Overview

If you are struggling to decipher your Boal from your Brecht, your Meisner from your Marowitz, or your Adler from your Artaud, this is the book for you. Who are the great teachers and theorists of dramatic art? What methods are associated with which practitioners? How does their work connect to one another? When was 'realism' as a concept born? How did David Garrick's ideas about acting impact those of Stanislavski, Grotowski and Brecht? What were the foundational ideas of Joan Littlewood? All of these questions and many, many more are answered in this book, which offers a refreshingly accessible survey of the major acting teachers from the early 1700s up to the present day. It looks at what their major influences were, where their ideas came from and their legacy. Structured by practitioner and arranged in chronological order, this much-needed book brings together the foundational acting theories that have shaped the arts scene for centuries.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stephen Bayly
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Methuen Drama
Dimensions:   Width: 20.80cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 25.20cm
Weight:   0.780kg
ISBN:  

9781350320222

ISBN 10:   1350320226
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   11 December 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION Skinning the Cat Evolution of acting theories and practices currently in use From Russia with Love How Stanislavski’s realism became the American style of acting PART 1: The Game-Changers in Theatre David Garrick (1717-1779) Shakespeare with Psychology Denis Diderot (1713-1784) The Paradox of Acting Adolphe Appia (1862-1928) Myth Dream Archetype Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko (1858-1943) Moscow Arts Theatre Konstantin Stanislavski (1863-1938) The Master Jaques Dalcroze (1865-1950) Eurhythmics Frederick Mathias Alexander (1869-1955) Alexander Technique Gordon Craig (1872-1966) Actors as Übermarionettes Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874-1940) Biomechanics and the Method of Physical Action Maria Ouspenskaya (1876-1933) American Lab Theater Jaques Copeau (1879-1949) Théâtre de Vieux Colombier Rudolf Laban (1879-1958) Laban Technique Yevgeny Vakhtangov (1883-1922) Creative Individuality Nikolai Demidov (1884-1953) Actor Types Charles Dullin (1885-1949) The Complete Actor Richard Boleslavsky (1880-1937) American Lab Theater Michael Chekhov (1891-1955) Psychological Gesture Irwin Piscator (1893-1966) Objective Acting Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) Theatre of Cruelty Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) Verfremdung Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) Montage of Attractions Lee Strasberg (1901-1982) The Method Harold Clurman (1901-1980) On Directing Stella Adler (1901-1992) Substitution, Action, and Justification Moshé Feldenkrai (1904-1984) Feldenkrais Method Sanford Meisner (1905-1997) Imaginary Circumstances Viola Spolin (1906-1994) Mother of Modern Improvisation Robert Lewis (1909-1997) Method, or Madness? Joan Littlewood (1914-2002) Theatre’s Radical Lioness Uta Hagen (1919-2004) Respect for Acting Jacques Lecoq 1921-1999 The Pleasure of Play Peter Brook (1925-) The Empty Space Judith Malina (1926-2015) and Julian Beck (1925-1985) The Living Theatre Susana Bloch (?) Alba-Emoting TM The Neighborhood Playhouse (1928- ) The Group Theatre (1931-1940) Augusto Boal (1931-2009) Theatre of the Oppressed Jerzy Grotowski (1933-1999) Poor Theatre Charles Marowitz (1934-2014) The Ur-text Joseph Chaikin (1935-2003) Open Theatre Eugenio Barba (1936- ) Theatre Anthropology Tadashi Susuki (1939- ) and Anne Bogart (1951- ) Viewpoints The Actors Studio (1947- ) David Mamet (1947- ) Practical Aesthetics Robert Lepage (1957-) Alchemist of Imagistic Theatre Simon McBurney (1957- ) Théâtre de Complicité Part 2: Flowering of Dramatic Realism in Cinema Neo-Realism (Italy from 1943) Kitchen Sink Drama (England from 1956) Satyajit Ray (1921-1992) Writing as an integral part of directing John Cassavetes (1929-1989) Personality is Plot Sydney Pollack (1934-2008) Film as a collective experience Sidney Lumet (1924-2011) Hard-boiled straight-shooting Ken Loach (1936-) Intersection of the personal with the political John Sayles (1950-) Humanity and nuanced observation Index

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Author Information

Stephen Bayly is a respected director and producer with film credits including Coming Up Roses (1986), Just Ask for Diamond (1986), Richard III (1995) and Mrs Dalloway (1997). He was Director of the National Film and Television School UK from 1998 - 2003. He alternates his teaching at the Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión in Cuba with travelling extensively to give workshops in other countries, under the auspices of Directing Arts (www.directingarts.com). He is also the author of Working with Actors: Meisner Technique for Directors and Actors.

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