Theater Books For Actors

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is pleased to announce the publication of Chinglish, an uproarious new comedy by two-time Pulitzer finalist David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly, Yellow Face). Chinglish received its world premiere at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in 2011 before transferring to Broadway later that year. Declared the “Best American Play of 2011” by Time magazine, Chinglish will be adapted for an upcoming film by director-producer Justin Lin with a screenplay by Hwang. Springing from ...

TCG is proud to present Mojo and Other Plays, a new collection of plays by the author of the Tony Award-nominated Jerusalem. One of Britain’s most compelling and original playwrights, Butterworth follows up the publication of that critically acclaimed play with this collection of six early works. The volume includes the Olivier Award-winning Mojo, as well as an interview between the playwright and Nick Hern, founder of Nick Hern Books.

In Darkening Mirrors, Stephanie Leigh Batiste examines how African Americans participated in U.S. cultural imperialism in Depression-era stage and screen performances. A population treated as second-class citizens at home imagined themselves as empowered, modern U.S. citizens and transnational actors in plays, operas, ballets, and films. Many of these productions, such as the 1938 hits Haiti and The "Swing" Mikado recruited large casts of unknown performers, involving the black community not on...

The concentration camp and Jewish ghetto at Terezín, or Theresienstadt, in what is now the Czech Republic, was a site of enormous suffering, fear, and death; but in the midst of this was a thriving and desperately vibrant cultural life. While the children’s drawings and musical pieces created in the ghetto have become justly famous, the prisoners’ theatrical works, though a lesser-known aspect of their artistic endeavors, deserves serious attention as well. Performing Captivity collects ele...

"A brilliant and daring book on how art reveals life, how it illuminates childhood beyond what the sciences of development can tell us." ---Jerome Bruner, University Professor, New York University "Combining the surgical precision of a psychoanalytically informed critic with the oracular eloquence of a brilliant close reader, Ellen Handler Spitz reads our cultural fortunes about childhood and parenting through works of art. Moving us (in both senses of the term) from the serene plenitude of...

The work of an outstanding Georgian theatre director and teacher Mikhail Tumanishvili (1921-1996) was first published in Georgia in 1976 and is now made available for the first time in an English translation. Before the Rehearsal Begins is a precise and demanding exploration of the director's creative process. The book is richly illustrated with diagrams and drawings sketched by the author and is inspiring in its simplicity and imaginative freedom. Tumanishvili is acknowledged worldwide as a...

The Brecht Yearbook is a venue for discussion about aspects of theater and literature that were of particular interest to Bertolt Brecht, especially the politics of literature and the politics of theater in a global context. The Volume Brecht in / and Asia contains twenty-six essays based on presentations given at “Brecht in/and Asia,” the thirteenth Symposium of the International Brecht Society (IBS), which was held at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa in 2010. Themes covered include Bre...

From Komisarjevsky in the 1920s, to Cheek by Jowl’s Russian ‘sister company’ almost a century later, Russian actor training has had a unique influence on modern British theatre. Russians in Britain, edited by Jonathan Pitches, is the first work of its type to identify a relationship between both countries’ theatrical traditions as continuous as it is complex. Unravelling new strands of transmission and translation linking the great Russian émigré practitioners to the second and third generat...

Droznin is remarkable and valuable for his ability to combine serious and historically contextualised reflection on the body, psychology and human behaviour with an incorporated and systematic exploration of these ideas in practice.' Paul Allain Andrei Droznin’s Physical Actor Training presents a unique introduction to the master teacher behind a programme of stage movement training that is taught all over the world. Droznin’s influence on the way biomechanical principals and the relationshi...

The Lettre sur la Comédie de l'Imposteur is the only work of any length which does full justice to comedy in the seventeenth century as a serious dramatic form. It is an important document in its own right and because it is inseparable from the historical context of Molière's Le Tartuffe ou l'Imposteur and the circumstances which influenced its development.

The piano music of Maurice Ravel is among the most thrilling, the most colorful, and, for pianists, the most challenging of the repertoire. This book is about how performers and listeners can discover it and relate to it - how it sounds and feels under the fingers and within the receptive imagination. But to write about those experiences, to explore the background, influences, and impulses behind Ravel's music, is to be engaged in a form of biography. Discovering the delicate melancholy of the ...

There are thousands of students enrolled in school drama classes in yet very often young actors cannot be heard, are culturally encouraged to trail off at the ends of sentences, and habitually use only the lowest pitches of the voice. Drama teachers, frequently ask, “How can I get my students to speak up, to be clear, to articulate?” Voice and the Young Actor is written for the school actor, is inviting in format, language and illustration and offers clear and inspiring instructions. An 85-...

Many colorful theatrical activities can be found throughout China. The best known and most unique of these is perhaps traditional Chinese opera, which has a history of over 800 years. However, since the early twentieth century, following increased contact with the West, drama without music has also become popular in China. The development and prosperity of modern drama has created a new landscape for Chinese theater, which, as a whole, has become more diverse. In this illustrated introduction F...

In the first book of its kind to be published in twenty years, ten award-winning and current Broadway designers—five set designers, four lighting designers, and one projection designer—discuss the business aspects of the theatre world, sharing relevant insider information and strategies that will prove invaluable to aspiring and seasoned theatrical designers alike. Culled from years of experience, the information offered in these enlightening conversations will strengthen readers’ understanding...

Providing an international overview of the latest work and thinking in Drama and Education, and featuring interviews with a worldwide variety of leading practitioners and theorists, this book explores how Educational Theatre, Applied Theatre and Drama Therapy facilitate change within schools, community centres, prisons, and theatres.

Garrison Keillor and Philip Brunelle have performed together with a long list of great orchestras: the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago, L.A. Philharmonic, Cleveland, St. Louis, Minnesota Orchestra, Seattle, and San Francisco. After years on the road, they brought the show home to St. Paul, the Fitzgerald Theater, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. As always, Keillor served as amiable host and narrator, Brunelle as guest conductor. The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra was the f...

This collection considers what is at stake when a theatrical space is created and when a performance takes place, asking under which circumstances the topology of theatre becomes political. The book focuses on this issue from various angles, taking theatre as a cultural paradigm for political dimensions of space in its respective historical context. From its very beginnings, theatre has been both an art and a public space shared by actors and spectators, and as a result its entity and history i...

Since its modest beginning in 1959, The Second City in Chicago has become a world-renowned bastion of hilarity. A training ground for many of today’s top comedic talents—including Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Bill Murray, and Amy Sedaris— it was an early blueprint for improv-based sketch revues in North America and abroad. Its immeasurable influence also extends to television, film, and the Broadway stage. Mike Thomas interviewed scores of key figures who have contributed...

With 40 monologues for men chosen from plays written in the last 10 years, this collection offers a variety of compelling one-person pieces. Commentary from a theater professional who has worked on the play is included with each monologue, along with the context from the play in which the piece is taken. Offering characters that can be richly brought to life, this volume provides a useful tool for professional and amateur actors, acting students, and drama coaches.

In Tribes, Billy, who is deaf, is the only one who actually listens in his idiosyncratic, fiercely argumentative bohemian family. But when he meets Sylvia, who is going deaf, he decides he finally wants to be heard. With excoriating dialogue and sharp, compassionate insights, Nina Raine crafts a penetrating play about belonging, family and the limitations of communication.

The world of young people in the United States today is exhilaratingly global, enriched by the influences of many various cultures. With that, however, comes the need for children to retain confidence in their own heritage while empathizing with people who might seem very different from them. The protagonists of these four plays—written for the world-renowned Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis—strive to achieve that balance with determination, love, and humor. The richness and relevanc...

In Fifty Words, a Brooklyn brownstone becomes a marital battleground for Adam and Jan; What the Night Is For dramatizes Adam's infidelity at a hotel with former lover Melinda; and in Side Effects, Melinda and her husband Hugh come to terms with their broken relationship. Michael Weller has written over forty dramatic works, including the plays Moonchildren, Fishing, Loose Ends, and Beast, and the screenplays for Hair and Ragtime.

Three new works from José Rivera, a writer known for his lush language, open heart, and stylistic flirting with the surreal. Boleros for the Disenchanted is the moving story of the playwrights own parents: their sweet courtship in 1950s Puerto Rico, and then forty years later in more difficult times in America. With Brainpeople, Rivera explores the troubled minds of three women in a post-apocalyptic setting who feast on a freshly slaughtered tiger. In School of the Americas, he imagines Che Guev...

With her quartet of plays set in small-town Vermont, twenty-nine-year-old Annie Baker is making a big impact on the American theater. Circle Mirror Transformation, which takes place in a summer acting class and alternates between theater exercises and moments between classmates, shares the 2010 OBIE Award for Best Play with The Aliens, Baker's "gentle and extraordinarily beautiful new play" (The New York Times) that explores weighty topics of love and death through the easy banter of the slacker...

“The first two generations of Asian American drama articulated experiences and issues of race and identity. In this anthology, a new generation of Asian American playwrights explores the myriad ways in which Asians live in America.”—Editor Chay Yew This first major anthology of contemporary Asian American drama in almost two decades collects the following: Julia Cho’s Durango; Sunil Kuruvilla’s Rice Boy; Han Ong’s Swoony Planet; Sung Rno’s Wave; Diana Son’s Boy; Alice Tuan’s Last of the Suns;...

In this trio of plays, Culture Clash rewrites California’s past in the performance troupe’s own irreverent comic style, interweaving pop culture with their home state’s local history. In Chavez Ravine, called “a hell-raising home run” by Variety, they cover the land grab that uprooted an entire community and built Dodger Stadium. In Water & Power, the topic is the assimilation of Latinos and their rise to political influence. And in Zorro in Hell, Culture Clash re-imagines early California throu...

It’s been said (actually, it’s been sung), that when a Broadway baby says goodnight, it’s early in the morning. But what about those Broadway nights? The thrill of being on stage, the adulation, the applause, the stage door fanatics… Stephen Sherrin has no such life. Sure, he dallies on the Great White Way, but when he does have a job it’s beneath the stage, subbing in the orchestra pit. Other parts of his life are the pits, too—including his love life. Why does he always date men who already ha...

Voice and speech training has long been a part of the fabric of actor training and the training of those whose task it has been to persuade through the voice: primarily actors, politicians, lawyers, and other public speakers. Voice and Speech Training in the New Millennium is a collection of interviews with 24 of today's leading voice and speech teachers, each of whom has contributed to the advancement of the field and made today's training a cutting edge component of actor training. Included ar...

A collection of short plays, all comedies, perfect for school productions as well as community and regional theatre.

"They believe in personal immortality as far as any mortal can believe in an unimaginable horror. They have a cohort of Slate Writers and Writing Mediums in whose hands a pencil of any sort will, apparently of its own volition, write communications, undreamt-of by the medium, that must, they claim, be supernatural. It is objected to these that they have neither novelty, profundity, literary value nor artistic charm, being well within the capacity of very ordinary mortals, and are therefor...

A wide selection of original children monologues that work great for both auditions and acting classes. Simple situations kids can relate to and have fun with! The monologues are conveniently organized by age range, gender and dramatic or comedic. - 9 monologues for kids 4 - 6 years old. - 12 monologues for kids 7 - 10 years old:. - 12 monologues for kids 11 - 13 years old. Every monologue in this book is under a minute and a half, which is what kids need for auditions or competi...

Seduction In order to better portray the international problem of runaway, abducted and enslaved children, "Seduction", exploits the classic struggle between good and evil by tearing back the curtain to unveil what lurks behind the beautiful and seemingly serene middle class suburb of Springfield U.S.A. Mary, (a rebellious guitar playing teenager), has decided to run away from the dysfunctional and abusive home her desperate Mother created. The call of freedom, fame and fortune has enticed her t...

Civilisation has fallen. In the rubble, we at the Y Corporation have developed the ultimate solution to save society: the Y Show. We encourage all good citizens to sign up for the show. You will be housed within a wonderful Haze Treatment Facility and undergo unique psychological treatment, which will clear away the illness of individuality. This reprogramming will be broadcast to the eyes and ears of citizens in our New World, populated with previous contestants and patients. This is a reality ...

Yemi D. Ogunyemi whose literary name is Yemi D. Prince, is a luminous fellow, always fascinated by words, letters and books. He is a literary philosopher, a neologist and pinster who believes that plays are sacrifices that speak volumes to reality. He is invariably emerging (often with surprises) from the holy land of Ile-Ife, teh fountainhead of the keepers of traditions. THREE PLAYS is his 46th book he has thus far authored. Currently, he is a humanities professor at Foundation University and...

Combining personal power with Jack Donner's acting technique.

Sample from Cinderella Pantomine Script: Cinderella is ironing and singing with mice. Cinderella At last I have nearly finished all this work. Maybe I'll be able to sneak out and have a walk (Stretching) I haven't had a break since 5 this morning and I'd love some fresh air. Mother (off stage) There's so much to do, where is that girl? Exit mice, frightened. Cinderella Oh dear here comes my stepmother and her gorgeous daughters Hyacinth and Rose. So much for a break, it'll be more chore...

Over 240 pages of practical advice, casting, and auditioning tips for working actors who want to book more work. Also for actors who are making the big move to NYC, or LA, to pursue their dream as an actor, as well as for people who are thinking about breaking into acting. At the end of the day, earning a living as an actor boils down to one thing: winning the job. I give you info about increasing your odds, and putting yourself in the best possible position to get hired. I earned a living...

When Your Angel Arrives is a play about the immigrant experience particularly in the Western world. Plotted around a black African immigrant who is under pressure from his visiting mother to cast off his Caucasian wife, the play deals with the challenges faced by immigrants and equally touches on cross-cultural marriage and black on black betrayal.

The companion book to Al Stevens's popular "Ventriloquism: Art, Craft, Profession," this book contains a comprehensive collection of scripts that Al wrote over the years for his ventriloquist act and that he has performed in night clubs, private parties, and corporate shows. Many of Al's most popular routines are here including Doodley Squat, Viagra for Dummies, Uncle Sweeter's Ol' Woman, Dexter at School, Aunt Sally the Librarian, Uncle Sweeter Goes to the Doctor, and Juan Comes to the USA. The...

19 Monologues from a 27-Year-Old Breast Cancer Survivor compiled by Leena Luther.

The underlying theme of this three act drama is “We can’t help who we love.” The play centers on Ricky and Miranda who, as children, develop a strong bond. Through tragedy and the harsh tribulations of coming of age, this bond blossoms into fully blown feelings of love. Unfortunately Ricky and Miranda are second cousins. Torn between his ethics and his feelings for Miranda, Ricky endeavors to uncover the truth regarding the nature of their kinship and the morality of their feelings. Laden wi...

This study seeks to reunite American drama with more of the mainstream of American literature using contemporary literary theories of feminism, Derrida, Lacan, as well as the nature of language. It also focuses on the theatrical ways that plays work through performance and staging. This reveals how contemporary playwrights see themselves not as authors, but as parts of a team of designers, actors, and directors. Stage directions are largely omitted, but knowledge of original productions--both as...

Some basics that need to be said aloud at the outset of each new community theatre production, but which often are not. A primer that makes it a little easier to wind up with a show that may say "community theatre" on the playbill, but one in which professional standards shine through.

It's easy to get stuck while trying to pursue your dream of becoming an actor. It's quite a ride, but certainly one you don't want to get stuck on. Pursuing a career in Hollywood through the years has led actress and author Abbie Cobb to some great decisions and opportunities, but not without making a few mistakes along the way. Stuck on a Ferris Wheel is a must-have guide for any actor starting out a career in LA. In her first book, Cobb offers play-by-play instructions for being a working ...

For performers, auditions are a fact of life. Almost everyone, regardless of age or experience, is nervous about auditioning but believe it or not, that nervousness can be a positive thing, giving your performance a passion and focus that perhaps might not be there otherwise. Yes, that’s right, a feeling of having butterflies in your tummy, that fear of forgetting your lines and not only embarrassing yourself but being rejected is absolutely normal and is not a sign that you’re going to be terri...