How do you go about creating a character fully and in compelling detail? How do you rehearse? Exactly what goes on during a performance? Everything you need to know as an actor about the process of bringing a play to life in today's theatre can be found in Stagecraft: Stanislavsky and External Acting Techniques. Included is complete information on the foundations of the actor's art: vocal technique, right down to grammar, punctuation, and stress patterns; movement technique, so you can create the character physically; and rehearsal and performance techniques. There is even a detailed section on applying makeup. As Stanislavsky stressed, without this kind of external work, the internal, psychological work detailed in the companion volume, Using the Stanislavsky System, cannot be "read" or understood by the audience. In Stagecraft, Blumenfeld also details the specific techniques of performing in comedy and meeting the unique demands of musical theater. The ideas of Stanislavsky's influential successors - Michael Chekhov, Yevgenyi Vakhtangov, Uta Hagen, Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, and many others - are included as well. This volume is a must for professional and novice actors, students and teachers alike!
