Mask Improvisation for Actor Training & Performance

Mask Improvisation for Actor Training & Performance
Author: Sears A. Eldredge
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
Total Pages: 238
Release: 1996
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780810113657

Because mask improvisation work is relatively new in American theater training, this book is designed not only to acquaint readers with the theory of mask improvisation but to instruct them in the techniques of method as well. Featuring dozens of improvisational exercises in the innovative spirit of Viola Spolin, and supplemented with practical appendices on mask design and construction, forms and checklists, and other classroom materials, this book is an invaluable tool for teacher and student alike, as well as compelling reading for anyone interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of masks as agents of transformation, creativity, and performance.

Improvisation in Drama, Theatre and Performance

Improvisation in Drama, Theatre and Performance
Author: Anthony Frost
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2015-10-26
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1137348127

Improvisation is a tool for many things: performance training, rehearsal practice, playwriting, therapeutic interaction and somatic discovery. This book opens up the significance of improvisation across cultures, histories and ways of performing our life, offering key insights into the what, the how and the why of performance. It traces the origins of improvisation and its influences, both as a social and political phenomenon and its position in performance training. Including history, theory and practice, this new edition encompasses Theatre and performance studies as well as drama, acknowledging the rapid reconfiguration of these fields in recent years. Its coverage also now extends to improvisation in the USA, cinema, LARPing, street events and the improvising audience, while also looking at improv's relationship to stand-up comedy, jazz, poetry and free movement practices. With an index of exercises and an extensive bibliography, this book is indispensable to students of improvisation.

The Comic Mask in the Commedia Dell'Arte

The Comic Mask in the Commedia Dell'Arte
Author: Antonio Fava
Publisher:
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2007
Genre: Drama
ISBN:

"The mask - as object, symbol, character, theatrical practice, even spectacle - is the central metaphor around which Fava builds his discussion of structure, themes, characters, and methods. His book combines historical fact, personal experience, philosophical speculation, and passionate opinion. Including period drawings, prints, and color photographs of leather masks made by Fava himself, The Comic Mask in the Commedia dell'Arte is a rich work of singular insight into one of the world's most venerable forms of theater." --Book Jacket.

The Routledge Companion to Performance Practitioners

The Routledge Companion to Performance Practitioners
Author: Franc Chamberlain
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 575
Release: 2020-08-16
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1000038858

The Routledge Companion to Performance Practitioners collects the outstanding biographical and production overviews of key theatre practitioners first featured in the popular Routledge Performance Practitioners series of guidebooks. Each of the chapters is written by an expert on a particular figure, from Stanislavsky and Brecht to Laban and Decroux, and places their work in its social and historical context. Summaries and analyses of their key productions indicate how each practitioner's theoretical approaches to performance and the performer were manifested in practice. All 22 practitioners from the original series are represented, with this volume covering those born before the end of the First World War. This is the definitive first step for students, scholars and practitioners hoping to acquaint themselves with the leading names in performance, or deepen their knowledge of these seminal figures.

Mask and Performance in Greek Tragedy

Mask and Performance in Greek Tragedy
Author: David Wiles
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 25
Release: 2007-08-09
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 0521865220

A 2007 study of the mask in Greek tragedy, covering both ancient and modern performances.

The Routledge Companion to Studio Performance Practice

The Routledge Companion to Studio Performance Practice
Author: Franc Chamberlain
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 832
Release: 2021-11-29
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1000402118

The Routledge Companion to Studio Performance Practice is a unique, indispensable guide to the training methods of the world’s key theatre practitioners. Compiling the practical work outlined in the popular Routledge Performance Practitioners series of guidebooks, each set of exercises has been edited and contextualised by an expert in that particular approach. Each chapter provides a taster of one practitioner’s work, answering the same key questions: ‘How did this artist work? How can I begin to put my understanding of this to practical use?’ Newly written chapter introductions put the exercises in context, explaining how they fit into the wider methods and philosophy of the practitioner in question. All 21 volumes in the original series are represented in this volume.

Theatre Masks Out Side In

Theatre Masks Out Side In
Author: Wendy J. Meaden
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 763
Release: 2023-02-28
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1351380397

Theatre Masks Out Side In examines masks from different angles and perspectives, combining the history, design, construction, and use of masks into one beautifully illustrated resource. Each chapter includes key information about an element of mask study: history and uses, theatre traditions, practical principles for directing, performing exercises, design considerations, mask-making techniques, and considering makeup as mask. Artist interviews, theatre company profiles, and hundreds of images provide insight into the variety of mask styles and performance applications. Project suggestions, discussion questions, useful worksheets, creative prompts, and resources for sourcing masks are included to inspire further exploration. Theatre Masks Out Side In is designed with the beginning theatre maker in mind, as well as prop makers, costume designers and technicians, and actors learning to use masks in performance.

Mask Characterization

Mask Characterization
Author: Libby Appel
Publisher: SIU Press
Total Pages: 138
Release: 1982
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies
ISBN: 9780809310395

Behind the mask, Appel notes, the stu­dent is free to create a personality; paradox­ically, because the mask hides the self, it en­ables the student to probe more deeply into himself. "This book describes, defines, and dis­cusses the mask characterization process, providing the theory behind the exercises and the step-by-step procedure in the organ­ic development of the character from the masks," Appel notes. The manual is divided into two parts: "The Instructor's Guide" and "The Actor's Guide." There is also an intro­ductory chapter, "The Class Structure," which explains mask characterization pro­cedures in the classroom, and a sample class schedule may be found in the back of the manual. This book adds a new dimension to actor training and learning. It is essential to aspir­ing actors seeking new ways to create honest dramatic characterizations.

New Theatre Quarterly 79: Volume 20, Part 3

New Theatre Quarterly 79: Volume 20, Part 3
Author: Simon Trussler
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2005-03-21
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9780521603287

Provides an international forum where theatrical scholarship and practice can meet.

Movement Training for the Modern Actor

Movement Training for the Modern Actor
Author: Mark Evans
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2009-01-13
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1135892946

Focusing on the cultural history of modern movement training for actors, Evans traces the development of the ‘neutral’ body as a significant area of practice within drama school training and the relationship between movement pedagogy and the operation of discipline and power in shaping the professional identity of the actor.