Courageous and compelling, an invaluable resource for actors, directors, and teachers that can open a pathway to inner creativity. "The actor will do, in public, what is considered impossible." When the renowned Polish director Jerzy Grotowski began his 1967 American workshop with these words, his students were stunned. But within four weeks they themselves had experienced the "impossible." In An Acrobat of the Heart, teacher-director-playwright Stephen Wangh draws on Grotowski's insights and on the work of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, and others to bridge the gap between rigorous physical training and practical scene and character technique. Wangh's students give candid descriptions of their struggles and breakthroughs, demonstrating how to transform these remarkable lessons into a personal journey of artistic growth.

Teaching Questions is a book about teaching and learning in the performing arts. Its focus is on the inner dynamics of teaching: the processes by which teachers can promote - or undermine - creativity itself. It covers the many issues that teachers, directors and choreographers experience, from the frustrations of dealing with silent students, and helping young artists 'unlearn' their inhibitions, to problems of resistance, judgment and race in the classroom. Teaching Questions speaks to experienced teachers and beginning teachers in all disciplines, bringing essential insight and honesty to the discussion of how to teach.

A deeply humane new collection by a luminary of Bengali literature A radiant collection of poetry about womanhood, intimacy, and the body politic that together evokes the arc of an ordinary life. Nabaneeta Dev Sen's rhythmic lines explore the joys and agonies of first love, childbirth, and decay with a restless, tactile imagination, both picking apart and celebrating the rituals that make us human. When she warns, "know that blood can be easily drawn by lips," her words tune to the fierce and biting depths of language, to the "treachery that lingers on tongue tips." At once compassionate and unsparing, conversational and symphonic, these poems tell of a rope shivering beneath an acrobat's nimble feet or of a twisted, blood-soaked umbilical cord -- they pluck the invisible threads that bind us together.

INCLUDES SPECIALLY COMMISSIONED LINE DRAWINGS Little Tiger is not like other tigers. Not content to spend her days alone, roaming the snow forests of Siberia hunting prey, she prefers instead to ponder the ways of the world. One day, eager to discover her own place within it, she sets out on a remarkable journey to discover the secret of life, and to meet the creatures she has heard most about: humans. A moving tale of bravery and spirit, The Tiger and the Acrobat is a celebration of the power of friendship, and a testament to the courage it takes to be true to ourselves. 'This book is a beaut.' Cecelia Ahern, author of P.S. I Love You

Written by two theatre professionals who worked intimately with Grotowski over the last twenty-five years of his life, this book fills a gap in the published writings about this master director and teacher. In this book, the writers demonstrate Grotowski’s significance and how his frank rhetoric, his revolutionary theories, his landmark productions, and pioneering cultural projects continue to cause controversy and provide fertile topics for discussion and further experimentation in theatre studios, classrooms, and on stages around the world. The book introduces Grotowski to a new generation of theatre students, outlining his contributions to twentieth century performance and placing them in context and in perspective.

A new theory of acting that tears down the theatrical "Fourth Wall"

Rudolf Laban is to movement what Stanislavski is to acting.