In January my parents have decided that for my christmas present, theyre willing to pay for 6 months of acting classes in LA!. This isnt a problem!. I've already been in contact with some teachers and I live a little more than a hour away so getting there wont be a problem!.
before i start my classes, i decided to do some reading hoping to get a leg up!. I've already got six books on the way (don't worry, its not over kill, i sit in a booth all day and basically read, so i'll be finished with them in 2 weeks max) and i've got meisner and stanislavski in the mail on the way here!. I really want to round them out with a text or two by stell adler!. the problem is that amazon lists four and i'm not sure which would be the most beneficial or if theres a specific order i should read them in!.
so i need advice on which of the following to get first!.
1)Stella Adler - The Art of Acting: preface by Marlon Brando compiled and edited by Howard Kissel (Applause Acting Series) (Hardcover)
link:
http://www!.amazon!.com/Stella-Adler-prefa!.!.!.2)The technique of acting
link:
http://www!.amazon!.com/Technique-Acting-S!.!.!.3)Stella Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov
link:
http://www!.amazon!.com/Stella-Adler-Ibsen!.!.!.4) Acting with Adler: foreword by Ellen Adler
http://www!.amazon!.com/Acting-Adler-forew!.!.!.ive notoced that the fourth one isnt actualy by adler herself!. i'm also curious if maybe one and two are the same book because they both have the preface by marlon brando!.
anyways, thats for your help!!!
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I think there is a real danger in over-reading!. You will become a student of acting and it's history (rather than an actor-I recommend fewer than ten books for today's actors and three of them are more about the business of acting and becoming an actor than they are about acting, per se!.), but you also may become confused about what acting is and how it is done effectively!. Stella Adler was Brando's teacher, thus we are talking about an approach to acting that is over sixty years old!. I have another student who has read almost everything on acting and yet he is very unsure of himself and has delayed by more than a year, his desire to go to LA and work on becoming an actor!. I hate to see that happen to you as well!. For the historical knowledge of what Adler was all about the first two books may be interesting, but I think the second two books are pretty much worthless to a 21st century film actor!. Stansilavski is only useful to learn how he was mis-interpreted by Strasberg and others!. If I were going to take 6 months of acting classes in LA, I would want them to be at the Tony Barr's Film Actors Workshop studio!. His technique is the basis of what today's actors do when they are effective as actors!.!. His book, Acting for the Camera is a must read for today's film actor!. It needs to be read and reread and studied, because what actors do now has no basis in Stanislavski, Adler, or anyone else who is founded in Stanislavski (the closest is Meisner) and then there is an advanced book on the same technique!. I think once you have demondstrated that you have acting talent by being in plays and getting good roles and doing them well, it is as important to learn the business of acting as it is anything else!. It is show BUSINESS, not just a lovely art form, and you have to have the knowledge of the business and how it works and you have to learn how to participate effectively more than you need to learn to act effectively!. Www@QuestionHome@Com