic side and even get a stand-up act to perform at a showcase or even at a club. So go ahead and find out what your comedic grade is and exploit it!!!!

Like every week we post a book review on a subject related to acting, health, personal growth or anything related to the showbiz industry. This time it’s the vocal lesson book “Voice and the Actor” by Cicely Berry.

The author lets us know she bases her work on “the conviction that while all is present in nature, our natural instincts have been crippled from birth by the conditioning of our society”. And that’s fine, but the premise doesn’t really tell us exactly what our society has ruined and what raw talent we wont be able to perfect.

She tells us an actor needs precise exercise and clear understanding to liberate all his true possibilities. Berry also claims that past techniques are a myth and covers both exercises on pronounciation with subjects such as: relaxation and breathing, muscularity of the toungue and mouth, singing…

So, Is it worth reading? NO. The author gives us rules to perform exercises but no explanation of what the exercises are aimed at perfecting. Exactly how do I use these things later? I say there are plenty of books that can aid me in perfecting my voice better than this one.

Like every week we post a book review on a subject related to acting, health, personal growth or anything related to the showbiz industry. This time it’s a book called “The necessity of theater” by Paul Woodruff that analizes why Theater became so popular, and why every society throughout history has had some form of social gathering to “watch”.

It’s a very interesting subject and almost like a modern “Poetics”. The book presents itself as a provocative call to arms that dares to reconsider the nature of theater and convincingly explains why drama has to be a part of contemporary society. Its tagline is:

The art of watching and the need to be watched.

In the book several subjects are covered: What is really unique and essential to us about theater? What separates theater from other arts? What about sporting events? Engaging audiences as the job of the performer.

According to the author Theater is as necessary and powerful as language itself. Providing us with a service needed by society as a whole and us as individuals.

So, Is it worth reading? I would say this is one of those books that can really enrich you both as an actor and as a person. It’s a smart way of looking at an overlooked subject, that can get you thinking until odd hours of the night about what it said. I highly recommend this as one of those MUST HAVES.